I Can't stop eating! Help

[stiletto]

I work at home so my fridge is right here. I made the sunny pate yesterday and now I can't stop eating it! I already had a berry smoothie today, a banana, a sunny pate wrap (in a big piece of some kind of green w/ tomatoes) more sunny pate on my finger. More sunny pate on a celery. Then I ate a small cucumber. I'm still not satisfied. I will probably keep on going back to the refridgerator. Oh, yes, I had a handful of blueberries too.
Here's my history:
I finished the master cleanse after 10 days and went 100% raw after that (that was on saturday). I've gained 2 pounds since I started eating again. I don't want to keep gaining weight. I really want to lose the 2 pounds but I can't stop eating.
I've been going to yoga everyday too.

Last summer I was 100% raw for about 3 months and I remember the same feeling. I couldn't stop eating!
What gives?

[DrBulldog]

Hi Stilleto! (Love the name). Here are a few thoughts. I'm not familiar with the MC, but if it deprived you of calories your body probably thinks it's starving so any calories you take in now will be held by your body until it stabilizes.

Another thought is how about trying to eat all of your fruits and veggies in the form they fell the tree, plant or vine in? Maybe making these pates and such is not where you need to be right now. Sit down and have a couple of bananas or a few oranges or apples, etc and see where that gets you.

Also, have you checked your calorie intake? A smoothie, a banana a wrap, some celery and a cucumber don't seem like much. Maybe you're hungry because you should be!

Finally, and this is just a thought, you mentioned you went raw last summer for three months and this happened to you, and now here we are at the start of this summer and you're raw again. Are you eating raw for health reasons or solely to look good for the summer? It may not seem like a big deal but if you are eating for health reasons your habits will be less alarming to you, but if you're looking to do this to lose weight, then you may be trying to eat as little as possible and this hunger is something you're having a hard time dealing with.

Hope this helps in some way and wasn't too harsh, just trying to help!

[Pailani]

The same thing happened to me a year ago when I first tried to eat all raw! This time I seem to be doing better. I think it was caused by a combination of things having to do with finally being "allowed" to eat without guilt after so many years of feeling deprived, and being able to eat without suffering pain or discomfort or fatigue from it, and being afraid to get hungry enough to crave cooked food, and being tired from detox and misreading it as "hunger."

This time (a year later) I feel more ready to resist and exercise some self-control and I'm doing a lot better. I think maybe the green smoothies I'm eating are helping, too - I don't seem to be craving as much, or something - I feel more satisfied and nourished or something.

[Pailani]

I finished the master cleanse after 10 days and went 100% raw after that (that was on saturday). I've gained 2 pounds since I started eating again. I don't want to keep gaining weight.


Oh yeah - I remember after I did a Master Cleanse about five years ago, I lost ten pounds - and then I CRAVED carbs like mad until I gained every single pound back. I think it's some kind of reaction to fasting and dropping weight the body wasn't prepared to let go of yet.

[vgloveforlife]

I've been raw for almost 2 months and I have the same feeling. I just can't stop eating. I'm not even that hungry and I just want more--I was never like that as a cooked vegan. It's weird.

[Rawmommie]

There is an adjustment that your body and mind really have to make when you first go raw. Not only are you not used to eating whenever and however much you want, but the food is not as filling and calorie dense as SAD. Depending on the person, this can take some time.

I find that I go through periods where I eat a lot and then periods where I don't. Hang in there and just allow yourself to eat (within reason...I took this literally when I first went raw and was eating a jar of cashew butter a day! ack!) and eventually your body will adjust.

[Lunar*Fey]

I am the same way! Its starting to lessen a lot now...but still happens some days. I know exactly what you mean, I think it just takes time. Don't worry too much about your weight for now...the number on the scale is just a number....but what number...water? fat? muscle? bone? Just concentrate one how you feel, eat raw, exercise, and have fun, be at peace with yourself. The rest will come with time. Now, I am not an expert or anything...but this is just what I believe. I hope I have helped! :)

[stiletto]

Thanks so much for your replies and support. No, I am doing this for optimum health and a bit for vanity as well. The reason I went off in the winter is because I got caught up in the holidays and once you go back to cooked foods it's so hard to get back. I tried several times over the course of the year to get back but fell off. My BF and I are in this together and all he had to do was suggest something cooked and it was down my throat. We do a Master Cleanse every year and I like the way it makes me feel. I love being light and eating this way. It's wonderful.

