Transition - Stuff You Need to Know
What on earth is 'transitioning??'
Transitioning is the phase that you go through when you begin to move away from your old (unhealthier) habits and move towards your personal goals for improving your diet in the long-term.
For some, transitioning may take years. For others, it can be a much shorter amount of time - it all depends on your eating and living habits previous to raw. Either way, don't let this put you off - just take one step at a time amd live for today, and not always the future!
In the beginning...
Although living your life and nurturing your body in a natural context is solely one of the most enjoyable and worthwhile tasks a human can do for the self, it really is a pathway of self discovery and ongoing self-education. We often start out in the beginning at a level of 100%. At this stage we’re raring to go, full of positive intention, and absolutely nothing in the world is capable of getting in our way! We feel great about our decisions to go raw, and nobody’s gonna stop us! As a newcomer to raw foods we’re excited and as positive as can be.
This stage is so beautiful and refreshing. After a while (which varies in length from person to person) reality kicks back. Your body is heavily detoxing, so you may not be feeling as good or as full of energy as people originally told you. Your friends and family are questioning every morsel you place in your mouth and you’re craving the foods that you just cut out cold from your previous diet. Bring on the transitioning phase!
The importance of time
When one embarks on a raw lifestyle, it’s pretty important that you give your body the time it needs to get used to the changes or transitioning that naturally occurs. Some people spend a long time at this phase, while others just merrily sail through. Our bodies are unique, so we adapt to diet changes at different rates. A lot has to be said for your pre-raw diet too. If you were a relatively unhealthy, meat-eating, milk guzzling being, then in most cases, you can expect a slower transition than a vegan of 20 years! Both types are capable of achieving the same end result - eating a natural raw, vegetarian/vegan diet, just as nature intended, although the routes of getting there will, more than likely, be of a different duration with different scenery along the way! But please, don’t let any of this put you off - you’re embarking on one of your most interesting, worthwhile, life-changing trips to date. So be prepared for life to never look so good, and make a change for the better!
Some very handy tips for those transitioning
- Don't let 'the initial detox' put you off - celebrate instead, as a life time's worth of toxins are vacating your body.
- Make some firm goals - What do you actually want to achieve? What's the end result for you? For eg. raw vegan, vegetarian, weight loss or just want to be a little healthier?
- Be open to change - Lots of people deep down fear change, don't be one of these people. Change is good, as it allows you to progress forward.
- Don't listen to negative comments about your new lifestyle - people (including friends and family) can say the strangest things when jealousy and fear of the unknown kicks in. If you seem like you're going places...people may get 'over-envious.' Should you experience this, limit what you say in their company, and let it go. Be confident that you're following your dreams.
- Be organised - Lots of people end up eating food that they didn't really want to, when they've failed to get themseves organised. Have yummy, healthy stuff to hand!
Making raw food taste as 'cooked' as possible
A little exercise for you...
Take a pen and paper - yes now, not later! Write down your top 10 favourite dishes in the world.... If they're all raw dishes, then skip this exercise!! If not, read on...
Your next step is to look at ways in which you can replicate your favourite foods. Life's too short to be eating food that you genuinely don't like. So the secret to success, in the transitioning stage is to make healthy, raw versions of these foods!
Be sure to check out our Raw Recipe section....
Some examples of cooked dishes, that taste great raw -
To find out how to make food like this, that tastes even better that unhealthy cooked versions.... Book yourself in for some coaching, or book yourself in on our next raw food event!