Starting this Wai Diet...

[Wolf]

Hello you guys, I don't know if any of you remember me because I haven't posted here in a long time, I used to try to be on a low/zero carb raw diet though I tried many things, I had stopped mainly due to money issues, though I tried to return to raw many times it was very difficult mostly because it is difficult for me to find any good sources of raw grass-fed fats besides milk/butter/cheese which are expensive, and it also got a lot more difficult for me to eat raw meats without gagging. 

However, recently I have gotten really tired of my acne issue which just WILL NOT go away no matter what, even when I was on 100% raw diet before it never fully went away, although it has been a lot better since I went raw, even after going back to cooked foods, but it has never gone entirely away (in my entire life), so here I am again. 

I also have had a persistent cough for the past 5 or 6 months, which has not gone away for a single day those entire months, and is sometimes accompanied by runny nose, itchy eyes, and now rarely wheezing(though I was wheezing a lot at the beginning of the cough), and other such cold-like symptoms.  I had gone to the doctor a few times about it, and they had first said it was asthma due to the wheezing and my past breathing issues, but the daily inhaler did not work (although the emergency inhaler definitely works to help me breathe easier) so they said it must be allergies, and I took allergy medicine for a month and took a breathing test which concluded I did not have asthma, but my cough still persisted.  The allergy medicine did help with my runny nose and itchy eyes and other cold-like symptoms, and the emergency inhaler did help with my wheezing, so they said it was both asthma AND allergies, and gave me a pill that was intended for people with both.  Though the medicine helped suppress the symptoms, after another month has gone by I STILL have this cough and it is just not going away.  I am hoping a raw diet will also help alleviate me of this cough after the doctors have failed me, also so my friends and family could see how the doctors failed me.

I started trying to eat this WAI diet a few days ago now(like a day or two after my birthday Aug 9th, because I allow myself to eat anything at all that I want at least on my birthday), though of course as soon as I start the diet is when I have a problem finding fresh, never frozen wild caught fish.  I bought some wild caught tuna and wild caught salmon which were both previously frozen, but they have a fishy smell(mostly the tuna) that makes me gag so I have been feeding the tuna to my cat, and stuck to raw eggs yolks the past two days.  Previous to starting, I was eating a cooked diet though I tried to stay as healthy as I could afford without losing too much weight (I have already lost 4 pounds after starting WAI) though I was eating a lot of rice pasta.  I tried to eat grass-fed cooked(seared) steak(seasoned with garlic and pepper only) as often as I could afford it, but I was more often eating a lot of rice pasta and cheese because I always crave a LOT of fat.  I at least was able to avoid wheat most of the time, as well as non-grass-fed meats, though I did indulge on them sometimes. 

I've stopped all that now though, and have only been eating fruit, raw fish, and raw egg yolks the past few days, mostly following this guide http://www.waiworld.com/waidiet/nut-foodpernut.html to determine which fruits to buy to make sure I get all the nutrients I need.  I like raw tuna and salmon(as long as it is fresh and not fishy smelling/tasting), raw egg yolks are pretty delicious to me, especially without the slimy egg whites or egg yolk sac so I get rid of those and eat only the creamy yolk part.  However I pretty much prefer my fruits to be sweet only, so I've been getting mostly mangoes, bananas, grapes, cantaloupe, and dried dates.  But due to my extreme fat cravings, I'm thinking of adding avocados to my list, and I do have some raw coconut butter I have started trying to eat for extra fat, but I never liked plant-fats much. 

The only thing I'm really worried about is getting enough fat in my diet, because if I don't eat enough fat I get all sorts of bad cravings.  Like lately I have been craving cooked/seared steak and grilled steakfat(I -ALWAYS- crave steakfat, there has never been a single day in my life I would say no to eating some soft, warm, and melty steakfat!) as well as cooked ground beef with melted cheese all over it.  I'm thinking I might have to increase the amount of egg yolks recommended for women and possibly eat fish as well in the same day.  It's only recommended for women to eat 2 egg yolks OR 1.8 oz fish in a day.  I might need more than that, also because I want to start working out if I have the energy for it, I do suffer from fatigue a lot too, my whole life I have, EXCEPT for like the one month I was on 100% raw diet with lots of raw eggs and raw beef when I could eat it all no problem.

