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Radical lifestyle??

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  • SueSue Raw Newbie

    Izhpt, I have given that DVD to some friends and family. I just love it. I don’t agree with the diet because a lot of it is cooked and it advocates absolutely no oil, but it is an awesome DVD and the part where they show the mistreatment of animals at the factory farms is something every single person on this planet should see. It’s a real eye opener and it just makes me sick to see how we’ve progressed (or rather “regressed”) to this stage of “evolution.” The book “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser also details the history and horrors of the meat industry.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    lzhpt – thanks for the info. about the DVD. It’s true that people just don’t know. My grandpa ran a hamburger stand when he was in college. He said to us once that they had paid a premium price to get the best quality beef, and he figured that McDonalds and other burger places do the same. It was really sad; our having to explain all the greed and corruption in that industry now and how they fill the “meat” with all kinds of junk to make us addicted and make it profitable to them. His intentions in his days were so all-American good, and he never would have thought anyone would do anything differently.

    As for dying younger and younger, my brother is one of those who doesn’t want to know. He and others in my family are so against any kind of “extreme” diet that any time the subject of what is healthy comes up there is an argument, and people are bugged that “all we can talk about is food” – so I have stopped talking about it. He told me that he thinks (and I don’t try to correct him) that most of us can just eat “normally” or “all things in moderation” – which is the SAD diet – and live to be 70 with no problem. He doesn’t want to know differently and I have agreed not to talk to him about it.

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    people get very uncomfortable sometimes because they fear that you may be right but won’t be able to change themselves.

    also, i agree it is a complement to be considered a “radical thinker”. for most people don’t think, they just follow.

  • lol. Perhaps your mother-in-law is my grandma. She’s told me the exact same thing. No worries. I’m sure she didn’t mean it to degrade you. Take it as a possitive comment that you’re not like every other person out there and someone notices your efforts! She just sees everything on a lower plane. It seems as though the average person is very limited in thoughts and abnormal ideas. Just smile and remember that it’s great to feel connected with Earth and understand and appreciate it. :D

  • lzhptlzhpt Raw Newbie

    I make a point to read a good new raw book or magazine weekly. This site has been so helpful in my quest to learn even more. Thanks to you all. I have not yet read Fast food Nation, but i will get that one next for required summer reading for my teens—got the oldest to eat a single asparagus spear tonight. He liked it and did not expire. There is hope.

  • kundalalitakundalalita Raw Newbie

    the reason why ‘radical’ sounds insulting is because it makes it seem like your lifestyle is extreme, beyond reason. the diet that is radical is the one that gives the body stuff it hasn’t even evolved to eat, differing so much from 3 million yrs of a diet more similar to the one we eat.

    hahaha, i like the way my non-raw boyfriend puts it. when we talk about food, he refers to “raw food” and instead of “normal” or “regular” food like most people say, he calls it “crazy people food”!

  • MOTHMOTH Raw Newbie

    It is a pet peeve of mine when I hear people call my dietary choices “extreme.” I get really testy when I hear that. To me it’s not extreme at all; it’s elementary!

  • Whats wrong with being called a hippie from the ‘60s and ‘70s? What’ wrong with her perspective to think it’s bad? (Yes, some were Charletains, but that is so in every lifestyle)

  • sarawsaraw Raw Newbie

    I always tell people that it is what is working for me. Why would I change something if it is working? I am always happy to answer questions, and I always recommend good books! My dad saw me over the weekend, and noticed that I lost quite a bit of weight. He told me I looked good though too! He asked what I was doing to loose it. I said that I am eating a lot. Then he asked what am I eating? Anything that is NOT cooked, and NOT meat. “Well, you NEED to eat a bloody steak every once in a while!” I just replied with, “No. No I don’t.” LOL Also, it is good to tell people to do some research before making assumptions about your eating habits. Even if they never intend to eat this way, they will at least be informed, and understand WHY you eat this way. I will read up on anything, even if I disagree with something. It is always better to try to understand why someone thinks a certain way.

