Raw Emotions- How do you deal with them? Not just for Raw food enthusiasts!

I have officially been 100% Raw/Vegan for over 6 months now, yay! I have made this way of eating a lifestyle, not a diet. It's been a long road but so worth it. I made this decision as many of you know to rid myself of the thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) I have had for the past 10 years. Is it working in that aspect or not, it's too soon to tell. I was hoping I would notice a change in my TSH numbers by now but that has yet to happen. Am I discouraged? No! I feel so much better day to day without burdening my body with processed foods of any kind.

My latest Raw adventure, EMOTIONS! I have always used food as a medication of sorts. When I was sad, angry, annoyed, tired, bored, etc., I would get myself a special "treat". It could have been anything from a coffee to a piece of cheesecake, just something to make me feel happy and content. Well, guess what? All of my usual special "treats" are gone now that I am Raw, so what am I left with? ANGER.

Yep, anger is my new best friend. Believe it or not this is a good thing. I feel like I may be getting to the bottom of my eating disorder. I am always upbeat and happy, joking with people all the time so this is an interesting development for sure! I had been told by many of the Raw nutritionists that anger might be an issue and until now I hadn't experienced any. Annoyed yes, angry no. Now most of the nutritionist said it would be a detox symptom but 6 months in I have come up with a theory of my own, I have pacified myself for so many years with food that I never got a point where I had to deal with what was going on inside. Now I'm not saying that there was a traumatic childhood incident or any reason that I know of to be angry but alas, here it is. The question is, what do I do with it? I know I can do something constructive, but what?

With every other diet or eating lifestyle I have adopted I have never dealt with this kind if emotion. When the going got tough I would just let myself have a little treat here and a little treat there and eventually I would feel good again. Of course, I would gain weight, feel lousy, and the whole cycle would begin again. Feel bad, treat, feel better, gain weight, feel lousy, lose weight, treat, gain weight, fell bad, etc.....

This made me think of all of you, my fellow foodies and fitness buffs. How many of you out there may be ignoring an emotion or feeling that may be stopping you from reaching your goals? I am not talking about any mumbo jumbo here, just honest, true feelings that we may not realize we have because we are pacifying ourselves with food or working out. Maybe distracting ourselves from the issue is a better way to look at it. Have any of you ever dealt with this? I would love to hear from you!

By the way, I will always post Clean Eating recipes, vegan or not. I will also continue to post Raw/Vegan recipes because I love creating new ones : ) I have no issues with others choosing to eat animal products. Now I know this will relieve some and make others angry but it is what it is. I am Raw/Vegan out of necessity, not out of conscience. Because of my thyroid issues and my lack of a gallbladder I have a hard time digesting animal proteins. I also have to avoid soy because the affect it has on my hormones. I have found many vegan alternatives so this has been such an exciting journey!

Another note, I will also continue posting my favorite workouts, moves and reviews. Fitness is my first love and what really gets me excited! It makes me feel good and endorphins are so important especially at this hectic time in my life. Fitness has always been my constant and it will continue to be for as long as these little legs can keep up : )


So what do you think? Do you agree with any my little ramblings? Did you learn anything? Did it make you think? Let me know!!

Nicole