Sorry for the long post, I just want to document my progress in this post and see if my life-long acne will actually finally go away after the proposed 2 to 3 weeks on this diet they say will clear up your face!  Wondering if I should post pictures..

[Wolf]

Also, this is the first time I have told other people, beside you guys on this forum, that I am starting a 100% raw diet.  I have never told my friends and family about my raw meat eating because they would think it is gross and also be concerned for my health as far as getting e.coli or salmonella.  I already had at least one person tell me "enjoy your salmonella" after mentioning the raw egg yolk part of my diet, and a few others grossed out, but I really want to stick to this diet and prove them wrong!  At least my boyfriend seems to be encouraging me on this diet, which helps the most because it is his opinion I value more than anyone else's.  However I am still afraid of telling my dad about this diet because I don't want him to become overly concerned about me getting sick and stop me from eating raw fish or egg yolks.

[van]

a problem with getting good fats from eggs is that there are rarely any good eggs.    Almost all organic eggs come from chickens who'd diet is 90 percent grain fed.    Look for fatty fish if you can.  Coconut oil is good but is devoid of omega 3's.    From someone who lives mostly on fat, I understand why you're craving it. 

[Wolf]

Okay I almost just fainted in the shower just now, I got so light headed that I had to get out and lay on the floor to feel better and not faint, and when I got back up again and got back in the shower to rinse off after laying on the dirty floor, I got extremely light headed again and my vision went black, I had to stumble out to my bed which I couldn't see and lay down for a while to feel better, my boyfriend seems angry now saying the diet is crap and I'm eating too extreme. 

I don't know why I suddenly got so lightheaded, that has never happened to me before in my life like that, only if I stand up too fast sometimes the edges of my vision will go black but I haven't had that happen in a long time and I've never felt faint in the shower before or while I've been standing up for that long.  I think I might have to stop eating this diet already, which makes me very sad and frustrated because my breakouts have stopped the past day or two.  Maybe it was the heat of the shower or maybe I haven't been eating enough lately, or maybe both.

I'm scared to get up and walk around right now though..

[Wolf]

I usually get this brand of eggs  http://thehappyeggco.com/
even though they're probably mostly grainfed I hope they get outside enough to at least eat some bugs here and there

[nummi]

This extreme light-headedness. I've had it. During some months prior to going raw and starting to correct diet. Same thing, so lightheaded that if I hadn't just stopped, sat or lied down, I would have feinted. I think I for some very short moments even I lost all vision as well, all black, though if then perhaps up to 5 seconds.
I've had these cold-like symptoms for long also, but not much after correcting diet. Now they only occur when there's some excess toxins or such in my body, from rare times I eat some crap.

No point going to doctors, they don't know anything about human diet nor health nor what actually causes symptoms. They're there to prescribe expensive and harmful chemicals that don't heal nor cure anything, because never before having consumed those chemicals is not why you have these health issues.

Fatigue and tiredness can be a symptom of magnesium deficiency, potassium deficiency can contribute, and iodine deficiency. I'd suggest getting some magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, and sea vegetables for iodine. To be sure your body gets enough of them.
These are important minerals as soils are depleted of them and foods you can easily get are deficient of them or include too much of something that uses up too much of those minerals (like sugars). Magnesium is the most important, then Iodine.

Gut issues can cause fatigue and tiredness as well, as nutrient absorption due to gut issues is reduced.
Sunroots are good for gut, at least in my case. I'd suggest to get some to see how they work, though they might at the moment be out of season (I can grow my own and they're still growing), though they're root vegetables.

Overall I'd suggest to eat everything, to make sure your body gets all kinds of nutrients it needs. Though obviously no grains, no dairy as it contributes to acne and such, nor processed commercial crap. Also best to keep some hours between mealtimes.