  • I also take radical as a compliment. Let’s look at the definition from http://www.answers.com/topic/radical :

    (I omitted a few that do not apply to this topic)

    1. Arising from or going to a root or source; basic: proposed a radical solution to the problem.

    2. Departing markedly from the usual or customary; extreme: radical opinions on education.

    3. Favoring or effecting fundamental or revolutionary changes in current practices, conditions, or institutions: radical political views.

    5. Botany. Arising from the root or its crown: radical leaves.

    6. Slang. Excellent; wonderful.

    noun

    1. One who advocates fundamental or revolutionary changes in current practices, conditions, or institutions: radicals seeking to overthrow the social order.

    Sounds good to me!

    I find it amusing and at times frustrating, that people often criticize while being completely ignorant of the facts. Show by example of how great you feel and how healthy you are! It tells more than arguments. When I meet people that are genuinely interested in my lifestyle, information is shared. If they just want to pick a fight, well, they can take their defensiveness and insecurities elsewhere. I will smile and send my love, seeing that we are all on different points of readiness in our journeys.

    I am often called extreme, though I prefer ‘moderate extremist’, I am extreme! Compared to SAD, certainly, though it is another extreme. I am grateful to not be ‘average’. To question the mainstream ideas comes naturally to me, somebody needs to or we’d all be living in the stone age still.

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    Your mother-in-law will learn from you just like the rest of our spouses, families. My husband used to question my many “radical” choices out of love and concern but now he’s my biggest fan. He went to a dinner party the other night with a group of people who touted “slow food” and he proudly told me how he pointed out to them that slow food was old, his wife was RAW. There’s always a chance that she’s questioning you to your face as a way of remaining the parental figure, but to others she’s bragging about her hip raw daughter in law.

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    What a fabulous forum – great posts everyone! Some folks make me feel uncomfortable and act as though i’m being extreme and picky for no reason – just to cause other people inconvenience. That’s the farthest thing from the truth! amysue – i’m so glad your husband brags about your choices, how exciting! my boyfriend won’t admit it, but I think he’s secretly astonished at my self control and willpower, being able to eat raw. he watched me struggle to eat only vegan food, and called me the cheatin vegan because i wolfed down large amounts of unhealthy packaged food, cheese, restaurant food, etc. Now, he clearly sees that I only ever eat raw food – and it’s quite a change from how i used to be. It’s thrilling, in a way.

    To be totally honest, if I had been told 2 years ago that I would one day be raw, I would have thought it was radical. In my wildest dreams, I could never imagine that something SO GOOD for you, so healthy, could be kept a secret! If there was a way to eat that promoted weight loss, cured cancer, and prevented most every disease/affliction, then OF COURSE the medical community would have known about it. OF COURSE it would be on the news. OF COURSE i’d know tons of people following this healthy lifestyle. If you told me that this diet was THE diet to follow for true health, I would have been incredulous that no one would LISTEN. But here I’m, a raw foodist, and I never want to eat cooked again. I’m still getting used to it.

  • roxiroxi Raw Newbie

    I have more to add….

    On Saturday, my husband informed me he wanted to try my lifestyle and slowing stop eating meat and dairy and slowing up his intake of raw veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds. I thought, YAY! Great, I was already for him to try the delicious recipes I uncook. Well….Sunday my mother-in-law wanted us to come over for dinner. Dun dun dunnnnnnnn :)

    She obviously knows that I eat raw, so I volunteered to bring a raw entree (at least I wouldn’t starve). While the guys were grilling their steak and potatoes, we were all outside talking and what not. I was making small talk and said that we were thinking about buying a juicer so we could juice wheatgrass and drink it each morning. My husband then started talking about why and all its benefits. Well, a flip switched and she went off on him. Saying thinks like “if I feed your dad wheatgrass each morning we would be divorced in 6 months!” And

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Sounds like she has issues with controlling others – maybe she feels out of control in her own life? Like your hubby is explaining why YOU and HE want to drink wheatgrass juice, so she starts talking about why she can’t/won’t do it for HER nad HER HUSBAND? Did I miss the part where your hubby told her they have to start drinking wheatgrass? I have had to just stop talking to my family about what I am doing for my health, for the most part. It’s really none of her/their business what you guys decide to do whether it’s food, or religion, etc. – she doesn’t have to tell you what to do, and you don’t have to tell her what you’re doing. Maybe focusing on healing the relationship and respecting each other’s space and right to choose (without discussing problem areas) for a while may be the thing that works? Or if you guys are keeping it to yourselves and she tries to bring up something to start an argument, maybe just ask a simple, point-blank question, such as “Why do you feel such a need to be in control?” The answers may surprise you and her. :)

