Are you concerned about calories?

[5mks]

I counted up an average day of calories today and was a bit shocked as to how many calories are in my raw almonds.

But at the end of the day, I was at just under 2,000 and the site gave me an A- for the day.

Here (http://www.calorie-count.com/) is the calory counting site.

So what do you think about calories and raw foodism?

[5mks]

Oh, you have to click on the word "Here" above to be directed to the site. Sorry. I thought the word would change a different color or something.

[DavidZaneMason]

I think calorie-counting, journaling, and small goal-setting with time-frames CAN be an excellent tool if a person is trying to bring their weight under control (it worked for me! ha! ha!).

-Calories become less of an issue (or a non-issue) in adequate weight control when on a long-term...non-mixing...100% fresh raw plant food diet.

-Just my experiences / opinions.

-David Z. Mason

[tvillemom]

I don't count calories! Alissa advises us NOT to, just to eat RAW, 100% and be happy! :D I have a close friend who had done a program called "prism" in the past. When we went raw, at one point her weightloss stopped so she tried to encorporate the "prism" diet with raw. The Prism diet was all about counting calories and only eating certain foods.....she was miserable to find out her favorite "morning gruel" (raw) was very high in calories. My point here is, don't make yourself miserable worrying about calories...just eat raw, and be happy! :D
Wendi

[Ariannah]

Calories, schmalories. This is the one lifestyle where such a word is a foreign tongue to me. I refuse to subscribe to diet(ING) mentality. Pick and eat, enjoy...

Total freedom is just eating and not counting "calories", fats, carbohydrates, and the coolest thing is, the founder of this site supports that freedom.

[lil fairy z girl]

i don't think about calories. i just eat when i am hungry and that is it. i just try and eat raw as i know its best for me.
i have never been into calories either before raw or now.

best wishes
sal
~*~*~*

[Revvell]

The time it takes me to count calories I could be working out, walking, dancing, singing my song. Uh no. Don't count ~ never have, never will.

Revvell

[meinleben]

i don't count caolries....but i do not buy into the theory of "as long as its raw its ok"....

many people here seem to eat to be "raw"....i eat to be "healthy".....which is ALMOST the same thing....but not totally....i am almost all raw...i wil lightly steam my veggies at times or eat some warm veggies soup....bla bla bla....which in my opinion/experience is healthier than eating raw deserts....yet i guess that makes me not 100% raw....which i think is just fine...actually....its great....

if you are eating a lot of nuts, dehydrated stuff you might just want to pay attention to it....not necessarily count calories....

of course do what works for you and try to be raw...yet try even harder to be healthy....which probably wont include counting calories....but will include burning them by exercising hard 5 times a week...

[trinity082482]

Yep I still count cals. I'm not too worried about it like I used to be. I would look at the labels before I bought products in the store to see fat g and cals and I dont really do that anymore. It's a breeze to shop now. I cut 20 mins of label looking and it sped up my shopping time hehehe :D

[Ariannah]

I tend to eat mostly fresh fruit, as-is and eat until my body tells me it's satisfied. My body sends clear signals this time round.

On a cooked diet I'd wait until "full" or until I'd had a pre-set capacity of "calories" because my body was never satisfied. Even after being gut-bustingly FULL, I'd never be "satisfied." The terms "full" and "satisfied" have become synonymous in the dietING (can you tell I dislike "diet" as a verb?), when they are clearly and distinctly different words with different meanings.

However, on raw, it's total, utter, bliss and satisfaction. REAL satisfaction which needs no "calorie guides" to dictate what my BODY needs. My body doesn't read calorie guides.

Since I tend to be a "simplify" person (read: lazy when it comes to food), I like to pretend diet books and "experts on eating" don't exist and just go and get the freshest, juiciest whole food possible and eat.

[Sharon in Colorado]

How many almonds did you eat?

Personally I don't count but I don't think it's 'wrong' to. Raw and non-raw athletes do that to make sure they have enough fuel. If they undereat calories, they could get into a lot of trouble.

Also nuts are way more fat than protein. Some people mistakenly over eat nuts for protein. then they get filled up because they are high in calories from their 75% fat content. Because of that they don't eat as much fruit and veggies which are more nutrient dense and cleansing.

Alissa does not advocate counting calories.

[Bobbie]

Calories don't seem to have any influence on my weight while on a raw diet. Eating lots of vegetables makes me put on weight, eating just fruit including avocados (much higher calorie-count) makes me lose it.
I've eaten masses amounts of nuts and honey over Christmas as all the recipes I've made have contained them (turkey, stuffing, sausages, onion bread, soup, blackberry crumble) and I've not put on any weight.

[madmel]

I know that this is a very controversial issue and there are as many opinions as are people living this life-style, whether 100 percent or almost...

To me, a calorie is a calorie - and I think for most bodies this is the case too. Why do many lose weight on a plant-based diet? I think because at the end of the day, their calorie account is negative... If you have a diet (to me, the term diet just means life-style or eating habit) high in fats, many are likely to gain weight or at least not lose any.

When I started on raw, I lost weight because I ate about 30% fruit and the rest was veggies. Then I had a hungry phase, where I ate a lot of nuts and avos plus lots of sweet fruit. I then did gain weight and I didn't feel as good as before.

I am not 100% raw, I am honest, but high raw. I try to incorporate as much fresh and living foods into my intake as possible. To me it's a journey. But not a journey free from some things like calorie counting and so on.

And, correct me if I am wrong (I don't have the book right here), while Alissa says it's good not to be too concerned about the daily intake, she also advocates to monitor the intake of fats/sweets/dried fruits when the weight loss stalls.

For some it's okay and good not to watch what their eating and be relatively carefree, but for some it's good to watch their intake, especially if the metabolism is damaged from too much dieting in the past.

I would also like to point at Carlene, who lost a lot of weight on a low fat, low glycemic fruit diet.


Simple, Low Fat, Low Glycemic, Fruit Raw

Fat is kept below 20% of total daily nutrients
No high glycemic fruits such as dates are allowed
Bananas have proven to stall weight loss for us so they are limited to 1 per day
No avocados or olives
Hemp seed is the preferred fat to maintain healthy EFAs
No raw recipes except for salad dressings
Source (http://www.rawfoodbootcamp.com/)

I think it is most important to find your own way and do what you feel most comfortable with. If you eat a raw diet higher in fats and your weight loss stalls (if you try to lose weight) or you gain fat, I would recommend to lower the fat intake or the overall calories of your daily intake.

Although for many the reason for a raw foods diet is healthy, weight loss is a concern of many others here too, whether it's 5 or 50 lbs ;)

cheers,
madmel