raw vegan

ricepattikay
ricepattikay Posts: 46 Member
edited October 1 in Food and Nutrition
I am thinking strongly that I want to be a raw vegan. I would love some input on this from people who are vegan or have tried to be. Should I just try being vegetarian first or just jump right into it? I am starting a cleanse on Sept. 1. I have always said I don't just want to be thin I want to be really healthy so I feel like all of the knowledge I had attained through researching everything always leads me to becoming vegan. I would appreciate any and all input. thanks Patti

Replies

  • byHISstrength
    byHISstrength Posts: 984 Member
    I don't know much except that you'll save A LOT of cooking time since going raw will eliminate cooking your food or at least to a certain temperature.

    Best wishes.
  • dianichole73
    dianichole73 Posts: 32 Member
    I would like some information also.
  • aqua_zumba_fan
    aqua_zumba_fan Posts: 383 Member
    I don't have any experience of this myself, only being vegetarian, but a friend of mine has a blog you might find interesting which includes recipes etc - http://rawtings.blogspot.com/
    Hope it's useful :)
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    I am not a vegan, and I am not anti-vegan. That being said, that change in diet is going to be huge and very difficult to start. You will probably be removing foods from your diet that you have had since you were a child. After you go long enough without the meat, it will be difficult for your body to process if you do add it back later. You also have to be very careful with your diet to ensure that you are getting all of the proper nutrients for your body. It would be a good idea to consult your doctor and/or a dietician to ensure you are meeting all of your needs in a healthy way.
  • VeganGal84
    VeganGal84 Posts: 938 Member
    I'm vegan, but am very far from being a raw vegan. I actually researched it and decided that it is not for me right now. It may never be! But I'm open to it, so I'd be interested in learning more, too.
  • sundancer1966
    sundancer1966 Posts: 478 Member
    Hi,

    I would try to be a vegan, then start to move towards being a raw vegan. I am also trying to be a vegan, I have been vegatarian for 12+ years, and my diet is vegan 99% of the time. I feel great since taking the dairy out of my diet. The hardest part for me is getting away from processed foods, there are some wonderful vegan products that are also processed, so those are very limited.

    There are a lot of options and it is not as hard as it used to be. Feel free to add me.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,028 Member
    I'd never be able to last. Some of my food has to be hot (temperature). Raw would mean no hot foods because that would entail cooking it.
  • ricepattikay
    ricepattikay Posts: 46 Member
    I went an did a health assesment on Saturday, the woman there said she tries to do raw for 80% of her diet. So 20% cooked. I figure it's something to aspire to anyway, don't know if I can do it or not. I never really thought meat agreed with me very well, I have a very slow digestive system so I'm pretty sure I can do with out meat but I don't know about everything else. We will see lol
  • techymum
    techymum Posts: 168
    Not sure where you live, but try this: www.greenspiritliving.com I had never heard of the raw diets until I re-connected with an old friend and she is a raw food chef. We have discussed things like holidays, etc. and I was amazed how versatile the raw way of life actually is.

    There is no doubt in my mind that my friend is healthier now than when we were hanging out together 25 years ago! That said, its not for me - I like my hot stuff too much. But I am trying to add more into my diet.

    Good luck - feeding our bodies is such an adventure!
  • ApproachingDusk
    ApproachingDusk Posts: 70
    I think its a good way to live, if you can hack it, but I would NOT recommend doing a cold turkey switch to raw-vegan. Its a huge transition and I saw a friend of mine go through it and the results were not pretty at first (lots of adjustment to the high veggie content, bathroom wise).

    Try being a vegetarian and just start cutting own animal products, then cooking less. At least that seems to be the smarter way to do it in my non-raw-vegan opinion.

    Of course what I'm saying could be just a load of malarkey.
  • ricepattikay
    ricepattikay Posts: 46 Member
    Thanks for the website, it looks like a good one for me :)
  • ricepattikay
    ricepattikay Posts: 46 Member
    No I think that's good advise, I was kind of thinking along those lines myself :)
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    It really depends on your personality. Some people have to go in stages - vegetarian, then vegan, then raw vegan. I went to vegan literally overnight, as did many people I know, so people require different things to be successful. However, I would suggest not jumping straight to raw vegan. You could try vegan first, then transition to raw. I personally could not do a raw vegan diet, but it is healthful to incorporate as many raw dishes into your diet as you can. So, even if you are only 50% raw and the rest of the time a whole foods vegan, I think you would be doing really well. In terms of raw, I just really think it would be best to do your own research anf find credible sources.

    Edit: the reason I couldn't do raw is simply because of time considerations if you want to be eating a varied and tasty diet. Every raw dish I have ever had has been simply amazing and delicious, I just don't have the time for it.
  • msandrea1127
    msandrea1127 Posts: 2
    a couple of months ago i decided to become a raw food vegan. i went from a high fat, meat eating, junk food eating person to eating only raw food-over night. the first couple of weeks i was going through big withdrawls and changes. i was very tired and had no energy, but that soon passed and i feel better than i have ever felt in my life. i believe the raw food way is the way to go, but if i had to do it again i would go through a step by step process to get there.
  • Vegan_Chick
    Vegan_Chick Posts: 474 Member
    You might want to look into Eat For Life by Dr. Furhman. His diet is all vegan and really high raw. Many people have had great success with him as becoming raw vegan from the start might be hard to do. This is coming from a 5 year vegan who has done many raw spurts. It is extremely hard to do, but well worth the rewards! Here is his website, I would recommend taking a look.

    http://www.drfuhrman.com/default.aspx

    Best of Luck, I would love to hear how it goes for you!
  • docsharp
    docsharp Posts: 32 Member
    Going raw can be quite a transition, but well worth it. I have had great success with eating raw. I eat some raw and vegan at this point. It took me a while to give up meat, I gave up a couple things at a time so my transition took a while but I am sure it can be done overnight as well with enough determination.

