listening to our bodies...Cracking down.....

June 19, 2007

Caron,

You don't know just how much I appreciated reading this. In everything you said

you are so right on. I plan to implement the wonderful tips you mention.

We can make it.

Jeannie

your time is the most cherished gift of all, tomorrow is promised to no one.

Caron <carongroups

rawfood

Monday, June 18, 2007 9:32:48 PM

Re: listening to our bodies...Re: [Raw Food] Re: Cracking down.....

-

jeannieh h

>At least this has worked for me and is the reason I've made it for almost 3

>months. The moment I get comfortable in thinking I have " made it " , that's

>when I tend to " fall off the wagon " . That's just me.

Hi Jeannie,

Addictions are hard to break. I was a smoker for years when I found out I

was pregnant with my son. I fought my addiction all through my pregnancy -

it was easy at times, but not when my ex was on the phone. I was hanging out

for the end of my pregnancy, not only so I could meet my baby, but so I

could start smoking again! I'd always figured I'd quit when I was ready, but

didn't feel ready yet. Anyway, the day finally came, and he hatched, and

after I was up from surgery (long, complicated story), I asked that they

bring him to me, but was told they couldn't yet because he was wheezing and

needed chest xrays. I remembered that the Special Care nurse had gone out

several times for a smoke when she was on shift during my labour, and had a

feeling that was the problem, as my mother has the same reaction to just the

smell of smoke. My suspicions were confirmed when the midwives commented on

the fact that he stopped wheezing whenever he was brought to me for a feed,

but started again when he went back to Special Care, until that nurse

finished her shift. So I had to rethink my plans a bit - a lot of the other

new mothers would go downstairs for a smoke, leaving their babies screaming

for hours, and I just couldn't bring myself to do that. So I waited till we

got home. I got my packet of smokes, and would sit outside smoking until he

woke up, then would go have a shower and change my clothes, before I'd go

near him, so he wouldn't wheeze.

Late on the third night, it occured to me how utterly ridiculous I was

being - I didn't enjoy the smokes anymore, as I usually smoked while I

played computer games, and couldn't take my computer outside with me, and

I'd obviously gotten over the physical addiction. Besides which, I was

making my boy wait while I had a shower. That was my last smoke, and it's

been nearly 3 years. I still get the occasional twinge when I see someone

smoking, but mostly it's gone, and the smell of them makes me sick. There is

a chance that if I went to the pub for a night out, I'd have a smoke, but as

they don't have a creche, it's not likely to happen soon, hehe (not that I

was one much for the pub anyway, but occasionally liked a game of pool).

The physical addiction is the easy part - a few days or a couple of weeks,

and it's gone. It's the emotional addiction, and more than that, the habit,

that's hard to break. I still can't sit and do nothing - I have to be

clicking my mouse, or knitting, or doing something with my hands. Probably

why I don't read as much any more, because I have to hold the book, but it

has to be still. Driving was a hard one for me - I used to drive thousands

of kilometres up and down the coast every break, from uni to home and back

again, smoking the whole way. When I started driving again after having a

year off, it was really hard to keep focused on what I was doing.

One thing that might help, though it may require a fall off the wagon,

depending on how you do it, is to create negative associations in place of

your emotional attachment to the things you're addicted to. When I first

attempted to go raw, I had the craziest cravings, things I haven't eaten in

years, and didn't much like back then. After reading what a few people said

about making choices, I decided I'd -choose- to eat the things I craved,

thus eliminating guilt, and let myself focus on how eating those things made

me feel, physically, not emotionally. The belly ache, the bloated feeling,

the headache, the dehydration, and all the other less pleasant side effects.

On the other hand, I soon realised that, physically at least, I wasn't

actually craving the pizza, or the burger, or whatever, I was actually

craving food in general. If I ate an apple, or a handful of almonds, or

whatever was on hand, the cravings were soon gone. It helps now, when I feel

like jumping in the car and going for some junk, to tell myself I'm really

craving food, and replace the image of the burger or the fast food logo with

an image of an apple or similar, and go get something to eat. I've also

doubled the amount of food I usually carry around for my boy, so I can have

some too, without feeling like I'm " taking food out of his mouth " , as my

mother so kindly puts it.

