A Realization About My Appetite/Desire For Cooked Foods

[L.]

I had a realization about myself this morning that I thought I would share with you all because it might help you too.  Well, maybe you already knew this about yourself from the beginning--but it's taken me until today to realize this particular thing about myself at this point in my journey.

I have lost pretty much all of my addictions to the flavors of cooked food.  In fact if someone takes me out to a restaurant, I just don't have the appetite for some complex, cooked vegan sandwich or meal with a combination of perfectly flavor proportioned ingredients.  I don't salivate for such things anymore, and in fact I find such things a bit overwhelming.  I crave simple flavors.

But for the last month or so I have been a little confused at myself.  Yes, I've been incorporating what raw foods I have been able to each day in accordance to how I am feeling, what I can digest, how my arthritis is feeling and what my ulcerative proctitis will react to, and I have learned how to do it adequately over time.  I know now not to eat a whole head of celery without juicing it, or more than half a cup of cooked peas in a day, or any beans at all.  Simple things that seem so silly but can really irritate my ulcerative proctitis.  I now know not to eat nuts period, because I am heavily intolerant to them, and I've lost my addiction completely.  I now know not to eat a fruit, and then, if I so desire a cooked meal, to allow myself something that has a small amount of beans.  I know that a meal heavy in fat is hard on my digestion, even if it is, "healthy fat," and that if I want to have abundant energy, abundant carbohydrates are the way to go.  I know how caffeine interrupts my digestion and emotional balance.  I have learned how to keep an adequate balance without completely depriving myself of things that I want and with still allowing myself to improve.  I incorporate many fruits and veggies into my diet on a daily basis, and every day I find ways that make them work even better for me.

But in this last month or so, with the loss of the flavor addictions and the increase of healthful awareness of my body, I have still been confused at why I lean towards some cooked foods.  And it took me until this very morning to realize it.

It's not the flavor I am craving anymore.  In fact I am always surprised at how dissatisfied I am after eating anything cooked, even if everyone around me is oohing or ahhing at it, I still feel, well, like I am left out of the party.  It's just bland, heavy...I do like textures, but flavors--I could really care less.  So why do I still lean toward bland cooked foods like boiled barley with onions and garlic and bread with no salt or sugar added or rice.  It's such a funny, strange necessity to have.  Or even sugary carbs, which I am finding are satisfying me less and less and that my sweet tooth is diminishing rather rapidly...

And I think I realize now that it's that feeling I get in my stomach.  The satiation.  The warmth.  There's something about it that I am craving, maybe a feeling that I am clinging to subconsciously that I feel with the fullness of these cooked, starchy foods.  Or maybe a necessity for easily digestible foods that are high in calorie as well.  In my nut-addiction period, that was my excuse, of course it made me feel like crud, whereas at least I am getting a fair energy source from this food addiction.

I am wondering if I increase the amount of warming teas in my diet, if this will help curb that desire I feel internally.

I am also losing weight and feeling more refreshed in mornings since I've eliminated my bedtime meal/snack!!!  It's incredible how much better I feel doing this one change.  It has helped me time and again throughout my life and it is the one solid dietary change that seems to give me the most profound results!!!!

Any suggestions for me?  Have you experienced the same thing?  What have you done or what are you currently battling right now on your journey!?  Take care lovely souls!!!

[L.]

Yes, I love the 80/10/10 diet.  When I have days where I eat all fruits, I tend to thrive wonderfully.  At first, I thought the fruits were irritating my arthritis, but I think that must have been detox, because now, I can drink banana smoothies all day and it provides me with a wonderful energy. :)  I agree with you about that lifestyle completely.  It's wonderful to finish a meal and not feel heavy, but rather light, clarified, and energized as you said. And if you eat enough, you really don't have the desire for the heavier starches--this is something I am working on! :)

I find juices work great for my personal journey, but at times I can find them wasteful so I choose to opt out of using them too often.  I think it's wonderful that you can eat the whole foods and those benefit you so much!  I hope I can reach a point in my journey where I can do that too! :)  I have always had issues of digestion with a lot of fiber, even from raw, and that's why I have actually been increasing white flour in my diet and it's strangely been helping me.  I know that banana smoothies are the way to go though in terms of long-term health, for sure!! :)

That helped a LOT!  Thankyou so much for sharing your story. :)  Lovely to meet you!

[L.]

Cooked veggies and raw juicing totally sounds the way to go.  :)  The reason I do allow myself to eat grains at all is because they don't tend to irritate my ulcerative proctitis very much and they give me some quick energy.  I still want to rid myself of them!!!  My arthritis is still improving though just with all of the things I've learnt and eliminations I have made. :)  I am getting there slowly, which is how I do best. :)

Aw, thankyou Supermom!!! :)

Wow, intuitive tonic-making...The notion of that is so genius that it really shouldn't be genius--but it is.  I love that.  Chai tea is wonderful :)  Thanks so much for sharing :) 

[Supermom]

Wow Lyza, what wonderful insight!

