Are you 100% live?

[greenbunny]

How many people on this board eat nothing at all but live foods? I was wondering if there really were more than a few others in the world. Even when I've met people that work at raw food institutes and people that are really into raw foods it's extremely rare to meet anyone else that is exclusively raw. I went out to dinner with 5 people that work at a live food resort near me and I was the only one eating raw. When I stayed at Hippocrates not one of the staff was 100% raw. I've only recently (few months ago this time) gone back to being 100%. I've often been even 99% and it's exponentially different than 100% for me. That little 1% becomes like 1,000% when put at the end of getting to all raw. By raw I mean no manna bread or non-raw salad dressings (really 100%) and only sprouted nuts and seeds. I don't mean vegetarian though - raw can include dairy, fish and eggs and still be raw. I've never met anyone else who even tried to go raw and not be vegan.

Is there anyone else out there who's 100% and not vegan? Is there anyone else out there that is 100% raw at all?

How long have you been eating raw? Would you share your experiences please?

Do you drink or do drugs like pot? I've met people that eat all raw and smoke or do drugs. They say that they eat raw so that they "can" do drugs. Don't quite understand that reasoning, but because of it I ask about including any toxins into the diet to "counteract" the raw foods. Some might say that all animal products are poisons as well. That might be true, but in the amounts I eat it's not my experience at present. I met someone who ate all raw except drinking coffee every day. They had a stomach ulcer. To me, that wasn't 100% live. Eating all fruits and veggies and smoking isn't all live to me either. I once met someone who fasted most of the time and ate only raw when they did eat but smoked pot regularly. They didn't appear healthy or grounded to me - although they were quite happy. Some people eat 100% live but still take medications or go for chemo because they are sick. They got into live foods because of a life-threatening illness. These people are heading towards health but are presently still sick so can't completely experience the benefits of being 100% live yet.

I guess why I'm asking like this is because I'm having difficulty dealing with being 100% live and I'm looking for other's who are also live for support. The part that I'm having trouble with is feeling so good and being different. I've come up to this barrier so many times and this time I just have to get through it. I am not going to do anything toxic to myself including eating cooked food to sabotage myself this time - but I would love to talk to someone who has gotten past this stage. I also would love to talk to others who are going through what I am going through now to support one another.

Is there anyone else out there???

Greenbunny

[The Vej]

In the warmer months I am! I eat too many nuts in the winter and some of that other stuff GB, I don't even know why. I'm workin' on it. It does warm you up but wouldn't being warm be better than stimulating warm? Hey GB, I need someone to talk to too!

[raindeer]

Greenbunny and Veg -
I hope others respond to you two, as I am listening intently and wish I could offer my support, but I've only just gone 100% raw (first time raw at all) five days ago. Am seeking advice and support, as well.
GB, your feeling like the Lone Ranger sounds familiar to me, and I look forward to someone answering you. Already, my husband has been making biting comments about my "new temporary diet" but I feel in my heart that this diet will be my last one. It just makes so much sense.
I have several questions, for whomever feels like answering: do any of you use a home colonic therapy like Dr. Natura? Do any of you do regular colonics? Those things sound logical to me, but I dare not tell any of my friends or family I'm interested in this stuff . . . they'd think I was nuts. How long does it take to feel different or to lose weight on a 100% raw diet? Patience is not a virtue of mine. But so far, I feel happy and motivated to stick with this for the long haul.
Yours,
Raindeer

[magic_glitter]

It depends! Right now I'm 100% live, but if I get a strong craving for a baked potato or steamed veggies, then that's what I'll have. I think the most important thing about raw is listening to your body - sometimes your body needs cooked foods, sometimes when it's detoxing or seriously building it'll want all raw. That's why many people thrive on say and 85% raw diet, as opposed to a 100% raw diet. It depends on what's best for the individual.

Personally, when I was transitioning to vegan I hated vegetables, so I steamed them only and never ate them raw, but I ate tons of raw fruits and raw oils. Then as my tastebuds grew accustomed to the non-saltyness and non-sugaryness of produce, I began to crave more raw foods. So I graduated over a 2 year period from cooed food vegan to raw vegan It takes time, you have to do it at a pace that's right now you.

I find it's easier to be raw with a juicer. You can fit so many servings of raw fruits and veggies in a couple glasses of juice, it's amazing.

