Ex-vegan seeking advice page 3

[Griff]

So let me ask you this. Would you tell a cigarette addict that the solution to the way they feel when they stop smoking is to have a few puffs to feel better? Would you tell an alcoholic that having a few drinks will take the edge off the D.T.s? Would you say that withdrawing from tobacco or alcohol feels so bad that it can't be good for you in the long run?

It's the same thing for you. The only reason you feel better after eating fruit and potatoes is that you're getting your fix. You are a sugar addict. Accept it, and deal with it, and go through the withdrawal, and get past it. Ditch the fruits, start supplementing some vitamins to make up for the mineral and vitamin deficiencies, and work it through.

[Fruitlover]

Thanks Griff.

Still having a hard time accepting it's possible to be addicted to fresh fruit. This is a true WTF? moment for me.

Can you explain to me why eating fruit makes you feel entirely different than eating table sugar? Cause I can't wrap my head around this.

[Griff]

Can you explain to me why eating fruit makes you feel entirely different than eating table sugar? Cause I can't wrap my head around this.

Sugar is sugar, dude. Fiber may slow down the absorption of it, but you will still get a crash if you have too much of it.

By the way, I don't feel any different from table sugar than I do from honey, maple syrup, an apple, or a peach. They are all high in sugar and they all make me feel awful. Strawberries - in strict moderation - are okay, but strict moderation means five berries once a week, not five baskets every day.

You can be addicted to anything. Your addiction is worse in some ways because it's both physical and psychological. But you want to be healthy, so you have to get past it. Yes, getting past it will suck, but six months from now you will look back on this time and say "Whoa. That was really crazy. I was an addict - and now I'm not."

I wish you luck.

[Griff]

Hi Griff! Thanks for writing. You look great. Congratulations on all your success with this lifestyle.

Would love to hear any advice/questions, and more about your days as a vegetarian. What made you stop that diet?

Watching my father die from gangrene and cancer at the age of 63, brought on by the high-fruit, high-sugar, high-grain, no-fat diet might have had something to do with it. I gained about 120 pounds going vegetarian over two years. I felt like crap all the time. I became a diabetic. And I was always, always hungry.

When I figured this out, I dropped vegetarianism like a hot potato (pun intended) and I've been Primal for a year and nine months. In August it'll be two years. I'm never going back.

[Fruitlover]

"I don't feel any different from table sugar than I do from honey, maple syrup, an apple, or a peach."

But I do. Vastly different. We are not the same. People are not all the same (I don't believe).

"Your addiction is worse in some ways because it's both physical and psychological. But you want to be healthy, so you have to get past it."

As I've tried to explain, I've just been dipping my toe in the water so far, and am coming from years and years of exposure to high fruit/low fat writers and thinkers. What you are saying may seem obvious to you, but to me it is extremely radical and different. Everything you are saying would be dismissed in the world I've been a part of for so long as "fruit phobia." Or just plain crazy talk. ;-)

The fact that I'm even here is amazing to me, so go easy and be patient!

You referenced carb flu: do you mean what I'm describing when I have (gingerly) tried to get off fruit/potatoes?

[Fruitlover]

Thanks for sharing the story about your dad. It definitely sounds like you've experienced some wonderful changes since adapting this lifestyle.

[Griff]

You referenced carb flu: do you mean what I'm describing when I have (gingerly) tried to get off fruit/potatoes?

Yes. It's withdrawal symptoms. They pass. Mine took about four days; my husband's took six weeks because he kept cheating.

Everything you are saying would be dismissed in the world I've been a part of for so long as "fruit phobia." Or just plain crazy talk. ;-)

As may be. The facts are that my bloodwork is wonderful and my health problems are gone. Can you say the same for yourself?

When the evidence contradicts the belief system, smart people believe the evidence and ditch the belief system. You know what you need to do. Conditioned or not, it's time to decide what you want to do for your own health and longevity.

[zoebird]

Fruity, if you want answers, you need to read the books.

Griff is right -- but he's more sugar sensitive than other people, too. Heard of the glycemic index? things burn differently, affecting blood sugar, etc. Read the materials out there. There's a lot of information on how fruit sugars, processed sugars, honey, etc work on the body.

This does not mean, though, that you never, ever eat fruit. You just eat less fruit. In fact, you actually end up eating less volume in general. I usually eat two meals a day with a total caloric intake around 1600-1800 calories, those being in a split of 50% fats, 30% protien, 20% carbohydrates all from fruits and veggies. Mostly veggies, to be honest, but I have 1-2 servings of fruit per day most days.

I'm a former vegan, too, with some raw tendancies (i would say about 60-70% raw foods).

[Fruitlover]

"When the evidence contradicts the belief system, smart people believe the evidence and ditch the belief system."

I love this! I would love to post this quote on 30 Bananas a Day and watch the chaos ensue. People in the vegan/raw communities are terrible about clinging to the belief system in spite of any mounting evidence of health problems. I could list some truly mind-boggling examples, you have no idea.

[Dragonfly]

People in the vegan/raw communities are terrible about clinging to the belief system in spite of any mounting evidence of health problems. I could list some truly mind-boggling examples, you have no idea.

Actually, a lot of us have a very good idea! Lots of former vegetarians/vegans here.