Discouraged

[desertroadrunner]

I have been raw for thirty-eight days and have barely lost 10 pounds. :( I feel so discouraged. I thought I would have lost more by now. My calorie in take is lower than what I am burning in a day. What could be stopping me from losing more weight? Any ideas or suggestions? I know my colarie intake because I enter everything I eat in a day on FitDay.com. I had one major cheat day; the day after being raw successfully for 30 days. I did have all raw until lunch and then nothing else raw the rest of the day. I was thinking about doing a cleanse, but am reluctant to not eat for 10 plus days.

[juliebove]

I'd say 10 pounds in 38 days is a GOOD thing! Remember, you don't want to lose the weight too quickly!

[desertroadrunner]

I'd say 10 pounds in 38 days is a GOOD thing! Remember, you don't want to lose the weight too quickly!
Thanks juliebove. I just feel like I've hit a wall. I lost the ten pounds at about the 20 day mark and haven't lost anymore.

[desertroadrunner]

:o I meant to post this in the Raw and Living Food Discussion area. :o

[Veganforlife]

I agree that is a lot too! Do you have a lot more to lose? How about water consumption? Are you drinking enough and how about nuts? Cut back on them maybe...

[desertroadrunner]

I want to lose another 27 pounds. I drink tons of water. I do eat more nuts than I should and have started cutting back just today. But like I said before my calorie intake is lower than what I'm burning in a day. Isn't that the key to weight loss?

[Veganforlife]

desertroadrunner - I don't bother worrying about calories and such. I eat pretty much what my body is craving. Some days it's more fruits then veggies. Other days it's salads. Some days its a dessert. That's what I love about raw! Do you workout? That's just how your body is adjusting. I wouldn't fret. Sounds like you are doing everything right. Others lose fast, others don't...

[desertroadrunner]

I don't workout. That's what my husband says is the reason I'm not losing. I will try to fit in some exercise and see what happens.
Thanks.

[Veganforlife]

Try T-Tapp. Scroll through the exercise thread and check it out. It is awesome! 15 minutes is all you need a day!
www.t-tapp.com

[lissomllama]

38 days isn't long at all. Many people don't lose weight for many months. Stay 100% raw with no slips, drink water, get a balance of all the things you need and possibly stop using fitday. Humans were not meant to count calories and journal about every little thing they eat. Relax about it. Eat whatever is raw and vegan that you crave and make sure you get your greens. Don't count calories or nutrients or any of that. Don't do raw just for the weight loss. Do it for healing and the weight will come off when you least expect it. you are still detoxing and your body has things to heal before it can lose weight. Be patient and don't realy think about it. Think about all the little benefits you are experiencing on raw, not about the things you aren't experiencing yet.

If you feel you need to do a fast, go ahead. A fast is good for the body. It will cleanse you and give your body a needed rest and cleanse. You don't have to do it for 10 days if that doesn't feel right. Do it for 5 days or a week or even 3 days if that is all you can do.

Good luck, you're doing great!

[star1919]

Hi... Congratulations on what you have already accomplished! :D

Here are a few things I've had success with... maybe some of them will work for you too

1) Some vegetable juices and lower carb/calories juices... I vary what I put in when standing at the juicer... also celery is said to help flush fat from the system... I often add it to many of the juices I make...

(I kept it light in the evening when I wanted to lose weight... with salads, juice, light soups)

Some Veggie Juice Combos:
*3 to 4 carrots, 2 celery stalks, small wedge cabbage
*2 carrots, 1 cucumber, 4 celery stalks, small piece ginger, few parsley sprigs, 1/2 apple or citrus fruit
*4 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 8 strawberries
*3 stalks celery, handful spinach, 2 asparagus stalks, 1 large tomato
*1 large carrot, 1 apple, 1 tomato, 1/2 cucumber, 1/2 green bell pepper, 1 celery stalk, 1 small zucchini

Juice Recipes from Low Carb Juices and Smoothies by Amanda Cross:
*4 oz pineapple (peeled, cored), 4 oz lettuce, 5 celery stalks
*1/2 grapefruit (peeled), 4 oz lettuce, 3 celery stalks, 1/2 pear
*1 kiwi (peeled), 7 oz lettuce
*2/3 C strawberries, 2 tomatoes, few basil leaves
*5 oz red cabbage, 1/2 orange (peeled), 1/3 C red grapes

2) The Raw Lifestyle is great for the 'negative calorie effect' (that some vegetables and fruits take more calories to burn than their actual calories... and help boost the metabolism) I put an emphasis on eating the green veggies like celery, green bell pepper, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, green beans... especially celery!

