Raw Vegan Survey:D

Hey there everyone! I'm Marah, I'm sixteen, and currently transitioning back to raw vegan:) I like to talk to people with similar interests, and felt like it'd be a great way to get to know others by starting a survey/questionnaire type thing, much like those on MySpace/Facebook, only this one all about raw veganism, so here is the product of my boredom :D

Who are you? (name, age, anything else you'd like to include): Marah, 16, eco friendly, tree hugging, spirituality embracing girl.
When you went raw: two years ago for the first time for about 6 months, now back to it:)

How you found raw: I'd been vegetarian for a few years before then and wanted to go vegan. Was googling all about it when I found a blog about a man who went vegetarian, vegan, and then raw for a while. Thought it was crazy but I kept thinking about it for months before finally taking the plunge.

Why you went raw: Struggled with depression for years. When my eating disorder became out of control I decided on my 14th birthday I would either restrict even lower, or go raw. I chose raw.

How you went raw: First time around I did so by basically cutting out everything and living on thawed veggies, bananas, and raw onion bread (ate like a tray a day of the stuff!) This time around I'm slowly transitioning.

Did you detox?: First time around oh my gosh yes! Felt like I had a cold and got a bit upset because I thought wait, aren't I supposed to be totally perfectly healthy? Pushed through though and then didn't get sick at all while raw:)

What do the people in your life (family, friends, etc.) think?: Parents think it's weird and wouldn't do it, but don't force feed me cooked/non vegan food. Friends don't get it, but are happy as long as I am. Boyfriend, not sure if he could do it personally but is very supportive.

Your favorite raw recipe(s): My signature salad! Mixed salad greens, one forth to half of a cubed avocado, dulse flakes, nutritional yeast, a little bit of sea salt, pepper, and cayenne. Sometimes I’d drizzle with flax oil to get some omega 3s.

Your personal benefits of going raw: I was able to become comfortable eating because I knew it was clean and good for me. That and my weight stabilized.

Tips for those going raw: Give yourself at least thirty days to see the benefits. Don’t get upset if you’re not feeling amazing, detox sucks but once you push through it’s awesome. Also, find what works for YOU. If one source says low fat and one source says high fat, try them both and see how you feel. When you become cleaner your body tells you what it needs. Example: While recovering from my ED, I constantly craved high fat high calorie options because my body needed it after being deprived so that it could recover. After a few months of that, my caloric need decreased and I found balance and was quite satisfied.

Who are you? (name, age, anything else you'd like to include): Jen, 36, love to hike and read and play with our dogs
When you went raw: April of this year, faltered around September with gall bladder problems from too much fat, now back to very very high raw and lovin' it.

How you found raw: I wanted to lose weight, so this was a natural transition. I became vegetarian in the year 2000, then vegan sometime around 2004.. my weight loss was faltering and I decided to give raw a try.

Why you went raw: Mostly because I wanted to lose weight. But then I discovered the incredible feeling of energy I have when I eat raw. Nothing compares!

How you went raw: In April I started by making a lot of very rich raw recipes.. heavily into the dehydrator, etc. After having medical problems, I changed my tune and now I mostly eat very large salads and incredibly limited amounts of fruit.

Did you detox?: Nope, not at all.

What do the people in your life (family, friends, etc.) think?: Hubby does it with me. Our friends are totally fine with it.. I think they find it somewhat amusing, but they're very supportive.

Your favorite raw recipe(s): the enchiladas from Cafe Gratitude (which sadly is closing, boo)

Your personal benefits of going raw: Weight loss and a huge increase in energy!

Tips for those going raw: You know, I really don't know. Just stick to it and give your body time to adjust. If you fall off the wagon, just hop back up again.. nobody's keeping score, the whole point is to do what makes your body feel healthy!

