A month ago, I decided to go back to be regular vegan, and it was one of the worse decisions about my diet I've ever made. I had gained all the weight I lost while being raw back, lost the will to exercise, and fell into a deep depression. A couple mornings ago, I looked in the mirror and said, "It's time." It's time for me to go back to being raw...and stay there.
In the past, I've battled severe body issues, resulting in bulimia. Being raw totally eradicated that, until I started eating cooked food. It came back with a vengence, and distorted my view of myself. I'm ready to love myself, love my body, love my life. Those are the reasons I'm going raw. Next Sunday, I start with a 24 hour water fast, and then continue on this beautiful journey. Here's the catch...I tried doing it by myself all the other times, and completely failed. This time, I NEED your support. I cannot spend my whole life in turmoil, hating my body, hating myself. Please, help me on the journey to health, happiness, and self-love. So...does anyone want to be my "raw-friend?"
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Hey. Ill. Be your friend I know exactly what you're going throughb I use to be trapped in an addiction to food. Though I'm a bit diff than the other comments I would binge and just binge then get depressed after I prayed about the situation and seeked Christ to deliver me, and he did then I found out about the raw food diet and I tried that and barely had the. Urge to eat so much food because while being raw I knew. I was satisfied and didn't need to binge. Then I stopped being raw for abpout a month now but I'm starting again tody as I type this I can never have my body feel as good as it feels while raw. I've been a vegetarian for 4 years then ate meat for about a month then went raw for a month then went back to eating meat now today I'm starting my raw journey for ever. God bless! Can't wait to hear back from you
Thank you soooo much. Gosh, the ONLY reason I'm not going raw right now is because we don't have a lot of money this week (rent week), so produce is low. My body image as really gone down-I looked in a mirror today at JCPenney, and almost broke down. I'm so ready for this. Has anyone else lost a lot of weight being raw? What about teenagers? I'm 17. Inspirational stories really motivate me. I follow Phillip McCluskey and Angela Stokes, but I also like hearing from the "average joe." Well, no one who is raw is "average," but you know what I mean. ;]
I think I should write out my reasons for being raw:
1. To be skinny
2. To be healthy
3. To be happier with myself
4. T get in touch with nature
5. To have the energy to run
6. To feel, look, and be beautiful
7. To be free from the addictions I have
What are YOUR reasons for being raw?
Schrip i would love to be your friend. Don't worry about feeling immature. Eating disorders make us wise beyond our years. We need faith in ourselves, and by helping each other, and having a supportive community, we can beat this disease.
I'm 19, um going raw today wasnt so sucessful!! but im not gonna beat myself up about it! tomorrows a new day. I lose about 20 or 25 pounds when i was raw but i only did it for about a month!. I loved it i want to go back raw becajuse i hate the way cooked food makes my body feel, and i want to be thin. I've never been thin, and i want to be healthy and i know raw is the best way to go! i have a system, because my mom just started buying my food again, but while i was working and i was raw i would just go to a friends house and eat their fruits or veggies and eat the fruits and veggies i had at home, sometimes get a couple of reciepes but its easy to be raw everyone has a banana or apple in their house lol. We can buy some nuts, and veggies, and juice them.
Exactly. Tomorrow IS a new day! The past and the future are all just illusions. It is our present that matters. Unfortunately, I have to wait until next Sunday to make the full switch, but I'm not going to worry. I'm going to thrive each moment.
I am going to fast on Sunday. I've stayed raw longer and more peacefully after I fasted. Anyways, the Raw Divas program calls for a 24 hour fast to start-Stop eating at 6 PM Saturday, and resume eating at 6 PM Sunday. Saturday I'm probably going to eat all/mostly raw. I'm excited to start.
I feel so trapped in my body right now. That's why being thin is number one. For me, it does represent health. I have a very extreme personality, and I work really well with going at things cold turkey, rather then leaning into things.
I know how to do EFT, I just don't really understand it.
And Lyn, I'd be glad to be your raw buddy
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i'll help support you! :) i'll be your RAW bud!
Leslie.
Thank you guys. Last night I had a COMPLETE wake up call. I had to go to the hospital for a psychiatric analysis(I suffer from severe depression), and they had to weigh me. 88kg. 194 lbs.
Complete wake up call.
I have to wait 2 more days before I go completely raw, but i can do it. I'm barely surviving, let alone thriving. It's time to take my life back. And, thank you all for helping with the support. Do any of you suffer from depression?
liger! i'm with you, friend. i've struggled with a binge/ restrict cycle for years. eating high raw is the only thing that truly stabilizes me and helps restore a healthy relationship with food and my body (but i definitely fall off the wagon a lot). it's so tough to break the cycle, i know. hopefully with the support of those around you (and the awesome people on this forum), and your own inner strength and resolution, you'll look back on this as the point when things started to turn around for good!
i too keep a food journal (great suggestion, joannabanana) and force myself to be brutally honest with it. it's been really helpful to go back and re-read how awful i feel when i binge, and how amazing i feel when consistently raw. and while it doesn't work for everyone, an occasional 24- or 36-hour water fast REALLY helps clean me out and start fresh -- almost like hitting a "re-set" button. it can be a longer journey for some people (definitely for me), so remember to be patient and accepting and love yourself like crazy. you are BEAUTIFUL and you WILL reach the awesome level of health you're striving for!
