Welcome to the forums!
First, I'm new here, so I might be speaking out of place. If so, well... I guess it's a risk that I'll take.
You just hang in there. Do what you need to do in order to keep moving in a more healthy direction. You are right that there is conflicting information. About just about everything!
One thing that I can tell you, that I think may help a lot is this: There are militants in every category!
No matter what it is, there will be people who will rabidly tell you that you're going to die or that you're a disgusting non-human for eating animals or that you're going to grow five heads if you visit a medical doctor. No matter what it is, there'll be someone willing to try to make you wrong for it.
And you know what? Sometimes, you'll be the one telling others they're wrong when they're convinced they're right! We've all done it.
But don't let that slow you down. Raw is the right direction to head. Do the best with what you have. Give yourself a pat on the back for working the work and walking the walk to the best of your skills and available resources, okay? Don't let people discourage you or frighten you off. Do YOUR best.
Sometimes, we forget what it's like in the beginning of doing something new. And sometimes we find something we do to be easy and flow naturally. So we fail to understand that what's easy for me, might not be so for you. And what's easy for you, might not be for me.
I can fling a keyboard at a story and whip it out in no time flat. I type with great speed, and I type a LOT. I've a lot to say! But some people type with one finger and they peck along slowly. There are times I have to sit back and sit on my hands and wait... and wait... and wait... and wait for them to say what they've got to say. It can be hard, because it seems like they should just... you know... DO IT ALREADY!
You're in transition. I am, too. I'm still eating bread, because that's my way of getting the raw butter and the raw avocados (yuck!) into me. I'm eating mayo with my raw chicken (and even some cooked chicken with it, too)... otherwise, I wouldn't get any raw chicken into me at all!
If you need the soy, then use the soy. Maybe with time, you'll begin to feel like it's not serving you. Our bodies know. And the more raw things we eat, the more it's going to start rejecting that which doesn't serve it.
So for now, work towards your ultimate goal of being raw at your own pace. If you try to go someone else's speed, you'll give up. You'll fail because you let people discourage you. Don't choose to be discouraged by a lack of support of something you're doing. You're doing your best, and that's what you need to do in order to stick with it. Hang in there. If soy's wrong for you, eventually your body's going to let you know, in no uncertain terms.
Trust your body. Do your best. Believe that your body's going to get better at communicating with you, as you get better at hearing it speaking. Faith in yourself is what is best for you. Faith in your body's willingness to say what works and what doesn't by feeling good or feeling bad, will be your ultimate success.
I'm also GOING paleo. I'm GOING raw. I'm not there, and I know for a FACT that "cold turkey" is a personal recipe for FAILURE.
Some people can just jump right into the deep end of the pool and swim. Some of us have to sit on the edge and adjust to the water temperature. Otherwise we sit in the water and shiver and cry and get out and never want to go back.
If you're an "inch at a time" person, then serve yourself honestly by acknowledging it and politely telling people, "Thank you for caring about my well-being, and I hear you. However, this is the way I need to transition myself to a healthier way of life."
Remember that. They are telling you because they CARE. Because you're a human being whose well-being and health matters to them. Perhaps they are being a bit forceful, which can be hurtful. But remember it's because you matter to them, and politely tell them that you need to do it your way, or you'll give up. And giving up is much worse than going slower than they would, if they were you.
Only you are you. Do it the way you need to, in order to be successful.
*cheers* Here's to your ultimate success in eating raw. May you find it to be fulfilling enough that one day you wake up and realize you've been eating fully raw for longer than you can remember--and it's AWESOME!
