>Then, I began eating mostly raw. Two weeks later, as I discovered
>Burger's book ("Instinctotherapie : le manger vrai"), I was so
>impressed that I gave up cooked food and dairy products. However, as I
>don't think that instinctotherapy is the ultimate truth, I eat all
>sorts of sprouted grains (including cereals).

Generally speaking , Instinctotherapy does not forbide any kind of foods
except  wheat (due to artificial selection having taken place since
Mesolithic) and milk/dairy. So there is nothing wrong eating sprouted grains
and cereals of original quality under this diet. Especially if you feel
strongly attracted by these foods.

I sometimes (2 or 3
>times a week) eat raw fish (my favorite one is salmon but mackerel
>tastes good too).

You should be aware of the fact that, wherever your  salmon  comes from, it
will never comply with the   intincto rules for RAF  : namely that  animals
should be free ranging, or at the minimum enjoying the benefit of a self
selection of purely  raw foods. This is never the case for salmon in France,
as well as with other highly tagged fishes. On the contrary, macquerels,
provided thay are not fished out in polluted seas  are always OK. Now if you
are afraid of making an erroneous choice  at the  fish shop, just keep in
mind the following rules :
  - small/medium size fish with high price per kilo : NO BUY (trouts,
salmon, mullet...)
  - large/very large size fish or low price fish   : OK (either not
practical or not economical to farm)

 I tried raw meat too (chicken, pork, beef, sheep),
>but I found it hard to chew and I didn't like it much anyway.

Fresh or semi fresh meat is hard to chew and tasteless. When the butcher
takes out  the large pieces from the  cold room, its tenderness has improved
as compared to the original carcasse, and is considered appropriate for the
purpose of grilling or baking. HOwever it will still take a few days before
the raw eater will be able to get the most out of it : variety of flavor,
fondant texture...
>I am still afraid of parasites, so I think I will do without meat, at
>least for a while.

You may do so without harming your health , especially  if you treat
yourself  with  fish and seafoods. However do not shun meat continuously for
fear of  parasites. I would be a gross miscalculation, as gross as say,
avoiding dates because they all contain little white worms. A parasite
deemed deleterious for your health under a cooked food diet  may well prove
to have  good side effects under a raw food  diet. How would medicine know
about it since thay have never experimented raw food. The whole world of
Nature is parasite and bacteria driven anyway. Paris' Street crossing are
much  more dangerous than your parasites. The parasitic  record of rawers in
Paris is so small  that I've never heard somebody complaining about this
sort of hassle. Of course that doesn't mean we do not get parasited from
time to time. But why should we care if everything is oK ?

>During the first two months, the major problems were:
>1) I was too thin : although I ate a lot, I was unable to regain
>weight (57kg=125 lbs).

It always  occurs that you loose weight when you start raw eating. Most of
teh weight loss is due to your body adapting to lower salt intake.

>2)Family pressure was hard to resist too ("see how skinny you are, you
>should eat cheese, bread, etc..."). Moreover, I was unable to train in
>martial arts for more than 1 hour, because I felt a lack of energy.
>Although my health improved with regard to some aspects, especially
>nervosity, I was less and less confident I could one day regain an
>acceptable level of energy.

This is a purely psychological impression. As a matter of fact, after
initial detox is over,  you have  more energy than before, but  at the same
time  you are less willing to spend it in  activities, which you do not
consider as important as before... A raw diet  thus helps you save  yourself
efforts and energy in an instinctive manner .

>At the beginning of January, I began to feel better, and (miracle?
>detox finished? adaptation of the digestive system to raw food?), my
>weight increased rapidly (Feb, 8th : 68 kg=149 lbs; now stable). Of
>course, I needed a lot of raw fish, so I am now convinced RAF is
>useful.

>Now, my RAF weekly intake is about 1 lb of fish. I am now globally
>satisfied of my health state, but a few problems remain :

>1) Overeating : for a while (~3 weeks), I was dates-addict (I could
>eat almost 2 lbs a day). I also had problems with almonds, hazelnuts,
>walnuts, avocadoes.

Again  You should be very cautious with the quality of the products you
normally buy. Dates from grocery stores are denatured to the point that you
cannot call them "Raw" anymore. This also holds true for all shelled nuts,
and, to some  extent for bleached and artificially dried  unshelled nuts.
You should buy direct from the producer or join some raw eaters distribution
network, like Burger's Orkos Diffusion. Prices are high but only there, can
you reeducate your taste and learn by yourself the life saving reflexes
which will prevent you from unnecessary stumbles.

 The only solution I have found so far is not to
>buy too much of those, because the most difficult part when I start
>eating is to STOP!

This is one solution. Another one, for advanced level instincto, is having
very little stock at home, and eating on the spot, in the streets. I
personally find  the various operations involved in the "possessing of
food" (ie, from  buying, storing, retrieving, to managing stocks... ) most
perturbing for the practise of an instinctive diet. Remember what Epictete
said : "Happiness is not enjoying. It is to be desireless. To be free"

Fortunately, coconuts seem to be a good alternative
>to avos.
>
>2) Too much fruit, especially in winter when few vegetables are
>available. But now I am trying to eat more salad, endives (and
>sprouted grains, of course). My stools are still a bit too soft (but
>maybe this results from overeating).
>
>3) My acne is coming back (although it is less abundant), and my
>body's secretions and excretions smell worse than 3 months ago : am I
>still detoxing from 24 years of cooked diet, or intoxing from
>overeating (or non organically grown fruits)?

If your acne has gone after several weeks of raw diet and is now comning
back, you are probably doing something wrong in your current diet . Try to
withdraw and resume each suspect foodstuffs in turn, to detect teh source of
your error. It might be that you are overfeeding on a certain type of food
because of its non-instincto quality.

>4) And... I waste too much time reading about nutrition and surfing on
>the Web (but I can't help it).

There is really very little that matters more than re-reading and digesting
Burger's book, until you notice all the subtleness of his thinking . I'm
being serious...

Good Luck on your way to eternal health

Denis PEYRAT
Paris, France