On the fence.....help me decide what to do...80% raw or 99%

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Permalink Reply by Shell on June 15, 2008 at 8:39pm

Hey! I've got a label for you ~ "I am Hillary".
Seriously! : D
Well, I have been there done that, and obviously what works for me won't work for everyone. You may get tonnes of responses about what you should do, but no matter what anyone tells you, at the end of the day, it's you that has to decide how to go about this lifestyle! Now, you know that I LOATHE percentages and labels (so we differ there! : ) ), so I won't suggest anything regarding numbers. What I will do, is tell you that the idea that anything less than all raw is failure must leave your mind immediately. We're trying to live a better lifestyle and just be healthy here, not trying to be perfect, or win some imaginary gold star. That line of thinking only sets you up for disappointment. Try eating some cooked (healthy of coarse) food if that's what you want. You said you don't feel any adverse effects after eating quinoa, etc., so I say, if you feel like eating it, do! And if you don't, then don't! Easy as that. Look, I know it's easy to fall into that trap....the one where you agonize over every morsel that goes into your mouth. "Is it good for me?" "What about that? Is it totally raw?" "Oh no! I ate something cooked! I'm doomed! DOOOOOMED!" But I'll tell you, you've got to relax! This isn't rocket science! It's food!
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that do what FEELS right to you. Advice is helpful, sure. Lord knows I've pestered my share of people with a myriad of questions. But only you are in tune with what certain foods feel like in your body, and only you can make the decision to eat or not eat said foods.
If you want to eat predominantly raw, do it, girl! If you want to add some quinoa and rice, then do that! That's the beauty of it all......it's all up to you!

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Permalink Reply by nycgrrl on June 15, 2008 at 8:45pm

oh shell, i can't tell you how glad I am you responded--i always love your posts!!! I am a perfectionist (can you tell??)

i am trying, trying, trying, not to label myself. Just to be me. Listen to my body (always hard for me!).

I need to figure out how to get in touch with my instinct...someone mentioned an ebook on emotional raw eating..need to go find that..

thanks girl.

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Permalink Reply by Shell on June 15, 2008 at 8:59pm

Ha ha.....hey, I was not only the president of the perfectionist club, but I was also a member!
What I learned (through talking it out with fellow raw perfectionists) is that THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PERFECTION!!!!! Whoa, WHAT?! Then what have we all been striving for? Ha ha.
I know it's hard. I used to beat myself up every time I ate something I "shouldn't have", and then it would down spiral into an all out SAD-fest. I figured, hey, if I ate one thing, I may as well go all out, after all, I've ruined my "perfection". It was a vicious cycle, and much like an out of control carousel that I couldn't get off of.
Once I learned that this isn't a destination, but a journey, I really stepped back and took a look at WHY I was doing this. For health? Yes. For weight loss? Surely. To be more environmentally conscious? Definitely. To attain the label of "100% raw vegan"? Not even a little.
When I did that, it was like the fog lifted, and I could start to appreciate the beauty and simplicity this lifestyle offers.
You know you have my support in whatever you decide.
And I know what emotional eating is all about too (I don't know too many who claim otherwise, quite frankly!). Here's a link I found helpful ~
Self Mastery Through Attentive Eating
I know you'll find a way to balance!

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Permalink Reply by nycgrrl on June 15, 2008 at 9:05pm

hey...wellll when you said "to attain the label of 100% raw vegan"...i have to say...there's a part of me that wouldn' tmind that label. Not to share with anyone, but for me, myself and my own little perfectionist self. then i could sit there all smug (and alone, mind you, because I would be so smug that nobody would want to hang with me) and just say to myself "you're 100%...woohoo!"....and the pleasure from that would last...oh...5 minutes.

and then what?

so i know you're right. I am doing this for my health, for my weight, for my spiritual consciousness...i have to remember that, and it's hard.

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Permalink Reply by nycgrrl on June 15, 2008 at 9:08pm

that link is wonderful. Wonderful. thank you. eating with attention!!! wow. what a concept--seriously. rather than worrying about the actual food itself, i should be focusing on what it feels like to eat it.

