What's your reason?

[Kristi]

What was the major reason that you decided to go raw?
A specific health reason?
Weight?
Environmental?
Spiritual?

I thought this would show people new to raw or contemplating raw, the many wonderful benefits.

I'll go first. I had many health issues and searched and searched for answers. (See http://www.alissacohen.com/process_kristi.html) The health issues led to weight gain which seemed to be a primary focus for me until I realized the true "cause" of the weight gain. I kept saying I felt chemically altered. Well, that was true because of all the chemicals I had put into my body. They did save my life. No one could tell me how to recover from the life saving. About 2 years later is when we got a computer and the web really was first going strong. I researched and research and found raw foods. Now, I didn't delve into it from the beginning but it was always there in the back of my mind. I slowly evolved to the raw foods, very slowly. The weight loss stories always intrigued me but it was truly the many ailments that disappeared and how eating living foods returned them to really living life!

I'm there and improving every day. This is the first year EVER that I have had zero allergy symptoms. Late summer is the worst.....ragweed, corn pollen (remember, I'm in Indiana farm country) and a variety of other things. I'm even allergic to cow dander. Heck of a place for me to live!!!! I'm reducing my antidepressants slowly. I don't need headache meds, constipation meds, sinus or allergy meds. I will need a thyroid med (just revealed and probably the cause of all the depression-10 years misdiagnosed...don't get me started.) I'd much rather take one tiny thyroid pill and eat right than take several antidepressants, antianxiety, anti-allergies, yadda yadda, yadda.

How about you?

[smasty]

Hi Kristi!

My story: I'm a compulsive overeater. A real binge eater (but not bulimic). Sugar would send me into a tailspin so fast that would last for weeks. I have literally sen myself gain 15 pounds in 4 days from binge eating. 20 years of doing this every year wreaked havoc on my body and my relationships. I started this year on a spiritual quest to conquer this problem. I found Overeaters Anonymous, which helped immensely. I went deeper still on the spiritual perspective when I found "Fasting to Freedom." I decided to start w/ an extended juice fast...loading up on huge amounts of junk food the day before. My fast was incredible! I totally loved it. I did 3 weeks of juices only, and felt like I was walking on clouds. Right around that time I was introduced to the concept of raw. Never in my life would I have considered it, but for some reason my mind was open. Everything just seemed to converge at the right time: spiritual healing, the fast, the introduction to raw. I went 100% raw and never looked back. I've effortlessly lost almost 30 pounds. I never have cravings for junk food. I have ZERO allergies too!! Unbelievable!! Really....I am usually in bed with hay fever this time of year. Now, I realize that with my history, I can't afford to mess around. As I say, I'm ONE bad decision away from being the miserable person I used to be. So I just don't allow flexibility in my eating plan. I can't, I can't afford to lose control. I love my life right now! Food used to torture me, food caused constant anxiety in my life. I'm free from all of that now. I never want to go back.

[Rawkinlocs]

Well, we (husband and I) started researching alternative health when he got sick with thyroid disease (hyperthyroidism- overactive thyroid gland). He did end up getting the radiation dye pill treatment which was supposed to have killed his thyroid, resulting in him having to take meds the rest of his life as he would have had the reverse...hyPOthyroidism (underactive thyroid gland) as his mother has.

Well, he took the pill and right before, prayed and asked God to make the pill not KILL the gland, but to simply balance things out. Do you know that's precisely happened?!?

So, we got into learning about colon health, parasites, etc. Diet was also being mentioned, but we weren't ready for that yet. We figured, why not eat what we want and just cleanse it out via colon cleansing herbs and/or colonics!

Glad we learned better as time progressed. I was on a hair-related forum and they also discuss other life issues. They started talking about raw foods and doing a raw food challenge where you eat only raw foods during the week and allow cooked (preferrably healthy) foods on the weekends.

That idea intrigued me. They'd post various raw foods sites and I'd quietly go and check them out. The more I read, the more intrigued I became! I wanted to learn more about this.

Well, I began sharing with my husband and we started making gradual changes. Still not all the way there, but we both have a goal to become 100% raw fooders. I'm a bit closer than he, but he's doing exceptionally well! Still has a "chip-tooth"...chips seem to be his biggest weakness. I'm winning that battle, but grains in the form of cereal seems to be my biggest weakness. In fact, there really isn't anything that I sit and crave but it's just when I see my family members eat things or smell the aroma of certain foods, I then desire them. If I could walk around holding my breath, I'd be fine!

This is one of the reasons I'm here, to take the 30-day challenge (although today, after 2 days of being 100%, I slipped up) so I can kick-start my LIFESTYLE of raw eating.

I also wanted to briefly add that changing our diets and eliminating dairy and meats and having our children eat more raw foods...my youngest daughter (5) no longer has the itchy, scaly patches of eczema on her skin! After all the creams, ointments, oils, herbs, prescriptions, etc...all we had to do was change her diet. Raw is definitely the way to go!!

[Sadii]

My reason is chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and cancer (diagnosed & treated only by a naturopath). I started feeling that if I didn't start to get really well this year, that I wouldn't be here much longer.