Myself presently I eat eggs, then either some meat or fat, then some meat, then kidney and liver. A little honey. No fish at the moment available I'd like. Then ground egg shells (calcium), ground dried sea vegetables (rock weed or such for iodine), greens, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. About 30 minutes or more before mealtimes I drink this MgCl2, KCl, NaCl (I also add NaHCO3, Borax) solution, presently about half to 3/4 teaspoon of each a day in about 600ml of water.

[LePatron7]

While diet can be very helpful, remember there are other aspects necessary for health - sleep, exercise, tranquility, and anything else you can think of that will make you feel better.

Diet's a great thing to do, but I personally think diet in isolation of other aspects is counterproductive to the overall goal of being healthy. After all, when observing healthy thriving animals they not only eat raw food - they also exercise regularly. During the day the birds fly around exercising, but at night they've gone off to rest and none are flying.

If I could make one other recommendation too, don't get to strung up on following a dietary dogma. Every diet promoter, whether within raw animal foods type diets, vegan diets, etc. will claim optimal health from their diets. For some those diets work wonderfully. But for a lot of people they get caught up in trying to maintain such strictness with their perceived "perfect diet" that they ignore that they're not getting better.

Aajonous' diet is a perfect example. He claims it takes many years for true healing to take place. This mind set promotes putting your faith in the diet eventually working out to your favor. Maybe in the first 5 years you're not "truly better," but maybe in 15 you will be. It's a terrible thing to get caught up in that because eventually you're way down the road and you've made some minor improvements, but you're nowhere near what you really wanted.

Keep your mind open, maybe one strict diet you thought was the right diet needs some modifications - maybe some salt, or there's an underlying deficiency that needs to be remedied. No telling what your body specifically needs, but what is absolutely certain is there are many diets with many misconceptions on what is optimal for human well being.

If something's not working right now, change it. The worst that can happen is you spent a week trying something different and it doesn't help, best case it's something that helps you and you'll be glad you averted from "the norm."

Good luck.

[Wolf]

It was weird, because my head felt numb and my hearing got dull, and I got a ringing in my ears, but I wasn't really dizzy, just my head felt heavy I guess, and everything felt unreal.  I also had a hard time breathing, I remember looking up and gasping for air but when I couldn't get any and everything started closing in on me, I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to faint in the water where I could possibly drown so I got out and laid down on the floor where it was cooler.  I later ended up eating a bowl of this thai rice noodle soup stuff with 5 eggs in it, so the eggs ended up getting mostly cooked, but that's all I really had to eat.  Next morning I woke up with some new breakouts on my chin though.  =(

I've never gotten light-headed like that before though, even when I first started trying out a raw diet, but I'm pretty sure the problem was too hot of a shower.  I felt perfectly fine while walking around before the shower, and I felt fine through pretty much my whole shower, but I was taking a hotter than normal shower.  Only towards the end I almost fainted, and I would have fainted if I hadn't got out and lay down.  This cough has also been a recent thing, though lasting for 5 or 6 months now, I have never had a cold last so long before.  Since it had lasted a month or two I decided to go to the doctor because it didn't seem like it was going to go away on it's own and I was wheezing a lot and having a hard time breathing sometimes, so I thought I'd see if the doctors could figure out what it was.  The medicines they gave did seem to help a little bit, my cough isn't as bad and I don't wheeze as much anymore, but it still won't go away completely.  Also I got an inhaler which really helps me to breathe, as I seem to be having a harder time breathing lately.  I took my inhaler after I almost fainted too because I felt like I wasn't getting enough air.

Supplements are something I always end up forgetting to take, I tried taking supplements before but they didn't make me feel any different and I ended up forgetting to take them most of the time.  Plus they are expensive and I am poor.  I can't find good clean sources of fat(besides dairy) or organs, and the grain-fed supermarket stuff just makes me want to puke.  I'm pretty sure I've overdosed on calcium enough from all the dairy I liked to eat for fat, I wouldn't want to eat egg shells. 

as for a well-rounded healthy lifestyle, it's rather difficult for me because I have such a hard time breathing that exercise is something painful for me and I tend to avoid it when I can, and being lazy doesn't help, I've had breathing problems all my life so I'm also rather weak from lack of exercise(PE was always my worst class).  Sleep I'm not sure is a problem, I can easily sleep 10 hours a day, though I tend to have trouble falling asleep but likewise have trouble waking up. 