Just this week I realized that warm teas and tonics are physically and emotionally satisfying for me. They calm and comfort me. I feel good after I drink one and it makes me smile! Dara has some lovely tonics on youtube.com and I just received her Tonics DVD in the mail. I love the way she is trying to teach us to make tonics "intuitively".

I am drinking a decaf Chai tea right now and feeling happy and relaxed. 

[channa brennon]

yah also i find  grains do me in everytime...i do better with cooked veggies and raw juicing...I got some miso today i think it is raw and high protien..nourishing for winter

[L.]

Bitt--ABSOLUTELY and double yes on the corn chips!!!  I completely agree with you on that entire paragraph.  You are right--I have never thought of it that way but it certainly does mess with your head.

A dollop of miso too, that is interesting!!  What kind of miso do you buy--I am very lost on what is best in that department, funny, I am usually pretty adventurous with food but for some reason I've always found miso of all things a daunting purchase.

Oooh chia pudding!!!  That is a wonderful idea!  I've been afraid to use it because some high-fiber foods, raw included, can irritate my ulcerative proctitis from time to time, but maybe I will try that out and see. :)  I will use coconut milk since I have a nut intolerance!  I do use the processed coconut milk that is fortified and has things like guar gum, but I honestly don't think it's a bad option, though I suppose I'll have to do more research on it.  Buying coconuts in MI--now that truly is a daunting purchase.

Thankyou for all of the lovely ideas.  I will definitely try them all!!!

Mae--I love that it was your number one rule because I completely agree with you--it's amazing how much that single snack affects our health, or at least my personal health.  Bedtime truly is a time to fast and detoxify.  And absolutely--our digestive challenges make it a necessity for our personal journeys of well-being!!  And I seem to crave texture and fullness moreso than food for it's actual flavor now.  I agree about cooked/steamed veggies--I will do sweet potatoes because I seem to do very well on those especially.  I am sure the more I increase raw, even those veggies and potatoes will lose their mouthfeel--it's such a special diet--I think there truly are higher and higher levels of health and the way the body reacts and processes foods when we increase the percentages of our raw fruit and veggie intake.  I heard even garlic was repulsive to a 100 percent fruitarian (Dr. Morse to be precise).  At that point in his journey he just felt too elevated from the fruit to step downward and have garlic, something that is considered nature's penicillin for the majority of people.

I am going to make myself a cup of chamomile tea now. :)  Although I heard it increases appetite, maybe it will be detoxifying enough for me to make a healthier eating choice afterward, like a piece of fruit.  Chamomile is so perfect in wintertime!!

And thankyou for the congratulations, I feel so lucky to have won.  That was truly sweet of them to give that to silly old me.  Although heaven knows I'll make full use of it.  These will be my first pieces of real raw literature that I've ever read.  I have gone to a couple of libraries nearby (not very big ones though...I suppose I need to go to a more expansive one) to look for books on raw foodism and haven't found any, so I am so excited to get my hands on this knowledge!  It will be interesting to see how the written literature differs from what I find on the internet.

Blessings to you both :) 

[bitt]

I am struggling with similar issues as you do. It can be hard for me to limit cooked foods if doing part raw/part cooked. I am doing and all raw stretch and so far after a few days I'm not craving cooked foods at all. There is a different feeling in the stomach after eating a raw meal versus cooked meal for sure, it can mess with your head if you back and forth. With raw foods I get a very clear signal to stop eating versus with cooked foods I don't as easily with low nutrient foods like say corn chips.

I do a warm tea with a ginger slice and lemon or a dollop of miso in warm water to help curb my ill stomach when it hurts.  I have had to find very bland foods that are still raw. Do you like chia pudding? Made with some nut milk and nothing else it is very bland and filling too.

Take care!

[Mae Jardine]

Hello Lyza:

Congratulations on omitting the bedtime snack. It is #1 rule I establish several years ago when I learned how much healing goes on in our bodies while we sleep. Without that bedtime snack the body has more energy and focus on healing. Which is good news for the type of digestion track health challenges you and I face each day. Also, I find the texture mouth feel of cooked foods are what I notice most when I eat them and the food never taste as good as I expect it should. I still eat a few cooked veggies as they simply digest better for me than raw. But now with all the raw green juices in my diet, they never live up to my expectations. And yes, warm teas or tonics are often all I need to ward off a suspicious desire for something cooked. I always heat my cup before adding the tea or tonic as it just gives me that lingering pleasure of warmth. Have a great weekend and congratulations on your rawtastic RB win : )