Thoughts

[DrBulldog]

Hey Everyone,

I had some thoughts about calorie intake. Since eating raw requires less energy and gives you more nutrients, would it be possible that someone eating raw requires less calories to maintain weight? If it also takes a lot of energy to break down cooked meats and things like that, could the energy that is being saved by not having to do that cause a lower basal metabolic rate, which in turn lowers the amount of calories you burn at rest, thereby again lowering the number of calories required to maintain weight.

If that's the case, I would guess that when eating raw you need to take in less calories overall to get the same, if not better nutrients and caloric needs would be lowered, everything else considered equal.

Any comments?

Thanks,
John

[Mary Poppins]

Excellent question!!! I can't wait to hear what others think on this one!!!! :D

[Gosia]

Is it possible that someone eating raw requires less calories to maintain weight?

I can think of at least two different answers to this question lol!

One could say that no, you still need to eat the appropriate amount of calories. Some even say that one should exercise in order to develop a healthy appetite or they might not obtain the appropriate amount of nutrients.

Alternatively, one could say that yes, it is quite OK to eat as needed, which may be less calories than recommended by some standards, especially if you are a raw foodist. Some say that overeating may be a significant contributor to health problems. Experiences of actually putting on weight while eating less calories are not uncommon. It is believed that cooked foodists overeat because they do not get enough nutrients otherwise. So it well may be that the recommended daily caloric requirements are on over-estimate.

Personally, I eat when hungry and do not calculate my calories. Sometimes I am curious about this though and think that perhaps recording what I've eaten might an interesting learning experience. I might do it one day!

I am also curious about what others think.

Gosia