But trust me, when I first started out my 100% raw diet a few years ago, I kept changing what I ate a lot trying to find any combination that didn't cause me to break out, and yet I still always had problems with my skin.  The only reason I'm trying to stick to this dietary dogma is because I'm sick of always having horrible skin and breaking out everywhere, and this WAI diet seems like something I'll be able to do (unable to gag down raw meat anymore) as well as something that's more acceptable by other people.  In all honesty I could really care less about optimal health, the only thing I really care about is not breaking out anymore.  I'm sick and tired of being disgusted by my own skin every single day of my entire life.  I wouldn't be able to stick to any dietary dogma for years like that anyways, my initial goal was to stick to this WAI diet for 2 to 3 weeks, see if it cleared up my skin, and if it did then I would slowly introduce one food item at a time, one week at a time to see what exactly breaks me out and what doesn't.  If it didn't clear up my skin within 3 weeks like I was hoping, then I wouldn't know what to do and would end the diet because it wasn't working.

That said, I've decided to add steaks along with my WAI diet, though I can't eat them raw or plain, I need to at least sear them and season with garlic and pepper which I hope isn't going to cause me to break out.  I suppose I need something more substantial to eat on this diet, I don't think I was getting enough calories, and definitely not enough fat, and that it was part of the reason I almost fainted.  I'm not going to stick to the WAI diet rule of (for women) only 2 egg yolks OR 1.8 oz of raw fish per day, as it does not seem enough.  I am thinking to eat anywhere from 4 and up egg yolks, AND seared steak or raw fish every day, along with as much fruit as I want.  Sans steak or fish, I would up the amount of egg yolks I eat in one day, as steak and fish can get expensive, but egg yolks are cheap.  I will easily loose too much weight if I do not eat enough calories, and fruit is something I obviously cannot eat enough of having already lost 4 lbs after starting the WAI diet, after being unable to loose even a single pound for months.

[van]

I would suggest paying attention to what happens when you eat meat and fruit together.    Again, most eggs are trash. 

[nummi]

I take it by supplements you mean the magnesium and potassium and iodine (dried sea vegetables). 500 grams (about 1.1 pounds) of all of them should last about 8 months if about 0.5 tsp a day is used, and this little "supplementation" should be enough to give the body the extra nutrient kick making sure you don't run into deficiency. Personally I don't consider it as supplementation, I just consider it part of diet, as food. For me 500 grams of MgCl2 would cost around 5 euros, KCl around 20 euros, sea vegetables around 15 euros, I think 1 euro was roughly about 1.2 dollars. Prices around the globe differ but since 500 grams of each would last about 8 months it's cheap, especially if you compare these to pharmacy crap (pills and powders, etc.) of which the body barely absorbs any and at the same price instead of 8 months you can only get one month supply of useless crap.

Difficulty breathing is an iodine deficiency symptom. Though there can be other causes as well. I know iodine deficiency firsthand, for years on and off before correcting diet, not a nice thing.
Many things you describe (physical weakness as well) seem to me like exactly magnesium, potassium, and/or iodine deficiency symptoms. I've personally had all of them. These are basically the primary minerals your body absolutely has to have enough, but foods (mass produced, commercial, and such) in general have too little of, plus these minerals are also used to get rid of toxins from the body (of which there's more and more year by year). I'd suggest to make sure you have enough of Mg, K, and I, because they are responsible for very many essential functions in the body (essential for overall metabolism and digestion; digestion can't work right if is deficient of these, at least this is my experience). I'd say if you have deficiency of these everything else pales in comparison since almost everything else is dependent on these.

[Wolf]

Yes, I know most eggs are trash, what am I supposed to eat then?  Shall I become a fruitarian?  Oh wait, most fruit is pesticide-full unripe overbred trash too.  Vegetables are the same pesticide-full overbred trash full of indigestible fiber and anti-nutrients.  Dairy is un-paleo trash.  Grain is the worst trash.  Should I eat nothing but cooked grass-fed beef muscle meat then?  I'm sure I won't develope any deficiencies there!

and I can't just afford to pay $50 for supplements that may or may not work(most likely won't work), not mattering how long they last because I certainly would forget about them after a month.  I actually can't even afford to buy food, I'm on food stamps which only gives me a bit less than $200 a month to buy food, and will not buy supplements for me.

