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What Do You Tell People About Your Diet?

Hey everyone :)

Have been meaning to come on here and check out the forums for ages, but have been really busy lately!...still finding time to sneak on and check out the latest amazing recipes though…yummy:)

Anyway…I have been eating 100% for about a month and a half now…I just went cold turkey, and it has been surprisingly effortless…not to mention beneficial for my body!

I currently work from home, so have been sticking to a quiet life over this time as I get used to my new lifestyle…and because of that I have hardly told anyone that I am eating raw.Now I feel that the time has come to start telling people…and I am not really sure what to say…lol!

From all the reading etc I have done, I know all the wonderful benefits of eating raw and what it is all about…but when I think about telling people and what I would say…it all kind of gets jumbled up in my head!

So my question to you is…what do you say when you tell people you eat raw?...from when you first told your family members…to what you say to just a random acquaintance? No I don’t need everyone to approve of what I do or agree with me…but at the same time I would really like it if people understood where I am coming from and if I was at least able to get my point across simply and effectively…if you get what I mean?

Thanks:)

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Comments

  • blueyzblueyz Raw Newbie

    I am not 100% raw, but my friends are more accepting than my family. Mom especailly… Now it’s, oh so what I gave you wasn’t good enough?? I haven’t eaten in her house for 10 years outside family gatherings, she is not stupid and should know about 1/2 the crap that is in processed foods but just likes to be difficult. She finally left me alone when I started losing weight(long history hypothyroidism) this summer, but still a pain at times. Dad and sis just don’t get it, but don’t really care what I eat and my almost 3year old niece just loves that I bring her good fruit to eat. My friends, lol they just think I’m already weird so don’t really care as long as I’ll still show up to gathering with something they will eat. School, still haven’t figured it out at work since they are very SAD.

    For me personally my goal is to eat more natural. My goal was never raw although I tend to be drawn to a number of raw sites and such the last few months. My goal is eating cleaner, healthier for me and Local and THAT people are far less likely to give me any problems on. Raw they don’t get, and now it’s getting press some think it’s a new diet fad. I don’t play into any of that stuff, never have but I do realize how it influences thoughts of others. Usually if I go the natural/healthy route and simply say I prefer the taste uncooked vs. cooked if they really push for a deeper reason. Honestly the kids I teach would be more accepting than 1/2 the teachers in my school.

  • I’ve been raw for only about 2 months, but what I tell people right now is, “I’ve just been paying attention to how I feel when I eat certain foods. I’ve found that I really like eating raw foods. I have more energy, and I feel better.”

    It helps that I keep it entirely focused on me and I don’t make a blanket statement like, “Raw is good and YOU are bad.” (That’s what people will tend to HEAR, even if you don’t say it. If they want more info (and most don’t really care), then I’ll summarize by saying that by avoiding extreme temperatures, the foods I eat contain the maximum vitamin, protein and mineral content, and so I just get more out of it.

    I always mention that I’ve felt really tired for years and that this is helping me ot have more energy.

    Basically, I keep it simple, I keep it personal, and I keep it short (unlike this note)

    :>

    -WW

  • waterbaby12347waterbaby12347 Raw Newbie

    After 14 months of 95% raw I would suggest you NOT bring it up… And when it does come up use WailingWoman’s approach… She is right about others perception… Keep it simple and all about you… Maybe you will be able to avoid the misery most of us have experienced… I have no problems with new friends or Restaurants but old friends and family are a real pain…

    Congratulations and Good Luck with your new journey!!!

  • Thanks for sharing guys :) Yeah…I don’t intend to tell any more people than I have to! I also get what you are saying about making it about “me”...excellent point! Anyone else care to share their experience with this? Much appreciated:)

  • waterbaby12347waterbaby12347 Raw Newbie

    Angel~ Take a look at the forum page, there are several existing post on this subject, you might find interesting…

  • cheers for that waterbaby12347…I will take a look:)

  • springleafspringleaf Raw Newbie

    Angel: I agree with waterbaby and wailing woman, keep it very short and basic and don’t say anything that makes people think their diet is bad – very hard this last one! lol! I just try not to mention it at all unless strictly ness. My mother is ok with it, but my bf thinks I am in the “tin foil hat brigade” as he puts it, so I try not to bring it up.