    I gave up the meats I did not eat much of first, like beef and pork and went on from there.

    Let me know if you have any questions I have been into the raw/vegan lifestyle since 2007. It has not been a long time but I have learned a lot.

    In the last 2 years I had some major things happen in my life and I allow myself to gain a lot of weight back so I am working on getting my weight down again... and this time, my goal is to get it off for good.
  • boisevore
    boisevore Posts: 14 Member
    A lot of people look at a raw vegan diet as the pinnacle of health. Some nutrients are actually absorbed better when cooked. Take lycopene for example. I would say this if you are already vegan and you are not having much success with vitality and / or weight loss look at some areas most vegans load up on (grains, oils, processed vegan foods, processed vegan meat proteins) and try to taper that stuff down replacing with vegetables and greens first. If that doesnt work for you try adding more raw food. I'm about 60 % raw most days because I bought a blender and started blending my greens with some fruit into smoothies. Pick up a copy of the china study if you have not already its a good read. :)
  • boisevore
    boisevore Posts: 14 Member
    You might want to look into Eat For Life by Dr. Furhman. His diet is all vegan and really high raw. Many people have had great success with him as becoming raw vegan from the start might be hard to do. This is coming from a 5 year vegan who has done many raw spurts. It is extremely hard to do, but well worth the rewards! Here is his website, I would recommend taking a look.

    http://www.drfuhrman.com/default.aspx

    Best of Luck, I would love to hear how it goes for you!

    His stuff is really good I second the recommendation
  • docsharp
    docsharp Posts: 32 Member
    I love Dr Fuhrman, he is great.
  • raevynn
    raevynn Posts: 666 Member
    I have done raw vegan.

    I was doing really well on it, actually... dropped some weight, was feeling great - then I went to a raw vegan "retreat", and sat through some workshops, and "learned" that I was "doing it wrong"...

    I went home, tried to do it "right", and totally wrecked my progress. my fibro kicked back up from dormancy, I felt crappy, and I put the weight back on.

    No, I haven't been able to get myself back to the point where I was at first - yet - being a raw vegan. I've adopted some of those eating habits again, but I'm still eating some cooked food (not much, really), as I'm still working on getting the fibro back under control. Also, I really do not have the time available that I did the first time to prepare all the really fun raw "gourmet" things I was making - not necessary to be successful, but it made it worthwhile for me!

    Moral of the story: if it works for you, do NOT let someone - no matter how much of an "expert" or "authority" they may be - tell you that it's the wrong way. If it isn't working, STOP.

    And for most fruit and veggies, raw is better. :happy:
  • Kristhin
    Kristhin Posts: 442 Member
    I am vegan, but not a raw vegan. I love eating raw foods meals though at restaurants and stuff.
    I recommend watching the documentaries Simply Raw, and Food Matters, both free on http://www.sprword.com/mustwatch.html.

    Also some good ones on NetFlix are Forks Over Knives and Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.

    Also try looking up Raw Vegan Radio. That should have some good recipes.

    And you can get the 3 book on Amazon I believe called 88 recipes that heal---all raw foods recipes, all delicious.

    While I'm not a raw vegan, I feel that becoming vegan has been the best decision I've ever made in my life.

    Good luck on your journey. ;)
  • DonPendergraft
    DonPendergraft Posts: 520 Member
    Just jump right in. That's what I did and I don't know what the H-E-double hockey sticks I'm even doing! Day 2 as a Vegan. :o)
  • gingerb85
    gingerb85 Posts: 357 Member
    While you will save time in cooking, you will spend a lot of time chopping and cutting. I am vegan and did a three week raw vegan diet in the beginning of August (as part of a church-wide fast - the church was doing the Daniel Fast, which would be just a vegan diet basically, so it wouldn't have been a stretch for me).

    I actually felt WONDERFUL with the exception of occasional cravings for something a little less crunchy. I did eat cook veggies a few nights because I bit a huge hunk out of my lip and it was SO raw and tender and every time I chewed, I would bite it again because it was so swollen. I drank a bunch of raw smoothies, though, during that time.

    I went to a vegan diet almost two years ago. I am not currently raw, but I do incorporate more raw meals into my menus now than I did before.
  • ricepattikay
    ricepattikay Posts: 46 Member
    Thanks for the comment, I am starting out just giving up meat, one step at a time :) I decided to go at it gradually, I haven't had meat for 6 days and I have to say I really haven't missed it (yet anyway) I am going to a class on how to be vegan on Saturday and they will be serving vegan foods so I am excited to hear all about it. thanks again, Patti
  • belinda_b
    belinda_b Posts: 70 Member
    There are a ton of sites out there about raw vegan. I personally love it.I have eaten 100% raw vegan, but I stick to about 80% now. It is a bit time consuming and I don't live in a warm climate where there is lots of fresh fruit all year round. I would say do it even if you can't do it perfectly, its awesome.
  • glamournanna
    glamournanna Posts: 10
    hello! <3

    i became vegetarian twelve years ago and have remained since, with periods of strict veganism. my diet is now mostly raw, and i really feel better than ever. different strokes for different folks, but you don't have to take an all-or-nothing approach. even for those not interested in a 100% raw diet (myself included), what's it going to hurt to have more fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet? what's it going to hurt to eat a vast bowl of salad? xx
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