Also I don't see how I could be deficient in iodine my ENTIRE life, let alone lately when for one I'm eating raw egg yolks and raw fish, and for two, I have been drinking milk, eating eggs, lots of cheese, and lots of salty foods, and iodine containing foods a LOT for most of my life.  I also do not have a goiter.  And if I start to eat plenty of bananas everyday, will that give me enough potassium and magnesium?  How about dates, avocados, and chocolate?  I need food sources of it if I want to be able to afford it.

[Wolf]

Oh yeah, and I don't eat meat and fruit together at the same time.  I will wait at least an hour to 2 hours after eating animal foods before I drink water or eat any fruit, and I usually don't eat animal foods directly after eating fruit either.

[van]

Try North star bison, or miller's farms in penn.     The part about living with your dad, and raw meat eating would be challenging.   Searing your meat, especially thicker pieces, for a few seconds should help with his fears, and maybe your's too.    Your choice about the eggs.  Maybe you could find a farmers market  or go online for field raised eggs.  It's just that eating eggs from most chickens is like eating beef from cows that have only lived in a feed lot fed grain.

[nummi]

Yes, I know most eggs are trash, what am I supposed to eat then?  Shall I become a fruitarian?  Oh wait, most fruit is pesticide-full unripe overbred trash too.  Vegetables are the same pesticide-full overbred trash full of indigestible fiber and anti-nutrients.  Dairy is un-paleo trash.  Grain is the worst trash.  Should I eat nothing but cooked grass-fed beef muscle meat then?  I'm sure I won't develope any deficiencies there!

and I can't just afford to pay $50 for supplements that may or may not work(most likely won't work), not mattering how long they last because I certainly would forget about them after a month.  I actually can't even afford to buy food, I'm on food stamps which only gives me a bit less than $200 a month to buy food, and will not buy supplements for me.

Also I don't see how I could be deficient in iodine my ENTIRE life, let alone lately when for one I'm eating raw egg yolks and raw fish, and for two, I have been drinking milk, eating eggs, lots of cheese, and lots of salty foods, and iodine containing foods a LOT for most of my life.  I also do not have a goiter.  And if I start to eat plenty of bananas everyday, will that give me enough potassium and magnesium?  How about dates, avocados, and chocolate?  I need food sources of it if I want to be able to afford it.

Our world certainly is really messed up... But know that the troubles you have, the little to no money you have (I live by my parents, no job, no money of my own...) is not your fault. The troubles and problems are included in the design of the world you are forced into since birth (not referring to gods or religions).
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I'd say magnesium is the most important of the minerals. Though first of course, before buying anything, you'd have to identify whether you actually might be deficient of something. I'd suggest to take these "daily recommended nutrient requirements" as a basis (which are rather bullshit but sometimes can be a useful tool for providing some directions to consider) and calculate, approximately, how much of these minerals you get and have gotten before.

They would work, with 100% certainty (if not then you'd have to be a really really really rare individual). In water those salts (MgCl2, KCl) go into ionic form. You can't go better than ionic form. Absorption rate should be about 99% or close to it, if not 100%, if your body actually has a need. As to dried sea vegetables, personally that's where I get my iodine and since I've got experience with iodine deficiency I can say with absolute certainty that it does work; I'm not having any deficiency symptoms, and other food I eat don't have enough iodine. Cranberries and lingonberries have enough iodine in them but there's not enough of these for all year round, and they have to be wild berries (don't really know anything about domesticated variants, maybe they have it too, depends on the soils, but then how much do they cost? Wild could free, go and pick, but then the issue is finding them... and if you live in a city then...).

If you happen to be near some beach, sea water. Go swimming, sea water contains Mg, K, and others naturally in ionic form. They absorb through skin also. Don't even have to swim, just be in sea water. But then there's potential water pollution...