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    I tell people that my digestive system is dead slow and causes some internal discomfort when heavy meals just sit there, making me gassy and bloated. So, I’m trying to eat more simply and naturally. That means avoiding meat, dairy and processed foods and sticking to mostly fruits and vegetables in their natural, raw states. I don’t bother going into details about grains, unless they probe for more details. I learned really quickly that people do not respond well to words like RAW and VEGAN. That’s when they start lobbing terms like protein, calcium, iron, crazy, wacko, etc. Keep it simple.

  • CalebCaleb Raw Newbie

    I tend to just tell people I am eating vegetarian, they don’t freak out as much. I only brink up the raw thing if they seem interested. It’s funny seeing how some people react though. Once woman I work with told me just this morning I look like I’m going to blow away. I’m 5’ 11” and 170lbs. Nowhere near underweight. People are always asking me about it though when the see what I am eating or find out. Most people seem really interested. I even have a few friends-acquaintances considering at least giving up meat.

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    yeah, it’s a touchy subject. With my friends and family they all knew as I began my journey because I had been searching for so long for something to help me. They’ve seen my transformation and are open to it. My co-workers and anyone else(acquaintances, etc) think I’m completely off my rocker. I tried rather desperately to hide it but things get out . Especially at work with doughnut fridays and all kinds of luncheons, breakfasts and parties. Most people know now and think I’m crazy. I don’t mind though because I feel so good. hehe. A couple people have no seen the difference in me and have even tried raw! Others have quite drinking soda daily or just started eating more fresh food. It’s been really cool.

    So I suggest just letting people see your results and when they ask what you’ve been doing just tell them you’re eating better and including more fresh food.

  • daniefondaniefon Raw Newbie

    I tell them that I am going to live forever. And, that since I love “cooking” I just tell them that it is my latest challenge. I was vegetarian prior to being raw, so no one is shocked. I live and work in an area where there aren’t even many vegetarians, so I was already an oddity. What I often hear is how they wish they could be as healthy as I am. I think looking healthy is the best endorsement and it wards off negative comments.

  • chicorychicory Raw Newbie

    i don’t tell anyone anything. No one ever talks to me about their diet, or has ever shown any interest, no do i particularly care how others eat. It might come up If I am out at a restaurant, or having lunch or dinner with a friend at their house…. then I have to let them know about my allergies/ intolerances. Although no one has ever questioned my choices about eating just fruit or veggies when out. Usually I just hear, wow, that’s a healthy lunch.

  • ungratefulungrateful Raw Newbie

    People are starting to notice my weight loss.

    They ask me what I am doing to lose weight. I tell them that I have stopped eating processed food and started getting more exercise. They lose interest quickly when they find out I’m not on a famous diet or taking magic pills.

    They are trying to get away in such a hurry, RAW doesn’t even come up.

    My family (which consists of my BF’s family who are all a bunch of hippies) is thrilled. The BF is not a vegetarian, loves his meat and potatoes, but is open to new things and is very supportive.

    My friends don’t care. LOL. “whatever, crazy lady, see you after we get back from dinner,” is pretty much what they say.

    My MIL (bF’s mom) is a holistic healer and she is absolutely doing a happy dance over it.

    I guess I’m pretty lucky in that aspect.

    :)

  • Thanks everyone…I really appreciate you sharing!

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    Love your delivery, ungrateful. You made me laugh. I live in a “heavy” city on the Canadian/US border. It seems to me that at least 60% are overweight or obese. Whenever someone asks me what the secret is to losing weight and keeping it off, they are immediately disappointed with my response, which is that there is no such thing as a magic pill or a fad diet that will work. Nothing short of a permanent change in diet, exercise and focus will achieve permanent weight loss. You’re absolutely right. They flee promptly. You’re lucky that you have support for going raw. My boyfriend thinks I’m more food obsessed than ever. I feel quite liberated from old obsessions. My family thinks this is just a fad diet of its own, that I will abandon as soon as I get bored. My friends generally think I’m nuts, so nothing much has changed there. Somewhere along the way, a passion for learning about anything and everything became synonymous with “nuts”. I can live with that.

