hardest thing you had to deal with while gong raw

[konmai]

Since I'm new to RAW, I think my body is really happy about getting all the nutrition it can now! So I eat a lot, but the thing is I can't afford to feed my new found hunger now. After I fast, I'm going to have to NOT listen to my body(I know it's bad) & just eat the fruits/vegetables that are on sale.

That's all I can think of. As far as going out, I just don't eat or order a salad. I'm too lazy to hold a conversation w/ the waitress about getting a dish my way.

[raw-a-go-go]

My hardest thing that I have had to deal with is that I am a personal chef (have been a chef for 20 years) and being so focused on cooking SAD for someone else, watching their nutritional needs and intake AND then trying to focus on my own needs and issues with trying to go high raw.
It's exhausting. I was have many slip ups, which bum me out BUT also is enlightening as I see the very real and negative physical effects SAD food has on me (I eat any dairy and I am asleep within 20 minutes!!!!).
My emotional attachment to food runs deep and I am VERY aware of it so I try to address each situation with my self as it arises.
I, too, get confused as to what 'works' for me, or what is 'right' for me.....especially as I am the one usually with all the answers for everyone else. The raw lifestyle is not so different from what I preach and teach, but it's the breaking of old habits that I struggle with daily.
AND then there are the people who say "come on, one drink won't kill ya - it's raw, right?". Ugh. I feel like I have to educate people daily and am always explaining the changes I am making.

pomagranitebliss - I just read your blog and I can't believe how much your words are reflecting my own.....so nice I am not alone out there; everything from the emotional eating to immigrating to Canada (still waiting residency status).

[pomegranatebliss]

pomagranitebliss - I just read your blog and I can't believe how much your words are reflecting my own.....so nice I am not alone out there; everything from the emotional eating to immigrating to Canada (still waiting residency status).

I don't want to hijack the thread, but you don't have your e-mail function activated...feel free to e-mail me if you like. Waiting for the permanent residency can be frustrating! Thanks for your kind words! :)

[rawpriestess]

a week ago, I would have said the cravings

but now, I would say the emotional detox

[rawpriestess]

Dear Deenasmiles

You are doing exactly right for you :)

Don't dispair if you are full and happy eating what you did today.

SOME of us that are emotional eaters or others that need long over due nutrients or those who do LOTS of physical activity simple eat more!
Just like SAD some just need more and some less.

YOu need to feel good about what you eat and not think that there is a quota for you to fill.

At first I ate a weeks worth of stuff in 2.5 days!! Holy Fruit Gone Batman hehe

Take each day and eat the amount that you are comfortable with.

Also about the Tea? Some Raw peeps have tea and they have decided that for them, it is just fine. I think RawPriestess has a morning cup of tea. Nothing with caffiene but non the less for her it is something she enjoys and there is no CRIME in it :)


DON'T even think calories :) no no no
just eat the things that fall into the guildlines of what Raw is (an ongoing learning process for everyone) and eat as much or as little as fills you and makes you feel Great!

Keep a little list of what you eat each day and if you eat too little, go back and have another piece of whatever. If you want to eat 15 bananas? EAT EM!
Listen to what your body says to you afterwards. It's not like you are eating a box of twinkies! Eat oranges or whatever till you are perfectly full.

Just remember that being here is a place to learn and find what is best for US. Read what others sat and pick what is best for you and let us know what works for you:)

Prepare yourself for days that just are tougher than others but after a while the Raw thing is so natural that you wont even worry anymore.

SO glad you ar here!
Hang out and Don't stress it you are doing just great

Please note, I have my ginseng herbal tea in warm water, it is not heated or boiled, so it is raw

[Minnie]

The hardest thing is the TIME I put in to preparing to eat. Some days I'm in the kitchen from morning till night LITERALLY! Washing, cutting, blending, mixing, dehydrating, soaking, rinsing, sprouting, growing, freezing, juicing, and that’s just the kitchen duty! Then there needing to go to different stores and places because there is not one grocery store that has all I need and not one department store that has all the equipment that I need! I have to buy a lot of stuff online because there are things that aren't at any local stores. Then I have to shop soooo much more. Sometimes I think I’m good for the week but I have never gone a whole week without needing to go get something. Before I did my big shopping once a month and a bit 2 or 3 more times during the month. Now I do my big shopping once a week and still have to go back 2 or 3 more times during the week. It never stops and it can really wear me down! And it is also my biggest complaint from my husband too. He is very supportive and I’m lucky for that, but he thinks I spend too much time on raw preparation and I AGREE!!!! But it seems my only choices are to quit or become a fruitarian and then I can just wash and eat fruit! Well that is my hardest thing to deal with. The second would be the expense. Man is it expensive!

Minnie

[Tirza]

I am wondering if anyone has done a time-study comparing the prep and cooking and cleanup times of SAD and Raw. There is even more clean-up time after cooking (even the stove and oven and vents and walls and ceilings and windows). I would FAR rather wipe down a juicer, blender and food processor than try to chisel the gunk off the pots and pans and appliances and every surface in the kitchen. I don't have to disinfect everything for fear of salmonella. I don't worry about botulism. Or mad cow. Or mercury in the fish. Or cholesterol. Hormones. Or.........(you get my drift)

To be fair, one would have to consider all the "Washing, cutting, blending, mixing, dehydrating, soaking, rinsing, sprouting, growing, freezing, juicing" that they may have done before as well.