If you actually were deficient of them and actually did need them then you would not forget it. And if you did in the beginning then you would, would have to, teach yourself not to forget (goes about anything really...).
Oh, and forgetfulness is a magnesium deficiency symptom. Though other things can lead to it also.

Most of "western world" is and has been deficient of iodine their entire lives. It's a reason why so many people are so sick and get sicker and sicker, but just one reason, but a major one. Fluoride gets directly in the way of iodine, make sure you don't get that crap.

As to affording foods to certainly get enough of those minerals... it's actually cheaper and much better health wise (if you can't get wild or "organic" products) to get the salts and dried sea vegetables. I spend far less when using these salts and sea veggies. But yeah... spending the 50 or so at once can be troublesome, I'm not rich either... don't even have a job... no fitting jobs.

If you want enough of those minerals from foods then you would have to eat wild or organic products only. Commercial variants are depleted of them, you cannot get enough of them from commercial products without other things in them causing you other health issues. Commercial products (commercial fruits and such are grown on depleted and poisoned soils) are loaded with sugars, but sugars need magnesium to be metabolized. So, too much sugar, too little magnesium - a recipe for health issues.

[Wolf]

I live about an hour or two away from the beach but I can't be going there everyday, I can't afford that gas.  I don't like the taste of seaweed and stuff, I even bought some raw seaweed before and I don't like the taste of it.  Too salty or something, and I never did like the taste of sea salt.  and I know we always had iodine salt in the cupboard when I was growing up, plus iodine is naturally in egg yolks right?  I'll be trying to down at least 6 egg yolks a day.  Organic is usually too expensive.  Also I have no idea where I would even buy the salts from.  I can't even afford it.

[jessica]

Wolf, you live in California right?  Is there any chance you could move to a community that  would support your health. I am not talking about a commune just a region Where there are more farmers and likeminded people seeking healthy food.  It seems like you are young and not tied down by much and that attaining health through proper diet is a focus, why not think of creative ways to put yourself in a place that would allow that to happen with less resistance??

[eveheart]

Wolf, you live in California right?  Is there any chance you could move to a community that  would support your health.

I'll second that suggestion! I moved from SoCal to NorCal over a decade ago. All I can say is, "It's nicer up here!"

There are plenty of places like Jessica describes, where you can find work and pay rent that is somewhat affordable. Of course, it won't be like living at home, but it's worth investigating. It's a huge state.

[Wolf]

I don't have any money at all, I'm actually like $2,500 in debt because I lost my job for over a year, I couldn't find a new job.  I was still spending like $500+ a month on food trying to eat raw and healthy, so I ended up in a lot of debt.  I have to pay off that debt before I can do anything, and I also don't want to move anywhere I don't know anyone.  How am I going to go somewhere completely new and find a place to live?  it's impossible.  I'm also terrible at finding a new job, obviously taking a year to get one. 

[Wolf]

I'm getting tired of this... I got a breakout on my chin still, even with such a restrictive diet.  Though one breakout is a million times better than the 5 I got after eating the bowl of soup after almost passing out.  But because of the breakout I didnt eat any steak today, just egg yolks and fruit.  But what really sucks is that I've been having a hard time breathing today and a stuffy nose.  Right now im even trying to sleep but i cant because my sinuses are sore and my nose is running.  I thought at least my allergy symptoms would go away with all the junk I was eating, especially all the dairy because I was drinking a ton of milk and eating a ton of cheese.   I'm also craving cheese and fast food like crazy, I just want to eat taco bell and mac and cheese and hamburger helper and all this fatty junk food all the time.   I'm also, grossly, *dont read anymore if you dont wanna hear gross* having a LOT of gas lately, like seriously every 5 minutes gas.  like, Ive normally been gassy a lot but I have never had this much in my life.  and slightly constipated, i dont think all this fiber from the fruit is helping me. 

but yeah sorry just a little rant.  im tired but i cant sleep because of my stupid nose and felt like ranting.  I dont know what to do because i dont know what to eat.  EVERYTHING makes me break out no matter what, even on 100% raw.

