Getting started with RF: Thoughts for a newbie (WAS: Newbie!)

January 14, 2007

Hi Connie,

You will likely receive MUCH advice in response to this message, people

giving you snippets to do, cleanses to follow, that sort of thing. May I

suggest that you take an entirely different approach: let go completely and

forever of the idea of losing weight. For whatever can be " lost " , can be

found again.

Instead, explore and eventually embrace a different set of goals about

creating radiant health and vitality in your life.

By stepping back and reframing the entire picture, you can set yourself up

to learn about and embrace an entirely holistic, lifelong approach to

living, not just to eating. If you do this, then eventually the weight will

just come off, as your emotional system no longer needs the protection, and

as your physical system gradually recycles or eliminates that material you

call " overweight " .

All that weight serves, and for the moment may continue to serve, some

constructive purpose in your life. The real key is to discover that purpose,

grow, and move forward from there. And food is only a part of this picture,

just one piece of an adventure called " health " .

Couple of specifics:

1. Regarding hair loss, I suggest that you let that go for awhile. If and

when you choose to embrace a path of healthful living, you may experience

hair loss over an extended period of time (often up to a year or so). What

is actually happening is that your body, forever trying to create health, is

shedding the worst of the worst of the material that makes up you, in

accordance with its own priorities. Hair is a very low priority item from a

biological perspective (I realize otherwise from a social perspective), and

so your body will let that go. But if you embrace a healthful path, then

eventually, your body will likely grow an entirely new head of hair, thicker

and softer and more wonderful than anything you've experienced in decades.

(I have never seen this NOT happen except in some chemo cases.)

2. Don't " get serious about all this " . You'll make yourself crazy from

trying too hard. Just begin learning, find those people whom you choose to

trust as you begin this journey, and frankly don't listen to others ...

otherwise you'll experience great confusion, as many have expressed in the

past. Too many cooks really do spoil the pot, or the stew, or whatever that

saying is.

3. Begin simply, and don't wait until February 1. Start now ... RIGHT now.

Just do 3 things differently:

CHANGE #1: Begin drinking at least a gallon of water daily, the cleanest

water you can find/afford. Drink in small amounts throughout the day. This

is not a long-term solution by any means, and it is not natural. But neither

is " morbid obesity " , as you have called it. At your weight, your system is

severely dehydrated, and therefore all your electrical (nervous, energetic)

functions are malfunctioning. Further, your body's capacity to move and

eliminate waste material is severely impaired, as most such material must

travel in water on its way out. And many other problems arise with chronic

dehydration, too numerous (and probably too boring) to mention here. Drink

whenever you feel a " craving " , for in all likelihood you are really feeling

dehydrated.

CHANGE #2: Begin eating fruit for breakfast, 7 days a week. Eat any fruit

you like, in the following way: Choose ONE fruit each day. Begin eating when

you wish, and continue eating THAT ONE FRUIT until you are full. Now I'll

introduce a new concept of " full " ... when your body has had enough of that

fruit, you will notice a change in your mouth ... the sweetness, acidity,

texture, etc. will all seem to change and become less pleasant. Begin to pay

attention to what happens in your mouth ... relearning your body's messages

will be an important part of this journey.

CHANGE #3: Begin paying attention to your feelings in a whole new way. In

particular, whenever you notice yourself wanting to reach for " bad food " , as

many seem to call it, pause and reflect. Ask yourself, " what was I FEELING

just before I wanted to reach for this? " Begin writing these tidbits from

you mind on a tablet or clipboard or whatever you like ... nothing " pretty " ,

just readable. This will provide fodder for further exploration, if you

wish.

One more thought: you are probably wondering about cleanses, herbs, and

other " treatments " , and some here may undoubtedly suggest such things. Let

go of all this ... just forget it completely. If health could come from a

bottle or box, Americans would be the healthiest people on Earth. In fact,

they are the unhealthiest (except where starvation/famine is present.) Save

your money, you're going to want to spend it on ... life!!! And you don't

need any fancy equipment either, unless you are fond of smoothies, in which

case a really nice blender really does make a big difference in the texture

of the smoothies. But for now, try and focus on eating whole foods,

unblended.

Wishing you the very best that love and life have to offer,

Elchanan

_____

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

Connie

Saturday, January 13, 2007 12:18 PM

rawfood

[Raw Food] Newbie!