  • it depends on who i’m talking to really. my immediate family knows i’m raw. my bro and sis are really into it and joke around with me about it all the time. my mom and dad don’t really care either way. but as for my aunts and grandmas etc. they are not going to find out i’m raw, or they’d flip. they don’t even know i’m vegan, they think i’m just vegetarian. they’re always asking about calcium and protein, and it’s like, do i look deficient or something?? jeeze. people i work with i’ll just say i’m vegan, but i don’t wanna try to explain something for an hour, and being vegan is “weird” enough, so i’ll skip the little raw detail!! ;)

    but yeah, it’s crazy, but i’ve almost been raw for half of a year now! that’s exciting but it’s not like it’s been a struggle or anything. once i got in the everyday groove of things it’s simple!! and i eat VERY simple day to day so it helps!!

    and sorry for gettting off topic!! hehe

  • dogsuponhotcatsdogsuponhotcats Raw Newbie

    hehehehe…

    I don’t tell anyone I’m raw. Not even my family knows. I don’t even tell people I’m a vegetarian, much less vegan raw. If I’m eating around people, I sort of put my “raw” on hold and eat whatever I want. So, I’m obviously not 100% raw. Even if store clerks make a comment about the raw Lara bars or raw Kombucha I’m buying, I say that I’m buying it for my “sick grandmother” (LOL none of my grandparents are even alive). It comes out sounding like complete horseshit to the clerk, but when it comes to everyone else, I have them in the dark where I want them. Why I do it, I don’t know…

    My boyfriend is pestering me more and more to move in with him, which is getting too serious for me, and plus, if I do, my cover will be blown.

  • rawforhealthrawforhealth Raw Newbie

    i am new to raw and have been transitioning for the past few months..honestly, my family and friends don’t get it either…they just laugh, esp when i tell them about my decision to starting to give up meat, etc…it amazes me how ignorant people are about what they put in their bodies, but bottom line for me…I am the one that has to live with debilitating symptoms so i don’t really care what others think..if I know in my heart I am doing what I need for my body, that’s the only truth i need. Maybe if they see me getting well they will follow along, but I think not! (I always say…once i get well, it will be like the dumbest member of a family going to college, i.e. the sickest person in my family and the only one who will be truly healthy…some of my family are overtly ill (but not as ill as myself)..the others THINK they are healthy, but the diet food and diet soda, artificial sweeteners, soy, etc they keep putting into their bodies will eventually catch up with them. My point: do what is best for you and if others don’t like it, tell them to go eat a big mac and see how they feel afterwards ;)

  • AC1DBU7NAC1DBU7N Raw Newbie

    It’s actually funny when or if it comes up in a conversation the very first thing people ask me is “Why I would want to eat RAW MEAT” even when I state Raw Vegan/ Raw Foodist they just don’t get it but everyone none the less gets very interested and want’s to know everything so I just point them Here….LOL But there is really a lot of supportive people out there…..

    Cheers

  • dogsuponhotcats – i’m not sure if you’re joking to some degree, but it seems extremely odd to me that your boyfriend – and no one in your family – knows you’re eating raw. i’ve been a vegetarian for 20 years, and people usually guess i’m a vegetarian the very first time they eat a meal with me – meat is such a big part of the SAD diet that it just stands out when you order your one or two courses without meat, particulary if you ask questions about a dish to find out whether there is an animal broth in it. when i was eating 100% raw, everyone knew immediately as well, as it is just not typical behavior to go to a restaurant and order nothing but a side green salad sans dressing plus a side of guac. I find it impossible to think that your boyfriend has ever seen you eat more than one meal and not caught on that you are veggie and raw??? ok – i just looked back up at your post and saw that you eat non-raw when eating around other people. sorry for misreading at first. i would still think everyone knows you’re eating vegan and vegetarian – if you are. and if you’re truly eating just a SAD diet – meat and all – then I don’t understand why you would label yourself as raw, vegan raw, or veggie.

    maybe it’s because i live in san francisco, but i don’t get the anxiety about telling others of this diet. most people out here seem to have heard of it, and everyone in SF has at least one or two vegetarian friends. it’s still unusual, but people don’t have the reactions i’m reading about here. i just tell people i am a vegetarian and i eat mostly raw, organic foods. then they get a look in their eye (or i just project it there…) that says “Girrrl, no wonder you look so good!”

  • If people ask me about my diet, it’s usually with curiosity. I don’t bring up how eating raw is better than cooked—that makes folks feel attacked. I just say it makes me feel great and it’s what makes my body happiest. Another thing I’ve found is that the proof is in the pudding, baby! I bring raw treats into work and let my friends taste. So far, everything has been a success. I’m not trying to convert anyone, but instead of explaining the food, I let them taste it for themselves. :)

  • I have always been a picky eater even as a child. Now most of my family lives on the other side of the country so I never see them. My co-workers on the other hand get a chuckle everyday at work…cuz even if I don’t eat something, I do have opinions about it. I work in a cafeteria kitchen.

