Can't afford this lifestyle

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Permalink Reply by Sloan on April 15, 2008 at 11:59pm

Hi Anne,

I completely hear and share in your frustration about why we do this. My grocery bills were killing me until I started growing my own spinach and greens. I live in Maine and bought a grow light for about 40.00 and if I plan it out right I can grow a lot of what I need even in the winter. It really helps to balance out the bills and it is really fun. I think it is great that you are being so honest about your frustration. Be gentle to yourself and grow some tasty organics at home.

Permalink Reply by Doreen on April 16, 2008 at 10:49am

I too struggle with the high cost of any kind of cancer treatment -- no matter what it is. The thought that keeps running through my mind is that it should not cost tons of money to stay well. I don't believe God intended that our health depends on how much money we have. Of course that's a different story when you live in a third world country, and your food resources are very limited, but in this country we have more than enough, and still are crazed and unhealthy.
As far as the raw food diet, I don't believe it could ever be sustainable for me for long periods of time, and I lost too much weight on it. I do not think it is a natural diet, sorry folks! I do not know of any indigenous population that eats a purely raw diet. A whole food diet, yes. But even ancient Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine practices discourage the use of too much raw food. In those practices, raw food is eaten when it is appropriate, in the summer months, when this food is naturally available, and in hot climates. This does not make sense to me when you live in a northern climate like I do, when this April morning it is 24 degrees, and the only vegetable available is the bok choy and kale that over wintered in my garden. And the high cost of eating out of season and local, I believe, is environmentally irresponsible!
I, like Flower, have returned to feeling pleasure in my life and that includes not stressing about the way I eat. I listen to my body and feed it what it needs. I look at the food in front of me, praise God for it, and feel it is more important to cultivate love.
Please I am not being judgmental about anyone's diet choice -- everyone makes their own path, and I respect that. I'm just doing what makes me happy.

Permalink Reply by Tamara Z. on April 16, 2008 at 12:58pm

Hi Doreen!
Your thoughts are so beautifully stated. I think it's important to listen to your body and give it what it needs. I am a practitioner of Chinese Medicine and you're absolutely right...yin/yang theory calls for one to eat cold foods when it's hot and hot foods when it's cold.
And, always eat what is in season. Enjoy your food and don't judge yourself or anyone else for his/her choices.

Permalink Reply by the gaudy goddess on April 16, 2008 at 1:20am

I am so happy with these posts being so honest....I too cannot afford the lifestyle. I am at a point with so many copays, drugs, etc. that I can't triple or quadruple my grocery bill. And lets face it, is wheatgrass delish~noooooooo! I have taken a different approach. I had become obsessed with it all and it wasn't any fun at all. To top it off, I was working way too many hours and just not happy with any of it. I knew I had to do something when I said to my partner, "I made it through treatment for this?" Now, I make healthier choices when I can...I enjoy food when I need to. And I don't beat myself up for wanting something yummy. I don't eat like I did pre-cancer, but I don't deprive myself either. The way I look at it, no matter how long I live or what it is that kills me....at the end of it all, I'm not going to say. ...gee I wish I had worked more or worked harder...nor will I say man I wish I had had more wheatgrass. I say, make consious decisions around food and anytime it starts sounding alittle obsessive, step back and as what is behind the behavior!

Permalink Reply by Lisa on April 17, 2008 at 8:04am

I think that might be B-12, Ian.

Permalink Reply by Tamara Z. on April 17, 2008 at 3:42pm

You're right Lisa. And, Ian if you only eat veggies you're missing out on way more than B-12. A diet must also contain fats, proteins and nucleic acids.

Permalink Reply by Rachel V. on April 18, 2008 at 8:17pm

For me, the point is I don't want to get cancer, so I'll be healthy now!

Permalink Reply by pendlewitch on April 16, 2008 at 5:13am

Oh how timely! I just got my organic veggie box for this week delivered and I was horrified at this weeks price, which I was expecting to be cheaper than last weeks! It was £105 and we will still have to get in more bits through the week! Yikes! I'd say that you definitely sound as though you need to cut loose and have some fun in the kitchen - however that may be because stress is a number one way to make yourself ill no matter what you're putting into your body to keep it healthy!

Permalink Reply by Caroline on April 16, 2008 at 7:43am

I cant afford all the raw. My husband wants cooked food as well. I compromise. I eat fruit for breakfast. Lunch is usually vegetables left over from dinner. Every dinner starts with a big salad for both of us. We eat lots of vegetables. I am decreasing the amount of meat we eat and making us more and more vegetarian. I feel like a fraud here sometimes because I never went fully or 80/20 raw. However because of what I have seen here, I buy more and more organic and less prepared food. I go to a farm stand every week for our daily fix. I will probably get a CSA farm share this weekend. I have also made a concerted effort to try to eat more different kind of vegetables.This site has made me eat healthier for which I am very grateful. I definitely think Kris has a very valid point with the raw diet - you are what you eat - and the better off you eat, the better off you will be. Its just the reality of implementing it that can be difficult.

Permalink Reply by pendlewitch on April 16, 2008 at 7:56am

Oh and... I was reading Masuro Emoto (he of the fabulous photos of water crystals) and he did an experiment with different foods. When food - even bad food - had been prepared with loving intention, then it had a much higher vibrational health (badly paraphrasing, it's been a few months since I last read it). He suggested that when you prepare food you bless it, and imagine the joy and love you are bringing to the people who will eat it, and that saying grace before the meal was also extremely good, healthy food practice. So, if you're preparing your green juices and salads and feeling anger, resentment etc as you do it, that *vibe* will be transfered to the food which again is not going to help with that healthy body that you're trying to create through diet! Hope that makes sense. xx

Permalink Reply by Dharma on April 16, 2008 at 10:09am

This book sounds wondeful. What's the name of it?

Permalink Reply by pendlewitch on April 16, 2008 at 10:42am

Hi, it is! I have a couple of his books but I'm pretty sure that the stuff about food is talked about in this one

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