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Advice with transitioning

Hi everybody! I am having a problem that I hope someone can help me out with. Over the past 6 months or so I haven been reading many books on the subject of nutrition/ health/ and healing. I have learned so much about foods that promote a healthy body. I know which food nourish me and which foods to avoid. So then why can’t I stick with a high raw diet?

The problem is, I do not feel satisfied after a raw vegan meal. For example, I will eat a huge salad (lettuce, spinach, sprouts, portabella mushroom, avocado, sweet peppers, onions...the works) and then after 20 minutes or so I'm back in the kitchen eating and apple or an orange...I just want more and more. This isn't the case when I have a "normal" American style lunch. I can eat a baked potato with butter and sour cream for example and feel completely satisfied for a good 2 to 3 hours. I love the comfort of having a solid meal and the feeling of heavier food in my stomach. I'm only about 50% raw at the moment...I do love my fruits and veggies so enjoying the taste and textures of raw food is not an issue for me. I guess my question is, has this been a problem for anyone else? Does it become easier in time to become satisfied eating a raw vegan diet or will I constantly have this feeling of deprivation? Thanks in advance for any support/ feedback..I have been a member on this site for a while but have been finding it difficult to give support when I am struggling myself with this new lifestyle.

Peace and love, Liz

Comments

  • I dont’ know why half of my post got cut off. But I hope everyone can read everything…if not let me know and I’ll try to repost it again!

  • YOu just need to give it some time and progress at a pace that feels comfortable for you. Try to eat much larger volumnes of raw food than you are used to eating. Raw food (unless it contains a lot of fat) has much less calories, so you need to eat A LOT to stay satisfied.

    This beautiful journey is about progress, not perfection. :-)

    Blessings,

    Audrey

  • Liz,

    Do you think that eating “comfort” foods satisfies your mental hunger more than your physical hunger? Many of us here (especially while transitioning) have felt the need to eat those foods. Most of the time, it is a mental hunger not a physical. If you stick with simple whole foods this will disappear over time. Good luck!

  • snoopy99snoopy99 Raw Newbie

    I am with you all Naturawl….I have had a hard time transitioning…sometimes i feel like i am failing because my food combinations are wrong…or i ate something non raw since i am so used to it..but i think and i have realized now, that i need to set up a designated list of foods taht i will keep in my diet until i decide to really go raw. some of those foods would be: steamed veggies like broccoli, beans-legumes, fish on occasion. As long as i eat raw most of the time I am at least feeling satisfied rather than restrictive…I just started thinking like this today, so we will see how it goes. Hopefully my transition will be smoother and much more enjoyable than my first try a few weeks ago!

  • have_merseyhave_mersey Raw Newbie

    Are you making sure you get in enough fats and protein? Also, I have read that when in transition, you crave more food until your body has enough vitamins, then slowly start eating less. So far my main problem is habit (I tend to think I need this or that because it is what I am used to),or I haven’t had an adequate amount of fat, or I am detoxing and want the food that I’m addicted to, despite how it poisons me. I can feel a definite difference. Another of my personal problems is that, I know I only have a limited amount of produce due to budget, and so I don’t eat as much as I should and end up craving the naughty things. Due to the fact that I am not the only one buying food in my house, there are alot of temptations. We will beat it with time though.

  • achin70achin70 Raw Newbie

    When eating raw, it’s a different quality of feeling full. Instead of a heavy feeling, you feel light and ready to motor. I think it takes some getting used to. Long-term raw foodists actually prefer this feeling. :)

  • Thanks everyone for replying! I think the best approach for me will be to slowly work my way up to 100% so I can make the transition a little easier…I’m glad that the problem of feeling full will be resolved in time. Hopefully as summer approaches I will enjoy the lighter stomach more so than in the winter when I was eating more for comfort. Thanks again everyone, Liz

  • I agree with everyone else. Your body has to learn what a different full vs stuffed and a different hungry vs it’s Noon, time for lunch. It is a total retraining. I see that we (newbies) are pretty much done with keeping tabs on what you are eating for a week. My next question/idea/suggestion was going to be what percentage are you and shall we take the percentage step together? Right now, today (after eating brown rice with coconut oil and cashews – not raw). I’d say I’m about 90% Raw. Yesterday I thought I was ready to take the 100 % route, but had panicked when hunger pains hit and I thought I was going to starve to death (like that would ever happened) so I scarfed a slice of chicken with a piece of bread down.

    One percentage at a time – that’s what I say. If you are 50% there today – stay there for at least a week or maybe two (that depends on you) then PLAN (learning that’s a big key) add another RAW dish/snack/meal into the place that you are stumbling – for me that’s dinner. So This week – I am planning 3 – 5 Raw dinners and I’ll take it from there. If I slip, brush myself off – endulge in a FANTASTIC GREEN SMOOTHIE and try it again tomorrow – no sweat, and no worries. WE WILL GET THERE!

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    all naturalrawl, I’m on my 4th week 100%, and im hungry all the time too. So i eat- fruit – a lot! and i have a good solid breakfast of green smoothie followed by a mid morning stack. Eating a lot early in the day really helps.

  • Try having simpler cooked vegan foods. Like boiled grains and beans. These will help ease your hunger feelings and will not be as bad for your health as meat and dairy. This make a pretty healthy all vegan diet combined with raw veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds. Then you can within your comfort zone increase the raw to cooked ratio over time.

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