Day 35

I've been thinking a lot today about what being raw means to me. There are many schools of thought as to the best way to go raw. There are a lot of experts in the field are divided. One group believes that the best way to fight the cooked food addiction is to go 100% raw and to never look back. This involves avoiding temptations like parties and restaurants for a couple of months. The other school of thought is that you should go raw in stages. They feel that going 100% at once is too much for some people and it will make them give it up completely when they stray.

It's so hard to decide which stance to take. For me, I am more comfortable with the second. I think that if I try for perfection, I am setting myself up for failure. I know that a lot of it is a justification to eat cooked foods now and again which allows for the addiction to rear it's ugly head, but it is all a learning process. Usually the people who believe you should go 100% all the way are people who have battled this food addiction for a while. They know that they didn't truly beat it until they went 100%. They don't want others to go through the painful experiences. What they are forgetting is that it was a learning curve for them. I visualize like a butterfly breaking from a cocoon. As much as we want to help, if we do help, the butterfly won't be strong enough to fly. I do know that 100% raw is the ultimate goal. I also know that this is what my body craves. Right now, everytime I choose to eat cooked foods, I am getting my wings stronger. I recognize that everytime I eat cooked foods, it allows the cravings back in, but I also realize every time that the food doesn't taste as good and I don't like what it does to my body. For me at least, I need this transition time.