Going Raw! help?

sm0113

Hello! I'm planning on starting a raw food diet and to be honest, i don't know that much about it! I've recently checked out http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/ which has helped, but if anyone has any advice or tips or things i should know before I consider eating raw, PLEASE let me know! If you eat raw, do you suggest it? I am not going to start 100% raw tomorrow because i'm afraid that i'll burn out if i do that. I'm going to gradually creep my way up to 80-100% raw.
I need all the advice and support that i can get, so any comments are appreciated

Also, if there is a good meal plan out there that will help me start off and will allow me to get all of the nutrients that i need, that would be great too!

PatientBearTiger

I have never heard of a "raw" diet so I can't really help. However, I have an honest question for you - if, as you say, you don't know that much about it, how do you know it's something you want to do??

sm0113

I know that it is something that I want to do because it is very healthy and i'm hoping to cleanse my body of all of the processed foods i have put into it. And i need a change! So i'm hoping this will do the trick

portexploit

I am an alkalarian, I eat most of my food raw. I have been eating like this for 2 weeks. I can't eat broccoli raw unless it's in a soup. I do steam it a bit, not till it's limp. Today I made an asparagus recipe, it sucked, I didn't like it. I did steam those a bit.

Oh forgot to mention, alkalarian diet is 70-80% alkaliazing food 20-30% acidic foods. The theory behind this diet is, all disease is based on how acidic your body is. This diet balances the body acidicity level. Your common cold, to cancer to aids, it's based on a acidic enviorment in the body. There are microforms in the body, that waste products is what creates the acid.

Guess what some of these microtoxins live on? Sugar, this is why fruit is against the alkalarian diet. Most raw foodist eat a lot of fruit... There is no reason for you to go to a raw food diet unless it's for health. I personally think the alkalarian diet is healthier.

To cook you can buy an electic skillet, with those you can control the tempreture, anything about 118 degree's kills enzymes. WHich defeats the benefits of raw food.

PatientBearTiger

Fair enough. But, after Googling it and seeing what it is, I have my doubts. You can avoid processed foods and still cook your meals. I think it would be very difficult to eat a raw diet for the long term. Good luck though. Hope it works for you.

portexploit

Fair enough. But, after Googling it and seeing what it is, I have my doubts. You can avoid processed foods and still cook your meals. I think it would be very difficult to eat a raw diet for the long term. Good luck though. Hope it works for you.

Tiger that's what i thought of my diet. I tried it years ago and had an epic failure. I knew the health benefits of it and I always wanted to do it again. I was on a low carb diet, out of the blue I was like "why wait for trying the alkalarian diet?" So Here i am doing it. Its all about the recipes. Sitting back eating pieces of raw fruit can get boring and be very tough. There are a ton of recipes, I even seen raw chocolate pie.

sm0113

@portexploit-
Thank you so much for your comment! I am going to do some research and the alkalarian diet is now added to my list. That may be just the thing i was looking for.

Thankilates

Hi guys! I am new to these forums and i gotta say, I LOVE ALL THE TOPICS!

I have done a raw foods challenge for three weeks and the results were AMAZING! My skin was glowing, I felt great and of course lost weight! The problem is, I went to a family vacation/reunion and while i did bring my blender and had my green smoothies in the morning, it was hard to eat raw a lot. So slowly, as days went by I was back to eating more cooked foods...

However, I will say this. I am a Vegetarian eating cheese on rare occasions. I have been a V for a long time and I think it's easier for me to raw than say somebody who eats meat. it's a big change actually can be harmful to the body if you go from eating a SAD (standard American diet) from 100% raw.

I took a test and scored at a level 3 which means I was to "eat raw until dinner." It was awesome because by the time dinner rolled around you weren't craving "bad foods," and after a raw salad (you should eat raw something first and then have the cooked/steamed food or whatever you eating) I felt 100% satisfied.

A good book for people learning about raw foods is one by Natalie Rose, "The Raw Food Detox." There was so much useful information in it and I found it WAY more helpful than other books I had skimmed.

If you are interested, I suggest going about it the right way. Just like with being a Vegetarian, you have to make sure you are eating a WHOLE foods diet and a huge array of foods. I am healthy, but some of my other V friends are on a carbs/fake meat/Cheetos diet. Well, that ain't good! LOL

Things have been pretty crazy for me on a person note so I have gotten off track with my eating and working out (two things I enjoy doing), so I will be starting my raw foods plan up again starting Monday.

Another trick is to make sure you have all your veggies washed and ready to go, staring at you when you open the door. A girlfriend just came to my house last night, opened my fridge and said, "wow... it's so pretty." LOL That is because I have washed fruits in bowls, cut up veggies and fruits in clear containers, and all of my greens in the crisper drawers.

Anyway, I am thinking of posting a new challenge for raw foods and exercise soon, so feel free to jump in.

Also, there are a lot of AMAZING people doing raw foods! Even athletes and body builders. It. Can. Be. Done. If you want. It just depends on why you are doing it. Might be fun to check out the book from the library and give it a go!