Who are you? (name, age, anything else you'd like to include): Leanne, 20
When you went raw: May 5, 2011; right after returning home from Manitoba :)

How you found raw: My aunt went to some healthy convention and randomly bought our family a book called The Raw Truth, I read it on the plane and it changed my life somehow.

Why you went raw: I honestly don't even know what my thoughts were at that moment. I had just finished the book, ate everything not raw for a week, on the day I flew home I became raw. Now I stay raw for my health, the animals, the planet, the environment and spiritual and ethical reasons.

How you went raw: I decided when I got home I would be raw so the morning of my flight home I only ate fruit and stayed about 95% raw.

Did you detox?: I had terrible stomach pains for days, then when I juiced I was super tired (I slept from 8pm to 8am most days!) and had lots of phlegm stuff, that's it.

What do the people in your life (family, friends, etc.) think?: Mum is becoming more supportive and even doing about 70% raw, dad is fairly not supportive or unsupportive, 2 sisters have become vegetarian :) but won't go vegan or raw, friends are fairly supportive I evenake them chips and salads :)

Your favorite raw recipe(s): Green juice (kale, anise, spinach, cucumber is my fav), papayas, avocados, pineapples, cantalopes (not recipes but I often don't bother with recipes), raw marinara flax crackers

Your personal benefits of going raw: Finished losing the weight I had gained after moving (yay), I eat a TON of food, feel good and light with more energy. I love knowing I'm not harming the environment and animals with my food choices.

Tips for those going raw: Watch the LifeRegenerator on YouTube, so inspirational and amazing. Always have raw crackers or smoothies or bars on hand (or bananas or something easy to stick in your car or purse) so you don't cave in the beginning. Just do it and stick with it.

Who are you? (name, age, anything else you'd like to include): Holly, 21, and fairly new to raw

How you found raw: I was fasting to detox and improve my health. I read a lot of stuff related to fasting and nutrition during that time and came across an article about raw

Why you went raw: After four days of fasting my sense of smell, which I had lost for 4-5 years, returned. I had read about a man experimenting with all types of natural diets and he had said his sense of smell was heightened while eating only raw foods. I was so excited to be able to smell things again and didn't want to lose it again. I was also drawn to the many other health benefits.

How you went raw: When I broke my fast with juices, I then moved on to fresh fruit, then fresh veggies, then raw nuts...I just never went back to cooked foods

Did you detox?: Yes, the whole time I've been eating raw I've still been very tired and cold. I hope this passes. I will try to up how much I'm eating, too.

What do the people in your life (family, friends, etc.) think?: Unfortunately no one is entirely supportive. It would really help if they were. My family and friends know me pretty well, though and are forced to respect my decisions lol. Everyone thinks I'm cold because I'm not eating enough...but I am eating quite a bit, actually. Just not cooked food so for them it will never be enough. people told me this even when i was having 1800-2200 calories a day on SAD, I just ate small portions at a time.

Your favorite raw recipe(s): Simply bananas lol

Your personal benefits of going raw: My skin is starting to clear up and I can smell, my lymph nodes are no longer swollen. That had been going on for 4-5 years as well. I feel cleaner.

Tips for those going raw: It can take a while to get used to not cooking your foods and not eating socially the way we are raised to be. It's your health, though and that's more important than something that's widely accepted just because it's considered the norm. Don't let other people cause you to stumble on a journey you decided to take that you know will benefit you. And don't feel guilty if you mess up from time to time!

Who are you? (name, age, anything else you'd like to include): Akiko, Im 14, and I love being raw!
When you went raw: I started in June and am still to this day

How you found raw: My mom told me about how she went raw when she is my age and that she was skinny and healthy, so I wanted to have that too so I became raw.

Why you went raw: I felt overweight (I wasn't just felt I was), and I was always lazy and didn't want to do anything but be a couch potato, and I needed to improve my health because I would keep going on starving diets and weird diets to get skinny.

