raw vegan

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ricepattikay
ricepattikay Posts: 46 Member
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
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  • byHISstrength
    byHISstrength Posts: 984 Member
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    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: 49 Member
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    I would like some information also.
  • aqua_zumba_fan
    aqua_zumba_fan Posts: 418
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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: 48,708 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    Thanks for the website, it looks like a good one for me :)
  • ricepattikay
    ricepattikay Posts: 46 Member
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    No I think that's good advise, I was kind of thinking along those lines myself :)
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    I love Dr Fuhrman, he is great.
  • raevynn
    raevynn Posts: 666 Member
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    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:

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