Frustrated with the "just eat raw food" advice

[jenna rose]

I was thinking about this a lot last night.

I've been struggling with staying 100% for a long while now. I would say I'm around 50-60% raw. I had myself weighed on Friday at my neurosurgeon's appointment and it seems that I've lost 15 pounds. It was probably more because lately I felt like I had gained weight.

Anyway. Most people's advice is to "just eat raw food" and it sounds so simple and such an ah-ha! lightbulb moment, but it really isn't. I've been buying these raw cashews (says raw, organic on the box) but found out that they really aren't -raw- unless they come from glaser farms. I've been using some dates since the beginning and they are the only dates in the whole city and I found out that they probably aren't raw, either.

You would think I could just go to the produce section and pick all this great stuff and bring it home and eat it.

Of course my herbs/spices and olive oil aren't raw as I haven't run out of a lot of that and I don't have the money to switch it all out yet. My apple cider vinegar says it's raw and unfiltered. My salt is the realsalt brand.

Cooked food is so damn addictive. And I wonder if I haven't been able to stay 100% and drift off to eating lots of cooked stuff because I wasn't aware that the things I thought were raw, really aren't. Of course, I guess it could be that the herbs/spices and olive oil may be triggering a craving for cooked.

There's not a good farmers market here. There's no whole foods, trader joe's, etc etc. the health food store is so tiny and doesn't even carry produce. the only -food- they have is nuts and most of those are questionable.

So, it's really been frustrating me to the point of tears that I can't just go out and "eat raw food" yet it seems pretty simple for a lot of other people.

I'm not one to freak out if I make a dish and the cayenne isn't raw or the cumin. I know they aren't and I make raw dishes with them and all other herbs and spices. I just wonder if it's little stuff like that and the "not really raw even though it says it is" food is keeping me from where I want to be.

This turned out a lot longer than I had thought it would last night. Basically, I don't know if the advice "just eat raw food" is really good advice or not. Ideally, it seems SO SIMPLE and excellent and when I thought I had gotten the hang of just eating raw food, it seems like I had been slipping the whole time.

When I was weighed on friday, that was the FIRST time in 5 or 6 years that the scale actually went down...instead of up.

Maybe in all of that jumble, someone will be able to make sense of it and understand the frustration I'm having. It was just free flowing typing.

[CorporalChicken]

Hi Jenna. I'm a newbie (just starting to introduce Raw into my existing vegan diet now) and feel the same way.

It's hard to see what isn't safe, especially when 'safe' is written all over the packet!

I wonder how many 100% raw folk accidently eat non raw food on a regular basis? It's like the vegan thing... practically impossible to stay pure in a non-pure world!

[cattzeye]

Hi Jenna Rose,

Just wondering why you're feeling so frustrated? It sounds to me like you're doing just fine, especially as far as the weight loss goes. I mean, you've already lost 15 pounds! Isn't this great? There's no "raw police" out there, out to catch you because you're not eating absolutely 100% raw foods. This is not a contest to see who is a better person, simply because of the rawness of our diet. And it's not a barometer of our worthiness. To me, eating raw foods is about nourishing my body the best way possible. It's about becoming clear-headed, physically healthy, and spiritually strong.

What is is about for you? Remember, all of life is simply a journey. We evolve over time into different people than we were yesterday. This happens in all areas of life, including our diets. I know mine has changed so much over the years, and I wouldn't be where I am today in my veganism, if it weren't for everything I have already experienced. I encourage you to give yourself a pat on the back for doing something healthy and good for yourself every day, by eating fresh produce. Any amount of fresh fruits and veggies is certainly a big boost to our health, and we have the power to increase this amount every day, if we so choose. It's all about choice. What can we do today to nurture ourselves?

Christine

[theresaann]

hey, guys, I was just going to start a new thread titled, "help! I'm slipping!"

I don't know why, but after 6 weeks today of all raw, I slipped yesterday and had vegan chili and some steamed tofu and it felt so GOOD! now I"m thinking about doing a "halleluiah acres" type diet, mostly raw, but something cooked once a day or every few days, staying whole food vegan. But I feel like this is a compromise!!!

THen I read an interview with Dr. Furhman where he says high raw is good, some cooked ok, etc. It's tough. It was so clear a few weeks ago. WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?

I am doing the wheatgrass like it's going out of style to alkalinize myself again. we'll see...

[Ginger]

My only thought is just do the best you can with the knowledge you have today. Its a learning process & don't try to be all perfect especially in the beginning. As you go along on your food journey you will learn things & make changes. Sounds like you are doing great! Congrats on losing the weight! Wish it were that easy for me!