  • dogsuponhotcatsdogsuponhotcats Raw Newbie

    DagnyTaggart – My friends and family DO know that I hate the taste of meat/eggs/dairy, but the difference between that and them knowing that I’m (supposed to be) a vegan is that I won’t freak out about what kind of oil my french fries were cooked in. And if I’m at somebody’s place, and pizza is all that’s around, I’m not going to go hungry. I don’t really label myself anything, to be honest. Like I said, I’m obviously not 100% raw or even vegetarian. However, when I’m alone, nothing cooked makes it through my lips. And my boyfriend doesn’t know either, but he’d quickly figure it out if he knew what I made for myself for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, etc.

    Ok, now I’m going to look like a completely pathetic coward, but I actually DO live in San Francisco, too. I do have some friends that are vegetarian, I think one or two may be vegan, but most of their diets are comprised of processed imitation soy meats, fries, white pasta, white rice with TONS of soy sauce…LOL The rest of my friends range from heart-stopping fast food fiends to people who think they’re being healthy by eating a Slim Fast bar instead of a cookie.

    A few days ago, I casually brought up the “raw food diet” to my friends to sort of test the waters , and without me even telling them I was thinking of it, they were like, “Fruits and vegetables only?? Have you completely lost it?? You’ll die and turn anorexic, and then you’ll get food poisoning!” (Seriously, that last quote was someone’s EXACT words – LOL) I already get enough flack for being “underweight” – which is purely genetic. Sometimes I wish I could just live alone on some undiscovered tropical island so I could live raw in peace!! :P

  • Dogsdoingdirtythingstosweetcats – After I responded to you the other day, I thought that my post might have sounded offensive or condescending and felt badly about that. Thanks for taking it all in good form. I think what I was responding to was your keeping raw as a secret – even from your boyfriend. It seems almost like making raw into an eating disorder – something that can only be practiced by you in secret, and I hate to think of you eating like that. People react to raw like that because they just don’t get it – if you look healthy and act healthy – they will accept it over time, unless they are insecure about their own eating.

    For Dog’s sake – you live in San Francisco! There is always a far bigger freak just around the corner – you can tell people you only eat paper and it’s just what Gwynth Paltrow does, and folks will be like Hmm, okay.

  • ungratefulungrateful Raw Newbie

    Ha, ha, Dagny.

    Dogs and Dagny, I am in SF too. we should go have pizza at Gratitude sometime before I move away. which will be very soon

  • beanbean Raw Newbie

    My entire family knows I’m raw, though sometimes they get stressed over it if they think I look peaky (sometimes I don’t pay enough attention to my diet and get run down), but they accept it for the most part. I’m away at school right now, and the last time my parents came to visit me, they brought me some raw treats, like dates and real raw cashews. My mom had made a huge batch of date/pecan balls for me with some carob I’d left at home, plus she’d figured out how to use my dehydrator and had made about twenty rolls of pear “leather!” It was so sweet of her! That was a great visit… My friends know that I’m vegan, but I’m never quite sure how to explain the “raw” thing without sounding like I have some kind of OCD, so I just say that I feel better eating as unprocessed as I can, and that I simply don’t feel the need to cook anything (though I could if I wanted to.)

  • CaresCares Raw Newbie

    Hubby had a funny experience the other day.

    He is working on a commercial building site and word went around pretty quick that he was raw veg.

    The head supervisor (normally a nice guy but having a bad day) walked outside the other day to find about 40 men all standing around in the car park next to Hubby’s car, they were all trying some seaweed :-)

    He walked past them, stopped, turned around, and told them all to get back inside and do some bloody work.

    (A giggle from Australia)

  • RawVee I love your idea of bringing treats to work- what exactly do you find people seem to enjoy the most?

  • dogsuponhotcatsdogsuponhotcats Raw Newbie

    “Dogsdoingdirtythingstosweetcats”???

    Nooo!! LOL

    My username is a play on the words “Catsup” and “Hotdogs”...heh, you know, like “ketchup on hotdogs”...

    Shit… I’d better put a disclaimer on my profile before you people here get strange ideas about me. :-O

    LOL @ Cares – wish I was there to see 40 construction workers loitering in a parking lot munching on nori! Crunch, crunch, crunch…

  • FeeFee Raw Master

    Im lucky in that I have pretty much cured my Imflamatory Bowel Disease through eating mainly raw so I can say that I eat like this to solve a medicinal problem.

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