Also: I used to crave more warming foods in the winter, but then I got a heater in my room and turned it up full blast (it's like summer here 24/7 lol), and my cravings for cooked and heavier warming foods like nuts have gone away. I crave a lot more fruit and fresh veggies than I do most winters.

[magic_glitter]

Originally Posted by raindeer

Greenbunny and Veg -
I hope others respond to you two, as I am listening intently and wish I could offer my support, but I've only just gone 100% raw (first time raw at all) five days ago. Am seeking advice and support, as well.
GB, your feeling like the Lone Ranger sounds familiar to me, and I look forward to someone answering you. Already, my husband has been making biting comments about my "new temporary diet" but I feel in my heart that this diet will be my last one. It just makes so much sense.
I have several questions, for whomever feels like answering: do any of you use a home colonic therapy like Dr. Natura? Do any of you do regular colonics? Those things sound logical to me, but I dare not tell any of my friends or family I'm interested in this stuff . . . they'd think I was nuts. How long does it take to feel different or to lose weight on a 100% raw diet? Patience is not a virtue of mine. But so far, I feel happy and motivated to stick with this for the long haul.
Yours,
Raindeer

I've never done a colonic, but if you think your colon is sick then you should definitely do a colon cleanse and a parasite cleanse. I've done both, and they're definitely helpful, though not always comfortable when you're doing them!

After you complete your colon cleanse though, you shouldn't have to do it again (except for a bi-annual parasite cleanse), because a raw diet will keep you clean (unless you overdo it on the nuts). Or if you're constipated, you should cleanse every so often to keep the bowels moving. Natural laxatives are best in this case, like prunes, beets, and apples on an empty stomach.

[greenbunny]

Thanks for your responses!!! It sure is nice to hear from people that can relate to what I'm going through.

Ah, those warmer months, right Vej! So much easier for me to eat raw when it's warm outside. In summer I don't have to let all my produce warm up to room temp and now in winter I absolutely need to eat warmed soups and denser raw foods. If I remember right you live somewhere really, really cold don't you? What do you eat in winter?

Re. needing to eat warmed foods in winter - according to Chinese Medicine you can make yourself sick eating nothing but cooling, yin foods like fruits, veggies and cold things in winter. At least one meal a day is supposed to be warmed within that framework. I find this to be very true for me. Eating lots of nuts and seeds doesn't bother me at all and helps me when it's cold as long as they are sprouted or soaked properly. Cashews, walnuts and pecans I am finding always make me sick even when soaked because they cannot grow. I tried to eat soaked and dehydrated pecans last night and my stomach swelled up to 10 times its size and I felt sick. I can eat all the soaked almonds, sunflower seeds and other seeds that obviously grow that I want and nothing bad happens - only good. I drink tea to warm me too. Tonight I will have raw egg and miso soup. I used to need to eat cooked food whenever I got cold.... but that has changed. After so long of going back and forth near and around, in and out, of 100% live my body has finally gotten to the point where it simply will not allow me to eat cooked food any longer. When it started to get pretty cold here (ice storms!) I tried to eat a cooked acorn squash and it promptly came up and out again. Anything cooked does that or at least makes me feel so bad that I wish I hadn't eaten it. My body treats it like food poisoning. It's been a progression for me. This has been a long time coming. This time around I can't stop eating raw when I start to feel so good that it's uncomfortable or when I want to fit in. I couldn't "cheat" if I wanted to. That's why I have had to modify my ideas about raw food and vegetarianism during this cold transition time. I can't go out and warm myself with some cooked food. I've had to find warming raw foods.

Magic, you're absolutely right, I do find that juicing helps a great deal! I just got a great juicer - Breville - and I'm having great fun with it. I don't eat cold vegetables or eat enough to get what I need so a glass a room temp. vegetable juice goes a long way. I also don't think I could survive without my dates. Dates with a little chocolate powder and a cup of hot tea do wonders for me - very warming.

OK fellow lone ranger, I'll take a crack at those questions of yours.

Colonics and intestinal cleansing: About 20 years ago I made myself quite ill by going for colonics when I didn't have enough intestinal flora to withstand it. I have also given myself innumerable high enemas, wheatgrass enemas, coffee enemas and have drank many intestinal cleansing preperations in my youthful quest for unlimited energy and health. All I seemed to do was make my body upset. I've come to the conclusion that for me the best way to clean out the whole train (from head car to caboose) is from the engine by putting in good fuel. The top down approach. If I eat all clean and lots of fibrous foods it just scrubs away all the way down without any effort and without any possible bad side affects or fuss. I poop so many times a day already I wouldn't want to increase it. I am also lazy at this point in my life. Colonics and colon cleansers take time and money. I'd rather buy and eat carrots and beets and let them scrub me out. Granted, it's slower, but if I did that 20 years ago instead it would have been faster!