[Rawkinlocs]

Jenna Rose, Sweetie...

That is PRECISELY why Cherie (me) simply refuses to stress over that stuff!

The thing is, I don't get cravings for cooked food...I get seduced by it when it's around me. I mean, I don't sit around saying, "Man, I sure wish I had a double Whopper and fries" but if someone were to come around me with one or if I allow my conscious or subconscious mind to get taken away by the advertisments on tv, etc. then it may trigger a thought.

That's the thing too, we have to remember that we are being fed subliminal messages daily in so many forms...radio, television, billboards, mailings, on the internet, in stores...so, the message to eat cooked food is all around us, loud and clear to our subconscious mind!

I have been doing very well with eating raw lately and in part, it's because I have NOT been stressing over whether or not my olive oil or my cashews or my "raw" cacao nibs or my almond butter or my herbs and spices or my oat groats or my agave nectar, etc. are TRULY raw or not (I'd go crazy if I did that and want to just say, "to heck with this!")...if it says raw on the label then that's good enough for me. I, personally, do not feel that those items keep me wanting cooked food because again, I don't sit around thinking about or wishing I had cooked food. I only get tempted because my family is not all raw and they eat *some* cooked food items. If I see them eating it or smell it being prepared, THEN I get tempted. But if our house (like it once was about a year or so ago) was filled with NOTHING BUT raw foods, then I'd be good to go with no problems!

Life is too short for me to sweat that "raw or not truly raw" stuff at this stage of the game. One day, perhaps I'll be like Janie or Nora and eat a diet strictly consisting of raw, fresh fruits and veggies with limited nuts/seeds and no condiments or recipes but until then, I do the very best that I can with what I have and what is available to me and what I can afford. Right now, with my family size, I simply cannot afford to pay $13 for 1 lb. of TRULY raw cashews, but I CAN afford to pay $5-7 for 1 lb. of raw cashews whose shell was steamed to get it open and even with that, one of my previous raw class attendees said that he does something with studying enzymes, etc. and he told me that when the shell is heated, the actual cashew inside does NOT get heated high enough that it destroys the enzymes. So, I decided to be content with that...actually, I was content long before, but he just solidified my contentment!

But in all my ranting and rambling, the bottom line is, stressing over the raw diet WILL make it impossible or near impossible to be successful with it. Just eat raw (sorry, couldn't resist) and if there is something "questionably raw" or even outright not raw, YOU have to be the one to decide if it's something you're willing to make a big deal over or not and live with your own choice and not based on what others may say or think. Do the very best that you can and in time, that will all work itself out and you may find that those "questionable" things you just simply no longer desire... not because you "heard" or "read" you shouldn't be eating them, but because YOU have simply evolved from eating them the longer you stayed with eating raw!

[maraw]

I couldn't agree more with Cherie. Don't stress over it, just try to enjoy.

Let me also add, trying to incorporate cooked food on a regular basis is not going to give you the sucess you seek with a raw and living diet. To get the full benefits of a raw diet, you must eat a raw diet. That's not to say you can't forgive yourself the ocassional slip now and again. But purposefully incorporating cooked food is a real challenge for someone trying to go raw. I tried it last year and failed miserably. Think of it as an addiction - you get one fix a day, it'll be hard to remember why you quit the stuff!

Hang in there!

[karenisraw]

Just to the best that you want to do. You will probably find that you will simply start to prefer raw foods over time.

As for the lack of raw organic foods available in your area. Make requests as many times as you are able to at the store. Special order if you can. Sometimes they will special order, especially if you buy in bulk. Do what you can.

k
:)

[jenna rose]

thanks for the responses everyone. most appreciated.

i want to be way more than 50-60% raw that i think i am right now. i've just been getting sucked back into the cooked food world.

cherie, you really touched on something with me. i don't even -crave- cooked food, i'm just surrounded by it 24/7 living with my father and teenage brother. if this house was full of nothing but raw food, i'd have no problem at all. i think, also, i reach for the cooked out of habit. i've caught myself saying "jenna, you don't need to eat that." but i do it anyway.

and i really don't know why i've been all of a sudden frustrated with it. i never used to sweat the small stuff at all. i was making all kinds of raw dishes, even with the cooked herbs/spices, that kinda stuff.

and even though i'm not 100% raw, i'm eating better than i have in practically my whole life because i'm doing the green smoothies and eating more raw food than i ever have.

it's not that i was intentionally eating cooked foods. i was really trying to be as raw as possible but was/am constantly getting sucked down that cooked food drain. SO when i do eat cooked, i was making sure it was organic food like couscous and cascadian farms mixed veggies, but that has made it easier to slip into the bad cooked stuff.

i'm also wondering if maybe it has something to do with my PCOS. my period is basically -there- all the time, so maybe my hormones are in the looney bin right now.

i don't know. i guess i just needed a good swift gentle kick and some other perspectives on it. now that it finally dawned on me that i'm not even -craving- cooked, that it's more of a conditioning.... perhaps i can go about it a different way.

