New member, looking for friends - Raw Food Chat

sunshine13 · 08-21-2006

Hello, everybody! I'm new here and have joined this site in order to gain support, make friends, and heal myself by going raw. I've been contemplating going raw for the past few years and have attempted it many times, going up to about 3 weeks raw, but I always end up giving in to cravings for cooked food and then lose my motivation and focus. Going raw makes so much sense to me and I know I need to do it in order to heal myself, mentally and physically, but for some reason I keep failing at it. I think part of the reason is that I don't know anyone else who is interested in health and healing and going raw - everyone I try talking to about it thinks I'm pretty wierd. My family and friends think I eat so healthy already (I've been a vegan for about 15 years), but I know I don't, because I eat so much cooked and processed junk. I've been thinking about different ways to transition to raw, maybe something that I haven't tried that would actually work for me, but I haven't hit upon the right way yet. I'm considering Arnold Ehret's mucusless (or mucuslean) transition diet - does anybody have any advice about that? Of course it isn't all raw, so I'm not sure if that would be best for me or not. Any advice, suggestions, encouragement would be greatly appreciated - I know going raw is really the only way for me to completely heal, and that I will do it, I'm just having a hard time getting there. Thanks and many blessings to you all!

doppelganger · 08-23-2006

Welcome!

I'm super new also trying to figure out the best approach for me. I'm a strict vegetarian in transition to raw cause my health and my body seem to be demanding it a lot lately (seems we vegos are always evolving, yes?

).

When you went vegan all those years ago, how did you do it? Slow and gradual or practically overnight? I know that there are people that would say fast will last, but maybe the approach you used back then should be the method you use now. Just a thought.

I've not read that book of Arnold Ehret's, so I can't really comment on it one way or the next. I do know that for myself, I'm just taking it one day at a time, one meal at a time and trying not to beat myself up for the errors I commit. This is a journey, not a destination (that's my new mantra and boy do I use it muchly

).

Many blessing right back at you, and keep on RAWking!

The Vej · 08-24-2006

hey about every three weeks I screw up too! But then I drink a bunch of water and I"m back the next day pretty good. As long as you don't go 2 in a row you should be pretty good.

sunshine13 · 08-24-2006

Thanks so much to you both for replying! As far as going vegan goes, I came across the book by Ingrid Newkirk of PETA, "Save the Animals" (I think that's what it's called), and I couldn't put it down. It's very simply written, but it changed my life overnight. It was as if a fog were lifted - my way of thinking about animals completely changed and there was no turning back. By eating the way I had been, I realized I wasn't just hurting myself but was also hurting animals, the environment, etc. So with raw it's different because when I eat cooked food, I'm really just hurting myself. Maybe if I were hurting animals by doing it, I'd quit that overnight, too. Of course, I could look at eating raw differently and consider that by eating cooked food, I am actually hurting others besides myself by doing it, because I'm not realizing my full potential and don't have as much to give to others or to try to do some good in the world. I know I don't have nearly the energy I would like to have to homeschool my kids, for example. I know that once I've been raw for a while I'll have a lot more energy and will be able to invest more of myself in my kids. Of course, just knowing that I'm hurting myself by eating cooked food should be enough of an incentive for me to quit doing it, but I haven't gotten to that point yet. I'll have to think about this new way of looking at raw for a while. Thanks for giving me the idea to go on.

I've been trying to decide on what would be the best way to go about changing to 100% raw and that's why I was considering Arnold Ehret's method. He wrote a great book called "The Mucusless Diet Healing System" and his theory is basically that all illnesses that mankind suffer with are caused by incorrect eating and that once correct eating is started, the body can heal itself of just about anything. Anyway, he recommends a transition to the ideal diet of fruits and green leaf vegetables by eating a mucuslean diet that will loosen and eliminate waste encumbrances that have been building up over a lifetime of wrong eating. It makes a lot of sense to me, but it does keep the window of eating some cooked foods open for a while, and it might be better for me to commit to 100%. I'd like to hear from others on how they went raw - did you decide to do 100% from the start, transition to raw over a period of time, or how did you go about it?