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Permalink Reply by nycgrrl on June 15, 2008 at 8:59pm

thank you.

one step at a time. hmmm. that's hard for me.

be in the moment, right?

i am reading eckardt tolle's books now,and man, i love them but they are challenging to implement. we are a society that so loves to 'label' itself, no?

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Permalink Reply by Chris Carlton on June 15, 2008 at 9:14pm

I am working on an article about this subject and I would love get some input. So please tell me... If the premise of Raw Food is that food eaten Raw is better for us than cooked then what is the reason for eating 'some' cooked food? (5%, 20%, 40% whatever)

Is it...?

1... I just can't live without my old favorite _______ .
2... I like cooked food and I don't have to give it up completely to be healthy.
3... 80% raw keeps me healthy enough that I can eat cooked food and be ok.
4... I'm afraid that without some cooked food I won't get enough ______ .
5... Making all my own food is too time consuming and not convenient.
6... Raw Food is really not that much better than cooked food so it doesn't matter.
7... Raw Food only is more nutritious. Cooked food is not detrimental for our health.
8... Insert you own answer here.

Of course I am not talking about those who are in a transition period. I am asking those who have settled in to a diet of mostly raw, yet some cooked food and have decided to stay at that level.

I am really trying to get a handle on the logic behind mostly raw/some cooked. Any input anyone has would be great.

Lovebows,
Chris

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Permalink Reply by nycgrrl on June 15, 2008 at 9:20pm

hi chris: okay, you asked for it...keep in mind that i don't know whether i want to be 100% raw, or if you'd call me in "transition" or what. I only learned about the raw lifestyle 2 months ago.

1... I just can't live without my old favorite __occasional BEER, occasional cup of TEA, OCCASIONAL MEAL OUT WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHERE I EAT VEGAN COOKED or a bit of parmesan on my food_____ .
2... I like cooked food and I don't have to give it up completely to be healthy. I AGREE WITH THIS. STEAMED KALE OR ASPARAGUS? FINE BY ME.
3... 80% raw keeps me healthy enough that I can eat cooked food and be ok. NO, THAT'S NOT IT. iT'S NOT 'HEALTHY ENOUGH', BUT RATHER, I THINK THAT A SMALL AMOUNT OF GRAINS AND LEGUMES MIGHT BE THE HEALTHY CHOICE FOR ME.
4... I'm afraid that without some cooked food I won't get enough i DON'T KNOW. .
5... Making all my own food is too time consuming and not convenient. NOPE.
6... Raw Food is really not that much better than cooked food so it doesn't matter. DISAGREE
7... Raw Food only is more nutritious. Cooked food is not detrimental for our health. I THINK THAT SOME COOKED FOODS, LIKE STEAMED ASPARAGUS, MAYBE QUINOA FOR SOME PEOPLE, OR LEGUMES, IN SMALL AMOUNTS MIGHT BE FINE AS A WAY OF KEEPING FAT CONTENT WITHIN REASON. I WAS EATING A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF FAT WHEN I WAS 100% BECAUSE I WANTED TO FEEL MORE "FULL" AND WHEN I EAT SOME QUINOA AND BROWN RICE, I GET THAT FEELING WITHOUT ADDING EXCESSIVE FAT. NOT SAYING I AM MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE HERE, IT'S JUST WHERE i AM AT.
8... Insert you own answer here.

Sorry for all the caps--just wanted to distinguish between your questions and my answers. I'm not shouting LOL....I have done research online and it seems that a small percentage of cooked foods can help keep your percentage of fat low. I am not concerned about protein, i get plenty from raw foods.

so there it is: this is what i am wrestling with. I was a militant vegan for 12 years, and i think by focusing so much on what i put into my mouth, i not only lost site of the goal of compassion and love, but I became someone I don't want to return to. I became harsh towards meat eaters, and I believe i alienated more people than i 'converted'. i tend towards extremes, and right now, I am trying to set a model for my children on how to live happily in this world.

