I have come to the conclusion that I need a change. A few things in my life are upsetting me and I can't sit around and just let them control me. First of all, I haven't been feeling great. This has been on going for a while now and I have been avoiding my doctor because I wanted to wait to see how acupuncture works out. I had my first session on Friday and I felt amazing afterwards. I was so calm and it even lessened my bathroom trips at night. I couldn't be more confident about it.
Secondly, I have been talking with a former Crohn's sufferer about how she cured her Crohn's. Not only did she do acupuncture but she ate a whole foods diet. Right now I am at the point, that I am willing to try anything. Raw foods are not helping me. I have concluded that I am feeling too deprived from it and I don't like feeling guilty when I eat something cooked. So I am going to be taking a raw hiatus. I am not sure if I will ever go back to eating high raw. Right now I will include a few raw elements into my diet (juicing, coconut water, avocados, fruits), and raw salads and smoothies will come back later. I am going to focus on whole unprocessed foods. Steamed and sauteed veggies, gluten-free grains, and pureed soups. I am sorry to disappoint my raw readers, I hope you will stick around. My blog is about health, and I think that is the goal for many of us. I will continue to read raw blogs, after all, you are all my friends, we relate on levels beyond food. Veganism will of course stay a part of my life. I will never give that up for more then health reasons.
Lastly, I have been holding myself back in life. Not allowing myself to do things because I am afraid of getting sick. This is no way to live. I have avoided social situations, car trips, activities away from home all because I am worried about being in a situation that I would have to use the bathroom and would be unable too. Not anymore, as soon as I start feeling better, I am living my life. Nothing is going to hold me back! I have been reading a very inspiring story (that I will be reviewing later in the week or early next week) that has me so excited to start living again. I feel strongly that with acupuncture and my fresh clean diet, I will be better, hopefully soon.
Thank you all for your love and support always. Please continue to comment, I don't want to lose anyone of my wonderful readers, you all play a special part in my healing.
Love and Light.
27 comments:
Everyone will continue to read your blog for YOU not just because you ate raw. I can't wait to see what delicious combinations you have with cooked foods! Trust me, I've been there. When you're in pain, you'll do whatever makes you feel better. Don't feel bad at all. I'm all about moderation, raw and cooked. I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling well and hope your new change turns everything around. Maybe one of your trips can be to NYC! Good luck dear!
Good luck!! :)
As long as you're still vegan, I'll still be here :)
makes sense to try different things to see how they feel to you. i will not be offended if you eat cooked foods. at the core i am vegan and gluten-free and that is the part of my diet too that won't budge. i am so glad you know that veganism is the best for you. you'll figure it out, just take one step at a time.
You'll never lose my support, you know that!! Hugs.
Through my experiment with raw, I learned a lot about my body, had some health conditions, and realized that raw is not for me at this time. A mentor, and wonderful friend, reminded me that our bodies are always changing and what worked even just a year ago may not work for my body today.
Listen to your body, as long as you honor yourself and continue on the path of healing, you are living your best life. You are living with integrity, and of course you are supported 100%.
xo
Metta
Change is good. It's how we evolve as human beings and individuals. Embrace the newness of each day! You are amazing. Don't forget that.
You don't have to explain yourself! Do what feels best for you, don't feel guilty about eating cooked food!!!
I eat a mostly vegan diet. However I find myself waking up in the night craving a hard boiled egg. When that happens I waddle into the kitchen and eat one! I know I should feel bad about enslaving the hens to make the eggs for me, but I have found that I need to follow my body's cravings because so far they have been good for me. I say listen to your body, if you trust it, it will tell you what you need.
I hope you get feeling better. I love your blog because of you. I've never even tried raw so of course that's not why I read it. You're a wonderful person with a sweet little puggy. Good luck with your changes!
This is huge Lauren! And these changes are things that no one can tell you to do but have to come from you- from your gut and your heart.
