Has anyone "gained" weight going raw?

[Luna T]

It's funny that I am posting this b/c with my 'regular" diet, I knew how to regulate everything and maintain a normal weight, but now that I've been venturing into new territory and have discovered flavor, I am starting to get nervous.

Knowing myself, I think in the long run I will be a very basic simple raw kind of person, occassionally mixing up some gourmet to impress dinner guests. However, right now I am still in the experimental phase and making a lot of new and different things. I'm eating more than I normally do, (even though it's all optimal ingredients.)

Of course, I know the same rules apply as far as no late night eating and keeping sugar to a minimum, but aside from that I am still wondering if weight gain is common while eating raw. I have not gained as of yet, but I havn't lost either.

Any comments?

[Sunshine9]

Nothing to fear :)

Unnecessary weight gain is almost unheard of eating raw. If you are too thin, your body will regulate to find your perfect weight. If you really overeat nuts it might be possible to gain weight, but I find that is hard to do.

In the beginning most people eat more than they did before because raw food isn't dense like cooked food. Your body will balance out over time. I find though that I eat a lot, and a lot of raw fooders do... it's very normal

It might be useful to explore what is behind this fear of weight gain? Why did you decide to start raw?

all the best :)
Sunshine

[Raw Magwene]

If you are eating raw just to lose weight, maybe you should reasses? Because when you go back to cooked, you will regain the weight you have lost. This is a lifestyle change, honestly. Let radiant health be your motivation, not a number on the scale. I initially lost a lot of weight, then gained about 1/2 of it back (still raw), but I am very satisfied with the overall appearance of my body and its composition.

[Luna T]

Thanks for the input everyone.

Just to clarify, Sunshine, I'm not going raw to lose weight. I've always been interested in health and longevity..this just seems to be my natural path at this time. I'm not overweight anyway, but I am very short, so I do always have to be on the cautious side b/c 3 punds on me look like 10. Anyway, I'm not use to eating very much, so it feels strange to be eating a lot and naturally, I was a little concerned.

stay well,
Luna T

[jiujitsugirl]

Sarma admits she was too thin, also she does work in the food industry dont believe shes one hundred percent raw, and eating too many raw desserts is asking for it, i mean raw is suppose to take you back to nature and even raw ice cream is a treat that should be enjoyed with MODERATION, oo and saki isn't raw

[Raw Magwene]

Only eat when you're honestly hungry. Limit your sweets, cause as jiujitsu girl says, ice cream is ice cream. Your body will tell you if you're not getting what you need (or tto much of what you don't need). Don't force yourself to eat just to finish what's in the fridge. I think you'll be just fine. Don't worry about gaining weight! have fun with this, cause there is so much goodness in raw food.

[ka_yun]

I kinda feel its hard to keep up with the suger levels >< since I mostly eat fruit, and un-cooked veggies are :mad: eww~ tomatos, cucumber, and avacados are non-sugery fruits thou, as well as berries, so u can eat alot of those (not the avacados thou). I kno what u mean, I eat alot also :( like nuts, watermelons, grapes... and I have no self control, its horrible :eek: but I only weigh 106 lbs... so, its not so bad, but I'm trying to cut back, and start exercising alot more :cool:

[Autumn]

When I first went raw, I lost weight. Then I started making lots of recipes and snacking heavily on nuts and dates. I gained weight. I went back to simpler, whole foods and lost a lot of weight and continue losing.

The heavy recipes don't appeal to me at all now. I do think they are helpful for most in transitioning and in dealing with SAD cravings, but for me, a recovering compulsive eater, they only mimicked the food I was trying to stay away from. I substituted raw desserts for whole foods and had to work for several months to break the cycle again.

[RawTruth]

First, Alissa advises in her book (and in classes) that -- when you first go raw -- don't moderate the amount you eat. Eat as much of whatever you want to eat as long as long as it is raw. Your body will use the whole, natural, raw nutrition to heal itself -- of excess weight, any diseases, and of toxins. Don't forget that you must exercise, too.

In general, the "rules" about low sugar intake, don't overeat desserts, you must count calories, follow the food pyramid do NOT apply if you're eating 100% raw. So, you needn't worry about gaining weight!! (There ARE exceptions to this, which I outline below.) And ... remember that you must exercise!

Please understand that this has been much discussed on this forum over the years and there are countless such threads in the archive, so I'm just going to be brief.

The longer I've been raw and the more I've worked with people in many different physical conditions, what I've come to believe about succeeding in meeting your goals in eating raw is that the way you begin depends on what condition your body is in and what your goals are. There may be more categories than this, but I'm being quick and rough (oooh!):

Category One:
If you are wanting to improve your health and/or you are no more than 75-100 overweight and you do not have an eating disorder, just eat whatever you want to begin with. Don't count calories, don't worry about eating too much. In fact, many people find that the more the eat, the more they lose (if they have weight to lose). After a while (several months or weeks or ... it depends on your body), you will naturally moderate yourself and begin to eat more simply. This will happen without you having to force it. (But, you will need to move your body vigorously in addition to moving the cooked food out of your life.)

Category Two:
If you have over 75-100 pounds to lose AND you've yo-yo dieted before so that your metabolism is messed up, you may not be able to lose weight on a 100% raw diet unless you avoid dehydrated foods and prepared gourmet foods and limit fats (nuts, avocados, oils). And, since it's a change in lifestyle, not just in foods, you must include exercising (surprise!) every single day.

Category Three:
If you have a serious health challenge, you may want to start off by juicing and mono-eating in order to get the most concentrated forms of nutrition to your cells for your body to use in healing itself. This is not the time for lots of gourmet dishes and heavier foods. I suggest a regime similar to what is used at Hippocrates. Then, after you're disease-free, you can do the dehydrated, gourmet, nut-rich dishes if you wish. You'll eventually move away from them, regardless.

NOTE: I am referring only to 100% raw all the time, not to transitioning to raw or "high" raw.

:o I know I answered WAAAAY more than what you asked for. I guess, if you've skipped all that and jumped down to read just this, here's a quick (and non-inclusive) synopsis: eat as much of whatever you want whenever you want (even late night) as long as you're 100% raw and not morbidly obese. (Yes, even an entire bag of dates ... or nothing but your homemade raw desserts for several days in a row. Your body will eventually compensate by craving greens and other veggies, anyway. It'll all equalize. No worries.)

[Pailani]

Thanks for outlining this based on your observations. It helps to clarify in my own mind where I'm at and where to go next.