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Permalink Reply by silvergirlsouth on June 15, 2008 at 9:36pm

hi Chris

i am high raw and was close to 100% for much of the warmer months since i started this journey in January this year (2008). Now it is June, and winter where i live (New Zealand) and i am finding the need to buy something warm to eat at lunchtime when i am at work ... so i have a vegetable pie from the health food shop - it feels good to eat something hot, simple as that and it still feels nourishing to me. I also feel there is an aspect of "safety" in not being 100% raw ...... as in, i am less vulnerable to certain things than someone who is completely and purely raw (if you ref to Matt Monarch's books, you will understand what i mean - ie i live in a fairly polluted city, i need to be able to survive that; also there is the concern about say ending up in hospital after an accident or something, where a body that has been 100% raw for a long time can be severaly compromised by drugs and/or anaesthesia etc).

At the moment i am happy to be getting through my first raw winter with a small component of cooked foods .... and also looking forward to the warmer weather when i will be 99% raw again :)

namaste

sgs

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Permalink Reply by Shell on June 15, 2008 at 9:54pm

Hey Chris!
Simply put, I just plain don't think that all cooked food is unhealthy. Sprouted grain bread, grains like quinoa and amaranth, sweet potato, even pure maple syrup in moderation, are all things that I feel A-OK in consuming.
I believe that veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds are (to me) at their best in their raw state, but I also believe that if I want a baked sweet potato from time to time, I'm not doing any harm to my health by eating it. Obviously, not all cooked foods are cut from the same cloth, that goes without saying. But the whole foods? Nah, I don't sweat it. I just think life is too short, and if eating a baked sweet potato with goat cream butter on it will make my time here a little sweeter, well, by golly, so it shall be.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Carlton on June 16, 2008 at 6:33am

Hey Pete,

You know I love ya, But I can't just leave your comment hanging around on cyberspace forever without questioning it.

The first part the concerns me is "so many people continuing to feel like shite and struggling eating all raw food."

Who are these "many" people? Every time I check into it any 'former' 100%ers, I find that they were NOT actually ever "eating all raw food" or they didn't do it long enough to get past cooked food detox.

Mainly because of consuming 'Dead Foods' considered to be raw. Raw recipes in books and online are loaded with 'Dead Foods'. Most Nuts and Nut/Seed Butters, Shoyu, Braggs, Nori, Agave, Cacao, Nutritional Yeast, Etc.

On the other hand every true 100%er I have met, contacted or read about, is doing Great including myself. I struggled the first year that I tried 100%, but I was eating 'Dead Foods' and didn't know it. Once I eliminated these things and got through the detox, Life became a breeze and the bliss of not worrying about my diet all the time 10-10-80, 'kicked in' as well.

It is simple to be 100%. It doesn't require stress or worry. If it is in the produce section and NOT in a package then it is Raw. What could be more simple than that?

The 2nd part that concerns me is "Not all raw food is better for you". How does cooking food improve it? Are you talking about "lycopene" in tomatoes? 'cause ya still get it raw, you just get a little more 23% or so, if it is cooked. I am sure that I eat 23% more tomatoes than someone who eats them cooked which makes up for that.

Science barely understands food and nutrition. They break down a particular food into it's 'known' vitamins, nutrients and minerals. Then they test the effect of these individual components on lab animals. (I am not a lab animal) Then they shout from the rooftops that they have figured something out!

My fave example of this is 'Calcium'. They have been telling us for years. "Milk has calcium therefore Milk is good for you" Now they are having to stop saying that because they never considered all the other components of Milk and they are now finding out what those other components are doing to us.

Food itself isn't that simple. A tomato is more than the sum of its parts. If you ever mono-meal you know what I mean. Food in it's whole natural state communicates with our body in ways we will never understand.

When you mono-meal magic happens and this makes sense to me. This is how we would have eaten long ago before civilization and this is how natural animals still eat today. Those animals enjoy a disease free life and so do I.

Lovebows,
Chris

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Permalink Reply by maegdalene on June 16, 2008 at 6:04am

When I eat cooked or processed food, it's generally out of convenience. I know that's a bad reason, and it's a habit I'm trying to break myself of, but the reality is that I still need to eat to live, and after I've been in the studio for 10 hrs, there's nothing open at 3am where I live, and home is not a hop skip and a jump away...

Also it's cold. I drink herbal teas made from boiling water to chase away the frost. Even in the summer, it's still cold at night and even during some parts of the day. Sometimes I want a hot bowl of soup!

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