Average Joe on the Raw

Oh neat!! Thanks for sharing. I have been looking for movies on raw foodism. If you know of more I'd like to hear!

I saw that one with Woody Harrelson travelling around in his bio-diesel bus, giving people raw foods and educating on healthy eating. It was good.

What are your main difficulties with switching to raw?

I have been eating raw since Christmas, with the exception of some baked potatoes or quinoa here and there. For me the most difficult part is keeping the right influx of fruit around, so that I always have enough ripe fruit on hand. It's hard when I have to wait a few days for the next box of bananas to ripen up!

Also, the cost is a factor - but I'm trying to make it work by saving money in other parts of my life.

I tell ya, I have been looking at a lot of You Tube videos on raw and I am so impressed by the complexions of raw foodists. That makes me want to do this for that reason only (LOL). I am at the point in my life where I am fighting tooth and nail the aging process, so anything that makes me look and feel younger I'm all for. When you're raw and doing a good job of balancing your nutrients, your skin will literally glow with radiance. I kid you not.

Laura

I'm also like you, the all or nothing mentality. I am finally starting to get away from that. I agree that it really sets you up for failure. If you can't get away from that, then maybe do it like this: tell yourself that you will eat 1-2 meals a day raw or 1-2-3 days a week raw. That way it's still kind of an all or nothing, but you'll still be doing it gradually. Does this make sense? I hope so, because I really understand what you're saying and this is what works for me.

Laura

My complexion is waaaaaaaaaaaay better now than it ever has been. I always had a bit of redness in my face and it's not there anymore. In fact I've even had people recently comment on my skin, which is strange, but it is (admittedly) very clear. I do feel better and look better, I'm always super energized after a big banana-date-berry smoothie

Okay, I know the all-or-nothing mentality ALL too well. I do it too! So there are two ways to do it. Either clear out your cupboards (give away anything tempting to family members, friends, or the food bank, or heck put it in a box and stick it in your attic if you feel insecure about tossing it). Then go out and buy some cases of fruit and veggies. FILL your fridge with an abundance of raw foods, and just give'r your best shot.

The other option is to just take it slow. Start with breakfast, as it's the easiest. A smoothie every day for breakfast. Start whatever you're going to have for dinner with a big salad. (This will also help you eat less, and you may find yourself going back for seconds of salad instead of eating what you cooked). Make all snacks fruit. So you've got fruit smoothie breakfast, fruity snacks, and a salad with dinner. Then once that feels like it's working for you, start looking into what you can do for lunch. I personally have a second smoothie for lunch every day. I just vary the ingredients so it's not boring. You can come up with other more fanciful things though, if you find that way of eating too monotonous.

Good luck, feel free to post in this forum as often as you want and keep us up to date with your progress. I'm new to this too, I'm still in transition, I'm working on lowering my salts (OMG I love tamari on salad ) and my overt fats... but that's mostly 'cause I'm also trying to lose a bit of weight in addition to being healthy on raw. (They are separate goals, not dependent on each other)