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I went from SAD to Raw cold turkey. I started by doing a master cleanse and after cleansing for 15 days, I had no desire for cooked food at all. I spent my first week after the cleanse just drinking green smoothies because that is all I wanted and then gradually taught myself to make raw meals.
My husband has been very supportive. He was concerned at first that it would ruin us going out for nice dinners, but we only go out once a month or so, so I just have a salad of some sort or take some enzymes and have the minimal amount of cooked food that I can get away with.
My family was concerned at first that I wouldn’t get enough calcium and protein, so I got them to read Green for Life by Victoria Buetenko and after that they are fine with it. My mom is almost 100% raw now, and my nephew and his girlfriend are eating quite a bit of raw food as well. I found that I couldn’t convince people of what I was doind was healthy, they had to read the facts themselves. My husband went and saw Sergei Buetenko speak and since then he drinks green smoothies everyday and eats most of my raw dinners (at least during the week). His weekends tend to be SADder!
I find that most of my relatives think I am eccentric and extreme, but as long as I make a salad for any table I am going to sit down to, everyone is fine with me not eating the rest of the food. Also, now that I have mastered some great raw recipes, my SAD relatives are happy to taste anything I add to a meal.
I hope this helps. I have been raw for 6 months and feel no reason to ever return to a SAD. I don’t miss anything and I have never been healthier, happier or more energetic. The word for how I feel most days is “invincible”!
I went raw pretty much cold turkey… It hasn’t been very long yet, just over a month but I can give you some idea of what I’ve been going through so far.
I have been vegan for 10 years so I don’t think I had AS much detoxing as some, but I did eat at least one vegan donut everyday in my sad life so those definitely had to be cleaned out. I had some problems in the first 10 days or so with my bowels trying to figure out what to do with all the fiber, i bounced back and forth between constipation and diahrea for a little over a week… it worked itself out though. I feel pretty lucky because I didn’t have major caffine withdrawls or headaches or anything, just a few days of low energy and it didn’t last long.
My hardship was more emotional, like allowing myself to relax about all of my attachments to food. I was really depressed for a few days and absolutely obsessive about my food. Like more than usual. I had to just tell myself to take the raw diet one day at a time and that at any point if I REALLY wanted to eat something that was cooked I would allow myself to. Once I said that to myself it was like the rain cloud moved on and I was able to just do it.
I am still trying to figure out exactly what ratios of fat/carbs/proteins/sugars work best for my body. I think I kind of have a handle on it but I want more fats than i think is necessarily good for me.
I don’t know where you are coming from or what kind of food and equipment you have available to you… i think that will affect the ease with which you transition. Having a good blender and food processor really helps, and I got a dehydrator which opens up a lot of meal options for me.
As far as the fancy dinners and relatives go I haven’t had too much experience with that yet. I told my dad about switching to all raw food, he is a body builder so his first question was obviously about protein, I told him I was keeping track and trying to make sure I got an adequit amount of protein and calories and he was fine after that. I have been out to one group dinner at a non raw restaurant and I got there a little early and asked the server if she thought they may be able to accomodate my diet. They did pretty well although it wasn’t COMPLETELY raw. I may have been better off to get a huge salad with fruit and avo in it. Going to a restaurant that has raw options for a fancy dinner would be a great choice if you have one in your town.
Let us know how you are doing and good luck!
Waterbaby, I am SAD, but have been getting at least one serving of raw fruits or veggies a day for the last two weeks.
Green, I hear you about your relatives thinking the whole thing’s extreme. My mom’s family thinks it’s great, but my dad thinks I’m being rediculous. When I told him about it I could almost see that word (rediculous) in his eyes. I guess that it’s all about being educated and understanding what the raw way of life is all about.
Sara, I was wondering about bowel problems. Thanks for giving me the heads up, or rather the bottoms up…lol. I have also been obsessive about food for as long as I can remember. It’s my best friend and has been since I was a kid. Finding a good balance also seems to be very important.
Thanks everyone, and I hope to hear more!
Angie, I like the yoga idea. I was thinking about taking some classes, because I thought that might help my transition. I like all the juices I’ve made, including the green ones. I don’t think I could do just that, but I’d like to include it on a constant basis.
Bitt, sadly we don’t have a raw food restaurant where I live. That would make it so much easier for me, but I’m trying to look forward to creating new things in my kitchen. It’s great that your family was supportive. I hope I can look forward to the same.
Chris, thanks for the stat. My cousin went cold turkey when she went raw, but she said that it wasn’t for everyone.
Amy Sue, I find that I also need to eat often, every couple of hours or so. I have this nightmare of having to run to the bathroom in a public place and not being able to find one lol. I know that can’t last forver, but I’m not looking forward to it.