A Raw Plan

[sweepea32]

I have read quite a few posts today.
It seems that people have a plan to start/stay/continue on raw. I have read the word plan frequently.

Can some of you share your plans? I am wanting to eat raw at least high raw and I fail all the time.
I do not have a plan and maybe that is the determining factor.
I need a plan to suceed and I have no idea what that plan is!


any suggestions would be appreciated...

thanks

[flutterfly]

If you read some of the journals you can see what people here are doing. That would give you a good overview of many people

[ShannonColleen]

Do you mean a plan of motivation to get thru the bad times, or a plan of meals? Foodwise, I try to have some high calorie food in the house (nuts, seeds, avocados, raisins) and lots of staples - fruits, veggies,etc. that I love.

Motivationwise - I've been keeping a journal at home of all the feelings I've been having and how I feel physically. I also remind myself of my big big reasons. I'll turn 40 next April, and I was feeling very very sick. Bad back, allergies, nonstop sinus problems, stomach problems,etc. I also don't want to be over 200 pounds anymore. I want to enjoy my life, and that wasn't happening.

Now that I've been raw for a few days, I keep adding other reasons to the list - doing something good for the planet, not participating in the meat market, the peaceful feeling I get physically, and so on.

If I stay focused on the positive, that makes it easier too. If I get in a place where all I'm thinking about is what I can't eat - then it's time for bed for the day, or to thumb thru Alissa's colorful book of recipes, pick one and make that my plan.

Hope this helps!

[starry-eyed-doe]

maybe you are an all or nothing gal? Alissa says in her book that most people that do not go 100%, all or nothing, find they cave into temptation easier.

mostly i am trying to focus on how good this is for my body, instead of what i can't have etc.

hths, ally

[solarliving]

I am not 100% raw but somedays I eat only raw food. I have eased in to this way of eating. It all started 2 months ago. I eat fruit and veggies during the day and cooked food for dinner, but sometimes I just have a salad for dinner. I notice when I eat regular food, I don't feel as well, so it inspires me to continue eating mostly raw. I just feel this way is more realistic for me because I already have a rebellious streak and if I say I can't have something, I will want it. So I just go with flow. I enjoy my morning banana smoothies, they're like dessert, then I might have a couple of oranges, followed by a salad. Before I would stare into the fridge and not know what to eat, now I just grab a piece of fruit. This way of eating is so much easier. The point is, do what works for you.

[RawTruth]

Sweepea32,

A plan is where you plan what staples you'll stock your kitchen with, you plan all the menus for all meals and snacks one or two weeks ahead of time, you plan by making a list of everything you'll need to make the recipes for those menus, you plan by buying all of those things, you plan by reading the recipes ahead of time so you're thoroughly familiar with them, you plan by having your fruit sitting out so you can just grab one (or two or six) whenever you're hungry, you plan by soaking your nuts and seeds so they'll always be ready, you plan by taking some fruit or other raw food with you whenever you go out so you're never unprepared when hunger strikes you, you plan by making your lunch the night before if you work outside of home or go to school ... I'm sure you get the picture now

It's true in raw just like it's true in life -- without a plan, you just stumble around. If you had to drive someplace across town where you'd never been before and only had an address, you'd consult a map (or mapquest it), right? If, instead, you just got in your car and began driving, you'd keep getting lost, getting frustrated, and end up giving up. Or, if you wanted to go to college to get a degree, you'd consult an expert (a counselor or at least the college catalog at first) to make up a plan on what classes you needed to take to fulfill the graduation requirements. If you didn't do that, you'd try going to random classes, you wouldn't be enrolled, you wouldn't get close to your degree. Well, going raw is no different. In order to reach the goal you want -- which I hope will be 100% raw -- you have to figure out ahead of time what you need to do to get there. That what a plan is for. Otherwise, you'll keep eating cooked and processed foods, get discouraged, and feel bad about yourself.

If any of this seems overwhelming or too much to figure out on your own, you can always look at Alissa's book since she has the details of how to do all of these things especially for a beginner. That is how I learned.

Best of luck.

[Gosia]

is not a plan in a regular sense. That is, it is not a detailed list of things to do, but rather, a list of attitudes that will eventually result in improvements to my lifestyle.

1. Be open to change and learning (do not get stuck in a specific eating pattern or a lack-of-exercise pattern; do not get stuck to one belief system). Remember that you have the ability to find all the answers that you need to find.

2. Do not let yourself be brainwashed and do not blindly follow experts just because they say they are experts (if a doctor says that you have to eat meat for protein, it does not mean that it is true; if some raw ‘expert’ promotes some raw food as a super-food, but it clearly contains toxins and causes bad reactions in people, do not ingest it!). Is the ‘expert’ healthy himself/herself, is he/she genuine, is he/she honest?

3. Eat raw foods you love (if raw broccoli soup is yucky, then forget it). Raw foodists are not meant to suffer. Raw foods diet is not meant to be a complicated set of rules either (lots of fruit and greens sounds simple enough for me ). Monkeys do not analyze data and still achieve a perfect diet, so can we.

4. Patience, perseverance and be kind to yourself (achieving permanent changes to well established bad healthy habits may take some time).

5. Surround yourself with support of other raw foodists, and offer your support as well, as you grow.

6. Good health is the outcome of not only healthy diet, but also of peaceful mind and having a good amount of exercise, sunshine and sleep, so look after those things as well (unhappy people binge on junk foods, raw foodists who do not exercise at all look emaciated, angry people suffer heart problems, lack of sunshine has been linked with bone problems).