[onesmartcookie]

Rawkinlocs--
You made me feel SO much better, THANK YOU for your post! I really needed that. You are my favorite today =)

[tglasco4]

We must remember that this is not a fad, not a temporary diet, not a quick fix.....but a lifestyle.....its a journey. It takes time. The raw food lifestyle is completely foreign to the vast majority of people in society, including us who are doing it! We must be patient with ourselves, let our bodies talk to us and learn to listen to the body as it does. The object is to include large quantities of fresh fruits and veggies into lifestyles that heretofore had very little of either. Its a drastic change and it will take much time to adjust. Try to think in terms of months and years and not hours, days and weeks. At the same token, just take one meal at a time. Jenna Rose, it sounds to me like you are doing wonderfully. Stay the course continue the journey. You may never arrive at 100% for life, you may go 100% for stretches, but if you continue to seek live nourishment you will get healthier.

Peace and blessings to you on your journey.

Todd

[Tombi]

Hi Jenna Rose!

Looks like you have a wealth of support in reference to your question. Keep them comming never stop asking questions. The support is here for you.

I have to agree with the wiseones and just want to add you are on the path now grasshopper all ya gotta do now is hop! The best thing you can do to yourself and for yourself is to give yourself a break...just take sometime for a minute and leave yourself alone. When you get back to yourself ask yourself what is it that you want to do and how do you want to do it. After that let everything you know that is right guide you to where you want to go and what you want to do. Sound too easy? Well it is. All of us who have a tendency to over analyize any and everything have the hardest time getting started and once we are started we can't seem to finish! Why is that? Probably because we can't leave ourselves alone. We are forever pickin'. "My this is my that and my that is the other and this is why I can't do that and I can't do the other." When we stop this dialogue with ourselves it is sooooo much easier.

Take your journey a step at a time and try not to see the finish line before you get to the starting line. Embrace your journey but most of all have fun and lots of it!!!!

Happy Journey!!!

[RawTruth]

Jenna Rose,

I hear your frustration. It sounds, though, like Cherie's comment really resonated with you. Realizing that you aren't craving cooked foods is a huge awakening.

Now, maybe you can begin looking at what's RIGHT and GOOD and POSITIVE about the way you eat and what's available. Think of each food you eat that IS raw. Look back over the last few days. Appreciate and be grateful for what you've done in a challenging situation.

When you're able to be out on your own, you will control what's in your house and kitchen ... and, therefore, in your mouth. Then, being completely raw, your PCOS will no doubt improve drastically and very likely disappear. How great will that be!! For now, do the best you can do. Definitely don't sweat the "is it really raw" stuff.

YOU are raw. Saying that every day will bring you into alignment with it. It IS the truth. It may just take a little time for your food to catch up with you!!

[Rawkinlocs]

Jenna, et al, I'm so glad that my comments resonated with you and that you saw a different perspective of the "craving" issue! :)

[aromaticwings]

RawTruth, You are so right there... I talked to a very wise person a few months ago when I first started eating raw. He told me that sometimes we will need to make choices for the betterment of ourselves. This might mean chosing the "not so raw" items to keep us going on this path, getting away from those that give negativity in your life, those that may tempt you knowing this is something you want to keep continuing but also know you are not strong yet... so they can call you a hypocrite..

Some of these things had confused me too in this path to "enlightenment" as I like to call it. Like everyone says.. We are learning. and with all the info out there that contradict the other it can be very confusing... When you get to this point.. step back rethink just what YOU want to accomplish.. Do the best you can with what you have and when circumstances allow you to do better DO IT! When a struggle is at hand .. choose the better of the paths.. This is all we can do.. I feel..

If we were to worry about all the "non-Raw foods" that are supposed to be raw.. we would go nuts.. My worries are with all the contaminants we get that we know are there but can not really get away from. People state to go to farmers markets..Sometimes I winder if those are even any good.. their boxes etc are just like those we get in the stores..so how do we really know what they are telling us is true if we ask if they farm organically? So for now I will eat what I can for my small pennies be it store bought regular veggies... and do without the nuts till I can afford them.. Just do the best I can. That is all we can do.. and make the better choices when we can..

I also sometimes feel I need to leave the one I love to live a healthier life but not at this time.