I think I'm just excited about my new book and DVD's and want to taste everything. This raw food is good but I can't focus my whole day on food!

I'm not hungry - just "picky". I guess out of boredom (working here) and availability of food. I know it's not that much food but the nuts and seeds in the recipes can add up quickly. I'll just go for a walk or a run and burn it off, I guess.

good luck everyone with you raw food journey and wish me luck as well.
Peace,
Stiletto

[dreamrawalwz]

calorie wise it may seem like you're eating a lot since volume is different, but if you counted a SAD diet I'm sure it would stil lbe a lot less. As others said, your body has to adjust. It's craving the nutrients that it has been missing for how many years?

[Sillybloss]

I bumped this discussion up because it relates to what I'm going through right now. I went 100% raw after a serious illness and I didn't find it hard. But recently, I was under tremendous stress and began cheating a bit (a very small bit!), but now I can't get back to being raw because I am severely hungry constantly. I have always had a fast metabolism and starches just do the job of filling me up. Even when I was 100%, I could go into a raw food restaurant and easily finish 2-3 dishes and dessert in one sitting. Now that would only touch my need!

After all day eating "right", I often give in after dinner because I've never completely felt satisfied since getting out of bed in the morning....as though I'm on a diet! (I'm NOT, by the way!!!).

I've experimented with all different food combinations throughout the day, so it's not one thing that's causing this. I think my fast metabolism just burns up the raw food too fast.

Any ideas?

[muse27]

Hello,

I have the same problem... I have been completely raw for awhile now, and I can tell you first hand that the craving for food, food, and more food does not go away. I have a super fast metabolism so eating low calorie fruit just didn't cut it. Bananas don't even phase my hunger pains one bit. I had to start eating around 5 avocados a day and adding a few other things so that I could have the energy, focus, and sense of satisfaction from raw foods that I needed. Another thing was that I really do not care for nuts or seeds one bit so getting what I needed off fruits and veg. alone was crazy.

I did some research and found that people with protein metabolic types need more fat and protein than most. Not only that, they will actually get more hungry eating all of the high carb foods. This is the only explanation that I could find to explain why I just needed massive quantities of fruit to fill me up, and mildly reduce my appetite. Hope this helps.... Not really sure about all of this metabolic typing but at least it helped me realize that some people just cannot thrive on lots of fruit and veggies, nuts and seeds.

[greeninlosangeles]

I don't know if I am right, but it might be that you suffer from emotional eating, since you mentioned that you need to loose weight. I was never satisfied when I was not raw and some days I am never satified now when I am raw. Those are the days when I am tired, bored, unhappy or stressed.
The difference is that now I am thin despite overeating. But I still do not feel good when I overstuff myself and that hurts my wallet too. I am still looking for the solution, but exercise and drinking tons of water with lemon helps a little.

[michigan roman]

green tea helps to quell appetite

[stiletto]

Hey everyone,
I think I was freaking out for nothing. I've been monitoring my weight fluctuations throughout the week of eating raw and each morning I am back where I started. I'm not losing any more weight (I'm only 100 lbs so this is good, I think) and I'm not gaining. If I load up on a lot of "recipes" I will gain a pound or so and then go back when I eat more fruit and salads in their original form.

The emotional eating you mentioned (greeninlosangeles) can be a factor. I was quite busy over the weekend and just ate whenever I felt hungry. NO time for boredom picking. Although I really didn't feel hungry. My family had a birthday party for me with cake and all, and I didn't even crave it. The hardest part is trying to convince everyone that I'm not suffering! They're all like, "oh, you can't eat that right?". And I'm like, "I can- I just don't -- thank you, really I'm perfectly happy with my delicious avocado!" exasperation!!

Anyway, I think we tend to focus so much on food and eating when we're excited about RAW so we may eat more - just to experiment or because it's now our "hobby".

My mom was so cute yesterday. I went over there for father's day and she made a big salad and tried to make raw horsderves (i'm not even going to try spelling it right). Except she made polenta (cooked), toasted beets, mushroom pate (cooked) and corn on the cob. It was cute though and she really tried. She's interested in the diet so I am excited for her. My dad ate a salmon burger. He couldn't take it! lol.

Peace,
Stiletto.