Coming a little undone?
Coming a little undone?
By Jess, The Raw Lifestyle Coach
You’re not alone!
I’ve had a nice steady day today, and ‘raw coached’ 4 clients. I feel inspired, excited, alive and tuned in! One thing really stands out, and has made itself quite apparent; all my clients today were expressing concerns as to what they should do if cooked food were to creep back into their lives. Wow, how strange for 4 clients in a row to feel exactly the same way, expressing the same fears and wanting the same guidance. Because of this, I feel really inspired to talk to you guys about what to do when the sh**t hit’s the fan!
So, why do people trip?
People ‘trip’ for a variety of different reasons. The addiction to cooked food that isn’t quite out of the physical or psychological system, lack of food preparation, peer pressure, not having family/partner support, work/home stress and anxiety are all common factors that can effect your raw intentions and goals. When transitioning onto a diet of raw food, these factors can influence your taste buds quite dramatically, mainly because you haven’t had the time to establish what’s ultimately working for you. Please try to bear in mind that if you never occasionally head in the opposite direction of your goals, you’ll never appreciate the feel of the warm loving light that they radiate, on your quest to gravitate closer.
As I discussed in my last column, when we ‘go raw’ we expect it to be easy and hassle free as we are doing the very best for our bodies. We are hungry for raw related information and usually have quite high expectations of our abilities. It feels so liberating to be so positive and so sure we’ve found the right way of nourishing our bodies. Our energy levels start to increase, our minds feel strong and determined, our skin glows and our weight changes as we nourish ourselves in the only way humans were designed.
All sounds great hey? And it truly is, it’s the ‘honeymoon’ stage of raw food - so embrace and enjoy it. I hate to be a spoil sport, but in hindsight I just feel that I should warn you, as the law of physics suggests, that what goes up, must come down. Which in effect is what tends to happen. But I feel that it’s not the downside you need to worry about if it’s managed correctly. For example, imagine the incredible high of achieving a goal of an 80% raw diet only by becoming tempted or pressured by a single cooked meal, only to find yourself soon after turning 80% cooked! But there’s no need to fear, you can turn it all into a positive by learning from these mistakes and believe me in my early days, when I was desperately trying to cure my M.E (Chronic Fatigue) I’ve made them. And that’s why I’m here now - so you don’t have to be.
Falling off!
When we ‘fall off the wagon’ so to speak, it’s easy to experience feelings of having let yourself down. ‘You’ve harmed your body‘, ‘you can’t do raw’ and with these limiting beliefs are all the emotions associated with this. I see it frequently from people who have asked for my help as a raw food coach, and I believe strongly that all is not lost. I’d even go far as to say, that if this is you, you’ve just gained an incredible tool; the tool of having to fail to succeed. Sounds a bit strange hey? But believe me it’s not. It’s not the falling that’s the issue here - it’s how you dust yourself off and pick yourself back up again that makes you a brilliant being.
In this case you fell but it’s not an issue because you learnt from it, and no one’s perfect. You make mistakes and you live and learn. I can’t stress enough that it’s not a crime to make a mistake; but it’s a crime not to learn from it. So that’s what we’re going to talk about here, because I’ve talked about it all day with four wonderful clients, and right now I feel that a lot of people trip up and come down hard on themselves and turn the experience into a negative one. But why be negative, when you can be positive? Positivity breeds positivity. Negativity breeds negativity. It’s that simple. So if you were to take your cooked food binge, accept that it’s happened, thank the universe and learn from how you felt afterwards, there is no better lesson to be learned. You feel so different after going cooked when you have been raw for even just a small period of time - and by no means in a good way! That alone is a good incentive to be as raw as you can be, without giving yourself a telling off!
Why beat yourself up and stress when what’s done is done? - it was obviously supposed to be. You were obviously supposed to learn this lesson and experience something. Because if you walk along and never have little trips, you may be in for a big unexpected fall instead. If you focus on the ‘failures’ then you’ll be more inclined to fail. However, the good news is that if you concentrate more on the successes that you have achieved (discovering this ‘raw’ path is an achievement in itself) and congratulate yourself for how far you’ve come, you will invite success and more opportunities for success into your raw future.
So, what should I actually do, when I ‘fall off the wagon?’
I wouldn’t do anything, other than tell yourself you’re human, and enjoy the rest of your day! People can make such a big thing about it, which is not so pro-active. I see it as a learning curve. Things have a habit of happening for a reason, so just work with it, as opposed against it. In that way, the situation is a sure winner! When I first went raw, I’d give myself grief for eating cooked food, but now I would congratulate myself, and say well done, I followed my desires. The funny thing is, because I’m not hard on myself - I never feel the urge to eat cooked. Mainly because it’s not ‘banned’ in my mind. I’m fully aware that it’s not going to be beneficial to my health and will probably make me sick, but I don’t eat cooked because I don’t want to - as opposed I’m not allowed!
I find that it’s the following day when people tend to struggle, once the cooked is back in the system. It’s addictive stuff, so they crave more of it. At this stage, just assessing what you want is a very good way of helping yourself get back on track. Why are you raw? What do you want to achieve? What are your ultimate food goals? These are all questions that you could address, to help you clarify where you’re at. Stay positive and focused - it really helps.
Love yourself unconditionally
I strongly feel that it is so important to focus on all the great things that you’re doing to your body by living a conscientious raw lifestyle. If you think about your body as a company and how you have to invest in that company to make it work; not just in terms of money, but also in time, energy and attention then the company will most probably succeed. If you neglect the company, don’t support the company and turn your back when an unforeseen sticky situation arises, then your company is destined to not succeed in any way you would like, and you’re naturally more likely to give up on it, which is not the desired outcome.
We are all such wonderful, unique, bright and sparkly beings that we should work on congratulating ourselves more often. Say a big warm fluffy thank you to our bodies, because quite honestly - what would we do without them? The two emotions of love and fear are our making, so why not concentrate more on the former than the latter? Make a special effort for a week, and see how you feel!
Click here to purchase the latest eddition on Funky Raw...