Hi!

I just joined this list yesterday, and while I have not yet journeyed down

the path of eating raw, I am contemplating it very seriously and looked for

a group that was doing it to see how they were feeling and how their health

was in general. I am very obese, am scared of doing the surgery, and am

looking for a solution. I have only been reading about eating raw for a few

days now, all on the web. I found some boot camp site yesterday that I

can't seem to find my way back to, today. I can't really afford the monthly

fee of that, but oh how I wish! Anyway, I read Leah's blog this morning

about her hair falling out, and that has me scared! I am already having a

problem with hair and bald patches, and I do not want to lose anymore hair.

Is there anything I might be able to do to keep from losing hair as I embark

on the raw way of life?

My plan at this point is to ease into the lifestyle and make it February 1st

as my official start date. I want to up my fruit intake and water intake,

say goodbye to my beloved daily coffee rituals and so forth. I think easing

into this may be easier on my system. About 6 months ago, I did do some

fruit fasting, and did not make it very far because I began vomiting and I

detest that beyond belief. I must be so full of toxins! I thought at the

time that I was allergic to something in the green drink, or that I had food

poisoning. To this day, I just can't stand the thought of the green drinks

that have apple juice in them. The combo is abhorrent to me. Anyway, some

of the reading I did yesterday leads me to believe that it was about toxins

and not about food poisoning.

I have to get very serious about this. I am 53, morbidly obese, have lost

my mobility due to painful knees, and live a very limited life in a

wheelchair. I want my life back with a vengeance. I joined this group

yesterday in hopes of helpful tips, support, and a place to begin my journey

into this change of lifestyle and hopefully I will find my health and my

life. From all that I have read so far, I do not expect this road to be

easy, but I do expect good results. It can't be anymore difficult than

living as a virtual shut-in, encased in a cloud of fat, and waiting to die.

Sincerely, Connie

<http://geo./serv?s=97359714/grpId=5520395/grpspId=1705015482/msgId

=27100/stime=1168738590/nc1=4299918/nc2=4025321/nc3=3>

January 14, 2007

I was taught to " let go " or " release " the weight because, like you said, we are

always trying to find things we " lost " .

Shari

January 14, 2007

Yes, I agree Shari, I have found such a shift in language very helpful, too.

I even go further with the language shift : I appreciate this material in my

body for all the benefit it has given me, and I now return it to the

Earth/world/universe/etc. so that it may be put to other constructive use

.... something along those lines. For me, this transforms my perception from

" losing " , through " releasing " , which is still only about me, all the way to

" returning " , which is now about how I fit into the larger " everything " , by

whatever name one might call that.

The key is to genuinely reach a place of appreciation, because the weight,

and/or whatever habits are behind the weight, has indeed served some

constructive purpose in our lives ... protection from others, protection

from ourselves, protection from feeling ... whatever. And now, when one

finally arrives at a place of readiness to face and walk through these

things, the time has come to return the weight to the world, that the rest

of the planet might put it to other good use.

Personally, I love this way of looking at it!

Best,

Elchanan

_____

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

SV

Sunday, January 14, 2007 7:22 AM

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] Getting started with RF: Thoughts for a newbie (WAS:

Newbie!)

I was taught to " let go " or " release " the weight because, like you said, we

are always trying to find things we " lost " .

Shari

January 15, 2007

Hello, Elchanan!

Thank you very much for your thoughtful response and your kind and

generous welcome to me. I feel like I have come to the right place to find

help and support, and that is really important to me when one is about to

try to change one's entire life. I like your idea of just trying to let go

of worry over the losing weight. I think it is actually a more positive

mind set to think in terms of being health minded, and making choices and

decisions based on what is good for one's health. I like that and will try

to incorporate that mind set into my general " self-talk " and try to keep

things in a very positive light. Having a good attitude is probably half

the battle.

You have given me much to think about, and I just wrote down in my journal

the 3 changes as per your suggestions. They sound very wise to me, and

stepping stones to real change. I will begin them in the morning. I

realize that I need to ease into this for the sake of my comfort and

hopefully stick-to-it-ness.

To the others of you that have taken the time to write to me and welcome me,

I thank you very, very much. I will get back to you as soon as I can. May

your evening prove to be enjoyable and relaxing. I am off to do some deep

thinking!

Thank you all,