Roy Mundo

Greetings raw food enthusiasts,

I am new to the list, and want to introduce myself. My name is Roy Holman, and I live in Seattle. I have been eating roughly 75% raw foods now for over 3 years, and we have a raw food education and support group here in Seattle. I did a work study at Gabriel Cousens Tree Of Life Rejuvenation Center last summer as well.

I have also fasted quite a bit, including a 2 week distilled water fast at the start of my transition, 3 years ago. Since then I have eaten over 50% fruit, and discovered I am hypoglycemic, quite vata in ayurvedic terms, and have endured tremendous periods of food cravings, food fixation, and some intense bingeing. Below are some things that have helped balance me a bit of late. I would love to hear from others and your experiences.

I would like to add these suggestions to the wonderful lists of tips and insights people have been noting regarding orthorexia, cravings, bingeing, etc among raw fooders. Only recently have I begun to find a bit of balance, and these are some of the things that seem to help:

• I am currently attending eating disorder meetings. This has helped break my shame and isolation, and helped me know there are others who are also struggling.
• Grounding and centering tools such as meditation and yoga. Also simply following our bliss (for me hiking, photography, travel) gets us out of our heads and enjoying life, leaving less time to dwell on food.
• Letting go of rigid control. On a spiritual level, I believe I created this eating disorder to help me finally put my deep-rooted emotional issues in my face. Food is only one of a long line of emotional numbing and stimulating tools I have used.
• Less fasting: For a thin, imbalanced vata, lesser-yin, hypoglycemic addict to jump into a 2-week distilled water fast (3 years ago) was asking for trouble! Also, we never know what past-life stuff (if we believe in this) we may trigger. I've been told by clairvoyant readers that I triggered lots of past life issues around starving, self-punishment, and rituals. I finally realized I had to jump off of the fast and binge cycle.
• Less Fruit: I rigidly adhered (quite willingly, since I grew to love the sweet, addicting fruit taste) to a diet of about 60% fruit for a couple years, resisting the intense cravings I would have for salty stuff, beans, rice, and bread, among others. Eventually I would "give in" (sometimes after actually dreaming of these foods), and perhaps binge on the "forbidden foods", and start another punishment (fast or skip a couple meals) and binge cycle.
• I do not see any food as inherently good or bad. For a while I was seeing all cooked food as bad, an evil toxic enemy. (forgetting that I have at least survived on this food for 40 years). Then when I would eventually give in to the enemy bread or whatever, I would eat with guilt, envisioning this poison gunking up my colon. The food didn't have a chance of doing any good to my body with thoughts like that.
• Become aware of the triggers that cause overeating or food fixations. I need to spend less time in the kitchen or shopping, more time having fun, going to less pot-lucks and other gatherings focused on food (except for our raw food group here in Seattle).
• Very important: Of late I've been eating much less fruit (about 20% of my diet), and allowing myself anything I want. I found that what I resist persists. I am learning to trust my body and its desires. Surprisingly, as I allow myself cooked foods, breads, etc, I find myself enjoy them to a limited degree, but that I do prefer still eating about 75% raw.
• Get enough nutrients. I've really helped reduce my cravings by adding sea vegetables, algae, spirulina, bee pollen, wheat grass, brewers yeast - even an occasional range-free egg. I'm finally getting the nutrients I need, after ignoring my body's blatant cries for less fruit for over 2 years. In short, I'm not concerned about what other raw fooders will say, or about being wrong in my earlier arguments about the benefits of fruit diets.

I'll do whatever it takes to make my life livable again (although I am quite resistant to using animal products due to personal ethics.) We must not let our pride, or our drive for perfect health and bodies get in the way. Let's be open, honest, and vulnerable, not rigid and defensive. I found lots of valuable information in books, but I eventually needed to follow my own intuition. Many of the raw fooders I have met seem to grasp raw food dogma as the answer to their lifelong struggles and confusion, only to become even more disillusioned to discover that we cannot eat our way to God or to bliss - we must dig much deeper to the actual roots of our imbalance. Food can be an essential part of this journey, but not the only thing.

Oct. 4: Another recent lesson for me of late: I have been consistently eating regular meals, allowing myself any food I craved (within reason). It got some of the monkey off my back - as I gave myself permission to eat whatever, I increasingly desired more raw. However, I was getting mucousy (is that a word?), sluggish, felt my heart closing. But still fearing the old fast-and-binge cycle. Regardless, yesterday I took a day off of food, then did the olive oil and grapefruit liver cleanse last night. Feel so good this morning - heart open, calm, grounded, less toxic, and I pooped out some ?? (gallstones-in-the-making? dark green, waxy balls). Anyway, again the lesson for me is moderation. As I come into balance, and allow myself to heal slowly, and not force it, I expect to eat even a higher percentage raw diet (despite the challenge of a thin (5'8", 112 pounds), vata, hypoglycemic living in cold Seattle, and do periodic, moderate fasts or cleanses. Balance has been evasive, but I am confident it can be maintained with patience, attention, and self love.

P.S.: To reply to Ryan, who is concerned about getting less sleep at night, I too need much less sleep, often only 4 or 5 hours, but I feel fine when I get even 5 or 6, unless I've been eating cooked food, in which case I need 7 or 8, it seems.

Questions:

• Any other insights on food cravings, vatas, blood sugar stuff, underweight, fasting?? Has anyone in these categories had luck with the no-breakfast, or fruit only breakfast??

Thank you all for you sharing and valuable insights; and good luck on your healing paths.

Love,

Roy

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