Good luck, you will feel great! Google Freelee or youtube her. AMAZING!

P.S. When eating raw foods, keep in mind that you will be eating A LOT! My friend tried it and ate AN apple every few hours! Well that might work for a short term plan, but you need to get many different nutrients from many different plants, fruits, nuts and seeds. If you eat this way, you will have more success!

MyNewLeaf

I briefly tried a raw food diet (but without most fruit sugars, so I was eating veggies, avocados, young coconuts, nuts and seeds. And that's it).

I did greatly enjoy grating zucchini and eating that as pasta with tomatoes and avocado. I found it a yummy meal. I also loved veggies dipped in cashew hummus or seed pate. But i ultimately knew I couldn't eat like this forever - it's so limited.

Now for the terrible part...

The gastro-intestinal results were so uncomfortable, I knew I couldn't continue. I couldn't even go to work with all the stomach pain from all those veggies, and from the explosions down below. I am very sorry to be gross. I've heard a lot of people say "Oh, your body adjusts..." but I talked to an ex- long term raw foodist and she said the poop will always be weird. If you currently enjoy normal BMs without much mess or effort, you're in for a whole different ride if you go raw. And you will use a lot more TP. Not fun at all.

I again apologize for being indelicate. This is exactly the info I kept searching for when I began raw, and couldn't find it anywhere on the net as everyone wanted to gloss over it and hype up how great it is to be raw. To each their own...

portexploit

I briefly tried a raw food diet (but without most fruit sugars, so I was eating veggies, avocados, young coconuts, nuts and seeds. And that's it).

I did greatly enjoy grating zucchini and eating that as pasta with tomatoes and avocado. I found it a yummy meal. I also loved veggies dipped in cashew hummus or seed pate. But i ultimately knew I couldn't eat like this forever - it's so limited.

Now for the terrible part...

The gastro-intestinal results were so uncomfortable, I knew I couldn't continue. I couldn't even go to work with all the stomach pain from all those veggies, and from the explosions down below. I am very sorry to be gross. I've heard a lot of people say "Oh, your body adjusts..." but I talked to an ex- long term raw foodist and she said the poop will always be weird. If you currently enjoy normal BMs without much mess or effort, you're in for a whole different ride if you go raw. And you will use a lot more TP. Not fun at all.

I again apologize for being indelicate. This is exactly the info I kept searching for when I began raw, and couldn't find it anywhere on the net as everyone wanted to gloss over it and hype up how great it is to be raw. To each their own...

As I mentioned I am on a alkalarian diet. Mostly vegetables and I usually eat raw or semi steamed. Yeah the first week with hell on the porcelin throne, now I am fine. the thing is your body is detoxing getting rid of all the crap(pun intended).

liquorice23

you guys
i am on the candida diet (nothing you do for fun - it is out of pure desparation for better health after having tried every other alternative) and the first weeks were HELL. absolute hell in fact. i cried, i despaired, i questioned myself and the world and my own sanity even.

i came across a very interesting article which explained a lot:
The Healing Crisis
http://www.natureschoice.co.za/good-living-guide/the-healing-crisis/

i am on the last day of my third week and am feeling better and better (not better as in perfect and healed but much better than thise first 2 weeks!) give yourself time to adjust when trying something new. massive things are happening in every single cell in your body when you change what you eat. that takes energy and has an effect.
most importantly be gentle with youself. always.

xx

ps. how is the raw diet going?
i was given a book this week by a friend to get inspired by recipes for myself - you may find it interesting too:
RAW-licious recipe book.
http://www.rawlicious.co.za/default/rawlicious-recipe-book.html

warmachinejt

eat raw snakes and roaches good proteinz

millionsofpeaches

Haha... because you said RAW! I thought... raw, like a dinosaur.

Are you already a vegetarian? You may want to start there and then work towards the raw... I have a friend who eats like that. Her hair started to fall out. So High 5... and I hope you have lots of hair. (this is said in complete sarcasm).

Good luck starving yourself.

portexploit

Haha... because you said RAW! I thought... raw, like a dinosaur.

Are you already a vegetarian? You may want to start there and then work towards the raw... I have a friend who eats like that. Her hair started to fall out. So High 5... and I hope you have lots of hair. (this is said in complete sarcasm).

Good luck starving yourself.

]

Most vegeterians eat crap, twinkies and cupcakes and chips and soda fall in to this category of "vegeterian." Most of my calories come from green vegetables, I can get in 2000 calories a day... how is this starvation?

djkshdfd

I have been raw for two months now. If you would like to see what I eat, you can check out my diary. I would say I stay between 80-95% raw on most days. It's really not as hard as it seems. Also, I think what makes it easy for me is I do not get into all the complicated raw recipes- I just do not have the time to deal with that.

Hope it works out for all willing to try. I lost 8lbs of water weight the first two weeks I ate raw. This was because with fewer toxins in my body, I needed less water to be held in. After that, everything has been great.

sm0113

thanks to everyone for your comments i appreciate you all!