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    roxi—my mom FLIPPED when i went raw. she made all sorts of excuses for her behavior, but in the end it came out that she just felt i was cutting her out of my life by doing something she wasn’t included in. then she discovered she had ALL SORTS of great ideas for raw recipes and would make me these amazingly inspired salad “landscapes” (like they belonged in a magazine!) and raw sauces.

    try and figure out what angle your mother in law is coming from. clearly the health angle is too much for her. maybe you could appeal to her sense of taste and esthetic by making some really elaborate fruit shapes… i saw shazzie make a basket out of a pineapple once. you could serve that with an amazing nut cream and a berry sauce… offer her something she can relate to, and possibly something she could IMPROVE with something SHE can bring to the table.

    she probably just feels that she is going to lose her son to the health word—a world she can’t see herself wanting to join (this is totally irrational, but nevertheless very real to HER).

  • roxiroxi Raw Newbie

    Thank you, great advice angie! I called MY mom last night and talked to her about it and she said something very similar. We had lived with her for about 3 months before getting married (to save money) and my mother made the comment that she had a lot of influence over us during that time period and now that we aren’t there anymore and on our own she doesn’t have that “control” or “influence” anymore. I’m glad you pointed that out because I never noticed that before, but thinking back to other times that is soo true!! She involves herself very much in our private lives. It doesn’t help that his stepdad and both work for the police department here. So they always know what is going on in his work life. Maybe we should try and cut some of those ties or else we may come to resent them. And you are right, he never said that they needed to drink wheatgrass. It started out as more of an informational conversation such as, “this is what I learned, what do you think” and comparing notes, etc. All I can say, is that conversation totally soured her attitude for the rest of the night. I thought it was very strange. Thanks again for the advice…your very intuitive! :)

  • roxiroxi Raw Newbie

    pianissima- i hope she wouldn’t feel she would lose her son to that …hehe. Although I feel if this continues she will be pushing us away. :( I made the raw broccoli salad from this website last night and she loved it! (I love it too!) So, as far as raw dishes, she likes them. We also made raw chocolate ice cream last night and everyone eat it up. That is why I am just so confused, she is currently reading The raw detox diet book! lol….and she is following the steps and incorporating more raw into her life. That is why I have been baffled this last week by her behavior. She had decided to cut meat out of her diet about 5 months ago, before I did!! Oh well…I’ll just have to analyze more and more on this….

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    wow. that’s a mystery then. hmmm… maybe it’s just happening too fast for her?

  • alpdesignsalpdesigns Raw Newbie

    I think it takes some health problems in a person’s life for them to make a change in their diet. It did for me and it did for my parents. Now they eat more salads and fruit instead of Fritos! My mom uses stevia in her green tea, no more coffee with Sweet ‘n Low. I decided ages ago to quit talking about why my diet is healthy and they see by example. My recent blood tests were great. I don’t eat meat, my B-12 was better than my dad’s and his diet was predominantly meat, canned vegetables and other junk/snack food. Maybe your MIL is getting the picture too.

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    i had a thought: from the “my husband would have divorced me” comment it seems like she may be a bit jealous of how you and your husband are going in on this diet as an aligned front, a team. maybe your father in law is being less than helpful for her, or she feels he is?

  • roxiroxi Raw Newbie

    that is a great point! I think you may have hit the nail on the head! I feel like a light bulb has just come on. He keeps saying he must have meat and will not under any circumstance give it up. He also played a practical joke (he said it was on me, but I truly think it was on her, because it didn’t affect me). He went around on all of the food she buys organically and put labels on them saying “now with meat”. He is not supportive at all of anything lifestyle change she may want to do nor is he very helpful around the house. She has stated on a couple of different occasions that they have had some “issues” with that lately. Maybe she is really just frustrated with him and taking it out on us?? I think I may approach this differently….

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