Relapsing and feeling disgusting, need help! - Raw Food Chat

anisha · 08-24-2007

So I have been raw for 2.5 weeks and doing well, but all of a sudden I got all these urges for my comfort food and I gave in cause the thought drove me nuts. I tried eating raw foods and nothing cured my cravings. Now I feel disgusting, bloated and constipated (sorry to get specific) and the acne is definitely returning.

Ay I feel lonely cause even though I am receiving support, I am surrounded by people who eat processed food all day long. I have been strong for 2.5 weeks and I am sure this is just a HUGE hurdle that I have to pass. Any suggestions or recommendations on how to cope.

Please help, I'm desperate. The cooked food is killing me slowly and I can feel it.

slink · 08-27-2007

Anisha,

Hi, please don't stress! I went through a VERY similar thing....it wasn't comfort food it was visiting family....I had been raw for 2 weeks and felt amazing...then for just three days, had some coffee, dairy, and some cooked veggies and salmon....I felt awful!
Now I am back 4-5 weeks raw and the thing that helped me the most was to do some juice fasting and cleansing. If you don't have a juicer yet hit the thrift stores or get on line and pick one up. You can also use a blender for most things.
there are lots of fantastic books, and online sources on how to fast 1-3 days maybe enough to get you feeling back to normal.

rawhippie · 08-27-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by anisha

So I have been raw for 2.5 weeks and doing well, but all of a sudden I got all these urges for my comfort food and I gave in cause the thought drove me nuts. I tried eating raw foods and nothing cured my cravings. Now I feel disgusting, bloated and constipated (sorry to get specific) and the acne is definitely returning.

Ay I feel lonely cause even though I am receiving support, I am surrounded by people who eat processed food all day long. I have been strong for 2.5 weeks and I am sure this is just a HUGE hurdle that I have to pass. Any suggestions or recommendations on how to cope.

Please help, I'm desperate. The cooked food is killing me slowly and I can feel it.

suggestion....
give yourself credit for recognizing what cooked foods is...an addiction...and you realize its hold on you. knowledge is power man! if you thought nothing of this occurance, then i would think now may not be the time to go raw for you, but this acknowledment is huge...don't let anyone tell you otherwise. the road to 100% is long and sometimes lonely. i went raw living with my boyfriend who had all sorts of crap in the house all the time. i did my best not to think about craving those foods as i had reached a point of realization myself that those foods were no good. i'm very proud of you for your awakening.
no one is perfect and no one has the "right" answer for you....you know as much as the rest of us that everyone's bodies are different and react differently to different things, but this can be your jumping pad too. take note of your emotional status at the time of your cravings and exactly what you are craving, you'll learn a lot about yourself. i can't go on to tell you how many character flaws i've learned about myself just by becoming aware of myself. the changes to come are amazing, and empowering, take them as they come...they are all for your growth as a human being. becoming a raw foodist goes beyond just food...it helps you not only with "whole foods"

but also to become a whole person.
good luck, your on the right path even though you're not really feeling it right now.
keep us all updated with your success to come.
peace

greenbunny · 08-27-2007

2.5 weeks is right on time. The body takes about that long to start releasing the toxins from the fat cells and makes intense cravings. It also takes 3 weeks to make a new habit so the subconscious is also going to start revolting at that time.

I've gone through what you are going through now repeatedly for 20 years over and over and over until I was ready. As time went on my periods on raw foods got longer and longer before the meltdown. Eventually you detox enough of the crap that you can keep going.

I was addicted before I even came out of the womb. I figure that if in this entire lifetime I can get to the place where I cleanse those patterns then I will be a success.

If you keep on going raw over and over then in the long run you will still be better off than 99.99999999999% of the people living on the planet today.

If everyone guaged their success on failing after their first attempt there would be maybe only one or two live fooders in the world.

The only failure that you can have is if you don't get back on the horse and try again.

I would have to disagree with fasting. That would only make all that crap come out of your fat cells faster and put you on the roller coaster longer.

Just keep on incorporating good, yummy, healthy raw foods into your diet as much as you can at any one time, keeping it fun always and being extremely kind to yourself about it and eventually your subconscious will get used to the idea, your fat cells will clear out in a way that isn't too extreme and you will be eating live foods and not even craving that stuff.

You are going through a chemical reaction, you are coming off of drugs. Food affects us chemically. When the cravings stop, just start adding in raw foods again. Then when it happens again (which is most likely will - don't let anyone try to sell you that this easy unless they've already done it for 3 years and never fell off the wagon once - I've never met anyone that has done that - not even those gurus who write the books or teach the courses)... when it happens again you will know that you can just get right back where you left off.

I wish all those books talked about this! Everyone goes through it if they are going to make it long term.

Now, very important, what did you crave?????

There are very specific things that you can eat to help you with many of these meltdowns. Let's hear the details and we might be able to make it easier for you next time.

You are attempting to do what only a teeny tiny percentage of people have ever tried to do since the discovery of fire. All of the world is addicted and doesn't even know it. At least you know it. Cut yourself a break. Keep on working it.

Greenbunny

rawhippie · 08-27-2007

Right On!!!

anisha · 08-28-2007

Thanks to you all!! This information is very significant and so far I can recognize it as being true! This week I am doing a lot better and definitely staying on track. Actually I am almost 100%, before I was just 90%. I have been a conscious label-reader for the past 3-4 years -- so most of the addicting substances in foods I did my best to avoid.

