Anyone hear follow Gabriel Cousen's recommendation

[jujube]

I followed RGLFC for the first year I was raw, and I felt okay (though not spectacular) for most of that time. But around the one year mark my body started freaking out- totally rejecting fats, and I felt so sick and tired all the time, I even considered going back to cooked food...thought raw wasn't working.

I decided to take a big leap and start eating high fruit and greens. I was very anti-fruit at that point and thought the sugar would make me unhealthy and feed candida. However I was so desperate, I was willing to give high fruit and greens a go...and to my surprise it worked! I started feeling amazing, and two years later, I still feel great.

I think Cousens' recommendations can work for some people, but the only person who can figure out what works for you, is you! If you are not drawn towards fruit at all and feel better with a higher fat diet like Cousens'...then go in that direction, try it out, listen to your body. But I don't like the idea of following a guru's rules, unless those rules resonate with your own experiences and intuition. I think a good starting point is going with Alissa's concept of "just keep it raw" and then exploring raw foods for yourself...not just going a certain way because of what someone else claims is best.

[rawandama]

I tried eating all veggies one day and had VERY FEW fruits, and for two days I was so weak that I could hardly stand at times. I felt like someone was pushing down on my shoulders. The second morning I was preparing breakfast for my son and suddenly became so weak that I had to hold the counter to stand up. Hmmm...I guess I'll try it again when I'm not preggo!!

[Bobbie]

Everybody's body's different.

About 2 weeks ago there were 3 days where I only felt like eating fruit. It made me feel so wonderful! I couldn't believe it! I had so much more energy. So since then I've just fruit with a handful of nuts. I know it's not healthy longterm, but I'm going with it for now. I see it as a sort of cleanse/fast.
I've been losing weight. Since I became raw I haven't lost any weight - but now my weights going down.

On days in the past, where I've eaten just veg and no fruit, I haven't felt any better, and I haven't lost weight.

[Sunshine9]

I don't "follow" Dr. Cousens program or anyone else's, but I tend to eat pretty close to what he recommends. I have noticed a soar in my health since cutting out most sweet hybrid fruits, and sticking to more moderate and low glycemic things. On occasion i'll eat a banana or something like that, and usually I feel generally unbalanced. I have naturally come to this way of eating on my own, as I started seeing that sweet fruit was just entirely unappealing to me.

In general if i had a "rule" I like to go for nutrient dense food. That is NOT fruit. So I eat less of that, and more of nutrient dense things. That idea goes along very nicely with the foods Cousens recommends.

[Punky]

I followed RGLFC for the first year I was raw, and I felt okay (though not spectacular) for most of that time. But around the one year mark my body started freaking out- totally rejecting fats, and I felt so sick and tired all the time, I even considered going back to cooked food...thought raw wasn't working.

I decided to take a big leap and start eating high fruit and greens. I was very anti-fruit at that point and thought the sugar would make me unhealthy and feed candida. However I was so desperate, I was willing to give high fruit and greens a go...and to my surprise it worked! I started feeling amazing, and two years later, I still feel great.

I think Cousens' recommendations can work for some people, but the only person who can figure out what works for you, is you! If you are not drawn towards fruit at all and feel better with a higher fat diet like Cousens'...then go in that direction, try it out, listen to your body. But I don't like the idea of following a guru's rules, unless those rules resonate with your own experiences and intuition. I think a good starting point is going with Alissa's concept of "just keep it raw" and then exploring raw foods for yourself...not just going a certain way because of what someone else claims is best.

Great advice!
well said

[Lunar*Fey]

wow what you all have said is really helpful. I get kind of worried sometimes that I'm eating too much fruit or too much of this or that and I get kind of worried that I'm "doing this wrong"...even though I feel that the only way RAW can be wrong is if your body tells you its wrong. I just don't know how to listen to my body yet! I tend to eat a lot of bananas. They weren't ever at the top of my list of fruits before going RAW, but now I often want bananas badly and I really like them....when things like this happen I wonder...is this some sort of addiction thing or is it because my body wants them?

Also, I was wondering, when you guys talk about eating higher fat and vegetable...like how much higher...do you mean approximately maybe 40% fat, 40% vegetable, 20% fruit? lol idk I have no idea. I tend to eat a TON of fruit with maybe 20% fat...I suppose I'll have to experiment, I just really don't know how to listen to my body! Especially since I'm recovering from an eating disorder...

[veganman]

I've been reading his book Rainbow Green....and I love that he says one size does not fit all,because intuitively I know that! Eating for my oxidizer/nervous system type and my dosha lead me to higher protein, lower sweet, which i also intuitively know is the best for me. It's just that for me it's been a process of letting go of certain foods in certain amounts...but I am evolving in that direction for sure.

.

I just finished reading this book. How do you determine if you are fast or slow oxidizing and para or sympathetic?

[Sunshine9]

The tests for figuring out your oxidation type is in "Conscious Eating."

Also I've just been thinking as I was reading through these posts... it seems some had unpleaseant reactions when suddenly omitting most fruit from their diets for a day or two, and that is certainly a sign of detox and much too short an amount of time to draw conclusions. Just wanted to say that. :)

[Vandy]

I know that at some times this CAN be a detox; however, everything can be a detox at times. I feel my experience was not helping me, especially since I have not felt this good in sooo long. I have been "euphoric" everyday (I even woke up this morning and did a little dance). The thing is...balance IS needed and you should listen to your body when you learn how to listen to it. I find it difficult to say that fruits are NOT-nutrient dense foods, when if you look at the raw lifetsyle, we should be eating lots of wonderful fruits! If you exclude these from the list, you are missing out on tonnnns of nutrients. Are you going to get all those from fats?? Fats aren't high in essential nutrients or vitamins. Our fruits are extremely high in our vitamins, potassium, and do contain many trace minerals. While vegetables provide us with all/the bulk of our minerals and phytonutrients, it's pretty much impossible to eat that much salad in a day I would say (and I eat at least 2.5 heads of lettuce daily...the other day I ate four!!) to get enough calories. I would say a balance is essential, and while some fruits may be higher in sugar and tampered with, eat them minimally if you prefer. But now a days, everything is a hybrid, even us. We cannot avoid it. Ok sorry got a little sidetracked...been reading a lot about that lately... Again, I love Cousens and everything he has to say. I frequently whip out his books to look something up. But being as active as I am, I have to take care of myself and eat enough to keep me functioning properly. PLUS, I like not being constipated ;) :) )

According to the oxidizer thing... It said I was a slow oxidizer, which means I need more carbs... Cousens was right on the money :)

[tvillemom]

I've flipped through his book (Rainbow Green) at the HFS...and since I suffer from candida, I thought he was pretty much right on....at least for me. I need his book to research more if HIS program is right for me, since I don't have it handy, I'm not sure of the nitty gritty details. I just hope that eventually, if I can stay 100% for longer than 2 months, (I really want to be 100% forever) maybe my candida will heal itself, without analyzing everything I eat....eating what my body craves. My QUESTION about this is: with candida, wouldn't my body CRAVE the fruits and sweets that feed the candida?? So initially, shouldn't I NOT listen to my body and stay away from the sweets (or is it the fats) to get rid of the candida first?? Just wondering????????
Wendi

[Vandy]

You should just heal on raw foods. My sister had candida, and she began by eating all fruit she wanted and it went away. I know Dr. Graham will say that fat should be taken out first, and Cousens might suggest opposite, but I feel as long as you are getting in those greens you should be great. Personally, I would nix the fat b/c they slow down elimination and detox from the body...but please take what I say with a grain of sand, I am no doctor but love to help