How you went raw: I started with lots of fruit shakes to cleanse my body, and I got lots of solid raw foods to keep me full, because I was so used to having big cooked meals, eventually I was just having 6 small meals a day (like apple, banana and little things like that)

Did you detox?: Yepp, I had lots of lemons, and fruit smoothies.

What do the people in your life (family, friends, etc.) think?: Im getting a lot thinner, some people think Im really weird to want to do this and that its not natural (whatever), and some people think Im really improving, and look a lot healthier!

Your favorite raw recipe(s): Raw cookies, it has raspberries, coconut sugar, coconut oil, agave nectar, cashews, and more.

Your personal benefits of going raw: weight loss, healthier looking skin, energized, and everything positive. I enjoy being raw and feel 100% better than when I ate cooked. My family supports me, and I get positive comments from most people I talk to about how I look now compared to before!

Who are you? (name, age, anything else you'd like to include): (Zombie) Dawn, over 20, haha.

When you went raw: Earlier this year I did a raw stint and loved the results. I promptly switched back to SAD and stayed that way for 2 months. I felt horrible, bad, lousy.

How you found raw: I'm really not sure! I think the thought occured to me that I needed more fruits and vegetables in my diet. Then as I was internet searching I found more and more websites dedicated to this way of life and thought, Hey, maybe this isn't so crazy!

Why you went raw: I've been battling with stomach issues for years and finally decided it was probably found on my diet of convenience foods. The longer I stayed on raw the better I feel. No more stomach pain!

How you went raw: I juiced for a week to ready my body and to rid it of the nasty stuff. Granted, I'll have to do some deeper cleanses, but I'm not ready for another fast just yet!

Did you detox?: Big time. The first 3 or four days I was in a brain fog. I hated it. I slept badly the first two days and I was cold all the time.

What do the people in your life (family, friends, etc.) think?: My boyfriend and daughters are all for it. They even try a few of my creations. My father, brother and sister on the other hand think its laughable. We were made to eat fry bread, they think.

Your favorite raw recipe(s):Zucchini noodles with "alfredo". Basic nut cheese with a little additional water, fresh basil, garlic, nutritional yeast and sea salt.

Your personal benefits of going raw: There is no longer this heavy feeling in my stomach. I'd always feel as if I was sooo full on SAD. Even when my stomach was rumbling for food. Now, I only give myself the good stuff and my body thanks me by functioning perfectly!

Tips for going raw: Find something you like, as long as it's raw and just go with it. It's a transitioning process, so don't expect too much too fast. Slow and easy wins the race!

Who are you: Vanessa, 15, homeschooled, oldest sister to 6 bro's and sis's, eco-friendly, LOVE babies and little children, gardening "un-cooking", etc!

When you went raw: Been 100% raw for 8 years!

How you found raw: Well... actually my mom did. She was really really sick and she discovered the raw food lifestyle, it healed her completely and
my whole family is raw except for my dad.

Why you went raw: Mostly to support my mom. I was young enough then that I did not quite get the whole point, but we had been vegetarian/vegan
for several years before that, and I knew I wanted to be healthy.

How you went raw: We did a lot of juicing and smoothies to start with, but kind of transitioned into it.

Did you detox?: Yes. I remember having a cold that lasted for a few days, but I know my body was trying to get rid of junk.

What do the people in your life (family, friends, etc.) think?: My family is all for it of course, but the grandparents, uncles , aunts, etc... all think we're a little
out of our minds!! :dance:

Your favorite raw recipe(s): Hmmmmm... I really don't know! Green smoothies, avocado, w/onion ,nutritional yeast and raw sea salt, Olives

Your personal benefits from going raw: I feel wonderful and light, my skin is clear, I have lots of energy and LOVE it!!!

Tips for going raw: Make a decision to do it and stick to it! Keep yourself busy doing something that you enjoy to keep you from thinking of the cravings.
And remember to THINK POSITIVELY! You have no idea how big of and impact this will make. :heart: