I wish there was a raw diet starter kit - Raw Food Chat

gypsiemama · 11-10-2007

Is there such a thing as a raw "starter kit" for people new to this? I feel so lost. All I can think of is to munch on carrots, and green leafy vegetables, nuts. I don't really know what I am doing and I want to make sure that I am getting the right vitasmins and minerals.

I bought a juicer and went on a juice fast for a couple of months and then my back moler fell out!!!! Someone told me it was because of all the sugar in raw juices and someone else told me its because juice zaps the minerals out of the teeth and bones.

The idea of going raw is to improve my health not make it worse! Besides being healthy, I am also trying this for weightloss. Any help would be much appreciated.

Lisa

anisha · 11-10-2007

Hey Lisa,

Did you by chance incorporate any Greens into the juices? In an interview that I heard with Valya Boutenko, she mentions that her family's teeth began to rot when drinking a lot of citrus, however, when they incorpotaed the greens the teeth went back to their healthy state before the rotting.

In terms of starter kit, what fruits and veggies do you like? I think everyone goes through the raw phase of how am I suppose to do this and what am I suppose to make. Looking back to when I started, I think I made it harder than it really was. You don't need to make fancy dishes to be raw, it really is simple. If you are eating a vegan diet then just add more raw in it and just keep adding more till being raw becomes intuitive.

Also when changing eating habits the body must adjust accordingly, thus it may react in hair loss, however, that may be temporary as the body is trying to get out toxins.

Hope that helps and ask if you want more info.

Anisha

gypsiemama · 11-10-2007

Thanks Anisha! I will try adding greens. I am living in Wisconsin now, moved here from Southern California and I am still finding it difficult to find a good assortment of fresh vegetables and fruits here. Especially now that winter is around the corner. My diet for the last several years has been high in fat, meat, sugar and dairy. But for the last few years I have really wanted to change that. My ultimate goal would be to go 80% (or more raw), second best would be vegan and 3rd choice would be vegetarian.

I woke up today feeling like Today is THE day. So I am going "cold turkey" (excuse the pun) and I am not going to eat meat anymore. When I started losing my hair I was actually on a juice only fast and aside from the hairloss I actually felt terrific and weight started melting off of me. It was so effortless that instead of continuing with my success I decided to binge again because I knew that I had found my weightloss miracle and I could always start "tomorrow" and get the same great results. SO I've been procrastinating for a while and now I am ready to try again. Thank you for your tips.

Lisa

greenbunny · 11-11-2007

I need to add something here that might not be what you want to here. Fasting (in the long run) has proven to be detrimental to the ability to lose weight. The body goes into famine mode and becomes extremely efficient at storing body fat which actually makes the body put weight back on extremely efficiently when food is eaten again. The very best way to get to your ideal weight and stay there is to eat raw. Also, just in case you didn't know, raw and vegan are actually two different things and you don't necessarily have to be vegetarian or vegan to be raw.

Just had to add that quickly.

Congratulations on your determination to go all raw.

Greenbunny

gypsiemama · 11-12-2007

Thanks Greenbunny. I think that researching and experimenting with juice fasting is how I stumbled upon raw. I am still learning what the differences are between vegan and vegetarian (and raw). I am striving for better than vegetarian because I feel like there is a lot of leeway to eat really bad even as a vegetarian. I know a lot of really obese vegetarians! I really feel that raw or at least 80% raw is something that is doable and I think my body will respond well to it. I love coming here to read other posts because I am really learning a lot. THANK YOU!!!

anisha · 11-12-2007

I don't trust wikipedia for everything, but it may give you a better idea about the different kinds of diets out there:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_foodism

The thing that kills people by being vegetarian or vegan is the processed foods. Yeah they could be eating healthier but the processed foods is the tasty empty calories that are helping them gain the weight.

This was one of my reasons to go raw, I noticed that processed foods whether veggie or vegan were the prime source of why people were not able to maintain their health or achieve their goals. I knew that if I went veggie or vegan I would have too much temptation to eat processed foods among other reasons.

Anisha

gypsiemama · 11-13-2007

I would agree with that, Anisha. Thanks!

greenbunny · 11-13-2007

I've eaten really healthy non-processed vegan and was still overweight while doing so. Every time I've eaten cooked food no matter how healthy I've gained a lot of weight fast. I need the prana / nutrition of raw foods and ate and ate and ate trying to get some so gained weight eating "healthy" cooked food.

Processed of course will get you even fatter, but raw is really the answer in my experience.

Greenbunny