some advice please

[Guest guest]

First and formost I'd like to say a BIG hello to

everyone, my wife Sarah and I (Paul) have just joined the

club.<br>Now the question, On Friday this week we are both

giving up smoking + caffine + going on this raw food

diet, how difficult in your opinion will this be?

[Guest guest]

Hi Sarah & Paul!<br>Welcome to the right place.

Well, to be frank, you'll fail. Y? Well, your mind is

not ready for the change of lifestyle. Yeah, Raw is

about lifestyle, not a weekend diet. Change of the way

you live, you think, you percieve things around you

is very hard. Remember, the biggest enemy is inside

of you! I suggest you to stop and think of pro's and

con's of going RAW. Then you must arm up yourself with

information, so read as many as posible RAW-dedicated books.

Start with those generals, designed for new-commers.

You need to know, what to expect, what are the

raction of your body and understand them. Eventually,

here is the RAW club so when you feel like give up,

turn on your PC or Mac and get to this club. We all

will be delighted to help you!<br>Tom<br>PS: I wish

you my forcat above to be wrong...

[Guest guest]

Very difficult. You are attempting to give up

smoking, caffine and cooked foods. All three are highly

addictive so I wouldn't want to be in your shoes this

weekend.<br><br>It's great that you are doing it together. That will

help. But you ARE taking on a very big change in your

lives. If you can do it that will really be an

accomplishment but you are going to backslide now and then.

Don't get discouraged! Just get up the next day with

the intention of doing it right that day and go from

there. Don't look back.<br><br>I suggest, too, that you

do some more reading on the topic. Here's my

suggestions:<br><br> " The Raw Life " by Paul Nison. It's easy to read and

good for the beginner. It focuses a lot on the mental

battle you are going to go through.<br><br> " Nature's

First Law: The Raw-Food Diet " by Arlin, Dini and Wolfe.

This was my introductory book to raw foods. It's a bit

militant but I like that. It's powerful reading and will

give you great motivation and knowledge. And

" knowledge " IS the key.<br><br> " The Sunfood diet " by David

Wolfe. Another great book. Lots of how to information.

My wife likes this book the best and refers to it

often.<br><br>Giving up nicotine, caffine AND cooked foods? If you

have children you better send them off to camp for the

next month!<br><br>-OrionsDad

[Guest guest]

Some additional comments:<br><br>You might be

more successful in the long run if you maintain a list

of the healthy changes you want to make in your

lives to use as a reminder. Perhaps list the food items

you want to eat MORE of and those you want to AVOID.

Make the list as long as you want. Then instead of

trying to do EVERYTHING on the list just try to do 1-3

action items for a week. When you feel you have mastered

an item you can take on 1-3 more. I think you will

find that SLOW change is more lasting. <br><br>Put the

" stop smoking " and " stop coffee and tea drinking " at

the top of your list. I have never smoked so I can't

help you there. With your caffine addiction you want

to try to reach the point where the only beverages

you drink are distilled water and fresh homemade

vegetable and fruit juices. During the transition period

you might try substituting " herbal " teas and " grain

based " coffee substitutes like " caffix " and " kava " . The

coffe substitutes are suppose to be made with water but

using rice or soy milk instead will make them more

pleasing. But you really want to get to the all water and

juices. A tall glass of freshly extracted vegetable juice

is very filing and satisfying. Experiment. There are

a lot of fruits and vegetable combinations to try.

I just saw the " Juiceman " on tv yesterday. I like

him and what he says about juices is " right on " . I

juiced a whole cantalope (with the outer skin) and it

was just as creamy and delicious as a milkshake. Of

course the fruit you juice has to be ripe to be good.

Over and under ripe fruits are not good for anyone and

organic is always preferable.<br><br>-OrionsDad

[Guest guest]

Some people find it easier to go " cold turkey " as you are, so if it works for

you, go for it! Don't give up.

[Guest guest]

I'M BACK!!! finaly fixed their site so I

could get back on, been trying for almost 3 weeks. I

was a smoker I know what you will go through. I think

it might be a good idea to quit everything at once.

I have read and that cigaretts are as addicting as

heroin, and I believe it. If you can quit smoking

everything else will be easy, and to some extent, the other

habits support smoking. I say go for it! Sometimes, the

bigger the battle, the stronger the fighter. Vitamin C

helps a lot with cravings, so load up on citrus

fruits.<br><br>Good luck, and stay in touch<br>Doug

[Guest guest]

Hi Sarah and Paul. Welcome to the club. Good luck

in this great quest. I do not think you will have

any trouble IF you are 100% committed. The fact that

you are waiting ‘till Friday scares me a little… if

you are 100% committed you would be starting NOW! (If

you know what I mean) As long as you fully understand

what you are doing, and why you are doing it, your

mind and body will cooperate. I am of the school of

thought that cold turkey is the only way to overcome

addictions. Addictions are addictions… as long as we keep

feeding them, even a little, they will not go away. I

went cold turkey eliminating caffeine and

junk/cooked/processed foods from my life 3 months ago. Only the first

week was hard/hell. Lots of headaches and fatigue. But

after a week, being raw felt so good there was no

chance of reversing back to old addictions. So I would

say expect discomfort. But it will be worth it. Also

be compassionate and loving with yourselves and each

other. This is a huge undertaking. You deserve lots of

support, praise and hugs.

[Guest guest]

Another thing I would suggest is to start by

cleaning out your cabinets and fridge. Get rid of

everything that you are giving up. Throw it away! Better for

it to rot in the trash than in your body. <br><br>It

might be painful, and seem expensive, but think of the

thousands of dollars you will be saving in medical bills.

Also, it is very refreshing to get that stuff out of

your house.<br><br>I gave up all refined grains and

sugars cold turkey. Then later I gave up meat, milk and

cheese all at the same time. Don't think I could have

done it any other way. Whatever you decided to give

up, do it 100%.

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!!, Paul here thanks for all your

advice/motorvation. Our detox starts tomorrow+giving up the

smoking(the reason for the delay was not having a day off to

book hynotherapy,tried everything else)anyway we'll

let you all know how we're doing. thanks

again<br>Paul+sarah

[Guest guest]

Hi to : czechrawman<br>My wife has been on this

way of life before, so we are fully aware of any

adverse reactions we may have. The idea of starting this

new life style on a Friday is so the worst initial

part is taking place on our days off, therefore we

won't lose our jobs through being ill. I suppose as it

has been three years since my wife went back to the

bad days! we both need a little positive

encouragement reality checks have been pre-digested!!!! but

thanks for your advise- paul+sarah:-)

[Guest guest]

To Paul & Sarah;<br>Good on you, Paul! Of course, I

wanna encourage you but at the same time to warn you

about reactions of your body which are not goin' to be

pleasure. Okay, go for it, keep up posted about your

progress.<br>Tom.

[Guest guest]

I heard a saying from a young girl who was having several brain surgery

operations.<br><br>She said, " When you take your eye off the goal that's when

you see all the obstacles. " <br><br>-OrionsDad