Now, as far as the "action plan", recently it has been:
* weekly hunting for fresh fruit, locally grown fruit and greens, ripe and sweet fruit, bags and bags of greens
* smoothies in the morning, fruit all day, salads and other foods (zuccini pasta perhaps) in the evening
* providing chidren with fruit they love eating, making new supply of nut-based sweets, letting cooked foods from the evening meal go as they get replaced by yummy raw foods (recently cooked vegies went away, yay!)
Not much planning ahead really.


All the best,
Gosia.

[UltrasonicRaw]

i really like this post gosia! it really struck a cord with me. i think you are right on with the balance needed (excercise, peaceful mind, sunshine etc.) i read a lot of journals and although i think they are wonderful and inspiring (i know they are a tool for people to work through their issues) sometimes they are like a rollarcoaster ride. there seems to be a lot of turmoil with people trying to go raw, guilt and anxiety, self hate, frustration. i am trying to go about this in a positive way, although i know sometimes i need the discipline! i am just trying to find a balance that will keep raw food as a positive force along with other positives like excercise and spending quality time with friends and family, getting back to nature, etc.

[MichelleR]

Sweepea-

I too have been struggling with keeping it all raw. It's tough, and although I'd rather not view it as discipline- because it is somehting that I really, really want to accomplish-I think it may be a matter of "grinning and bearing it" (As Shelton would say). I find that that is easier said than done.
Anyhow I'm a librarian and have been scoping out online resources for a couple of years, and I think maybe Steve Prussack's podcast may help you, if you are not familiar with it already. In fact Alissa (Hi!) was on it not too long ago. I am quite busy and may great use of my ipod as I don'e have much time to read. Each episode SP interviews a leader in the raw food movement, each sharing his/her own regime, philosophy and belief sytem regarding raw foods. It has been helpful for me to find out how others have made it work and apply it to developing my own plan that I will be able to implement and stick with. Maybe it could do the same for you. Good Luck!

[Dimond]

You plan by keeping everything as simple as possible and by surrounding yourself with only raw foods. Find replacements for everything you might crave. Find places through stores and on-line that carry various raw products to purchase. If you enjoyed cooking, experiment with all the great raw recipes available.

[Graciebeliever]

is not a plan in a regular sense. That is, it is not a detailed list of things to do, but rather, a list of attitudes that will eventually result in improvements to my lifestyle.

1. Be open to change and learning (do not get stuck in a specific eating pattern or a lack-of-exercise pattern; do not get stuck to one belief system). Remember that you have the ability to find all the answers that you need to find.

2. Do not let yourself be brainwashed and do not blindly follow experts just because they say they are experts (if a doctor says that you have to eat meat for protein, it does not mean that it is true; if some raw ‘expert’ promotes some raw food as a super-food, but it clearly contains toxins and causes bad reactions in people, do not ingest it!). Is the ‘expert’ healthy himself/herself, is he/she genuine, is he/she honest?

3. Eat raw foods you love (if raw broccoli soup is yucky, then forget it). Raw foodists are not meant to suffer. Raw foods diet is not meant to be a complicated set of rules either (lots of fruit and greens sounds simple enough for me ). Monkeys do not analyze data and still achieve a perfect diet, so can we.

4. Patience, perseverance and be kind to yourself (achieving permanent changes to well established bad healthy habits may take some time).

5. Surround yourself with support of other raw foodists, and offer your support as well, as you grow.

6. Good health is the outcome of not only healthy diet, but also of peaceful mind and having a good amount of exercise, sunshine and sleep, so look after those things as well (unhappy people binge on junk foods, raw foodists who do not exercise at all look emaciated, angry people suffer heart problems, lack of sunshine has been linked with bone problems).


Now, as far as the "action plan", recently it has been:
* weekly hunting for fresh fruit, locally grown fruit and greens, ripe and sweet fruit, bags and bags of greens
* smoothies in the morning, fruit all day, salads and other foods (zuccini pasta perhaps) in the evening
* providing chidren with fruit they love eating, making new supply of nut-based sweets, letting cooked foods from the evening meal go as they get replaced by yummy raw foods (recently cooked vegies went away, yay!)
Not much planning ahead really.


All the best,
Gosia.

WELL said Gosia

Great Ideas and very well layed out :)

[sweepea32]

Hi there,

How do you find the podcasts you are talking about by Steve P.?
Are they free to download?

thank you

[therealashland]

just dont buy things that you know your not supposed to eat. becuase when they are sitting on your counter your going to be temped to eat them, then your gonna screw up your whole plan and end up getting off track. dont ask people , do what you think is right and then ask advice..

[juliebove]

By "plan", I suppose it would depend on your situation. If you are living with other people and they are not going on a raw diet then your "plan" would simply involve whatever equipment you need and don't already have such as a dehydrator, sprouters, blender, food processor, books, whatever. And then to buy whatever food you don't have. You wouldn't have to worry about the non-raw food because someone else in the house will eat it.

If you live alone, you may decide to eat up whatever you have in the house. You could give it away or throw it away. And then carry on with the rest of it. I can't see what you'd need to do beyond this.

Of course there's always the option of eating simple things like salads and fruit and then you might not need to buy anything extra. In that case the only "plan" you'd need is to buy whatever food you need.

[Lay-Lay]

I have no plans to be or do raw. I AM GOING TO EAT RAW. I do set goals on things I want to accomplish. The only thing I plan is things like "I am planning on going shopping this weekend".