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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.
Thank you, LOSTisFOUND!
I really have thought about that a lot, and I know I/we need to avoid a raw food lifestyle developing into an eating disorder- either a state where eating something cooked would be *gasp* terrible, horrible, Iwanttokillmyselffordoingthat, or simply continuing to restrict/binge/purge on a raw food diet (especially because one could consume large volumes of vegetables and fruits without getting enough calories).
I meet regularly with a doctor and a friend/counselor who are aware of my eating choices, and monitor my health.
Even though I still have a lingering eating disorder that comes and goes, I am CERTAIN that raw food is the answer for me as an individual. Whenever I eat raw food, there is NO GUILT whatsoever. And I make sure that I get enough calories. That is KEY. But what I can relate to with these girls wanting to go 100% is that if I personally don't, I suddenly feel guilty and want to purge, even if it's NOTHING worth purging. When one has an eating disorder, it takes up your whole life, you know? Every moment you think about being thinner or what you ate or why you ate or when you can purge, etc. It consumes your life. But in my experience, and it looks like in many many others experiences, raw food, when "used" correctly, heals. And if going raw 100% keeps you in that healthy boat, away from an eating disorder, GO FOR IT. Just do it correctly, meaning eat enough calories and don't think of it like you did your eating disorder (I HAVE to do this to be skinny, etc). Forgive yourself and start again.
Bethany, in answer to your question about social situations, it depends on how raw you really want to be. I've heard some GREAT advice on staying raw in social situations, and it's helped me stay raw, too. I bring my own food with me when I know I'll be out of the house for a few hours--because I eat every couple of hours anyway. I'll simply tell people I'm not hungry OR I'll tell them I'm a raw foodist. If it's a lifestyle, then tell people or explain gently. If it's a diet, then you're more likely to indulge in cooked foods. Also, ask a waitress to be creative and have the cook prepare a salad with nothing but uncooked vegetables. Ask for some lemons to use the juice as a dressing if you don't bring your own. If you carry big purses around, it'll be easy to bring your own raw dressing or sprouts for a salad. It's easier than most people think.
And you are an inspiration to a lot of us. I'm off raw right now why? I have no clue. Whenever I'm not raw, I'm thinking about raw and how much I'd rather eat raw than cooked food. It's the obvious answer for me. I just have to get to it!
Keep up the great work! Remember to love yourself!
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. :)