Of course many of us may not have done things like dehydrating, sprouting, freezing or juicing before Raw. But many do. We were vegetarians and then vegans for many years and even though we cooked a lot of stuff, we still made salads and used vegetables and fruits. We had a huge garden and had to deal with all that. We bought large amounts of fruits and vegetables that we couldn't grow and froze and canned and pickled them. I ground all my own grains and made bread and noodles etc.

Not intending any offense, but in the most simplistic scenario, I guess if you just peel some potatoes, (or open a bag of frozen fries) use some bagged salad and throw a piece of meat in the pan it does take a lot less time. Wow-that is how most of the people in the Westernized world actually eat.

That is how I grew up too but even then we had a garden, we picked berries and fruits and froze or canned them. My dad hunted and fished and we had to deal with all that. Or we bought a large quantity of meat at a time and had to put it all away.

All I am saying is that there is still preparation time on any diet, and as we get more health-conscious, the time for preparing some things is bound to increase, while for others, it will decrease or disappear.

That said, we all know that while it is hard to work into an efficient routine, once we do it, we can flow pretty smoothly with it. You will find faster more efficient ways to do the things you need to do. Soon the shopping routine will get better as you get used to it.

Really, we do most of our shopping 2x a week for the produce. That is the main thing. Then about once a month I stock up on the nuts and seeds etc. I get used to where to get the stuff. I don't order too much online and I could certainly do without it all.

You can make it as complicated as you like. But simple is better, with just a few adventures into more intricate recipes. At least until you get established.

The very BEST thing to do is to make a menu. I devote an hour of one evening deciding what we will have for the upcoming week and make a shopping list from it.

I would say from the sound of it, you might be trying to do it all too much and too fast. You may therefore be trying to buy too many things. Most on this board agree that real raw living can and probably should be really simple and as close as possible to the natural. I know that the recipes are meant to help with transition but I wonder if they make it harder in a way. People can get really overwhelmed frantically trying to get every piece of equipment and stock every conceivable ingredient so they can prepare as much as they can that will closely approximate and so replace their favourite SAD dishes.

Not only that, they have a real concern about getting enough of all the nutrients, so they want to get as wide a variety as possible. And "natural raw" might seem boring. We are worried that we won't be able to stick with it if we don't make all the fancy stuff. Well I notice a lot of postings from people who have a hard time sticking with it even though they ARE making the fancy stuff. I think it is a matter of decision, a matter of listening to your body and determining what makes you feel and function the best.

Doing the raw diet "whole hog" does also make it way more expensive than doing it the simpler way. My DH exclaims every time he shops for me that our groceries are SO much cheaper than before. Dairy, meat, fish, junk foods, etc. COST! while produce is really cheap! Even in the grocery store. Even if there is a trucker's strike. Even if there is a rise in prices because of floods or drought. If you can get it at a local farmers market it's even cheaper. I find that he makes a face when I have him go to the Health Food Store for the things I want from there. That is where the money is spent. I sometimes just forget it because I know I can make our food without it and still eat very well. I still make concoctions, just not the ones with the exotic ingredients. I have yet to get a durian. I have not had a young coconut. I don't know what cacao tastes like. I don't feel the least deprived. (Just annoyed that so many recipes are coming out with these exotic, sometimes hard to get and expensive "staples".)

I have never before been able to prepare meals so quickly as I can now. My husband is wondering what I do to "earn my keep" now that kitchen duty is so much easier. The only way I would have it quicker and easier would be if I were to open frozen packages of things and put them in the microwave and I would NEVER do that.

[dreamrawalwz]

The hardest thing is the TIME I put in to preparing to eat. Some days I'm in the kitchen from morning till night LITERALLY! Washing, cutting, blending, mixing, dehydrating, soaking, rinsing, sprouting, growing, freezing, juicing, and that’s just the kitchen duty! Then there needing to go to different stores and places because there is not one grocery store that has all I need and not one department store that has all the equipment that I need! I have to buy a lot of stuff online because there are things that aren't at any local stores. Then I have to shop soooo much more. Sometimes I think I’m good for the week but I have never gone a whole week without needing to go get something. Before I did my big shopping once a month and a bit 2 or 3 more times during the month. Now I do my big shopping once a week and still have to go back 2 or 3 more times during the week. It never stops and it can really wear me down! And it is also my biggest complaint from my husband too. He is very supportive and I’m lucky for that, but he thinks I spend too much time on raw preparation and I AGREE!!!! But it seems my only choices are to quit or become a fruitarian and then I can just wash and eat fruit! Well that is my hardest thing to deal with. The second would be the expense. Man is it expensive!

Minnie

Are you at a point in raw when you can simplify and have more mono meals with less combinations and recipes? It really cuts down on prep time!.

[Tirza]

Are you at a point in raw when you can simplify and have more mono meals with less combinations and recipes? It really cuts down on prep time!.

That's putting it in a (raw) nutshell! You said pretty much everything I meant but mine was very long winded. (What can I say, I am very expressive!)