Here is a basic list of negative calorie foods: asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, carrots, papaya, lettuce, spinach, greens, turnip, zucchini, apples, oranges, grapefruit, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, leeks, radishes, bell peppers, fennel, tomatoes, apricots, melons, tangerines, peaches, plums, lemons...

3) If eating fresh green salads and you want a simple low calorie dressing... I make a juice combination I like and add seasonings... then I put it in a spray bottle and spray the salad... adds flavor without the calories

4) Drinking LOTS of water... I used to forget to do that after awhile... so I created the habit of drinking water at certain times a day... like a schedule... it is automatic for me now...

5) Exercise is great... but I tried a lot of things until I found things I enjoy doing... it was worth it... now I enjoy it... and sometimes I add something new in... to stay fresh and enthused...

6) Little things make a difference... especially when they become habits... and many of the things we do are simply habits... so I just gradually added in good habits and got rid of ones that didn't support who I choose to be...

It helps to just get moving... (even if you don't have time to exercise) and little bursts of movement (throughout the day) can add up over time... I pick up the pace when moving or walking, I turn on upbeat music when cleaning house, sometimes I take stairs rather than elevators, I park a little farther away in parking lots for a few fast extra strides, I tighten (in repetitions) my stomach and backside muscles when I'm standing in a line or when driving, I take my dogs for walks... they love it... mostly just adding little bursts of motion throughout the day... makes a long term difference.

[desertroadrunner]

Thanks for the support. I really need it. I've been so discouraged I almost gave up the other day by eating popcorn at the movie theater! I'm glad I didn't because when we were leaving the theater I smelled the popcorn and was grossed out.

[codajess]

Desert, you're doing great!

I was raw for 32 days with zero screw ups and didn't lose an ounce.

[free]

Sounds good to me. It took several weeks of raw for me to lose 10 lbs.

[mud]

i've been reading a lot of old threads ~ and what i was constantly seeing was people who professed to not losing much weight on raw for months!

i think it's different for everyone. Just give it time, is all i'd say.
There's no way that you will stay the same weight forever on raw. It's not even logical.

So keep up the raw!

[Pierre]

Hitting a wall is perfectly normal. I started losing, hit a wall, stayed there for a month, and started losing again.

[dreamrawalwz]

It could just be a normal plateau, or the fact that your body wants to focus on healing other areas inside of you other than the excess weight. Just be patient! 10 pounds is great!

[AliCat]

Im with you! Maybe its the instant gratification we all experience in our lives but Ive been 100% for 14 days and havent lost anything! Im bummed too. Im glad you posted this.

[berrymarymac]

Wow, ten pounds!!! When I think, wow...15 pounds isn't a lot. I pick up my bookbag which is about 15 or so pounds and say, "wow...that's a LOT of weight!!" So think about it that way. I have been raw on and off since the end of June and so far I think have lost only 15 pounds. So don't feel discouraged and just eat raw. Don't count calories! You will get there! No matter which diet you go on, this happens!

[spicyfull]

You see I don't look at it as a diet, I see it as a LifeStyle Change, and it weight comes off- that's gravey. I feel sooooooo GOOD and haven't lost any weight and I an't worried, I'm Happy........My advice, just eat RAW and throw everything else out the window..............

[rawfigure]

Don't get to discouraged. I have been raw one year and I lost 3 pds in the beginning then put it right back on. One year later I weighed the same. Now in my 13th month I have lost about 2 pds in a week. 3 to go.....yeah ! I know 5 pds seems trival to most but to me, someone who has always been obsessive about weight ( I have been working on this issue...) it is huge to be 5 pds above what I precieve as my perfect weight.

So anyhooo enough about me....hang on, you will be great. Be patient !!! :p

[misslinda]

This is a tought one because one of the luxuries of raw is the weightloss but......

RAW is not mathematical....it is not based on the values and deficits that we are conditioned with conventional "diets" or eating/weightloss theories.

RAW is about healing,maximizing your body's mechanisms etc.........notice your hair texture,hair growth rate,mood,pms,mense,nails,skin color,eye color chaning,vision,bowel,digestive system......I mean the list goes on and on.....

NO matter what if weight halts for a moment or two, something else is taking place and adding to you list of "wants"

In other "diets" --something is alwasy sacrificed to gain the weightloss whereas raw, you are gaining a long list of things.

Keep with it b/c this will be a passing moment for you! Not unusual at all.

:)

[desertroadrunner]

Thanks everyone for being so supportive. It's good to know there are others who have had similar experiences with the raw way. I know you're ALL right. I WILL be patient. And I will let you know as soon as I lose another pound. :)

[Lay-Lay]

Everyone's bodies are different. 10 pounds is wonderful. You will lose more when your body is done clearing up other areas of healing.

Much raw love!