Honoured to have had any small part in helping you to embrace these changes. And don't ever do what you think is expected of you. All we can ever do is what we feel is right for ourselves. As soon as we start acting out of obligation, we generally are not following the path intended for us by nature, the universe or whatever you call it. You know what I mean!
what a beautiful, honest and amazing woman you are. you inspire me with your openess and your willingness to share your journey with us. i will continue to enjoy reading your blog...even without raw salads :)
Hey girl,
I was a 100% raw foodist and although it was amazing at first... 6 months later it took a heavy toll on my body... perhaps even creating an intolerance to gluten?? Right now I KNOW that I feel best eating unprocessed foods. I am optimal when I eat a vegan diet filled with gluten free grains, plenty of easy to digest raw vegetables and lightly cooked vegetables that should be cooked along with plenty of sweet potatoes and squashes. When I eat too much sugar or ingest too much gluten I feel really sick. I also feel sick when I am drinking alcohol regularly or consuming too much goat cheese or eggs (which I started to do because of a really scary deficiency in B12). I strive to do what is best for my body, but it is not always easy. In fact it is really hard and I often make mistakes.
I also feel optimal with the right amount of sleep (not too much not to little) and regular, moderate exercise. Taking breaks when needed in between sessions and making sure to stretch it all out.
I have NO idea what will work for you. But I went through the whole "raw food will heal all evil and disease" phase myself... and it DIDN't WORK in fact I KNOW it created some really scary imbalances in me. If you ever want to share your feelings send me a message! I have a lot about my transition(s) and opinions on these diets at my blog as well.
Good luck. You deserve to feel well!
<3 Nicole
http://nicolerawawake.wordpress.com
Hey dear Lauren!!
Oh..that's quite a change,dear..
Well,of course I'll still read your blog,girl!! It's not just the 'food' thing that puts us together ,like you said =)) It's obvious =) !!
But..being a girl with major digestive issues (simmilar to ulcerative colitis) I've gone through everything.. you know this probably,from my blog(s)..
I've also been a cooked vegan at first and I knoe how strong I've belived that THIS IS WHAT I SHOULD DO..I struggled massively..each day..I pushed myself to eat this way cause everyone was saying that COOKED is so good and so easy on the digestive system..and RAW is very bad and harsh..well.
So I ate mostly cooked for a long long time.Really I've been there and know exactly how I felt after one whole year after eating a diet mainly from grains and steamed/cooked vegetables. I could barely move myself after eating a meal,I felt the pain in my bowels when the harsh grains where moving through my body.
And I've also been gluten free at that point. Nothing has helped,really.
And after going raw with lots of different raw breads,crackers,pizzas ,cookied , lots of avocados,oils and fat in general..at first I felt nice.. quite lighter..obviously cause there was no cooked more digested ...!! But slowly everything got worse and never stopped until I found Dr.Doug Graham and all the wonderful people who have been in a simmilar state as me..!!
I've seen you have the 811 book.. did you read it..?? I've also seen you mentioning you need the fat in your Crohn's dis. ..
Lauren,please promise me you will rethink this..I don't want you to suffer again...=( I've been there and would love to save other people such pain..!!! =_(
Grains,weather they are gluten or gluten-free ..they damage the digestive tract..they make damage that won't go away by eating more of them!! =(
I've really gone this way..Lauren..
Would you please visit the forum www.30bananasaday.com ???
Please promise me..
There are so many people who healed from Crohn's and ulcerative colitis...talk to them,please. Write a post,they are the most helpful people I've 'met'...
Oh Lauren,I hope you're not angry at me for telling you all this..
I know what you'll probably say..that you need to try this yourself and that everyone is different and you need to do what's best for you..I know..but Lauren,this won't be best ..belive me.
Yes,you need WHOLE FOODS..but not the cooked ones..how can we call bread or pasta UNPROCESSED WHOLE FOODS...??
I hope to hear from you soon,Lauren..
With love,
Agnes
Congrats on your decision, and hope it goes well for you. I was going to mention Meghan, but I see she's already commented so you two have been in touch. :) Good luck with all the positive changes!