I did it. I took the first step. I went raw today. I felt so bad last night, just crying and crying.It occured to me that I don't have to "wait" and be raw. I can just do it now. I had a "eureka" moment. I've been "asleep" for the past few months, and finally woke up. I'm excited for my future now, very excited. I don't feel hopeless anymore. It's amazing how a change in diet can totally transform your life.
schrip, thats exactly what i got. Depression is no fun. But, its bearable. Friday a see a psychiatrist to new meds. I had an adverse side effect to depression meds, and i need a new prescription. It's my goal to completely be off my medication, and I know raw will help/
Susan, I'll definately check out that method. I need help with emotional eating, even when i eat raw
Brookie...THANK YOU. You're awesome. For the first time in a long time, i actually DO feel beautiful!
You guys are ALL so wonderful!!! I'm glad I have this site.
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My second day raw. I feel empowered, beautiful...and tired! I forgot what detoxing was like. I'm making conscious, healthy decisions, and I love it! I'm out of this depressive hole, and I feel great.
Question: What do you feel about eating later at night? What time do you usually stop eating?
Hey Sharla! Thank you sooooo much! I'm glad we talk about our journey's; it really helps. I'm finally doing it! It's like watching a child walk for the first time. =)
I have to consciously tell myself WHY I should eat raw, and not cooked. If I don't , I may fll into the "pain-pleasure" trap, like I used to. I have to tell myself, "Is this one cracker/cheese/bread/rice/etc worth the tears, weight gain, self-hatred, and depression?"
And the answer is always: NO! It is not worth it.
I'll probably stop eating around 7 PM...since I'm a little kid ( ;-] )...and go to bed early. I'm sure that I will feel much better if I do so.
Qustion: What do you guys do about cravings? What about if you are in a social situation?
Thank you!!
Hey what about if you just dont put too much pressure on you and just eat raw when you can, and non-raw when there is social events, thats it and that is reasonable.
You wont recover any eating disorder by eating only raw, you have to make peace with yourself and with the food, because if not you still get crazy about everything you are eating and this is not a resolved problem to me, it can be worst because you stop having social situations because of raw (??)!!!
Think about how you can forgive yourself even if you are not perfect, and learn to love you the way you are and the way the world is!!
Its so beautiful!!
aw, fonky, you're wonderful!
It IS about self-love, and these past few months, I've totally lost that. But, being raw, coupled with positive affirmations, meditating, and giving to others, is really helping. I feel confident now, and I have unwavering faith that I will reach my goals.
oh my gosh!!! im so happy you did !!! :D gahhhhh i cant keep up! i started then stopped. im in nursing school right now!! at the end of the day im stressed and loose control... i feel so dissapointed in myself!! but you did it, and i'm gonna do it too!
Don't be dissapointed in yourself, pastel...that's what really got to me. I would eat and eat cooked food, feel guilty and dissapointed, and then eat again! No wonder I gained the weight back. You can do it, pastel, I believe in you!
It's only been three days, and the change in my demeanor, clarity, moods have been STAGGARING!!!!
Anyone who says being raw is "unhealthy" is full of poo, and have no idea what they're talking about. I am proof of how instantaneously going raw can help you!
Schrip and Liger99 -
I have been reading your comments - both you ladies do seem wise beyond your years!
But I am feeling very nervous reading your comments - I am worried that you may be using raw as another form of starvation (not starvation in its literal sense - but in the form of "body control" found within eating disorders)
I am 25 now but I too know what its like to suffer from an eating disorder. Going raw can be a wonderful diet and a great choice for many people. Maybe even you. But please be VERY VERY cautious that it is not your eating disorder that has "gone raw" but that its you.
sounds like you're doing great, liger! i'm so proud of you (and all you guys on this thread). i still struggle with temptations to binge, but the longer i stay consistently raw, the more i just crave raw. eating is slowly becoming less of a battle and more of a pleasure. i appreciate the support of awesome people on this forum, it really helps me stay positive.
liger, i struggle with social eating too. (i could easily be 100% raw forever if i lived on my own little desert island away from well-meaning people offering me pizza.) it really helps if i can decide ahead of time what/ how much i'm going to eat, then take my focus off food and just enjoy being with people. so before thanksgiving i decided i would avoid the appetizer table completely, and have fun playing with my little cousins instead. at parties i try and focus on good conversations with friends, and not on the yummy nachos they're eating :) it's awesome to realize you were so wrapped up in enjoying yourself that you didn't even think about food.
i read some interesting advice recently re: avoiding a binge -- "just don't take that first bite." while it sounds unnecessarily strict, i know i'm MUCH less likely to binge if i don't taste the pizza at all. the first taste is a real trigger, and then it's hard for me to stop. i know eventually i'll reach a level of health where i can have a bite or two with no problems (or it won't appeal to me at all), but right now it helps if i can avoid the first bite altogether.
and i definitely echo the advice of others to love, accept, and forgive yourself at all times. you are beautiful (all of you on this forum are!) and you're giving yourself an incredible gift by embarking on this raw journey so early in life. you have a whole life full of awesome health ahead of you. :)