[LePatron7]

I don't have any money at all, I'm actually like $2,500 in debt because I lost my job for over a year, I couldn't find a new job.  I was still spending like $500+ a month on food trying to eat raw and healthy, so I ended up in a lot of debt.  I have to pay off that debt before I can do anything, and I also don't want to move anywhere I don't know anyone.  How am I going to go somewhere completely new and find a place to live?  it's impossible.  I'm also terrible at finding a new job, obviously taking a year to get one. 

I think you should focus on your finances first. Without being well off financially (income and credit wise) you're not going to be able to eat a good diet - let alone get your own place, etc.

Get yourself well enough to be able to work and take care of your credit, then focus on your acne.

That's my personal advice. Putting yourself in debt only hurts you in the long run. You need credit for everything - education, a car, a home, etc.

Being able to associate financial success with doing well health wise is important. No money means no buying eggs that are $8/dozen, beef that's $8/lb, milk that's $8/gal, or salt that's $7/lb. A low income means a poor diet - eggs that are $1/dozen, beef that's $3/lb, milk that's $2/gal, and salt that's .50c/lb.

Without being well off financially it's incredibly difficult to have control over any aspect of your life - let alone your health.

My personal advice is get well enough to work, take care of your credit, and start improving your diet in a way you can afford. From there look into long term employment that will pay enough for you to fully sustain yourself.

[eveheart]

I'm getting tired of this... I got a breakout on my chin still, even with such a restrictive diet....

It might help to take a long-range view of things instead of expecting results overnight. Depending on what's wrong on your insides, healing of some things take weeks, other things take months, and many things take years. Tomorrow's acne breakout probably started weeks ago, even though it may be triggered by what you eat today.

I think the best bet is to eat a junk-free paleo diet and then fit everything else into your budget. My personal definition of junk-free is no processed foods, so everything I buy has its own plant or animal identity, and paleo means foods that were consumed before field agriculture (so no grains or legumes). Make your own definition and stick to it, either using a pre-defined diet (such as Wai) or your own definition.

As far as going without working and going into debt, avoid that at all costs. If you can't find work, sign up at your local employment office (for free) and work with a counselor and attend their seminars to help you find work. It's easiest to pay off debt with a second job.

[Wolf]

I do HAVE a job here, where I am now.  Which is very lucky for me to have this job, which is why I wouldn't want to move somewhere else far away from anyone I know and try to find a whole new job and a new house.  Here, I live with my dad, he has a really nice house, and I don't have to pay rent for now, just help pay for the internet, which I will never get rid of.

and previously I had been just worrying about my finances, I got food stamps to help me buy food and I was eating a bunch of junk, mostly rice pasta and cheese, as well as accepting free fast food whenever my dad offered to buy me any.  But my breakouts were getting worse and worse, and I was seriously getting tired of having a crappier and crappier face every day, and not only that but this cough which hasn't left me for 6 months, I wanted to get rid of that too, since the doctors pretty much don't know what's wrong with me and keep guessing just allergies and asthma.  I wanted to get rid of all that, and try a raw diet again, and hope it would cure my acne and my cough.  I also figured a WAI diet would be both the easiest diet to start out on with raw, as well as the most accepted by others, and the best diet to get on for clearing my acne.  However, I did not foresee having a difficulty in buying never frozen wild caught tuna fish, which is the raw fish I like the best, as well as not being able to eat enough fruit to give me enough calories.  I thought I would be able to gorge myself on sweet fruits, but it seems like I am craving too much fat now, which I always crave a lot of.  Even after allowing myself to eat more egg yolks and to eat seared steaks, I am still craving fats like crazy.

[Wolf]

oh but the good news is that my boyfriend decied to try raw egg yolks!  though he said he'll never be able to give up rice, its a huge step forward to convincing him on a raw diet. 

[goodsamaritan]

raw eggs on hot rice is a traditional Filipino remedy for women to re-energize after child birth.

[Wolf]

Haha, funny to read all this 5 years later when I'm trying the Wai diet out again.  Also we finally found out what my cough was, I'm allergic to my cat.  =(  But I love my cat.