going raw is becoming intolerable -help

[Fullcrum]

Sounds like a rapid detox. You have a couple options:

Get a colonic. This is probably the best and will get rid of the bad stuff quicker.

or

Incorporate more heavy foods into the raw diet to reduce the rate of detox...after a month you can start to phase that stuff out.

[funchy]

I saw the doctor and the Dx is severe cystitis. Rx is 5 days of antibiotics. They're also sending a sample to a lab for more testing & to culture, and I will know more in a few days.

My Dr felt it was a total coincidence that it happened when I started the diet.

I do feel that I was getting dehydrated, which perhaps exacerbated things. I need to do better about my hydration level next time. I am still puzzled why I was so averse to drinking while on the diet???

Fullcrum - what do you mean by a heavy food? High fat?
I know nothing about colonics.

[MasterD]

Originally Posted by Peaceflmeadow

I am working my way to raw a bit slower, trying to gradually increase time I am raw each day and see how it goes.

I switched to all raw breakfasts first (about 3-4 weeks ago), once I was comfortable and in that habit, I started in on lunch. At first, I made a big salad for lunch, and then had a small serving of cooked dinner leftovers around 3 or 4 pm, that need for extra protien was a hard habit to shake...plus I was getting used to the volume I needed in raw food.

Now that I have more recipes, and am getting into my shopping habits, I have changed all my snacks to raw, no more hot tea, and I eliminated the afternoon 'protien' snack.

So far, I am now raw from morning until about 6 or 7 pm, and I am moving my dinners to more and more raw content. I am very happy at this state.....I feel great all day, and my medical problems (gastric related), love the raw foods so far.

I have had some cravings for chocolate, and sometimes breads.......but by telling myself to stay 'raw' through the day but not to the point of complete deprivation, I have done better then I have on other drastic food changes. While I do not have a weight problem, medical issues have driven me to A LOT of food restrictions over the last few years, so I have dealt with these crazy cravings before (although I have lost 3% of my body weight over the last 3 weeks which I am not complaining about).

If I get comfortable in this stage (raw until evening), and if it feels right, I will go ahead and replace my dinners as well and make the 100% plunge. But I am not pushing it at this point, I am just watching how my body reacts to different options and combinations, and taking it from there.

I am not a vegetarian right now, so this is double change for me, and something I am surprised at how relaxed and peaceful it feels to move into. Previously I was open to telling everyone around me all about the food path I was heading down now (removal of wheat, eggs, lower carbs......). But with these changes, I have remained silent, feeling like this is more something I would like to take on myself with none of the typical commentary from my coworkers.....and that I would rather see where this journey takes me instead of setting up paticular expectations.

All in all, this raw path has been a pleasant one, and am happy to see where it will take me....which is a first for all the diet related changes I have made over the years. I always felt 'I will do this for 3 months, and then bring such and such back in' kind of approach. This feels more like a permenant shift, and I find myself focusing on the different aspects of the food I am eating, rather then what I am not (example, suddenly kiwis right now are the most pretty and juicy and freshest things I have eaten, and thats so much fun to enjoy in that moment). That keeps me motivated to continue, I am excited to see whats around the next corner.


Erin

Erin, that's absolutely fantastic to switch to a raw food diet this way. Switching cold turkey is extremely hard, because you have to switch all of your dietary habits at once AND you will free up too much energy at once that you don't know what to do with. Gradual is best. Respect.

[Rapid]

Wow, that is a coincidence that you got that right when you started your new diet.

Somebody here I think recommended making vegetable wraps using seaweed sheets. I managed to make some with avocado, mushrooms, and cucumbers. Mmmm, delicious! I've been on the raw vegan diet for the past three days and am doing great. It's 99.99% raw vegan except for the roasted seaweed sheets (need to find raw alternatives) and bits of white cheese I found in this salad I bought from the store (I tried to take them off). I've been listening to my body a lot, eating more veggies and fruits when it cries out for more food instead of trying to stuff myself during my meals. One time it wanted dates. I ate a piece of watermelon but didn't feel quite right so I ate 1 date, and the craving stopped.

[canyontothesky]

I am thinking of doing what Erin did, above, and do it gradually, one meal a day at first, up to three (or five). One thing that's odd is this morning all I had for breakfast was some apple and maybe 2 triangles of bread left over from Cosi, and I didn't eat from 11am until 5pm, which is nearly impossible for me. And now, I just ate a mixed cooked-raw dinner, and I already feel hungry again! Gosh I hate this stuff.
I really admire anyone making the switch to raw. I really want to try it.

[Rawvolta]

Originally Posted by funchy

Again I want to stress that I don't think the raw diet is faulty. It may have been coincidence or perhaps a latent problem that just appeared now. I hope to try raw again, sometime soon.

Well, if nothing else this has been an interesting learning experience.

THANKS everyone for your kind words of support & help.

Hey, Funchy! First of all - don't feel guilty. Second : don't give up!

I am sure not all of us can go raw overnight.

Raw Diet is not faulty - if approached correctly.
The symptoms you've described are probably symptoms of detox.

After I went raw from vegan ( which was a transition of course, but smaleer than going raw from meat-eater ), my nose was running like crazy for week or two! Never ever have I experienced such a mucus!

So, my advise is - slow down.
Buy a juicer, as Steve says and juice lots of greens with an apple or carrot and then, if you have a blender, you can blend your juice with superfoods and maybe some honey, if you tolerate it.
That's the step to introduce the nutrients in amount you would probably never have a chance to eat in a day.

Make a commitment to SOME plan, that is comfortable for you.
Maybe 2 days totally raw and juice/blended juice every day, or 6 days juice and 7th eat what you want.
Maybe 4 days totally raw, 3 days whatever you want and keep this plan for 30 days.

Find a support group as mentioned before.

Make a journal, maybe online blog and write there everything you eat, feel. Ask people to comment and help you this way.

Write goals on paper.

Without a plan, one can't see if he/she fulfill it.

To your water add lemon and maybe a bit of juice ( orange, raspberries ). Throw goji berries into and I promise you the water is deliscious this way!

Buy a wall board and write your commitment on it ( in positive way!), put it in visible place and read it every day.

And-least but not last - treat it as an adventure! I am juicing now also and one of the reasons is to GET CURIOUS WHAT I CAN DO, HOW MY BODY BEHAVES.
Watch yourself from the outside and experiment.

Wish you all the best!

Give it a TRY!
Another!
And another!
And once more!

[PeaceCat]

Hi Funchy,

Don't feel bad. I've had similar experiences with raw diet trials (never lasted more than a few days).

I now eat macrobiotic style and beleive it is important for me to get the yin/yang balance of foods right. Eating too many yin foods (cooling, damp, sweet) can lead to yin imbalance.

Someone who has a tendancy towards yin imbalance tends to feel cold, lethargic and withdrawn with digestive imbalances.

Now that I've learned about yin/yang foods, I feel I could be ready to try a raw trial again someday and ensure I get a better balance, particularly getting more foods that are warming, spicy and bitter. I'd also do it more gradually, just working on one meal at a time.

I'm not in a huge hurry though, as I feel pretty good following macrobiotic principles at the moment

[sallytowns]

Hey there!

I know how frustrating (and tempting) raw diets are- I've been a raw dieter for about two years and struggled through my first six months (the chocolate cake was the hardest to kick!) Here is a great site to help you encourage your body to form productive, goal-oriented habits: Vision Board. It uses the power of visualization and intention to retrain your brain and transform your counter-productive habits into positive ones.