Anyways last week I craved: salt & vinegar chips, chocolate/ cookies (tim tams), mac and cheese, a burger, tabasco sauce, italian dressing and nandos peri peri sauce. Geez, I felt so satisfied and sick at the same time when I ate these things. And yes I did eat a burger, I was disgusted after. I had it for lunch and could feel it in my stomach till the next breakfast. Gross!!

Today when I was walking through the cafeteria and all those food smells, right? Nope I didn't smell food, I felt like the smells were going to strangle me - so I quickly got out of there. It's like an addictive chemical smell that tries and usually succeeds in making people hungry and crave the food. As soon as I got fresh air, I was so relieved. Now just thinking about my experience today, I feel like vomiting for every putting such ish in my mouth!

Thank you all for te support. I am glad to be a part of a community that shares knowledge and support each other. (=

greenbunny · 08-28-2007

So glad to hear you're doing better!

Here is what I would eat when confronted with the cravings that you told us about. What I find is that often my body is really wanting something in the food but doesn't know how to get a better version. Make a deal with yourself that you will eat at least a certain amount of the raw alternative before going after the old version just in case you can get your needs met with raw. The key word is before. Don't be too angry with yourself if you still want the cooked version because it might have something else you need in it - even if it's just to slow down your detox.

1. Salt and vinegar chips = cravings for salt, oil/fat and perhaps simply vinegar. salt and fat are essential for life. Get yourself some cletic sea salt (a whole salt raked from pristine salt marshes in Brittany) and some excellent cold pressed oils. If you don't know where to get them I can find out the name of a company for you to order from and have them delivered to you. I buy them at my health food store. Must be in dark bottles and dated. Very important. And get yourself some raw apple cider vinegar. Before going after the chips put these ingredents on some raw food and chow down. Eat as much as you want. Put it especially on something starchy and sugary like carrots, beets etc. You can even put it on dehydrated chips made from veggies to give the crunch.

2. Chocolate cookies = craving for the superfood cacao. Chocolate is filled with anti-oxidants and many chemicals that affect the hormones and it is great for you. What's not good for you are the additives and when it is processed. Get some raw, powdered chocolate. I eat it every single day mixed with a fork with medjool dates. You can make the most delicious chocolates using raw coconut oil or butter and agave. They are every bit as good as your standard truffles. You can add the chocolate to smoothies or mix the chocolate with agave and dip strawberries or other fruit in it. Chocolate is a delicacy that no raw foodist should be deprived of. Chocolate cake also has sugar. The medjools, agave or fruit in smoothies could satisfy this need as well. Raw chocolate is also an apetite suppressant.

3. Hamburger = Craving for concentrated protein, B12 or a number of factors. I would simply go for sushi. I go to restaurants that have ahi tuna and ask for it as raw as they can make it for me. You might also try a raw egg. You can heat the raw egg with some miso on the stove to 118 degrees. It's quite good. It is also very grounding like meat (if you know chinese medicine terms it would be very yang). If you are a vegetarian then you can get protein and fat from sprouts but need to eat A LOT of them. Also try adding blue green algae to your diet in pill form. It has all the amino acids. Wheatgrass also has all the amino acids but it can make you spacey - the opposite of the grounding nature of meat.

4. Tobasco Sauce = Cayenne pepper. Cayenne is another superfood that heats up the digestion, cures ulcers, balance heart function and many other wonderful things. If you want Tobasco just put some cayenne powder on whatever food you want it on. It's fabulous for you. Mix the cayenne in tomato juice and oil if you like. Make your own live version of tabasco.

5. Italian dressing and peri sauce = Italian dressing is once again fat. Make your own with cold pressed olive oil, raw vinegar and italian seasonings. I'm sure that there are many raw recipes for this. Ask for one on the site. You need fat. I don't know what nanos peri peri sauce is.

It sounds to me like you are a normal human being that has been eating way too concentrated and processed versions of things that are perfectly good for you. You need fat and protein, sugar and salt/minerals. When you have enough of these things in your diet the smells won't bother you much.

Here are some more things that might help you. Soaked nuts and seeds provide the perfect source for protein and fat. Avocados are another great source for fat. Fat helps keep your blood sugars stable and good fats are needed by all your cells to keep the cell walls healthy and permeable. Eating more frequently will help you balance your blood sugars and crave sugar less. Eating even just a banana can help your cravings for sugar. Salt is necessary for your cells to be able to take in water. Celtic sea salt is a necessary nutrient. Table salt is a killer because all the minerals except two have been taken out. Even plain sea salt has most of the minerals taken out. Celtic is the way to go. Chocolate is God's way of saying she loves us. Just get the good raw stuff.

Hope this help you. Once again - glad you're back up on that horse!

Greenbunny

anisha · 08-30-2007

Thankyou for all the help and support!

I just had an epiphany and to why my body is clinging on so badly..Aside from the fact, that most of the foods are chemically modified and addicted; I think I am just afraid to let go of what I have always known. But I am getting tired of yo-yoing and I think in the next couple days I am going to go for the 100% goal again.

In the last few days, I have caved in, and then feel sick afterwards. So I know my time is coming soon. I am so excited and anxious. Yay =D