That sounds like good advice, to drink a lot of water to help get back on the raw track after eating cooked food. I know I should be drinking a lot more water than I do and need to make a conscious effort to drink enough every day.

Blessings - S

doppelganger · 08-26-2006

I think you hit the key to your blocks of why it's different with raw.

You said "Of course, I could look at eating raw differently and consider that by eating cooked food, I am actually hurting others besides myself by doing it, because I'm not realizing my full potential and don't have as much to give to others or to try to do some good in the world. I know I don't have nearly the energy I would like to have to homeschool my kids, for example. I know that once I've been raw for a while I'll have a lot more energy and will be able to invest more of myself in my kids."

I put the emphasis in this part of your post to show you that you might not be saving the "food chain" animals by being raw (as the vegan ways live towards doing), but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take a look at the human animals you're shortchanging by not living to the full of what you know you should strive for. Your children especially need all of you because you're the one that teaches them, you're the one that leads them by your examples and you're the one that can show them the way to live life themselves once they get old enough to have lives of their own. Those are the "animals" you should work to "save" because the world will do much to tear them down and undo whatever you've done for them - IF they don't have a foundation from you that is stronger, that is. You have already rejectd the horrors of factory farming (among other cruel things) and have made your voice clear by becoming and staying vegan... now, turn your efforts to rejecting the horrors of a feeling that you haven't given all you can to those that need it the most i.e. your lovely family and take those steps you know you should take. I know it won't be easy, but nothing that comes good comes easy (Wow. Mum's words of wisdom. Who knew those words would be so... wise.

).

Arnold Ehret's method sounds, in a somewhat simular way, the diet that I was researching for my own mother that put me onto wanting to be raw myself - the Hallelujah Diet. The HD, as I understand it so far, is meant for eating the things that God gives us to eat such as leafy veggies, fruits and other raw, unadulterated things but there's allowance for cooked things as well. If I'm remembering right, it's an 85/15 split of raw to cooked although there's much room for being 100% should one choose to go that preferred route. Much like what you've said of Mr. Ehret's beliefs, the HD also teaches that once correct eating is achieved, then the body will do as the body is designed to do - heal itself and be truely whole. Not bogged down, half-past draggy or gunked up with disease, but truely whole, vibrant, healthy and happy.

To this point, I'm transitioning to as much fully raw as I can manage but my body is pulling me to be completely raw as quickly as possible, despite my conscious wishes to take this slowly and methodically. I want to make full sure I have my head firmly around being raw, but my body wants me diving in straight on and I'm not a sort that dives straight on. In a way it sounds like you're much the same - your body wants a straight on diving in, but your mind is giving excuse after another to why it can't be done this way. Isn't it strange how the mind fights against what the spirit knows is a good thing to do (something to ponder, I think)?

Keep on RAWking.

sunshine13 · 08-28-2006

You're right, Doppleganger, about focusing on the perspective of hurting my loved ones by continuing to do something that isn't right (eating cooked foods and thereby destroying my health, energy, etc.). Thanks for helping me to look at things a little more clearly. Your sentence, "turn your efforts to rejecting the horrors of a feeling that you haven't given all you can to those that need it the most" is one I'm really going to keep. Because that feeling that I'm letting downed those that I love the most in this world really is horrible, and worth doing whatever I can to to avoid it. My kids are really the main reason that I feel like I should change myself and heal myself with a raw diet.

It definitely is strange how the mind fights with the spirit - it seems to be an ongoing battle. I know what I need to do, but for some reason I keep stopping myself. It's something I've been fighting for a long time with myself about. I think it helps, though, to see other people's perspectives about this whole issue of healing and raw foods, and it helps to be able to talk about it here, since I can't with anybody else that I know. I definitely believe that when the time is right, change will happen, and I feel like now is that time. Thanks and many blesssings.

happylearaw · 09-01-2006

Hello Sunshine,
Thanx for sharing your story, sounds similar to mine! My family and friends think I'm fairly crazy and tell more all the time but its just because we are walking to the beat of our own drum and not following the herd!
If you want a friend, I'm here and we can help eachother because I'm transitioning too.

xx