Sounds like you are taking a step in the right direction. I hope it helps and you feel better! :-)
Lauren - I am glad that you are working on things and making changes that will hopefully bring improvements in your health and wellbeing!!! Lots of love to you xo
Hello Lauren,
I've been following your blog for a while now, and I, reading your blog of today,think you have made a wise and courageous decision. It must not have been easy to change your point of view regarding your eating habits, when you hope that this will alter your medical situation.
I, myself am not a crohn's patient, but my husband has been coping with colitis since the last 18 years. He's doing well as can be expected; this, on the basis of a optimistic character and the use of regular medication, 3 times a day.
I wish you all the luck in your search of a diet that suites your specific medical situation in the best possible way.
Kind regards, Betty and Michael, the Netherlands
Sweetie, as long as you're writing in your lovely voice, I will love following your journey!
It's tremendously brave that you know your body's needs and are honoring them! I'm really happy for you.
i think your changes are awesome, Lauren! you've gotta do what works for you - and if that's whole foods then let that's that! it's all okay and you know i won't be go'n anywhere! :) that stinks that you're not feeling well - but i'm glad the acupuncture is helping and i'm so happyfaced you're not gonna hold back any longer! wahoooooooooooooooooooo! big hugs and gigantical smiles to you, chica! yay!
Change is the only constant in the Universe. Besides, I don't come here to hear about your food. I come for Ginger! :D
Darlin', you listen to and do whatever your body and your spirit guide you to. I offer you my unconditional love and support on your journey toward health and healing.
xo!
Gorgeous Sweet Girl!
You could NEVER disappoint!!!!! You have to do whatever it takes to get healthy and that can definitely mean different things for different people and even at different times in their life. I know for a while I was feeling great at 100% Raw, but then I wanted/needed to go High Raw (with the occasional day of even mid/low Raw). I feel great and fine with that choice. I still have all raw days and I tend to me more raw during the summer, but I have no problem balancing that with some cooked whole foods in the colder months. Maybe following some TCM principles is exactly what you need. TRY IT! Give it a shot! See how you feel and don't be afraid to mix it up and try something else if it doesn't work. I'm here for you no matter what you choose!
Hugs and love,
Kristen
BTW... after a quick glance of your blog list, I didn't see this one... but you might be interested in it:
http://glutenfreewholefoods.blogspot.com/
Love you,
Kristen
It sounds as though you have made some very important decisions, and I wish you all the best with them. Have you ever worked with a nutritionist to address your Crohn's? That would likely give you the most relief from your symptoms and promote healing. Check out my blog if you're interested.
I think you're probably putting too much pressure on yourself to eat this raw diet based on what others are doing in the blogosphere. That diet is not right for everyone! You need to do what is right for you. If anyone doesn't want to read your blog based on a diet change then you shouldn't even want them as readers anyway~!:)
I read your blog because I learn a lot from your posts, and you're also a sweet and fun person to boot! You need to do what's right for you. Your pup is so cute. I've never commented until now, but I just want to say that I support you 100 percent. :-) I love acupuncture, too. It has cured me of my anxiety/panic disorder. I'm sure it will do wonders for you, too.
I've been reading your blog for quite a while because I was (and still am) very interested in being raw. At this stage, I'm not vegan but vegetarian. I think if we're in touch with our bodies and our health, we'll know what works and doesn't work. I'm still testing the waters! Anyway, I will still be reading your blog on a daily basis, if for nothing else, to see that cute little pugs face!
Dear Lauren, I read your blog because of your wonderful words and also because of that adorable pup :)
Good for you for listening to your body and making changes to benefit your health. I hope you feel vibrantly healthy very soon!
I wish only the best for you sweetie! Your health is #1 and i support you in whatever avenue you take to be healthy.
the number one rule in life is that you have to do what's right for YOU! and you are. i struggle with the same thing. i think we all do. you are right on track!
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