One of the chiropractors at work had me do a cleanse and juice fast. When I started back to cooked food, it made me really feel ill. In all fairness, he did tell me to start back to it slowly, but it seems to me that if it was truly healthy, you wouldn't need to do that. After that one cooked meal, I became 100% raw, and that day I ordered Alissa's book, because someone on living-foods recommended it.

I'm still detoxing a lot, (ninth week), and it makes me tired, but I have more energy than I had before, though I use most of the new energy in shopping and cooking. If anyone has ideas to speed the detox and get it over with, I'd like to hear it! I am doing enzymes for candida and digestion. I guess I could eat a lot of mono meals, and I guess I should a lot of the time, but I know that if I tried to do it constantly, I would get bored and maybe go off my wonderful new lifestyle.

I'm hoping to get well enough to have the energy to do things I love, lose weight, and give my eighteen year old daughter (who has not seen the light yet), a better start in life. Also, I'd like to spread the word to others. I see a lot of people at work that need to do this in a bad way.

Thanks to all of you, for being here!
Kathy :)

[marigold]

i had m.e at the time i started reading about raw..it made such sence to m e and i quite simply wanted good health..it promised me the energy i didnt have..at the time i was still stuck in food addictions..a life long battle with food..it was only a bit but enough that i wasnt choosing supportive food. i transitioned to all raw in a few months..with my parner..i did feel great..more energy slept better and no headaches and we both lost weight..i was all raw for a year but the prob was i never grew to like the food much..so now i am eating some basic cooked food and feeling better emotionaly and i suspect i have more energy yet again.but i sitll aim to eat at 90% raw..and really believe in it alot

[Sadii]

Marigold-

Did you have any good cookbooks like Alissa's? I think that makes all the difference in the world about liking the food.

Sadii

[marigold]

oh yeah i had lots of recipe books and yes it did help - thing was i spent so much time trawling through them trying to find something i might like..ate too many recipes i felt..now i put a bit of steamed veg in a green salad and i eat much simply...i have just got alissa's book and i have to say it has inspired me to raw again and i have been making a lot of stuff in there...

[kirk]

The major reason that I desided to go raw: In 1997 I came face to face with my own mortality during an industrial accident where I lost my left arm, right leg, and left knee. I was in the machine for 25 minutes with a femural artery that had been crushed and my arm amputated. I should have bled out but didn't.
After getting out of the hospital I knew I needed to pay special attention to my health so I began to do research on the internet for the perfect diet. Previous nursing experience had taught me not to trust in american medicine or the american diet. I found books by ann wigmore and norman walker that peaked my interest so I bought every book written by them that was available.
Now, at the age of 54 and 30 pounds heavier I am ready to dive into the raw diet (this week in fact).

[smasty]

Wow Kirk. My mouth has been hanging open for 5 minutes after reading your post. First of all, I'm so glad you made it. Second--I'm glad you're here on our board and willing to share your experience. You sound so positive---you can be a real light on this board for people trying to overcome adversity and struggles.

Sue

[kirk]

Thanks Smasty for the kind words. I've posted on quiet a few raw forums but have never felt like I fit in. Not so with this board. Right away you all have made me feel welcome. Thanks so very much for that.
Let me share a little humor with you about my accident. When the ambulance arrived and the paramedics came running up, they saw that they were going to have to crow-bar my body out of the machine-I called out to them "Hey, can you help me out? I'm a little stuck."In the meantime the police had arrived and overheard what I said,(they thought I was high on drugs). When I arrived at the hospital they asked me what happened and I told them that I had a job that cost me an arm and a leg. When the nurses brought me food that needed to be cut up, I would say,"Could ya help me out? I'm a little short handed." The doctors all tried to make me see a shrink because they couldn't understand why I wasn't going through post-trumatic depression. I told them that I didn't need someone to tell me to think happy thoughts.
The glass has always been half full for me. Life is very precious and worth the living. I look forward to meeting other raw fooders here as they are few and far between where I live. Thanks again...kirk

[Kristi]

Wow Kirk! That is an amazing attitude for during and right after the accident. What an inspiration you are! I wish more people had that attitude ! My situation is similar but on a much less extreme way. I have no hair. I've worn a wig since 4 years old. I've always tried to have a positive attitude regarding it......I figure the other options just will make me miserable and still won't get me any hair. I say things like "I never have a bad hair day....unless I can't find it." "I'll never go gray!" "if I ride in the convertible I'll just put my hair in the glove box." I've never let it keep me from doing anything!

I admire your strength and attitude! Way to go Kirk!

[kirk]

Kristi you made me smile :) . I like your attitude to.

[Sadii]

Thanks for sharing that, you two. My daughter and I both suffer from CFS, and I've always tried to teach her to think that way. I feel good that we're all sharing, and like we're forming good friendships.

Thanks!
Kathy

[Kristi]

What's CFS? I'm sure I know it but don't recognize it as the acronym.

[kirk]

Kristi,
I think CFS is Chronic Fatigue Syndrom..........Kirk