Losing weight: each time (oh, so many times) I go live from cooked I lose at least 40 pounds within a few months with no stretch marks or negative effects of any kind. Last time I lost somewhere between 50 and 60. It's not just that the food is used more by my body, but that I'm simply not as hungry because I am getting nutrients and enzymes so my body says, oh, I have what I need, I can stop eating now. When I say cooked I mean a super high quality whole food organic cooked vegan diet. When eating cooked food I'm insatiable. Eating raw, I sometimes forget about food entirely for what I consider to be long periods and just a little satisfies me.

BTW, losing weight is not the reason to eat raw even though many people do lose weight. It's about health, not vanity. We're so caught up in the surface of things in this culture that we lose sight of what's important. The weight changes are side effects of becoming healthy and strong and getting what you need. If you're too skinny and starving you might gain weight or if your body is starving for nutrients even though you lots of stored fat you might gain weight at first so that the body can be fed until it has it's fill and then it will go to it's long-term ideal weight. Healthy is beautiful. It's not about quantity - it's about quality.

As to how long it will take to feel better on a 100% raw diet that is a question that is impossible to answer since it's different for everyone. For me, I'd have to say that it has taken 20+ years. It's been a long haul getting to eating all live food for me. Eating raw makes me feel great as soon as I do it with no detox symptoms because I have detoxed slowly for 20 years to get to this point. Other people can go from a terrible diet, decide to go raw in a minute, detox for 2 minutes and then feel great. Others jump in too fast and feel too sick and give up or go back and forth. Sorry I couldn't give you a more satisfying answer than it depends.... but it does.

This post is getting too long. I'd better sign off. Thanks again guys for you input. Keep it coming!

Greenbunny

[chilove]

Hi there,

I am 100% raw and have been with no slips up at all for 2 and a half years now. I eat a very simple, fruit based vegan raw diet and feel very satisfied and balanced. I feel better physically and emotionally than I ever have.

I think the key is to work on the emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of a major lifestyle change along with the pratical aspects of implementing a raw diet.

As a former compulsive overeater and junk food addict I know that if I can do it, ANYONE can!!! :-)

Blessings,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[greenbunny]

Thank you so much for responding Chilove!

Two and a half years. That's a long time to be raw. I've noticed in the past that just around the 2 year mark many people I've known that were raw or mostly raw went back to cooked food, so the fact that you are past it makes you a rare find. What you say about the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of being all raw is exactly what I'd like to discuss. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?

As a preliminary question: Do you put anything into your body besides raw foods that would be considered toxic like smoke, drugs, alcohol or coffee? This might sound like a strange question but you would be surprised how many raw foodist that I have known imbibe these things and still call themselves all raw.

Do you live in a cold environment? If so, do you change your diet in winter? Do you live in a city or the country?

Do you practice some form of meditation or self-healing techniques?

How do you feel that eating 100% raw has affected you emotionally and spiritually?

Have other people that you know and strangers act/react to you differently since you have become all raw (having nothing to do with the question of eating - I mean in general)?

Do you just feel like a healthier and more energetic "you" or do you feel that your essence has changed or is changing in some significant way eating all raw?

Do you still go through detox times when major issues bubble to the surface?

Has eating all live food changed your extrasensory abilities? Are you more sensitive?

I know that's a lot of questions, but I'd love to know your experience and appreciate your taking the time and effort to respond.

Eating all raw for me at this stage does not present a problem in terms of detoxing - emotional negative disturbance or physical challenge. What is coming up for me is the challenge of positive transformation. This might sound crazy, but if you think about it, why don't more people eat raw? Why do so many people try and fail even though it makes them feel wonderful? I feel that eating all raw is changing me constitutionally, fundamentally, genetically. My energy body is changing. It's not only that aches and pains are evaporating, it's more essential. My essence, the flow of energy around and through me feels different. It feels good, but it is also a challenge. I feel so different than I was just a short time ago and feel like I am diverging from others when it comes to my baseline of perception that THAT is the biggest hurdle to overcome. The acceptance of quick radical change. The acceptance of acceleration. The adaptation to a different kind of internal existence.