Why You Yo-Yo on a Raw Diet & How To Stop

I have been on Karen Knowlers Your ExtRAWdinary Life Course for only a month and the changes and revelations are coming thick and fast.

I had serious issues with doing one bit of homework - My Vision for 2011. Having complained about it a few times on the forum, I got such kind support and suggestions that I felt instantly that it was ok and I would get there soon.

The best piece of advice was to do juices for a few days to get really raw inspiration.

By then I had already started...I did the really raw thing, just forced myself to, I have to admit, and it bore fruit; I now have a beautiful set of vision cards...

All I had to stop eating was goats cheese feta and the occasional slice of whole wheat toast (and the butter on it, of course), I am otherwise eating totally raw, fresh, organic, living foods.

But it was so hard to just let go of those!!I had to force myself, because after a few years of eating a high raw diet, one can become a bit complacent (?) or just so used to feeling good that you forget that you used to feel fantastic.

You forget that you can actually feel super good. Instead one falls into a pattern of yo-yoing around with some very stodgy poisonous playmates who do not mean well, however good they look. I'm not sure why we yo-yo so much, specially women, but I have a few ideas;

• the obvious one: hormonal shifts during the month

• self medicating emotional pain

• allowing yourself to get too hungry to think straight

• being unprepared food-wise

• not getting a balance of nutrients from the raw food you do eat

• not understanding your mood patterns

• not allowing enough indulgence into the good stuff **

I can dwindle down to eating bananas and brazil nuts with about 4 green juices in a day and then have this terrible craving for salty buttered starch by the evening.

I have successfully isolated the evening time as my red flag hour (or two) in my mood pattern. This is the worst time for cravings.

Being unprepared at this time as well as experiencing a hormonal shift, some small emotional incident and having allowed myself to get too hungry and ..voila!

I stuff myself with something baked and buttery and then have heartburn, a heavy feeling in the stomach and instant exhaustion.

Isn't it insane, that even though I know this is the result of eating that stuff, I will still do it-over and over again??

Ah, yes, the good stuff. What is this good stuff of which I speak? All things that feed you, emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally. I could list hundreds of them, but to give you a short example (yours will differ) :

• going on a weekend spiritual retreat

• having a free weekday morning to do whatever you want

• buying a really inspiring raw food/esoteric/spiritual book to sink into

• booking a session of pampering (massage/ pedicure/hair/skin treatment)

• rich raw choc smoothies or any of the rich raw desserts

• delicious sex with the one you love

• uninhibited dancing

You get the drift...

I think raw desserts can be on the list because I personally can't over indulge in them-maybe some people can and get fat (?)

But anyway, you know what the *good stuff* is for you. I think one should have them listed and make sure you give yourself permission, in fact- order yourself as your own private physician- to indulge in at least 3 per week!

What  do you say?