Hope I've found a home!

[vickie52]

I am 58 and have arthritis. I take Humera injections bi monthly and may face a knee replacement as I get older. My youngest daughter is very health oriented and my mother is the other extreme. Mom takes about 30 pills a day, uses a walker, eats nothing but Little Debbies snacks and sleeps all day. I have been reading about nutrition and RAW diets for years. Tried once a few years back when I was married and it lasted 8 days. The past 3 months I have transitioned from Diet Coke, sugar, and fried meats to waking to fruit or a green juice, eating a salad for lunch, having fruit for snacks. Dinner is still not there. Sometimes it's vegan with a veggie sandwich or pasta with out meat. Sometimes it's a date out and a big plate of boiled shrimp (which I love). Haven't made much headway with vegetables yet.
I do so well with my morning and lunch routine, it's coming home and thinking about "dinner" that causes problems. I hear so many healing stories about 100% RAW that I would love to succeed on the 30 day challege this summer.
I do have one issue that I want to ask about. The great changes I've seen are no TUMS needed, no mood swings from the sugar and caffiene (the caffiene I still miss badly). But my problem is ---well - gas. There it is. Does this aspect of a high fiber diet go away after time or should I try to buy some Beeno type of pill to conteract it? It's never mentioned in the Detox stories. It is daily and troublesome. And I'm only consuming a daily salad and fruit!
So any advice on the evening meals and gas remedies would be appreciated.
I had hoped to try the challege in July. But I am still not even vegan of the evenings yet so I am behind schedule. But with the encouragement I see on this site I know I will make it sometime this year.

[sport]

The gas will go away if you practice good food combining.
On the dinner problem I think that the answer is to have something prepared or else have something that you really love. Why not have a large bowl of ice cream for dinner. I often do that. Frozen bananas in the food processor with frozen berries and make a meal of it.
I suggest that if you want to fix the arthritis you stay away from grains. I always found that they aggravated mine.

[Lady Green Jeans]

Wonderful to hear you have been transitioning your eating. I have been rereading some of Norman Walker's books and it has been reinforcing what I am doing for my body which helps me stay the course as I want really good health, too. He is pretty straightforward and does not sugar coat anything. Lots of recipes for juices and the benefits of each fruit and vegetable. Also has long listings of ailments and the things that will help.

When you're ready, consider jumping into the 30-day challenge or try a juice fast for a shorter period of time of say maybe 1-2 days. Everything you do is progress so be glad of that, too.

The gas could be a result of the food combining or your colon getting a little cleaner with the raw you have been enjoying in the earlier part of the day.

I wish you everything you need to stay raw.

[DebB]

Welcome Vickie52! I wish I could offer you advice about the gas - but I need to take Mary's advice and look into food combininga because it's an issue a lot of the time with me too. *Ü*

[babeak]

See if you notice it in connection to certain foods. Garlic is horrible on my system. Beans/ tofu, etc. do not work for my husband. I don't have a problem at all with raw foods in general except garlic. Some people it is broccoli. See if you notice a trend.

Eliminate carbonated drinks as well, gum chewing and any other way of introducing air into your GI tract. Also be careful on blending smoothies. Apples generate more froth when blended, so I never use them. Walk stairs after having smoothies or give yourself ample opportunity to burp after eating so the air does not pass through the system.

BTW Beano contains fish products I believe.

[vickie52]

I do juice an apple with every juice combination to sweeten it. Don't use much garlic, and no carbonated drinks any more. Talked to my health conscious daughter and she laughed saying she had the same problem. She thinks my system is just transforming and will settle down. She said try some pills meantime.
I watched utube videos about "dinner" and see that most just move away from the SAD concept of a big dinner type meal. They just continue like the earlier part of the day and snack on seeds, nuts, more salads, and juices. With the ocassional special eat out at a gourmet RAW restaurant. If I can change from junk and Diet Cokes to juices, fruit and salads, then surely I can shift my concept of how to eat once I'm home from work. The only two RAW "dinner" items I've liked were the pizza and spaghetti. I hope to create some of the soups to get away from 2 salads a day. I still plan for at least 2/3 vegan this month and more RAW in May and June. Then compete in July's challege!

[changeisgood]

Hi Vickie, It was apples for me. Once I figured it out, I lost that heavy tight feeling in my gut and the gas. Google food combining for a raw food diet. It's easy once you get the hang of it.
When I started and I read what people had for dinner, I was amazed at how littl they ate, even thru the day.
Now that I'm doing it awhile, I understand, because I no longer feel I have to shovel it in. It's so nice and simpple now.
Go on the 30 day challenge site and read what people have made for dinners. Go back to March and February also.
Try using agave or raw honey to sweeten instead of the apple.
Little by little, when you eat SAD, or even cooked vegan, you'll miss the freshness and natural taste of raw food and feel satisfied on just a little.
There's plenty of snacks, fridge/freezer style or dehydrator style. Great for making into a meal with a simple hemp shake.
Good luck, you're doing fine.

[Bestday]

I have lots of gas too, along with IBS. I found out that I have fructose malabsorption. By cutting back on fruit, the gas goes down. I am juice fasting right now, hoping to correct this.
Mary