You've made it 3 months, I'm aiming to make it a week - good luck to both of

us!

Caron

June 19, 2007

Jeannie,

I understand your issue as I've struggled with it myself. Chosing to

be raw has done the trick, now that it's been nearly a year, if I

have a particularly stressful or even traumatic event (as I did this

past week) I am proud to say that the 'fix' of food that I gravitate

toward is now a Raw choice. I have noticed that little by little now

that the wieght is gone and that I choose Raw foods over all other

choices - as life and events occur, I now 'have' to deal with the

real feelings or issues - I wasn't really aware that I was still

grieving my grandfather's dealth as he died when I was 3, I'm 48

right now. My latest challenge has dealt w/death and shook me up

rather badly - the stress/trauma had me wondering why I even bother

to be healthy when death is the end result anyway and often it's not

peaceful or pretty. Then I remembered that being healthy is about

living each day the best I can - I fought the urge to just eat

something that smelled good and had meat in it knowing that what I

really wanted was some support, hugs and someone to understand me. I

chose some old transitional food 'friends' instead. I'm glad that

being a Raw foodie has helped me to be as mentally and spiritually

clear as it has because in my past an event like this might have

started a major depressive episode. Instead I've had 4 days of being

off kilter which included tripping and falling on a sidewalk -- okay,

so I slowed down and just took deep breaths and decided to let it be

okay that my life is going this way. Oh, and I remembered that 'this

too shall pass'. Within a day or so, I've had the energy to clean up

and re-simplify my apartment, I've had a couple nights of better

sleep and I'm still RAW! I think that being Raw saved my life this

past week. And though I wonder where I will choose to settle with

the simple living and raw food lifestyle, I want and deserve to keep

the changes I've made this past year. Through this, I realized

(actually last night) that sometimes food is a way that I punish

myself - for embellishing a story so ppl will get the seriousness of

how something affected me or for wanting to be accepted or noticed or

whatever... I did eat more than 'normal' during this time and not all

of it was 80/10/10 style - a couple days ago I realized how hungry I

truely was and forced myself to make banana/greens smoothies (forced

b/c I haven't been wanting them) and for the first time in a week I

have felt full and satisfied again. I walked to the market while I

was feeling full to buy a couple days worth of foods and made better

choices. Last night when I had a late (10pm) urge to eat - I did, I

ate a banana, a mango and 1/2 a tomato and 2 tablespoons of pumpkin

seeds. Not bad compared to a large 16 " pineapple/ham pizza that I

might have eaten 3 years ago...

Raw choice, raw choices rule!

Simplifying clears our physical and mental space in a similar way to

the way that raw food clears our bodies and minds - I think all these

things go hand in hand to help create more stable, creative humans.

Simply,

Lesa

PS and no Jeannie, you aren't alone. I couldn't ignore my tendencies

nor could I 'hear' my body a year ago. I had to retrain myself and

still am.

I hope that by sharing my experience, it helps someone - somehow.

There has to be a reason why I have been put on earth to live this

particular life.

L.

June 19, 2007

Hi Lesa,

I can't tell you how I enjoyed reading your story. It really hit home. I am

going to take your advise to heart. I hope I might discover what my " traumas "

are that cause me to be self destructive. I know I've had so many traumas in my

life I don't know which one would be the culprit or perhaps all of them?

I do know I did not get like this overnight and it is not going to be fixed over

night. I feel that I am getting stronger one day at a time. Actually it consumes

my thought process every minute. I am struggling to continue this lifestyle. I

love it. I enjoy it. I don't want to go back to sad living. I do love sad. I am

currently trying to fill my life with raw foods so that I am not tempted to eat

sad. I am making it. It is a journey, a " work in progress " one which I see as

promising and will be fruitful. God willing.

I thank you and hope to continue sharing with you.

Sincerely,

Jeannie

your time is the most cherished gift of all, tomorrow is promised to no one.

Lesa <ljbn

rawfood

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 5:42:19 AM

listening to our bodies...Re: [Raw Food] Re: Cracking down.....