Raw Food Forums

Have been vegan for 4+ years and wheat free for nearly 3(i think!)...my fms keeps flaring and I have heard great things about raw, (several friends have been raw for periods of time) and I am going to give it a shot!

So, what would be the best way to start being 'raw'? Each morning I already have carrot, celery, apple and orange juice (my son loves it without the celery!)...as I find I have been craving celery :shrug:

Anyway, any and all suggestions warmly (but not cooked!) welcomed!!

TIA
bek

i find raw like a hobby or interest. i like to pursue it and read about it alot which makes me dive deeper in and eat more raw. find out as much as you can and be as raw as you can

Hello Veggiebek, welcome to the forum.

I would say the best way to start each morning is going for a nice long walk to set the tone for the day, comming home to a big bottle of fresh clean water, Having a big GS for breakfast, and having lots of sweet juicey fruit!

YUUUMMMMMO

LOve BB
XXX

Welcome Bek,

I would say just dive in. It's kinda like being at the beach - if the water is cold and you start off dipping a toe in, then slowly trying to tiptoe in getting deeper and deeper - it just doesn't work. What you have to do is running screaming through the sand and plunge in head first. Sure, you'll get buffeted around by the waves a bit but that comes with trying anything new. Embrace raw food in all its glory!

Freedom  :-*

The best advice I was given when starting out was to eat as much raw and organic fruits and vegetables as possible(prior to meals, in between snacks etc.). Psyc yourself up with some good raw publications too(ie Raw food Propaganda Joe Alexander, books by Victoria Boutenko, Gabriel Cousins etc.)

Good starting out gadgets include:

Blender

Juicer

And lastly enjoy what you are doing( and have fun:)

Wishing you well on your journey!

Thanks guys!

I bought a champion juicer last year and have a blender as well so that's good. and I live near a market so should have pretty good access for fresh food!

will be putting in a new veggie patch soon too and nothing beats home grown!!!

also going to library to find some of the recommended books!

warm welcome VB...

awesome including more fresh pressed vege and fruit juices is an excellent way to get more raw into your day...and pure liquid gold and goodness for your body..fruits focus on detoxing,green focus on rebuilding your health..

enjoy!

i see a lot of people juicing and thats cool. but they dont get enough calories at the meal and start craving something heavy like nuts, a bowl of avo's or something cooked.

im a fan of the mono meal..gives you enough calories to keep fueled for the day. gets us in touch with what true hunger is and doesnt create any digestive issues..

cos yeah, it can be daunting at first..'what do i eat?' and the answer is simple..fruit and lots of it. some greens and whatever other little raw creations that will help you on your journey.

but yeah i have mates that are like 'eating healthy,,eating raw..man that sounds like hard work!' im like 'its about as hard as sitting down and eating 20 bananas..you can do it whilst your typing..reading..getting a foot massage. and your nourished..no dishes..or maybe one!...lol!'

if you know of somewhere I can eat and have my feet massaged, you will have made my day!!!

Well, I have been winding down cooked food this week, and plan to start raw food in earnest tomorrow!! Even a couple of days being mostly raw I have found I don't actually want cooked food...pretty amazing I reckon!!

Thanks again for all your welcomes, information and enthusiasm!
Bek

getting enough carb calories is a challenge. i know cooked cyclists that dont eat enough carbs and quit the sport. i was talking to a mate that started raw same time i did. difference between us is that i read the books, met the authors, spent the hours reading internet forums, questioning what was encouraged, hanging with positive raw vegan crew, listening to mp3 downloads as i cycle around the world.

so last night when i saw my mate..we had entirely different opinions on how to eat.  he reckoned a large meal was 4-6 bananas! and he is a landscaper! no way he is gonna stay raw or vegan on that starvation diet and attitude. just doesnt work that way. sure we can do a day or a week on low cal. but its not sustainable in the long run. has people questioning the raw lifestyle..cos they fail to fuel themselves correctly.

like driving a car and saying 'i can only do 200km on a tank of petrol'. yet they arent filling that tank up all the way. they dont even know its capacity.
 learning how to eat enough fruit carbs..that has to be the most vital point in staying raw vegan if that is how we want to live.

cos when we are starving..human will eat anything! kitchen sink, bicycles, planes, tv's, pasta, rats, cats, green mangoes..human will eat anything!

so how do I know if I am eating enough food carbs? I don't tend to have much of an apetite anyway, and have always just eaten to my hunger...

I have just got butuenko's (sp?) 12 steps to raw from the library...are there any other recommended titles?

VB,you will know by your energy...and if you feel hydrated enough..

get as much juicy fruits in as you possibly can(whole not so much juiced..) and focus on juicing your greens celery etc....or blend them with sweet fruits like bananas and make green smoothie..

Victoria Boutenko's green for life,and greens can save your life...

Doug Grahams 80 10 10

any books by Paul C Braggs..

Arnold Ehrets-mucuousless Diet..

Sunfood success Diet-David Wolfe

Your Natural Diet-David Klein
self healing colitis and crohns D.Klein

Roe Gallo-Perfect Body

just a few for you to read

so how do we know we are hydrated? some sure signs are consistent happy mood. ie it takes a lot to irritate or knock us down.

frequent and clear urine...8-10 times a day. and a couple of times a night. ive measured my urine output during optimum hydration. its between 1litre and 3 litres a night. anything less than that means im dehydrated. ive done years of experimenting and thats my personal conclusion.

how are we sure we are eating enough fruit carbs? well go on one of those free nutrition sites like fitday.com or nutritiondata.com and punch in your fav fruits and its carb content. say its mangos or banana or pear. just type in how many kg you normally would consider a daily intake. then see what you really need to consume based on your height, weight, and activity level.

i know im undercarbed if im scared of doing big miles on the bike. if going training seems daunting despite having enough sleep and water. then i know ive been undereating on the carbs.

i first learnt this when i rode adelaide to perth. i was in ceduna getting bashed by the headwinds. i found this cycling magazine in a backpackers. it talked about how undereating carbs kills motivation. cos our body goes into shut down mode..just like being dehydrated or underslept...it wants to conserve energy rather than go all day/ night..

so i increased my carbs to more realistic levels and powered my way to perth. now im raw i can ride even harder. before riding 300km in a day was a massive feat. now im up to 515km in a day and aiming for 600km solo this new years day. and yeah know body is riding that far on fruit rations. its eat big, go big. stay slim. cos fresh fruits digest so good..no water retention or hassles. and when we eat so much fruit we are less likely to be eating combo abombo's every day.

so yeah we all have different fitness goals. some of us dream of doing the big stuff. some of us are happy with enough energy to keep up with the kids or walk the mutt around the block. whatever our goals, there is a sweet amount of sweet fruit that will fuel us towards and past them. find your sweet spot and get stuck in!

Nice to see you on here too VeggieBek :)

I think a few books is the way to go, I need some more inspiration.

I am finding I have more energy at the gym but I will check out those sites DurianRider so I know how many carbs I am consuming.

Thanks :)

and last time i read 80/10/10 it had a little food chart in the back that made for easy calculations.

so does that make sense? ie eating enough carbs to fuel our body to achieve our health and fitness goals...

Hey Harley, I want to ask...Neet mentioned that Dr dougie said no more than 10 wees a day...I want to know why?...I am just curious, I am drinking 4+ litres a day...and peeing heaps, I must admitt, never counted how many times I go though.

thanks heaps

BB
XX

THANKYOU RGG for that list!

THANKYOU durianrider for another insightful and very helpful post

I thought I recognised you Kitteh   :listen: