Help! More calories needed!

[Mira Sheri]

Since I went raw, my fiancé has also been eating mainly raw, but he has now lost half a stone (7 pounds) and he was underweight for his height to begin with (he's 6' 2"). The thing is, he is feeling a lot better on this diet, more energetic and more able to stay alert for his night shifts, but he is so worried about his weight loss that he has started to eat fast food again. So I guess his diet these days is about 50% raw, 50% junk. Not good...!

So I am wondering if anyone has any good ideas of how I can feed him more calories. He is very active, he works as a paramedic, and surfs, kitesurfs, cycles... you name it. And he is also decorating the house we just bought! So he feels he needs around 4000 kcals a day.

Which fruit and veg contain the most calories? He already drinks about 2 banana smoothies a day, and I give him about half an avocado a day, but I guess with his activity level, I could possibly give him a whole one. I also give him a mixture nuts and seeds (although I know he doesn't always eat them) every day, plus some dried mango. To stop him from going to various fast food places, I have now started giving him fruit and nut bars (they're not raw, no one sells raw bars where I live) and potato salad and cous cous to help him get more energy. It's not great, I know, but it's far better than what he will eat otherwise...

Anyway, am hoping for some good tips and advice. I am in the fortunate situation that I have a partner who is open to raw, and I don't want to lose him to SUKD (standard UK diet ;) ) just because I can't feed him enough calories!

Mira Sheri.

[Naturallynice]

What about adding a bit of fat in the smoothies? A dollop of nut butter (I know it is hard to find anything else than peanut butter, but heck!)? or hemp oil?

Fruit slices with nut butter? Have you tried tahini? It is very calorific and rich in protein. You can make halva with it for dessert, or make the zucchini hummus, with vegetable sticks.

Also, more dried fruit for desssert? Dried apricots, raisins, etc??

Hope someone has more suggestions.

Esther (also in the UK)

[Nectarine]

I would suggest raw nuts, seeds, and bananas. Those three are helping me hold onto my weight.

[Yvonne]

In crease the oil and avacodo in his diet. My sister in law eats about six a day. She leaves in New Zealand and gets a large box of Avacado's delivered every two weeks. Her husband gain wieght from the oil he put in his diet. But my sisterlaw is great shape always has been since she went raw 25 years ago I just thought I would let you know her husband gaines wieght from the oil he has been raw around thirty years. But oil is the big one for gaining. Hope it helps Yvonne Murray Clamdigger Nova Scotia A

[Mira Sheri]

Thank you, everyone!

I'll make sure he gets plenty of avocados and the tip about oil and nut butters in the smoothies sounds great - I had never thought of that! It also means he won't have to eat all the time - he's one of these rare people who don't enjoy eating!

He already eats quite a lot of bananas - 3 to 5 a day - but I could definately get him to eat some more nuts. I guess the reason why he doesn't always eat the mix I make him is that he probably doesn't like one of the ingreadients, so I'm sure I can change it so that he will eat more of it.

I also have a Misto oil sprayer, so I could spray more oil on his plates than I do on mine.

Thanks again for all the tips! Hopefully I can get him to stay away from the fast food now!

Mira Sheri.

[StudentforLife]

Coconut oil is a lot healthier than olive oil. I would put some unrefined coconut oil in his smoothies or in other raw dishes.

Just remember, many people who start raw foods lose their toxic body, no matter how much raw they eat. Toxins are stored in fat cells, so when some people detox from raw foods they lose all of that body fat, and then over time,(without changing their raw diet), they produce healthy body fat, toxin free. Men are especially bothered by this form of detox,(must be a macho thing). So if you add more fats and he is still losing, but he still feels great, don't be worried.

You can read about Dennis' story on Alissa's home page. He had the same thing happen.

[meinleben]

maybe he can do some weightlifting....muscle is not only heavier than fat abut prettier too....

and he could probably eat a lot more carbs....(like sweet fruit)....maybe put four or five bananas in that smoothie (instead of 2)...that will give him more calories

i really don't buy into the whole thing of eat more FAT....dont understand why that is one of the only things people say around her

[StudentforLife]

i really don't buy into the whole thing of eat more FAT....dont understand why that is one of the only things people say around her


For some people the fat stuff works, for others it doesn't. Everyone is different. Bananas are great. I've made Alissa's banana shake and it's sooo filling. All it is is bananas and water! I use half frozen half not frozen bananas. It's frosty, sweet and creamy. Just make sure the bananas are really ripe.

Just remember what I said before about losing the toxic body as well. It's a normal occurance.

[Mira Sheri]

Thanks, Studentforlife - that makes a lot of sense, and I will check out Dennis' story!

meinleben (cool nick, btw!) - I don't think he's too fussed about whether his calories come from fat or not - he's just very concerned about his weight loss and feels as if he can't sustain himself on what I've been feeding him so far. Which is probably correct. He's a very active person, whereas I work from home, in front of the computer. So we have different needs when it comes to food. (Oh, and being a paramedic, he already does a lot of lifting - he's just lifting people instead of weights! ;) )

More bananas makes sense, though - as far as I know, they're high in calories and low in fat - so I will make him two smoothies a day, i.e. between 4-6 bananas a day.

Thanks for all the advice - it is VERY MUCH appreciated! :D My raw "quest" would have been a lot harder had I not stumbled across this fountain of knowledge!!!

[chilove]

Hello there,

I really recommend a lot more bananas. Also, mangoes and dates are the other most calorie dense fruits.

All the best,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[Alba]

172 avo is nothing - I eat 4/day:D very good and HEALTHY fat - make him some guac:D
Love alba

[Mira Sheri]

I see I have been "misled" a bit about the avocado issue - I listened to this interview with Brian Clement and he said no more than 2.5 avocados a week. But then he is a bit "anti-fruit" ;) and I am not! So will definately up both mine and my fiancés avo intake from now on! :D

Thanks!

Mira Sheri.

[Mira Sheri]

What about adding a bit of fat in the smoothies? A dollop of nut butter (I know it is hard to find anything else than peanut butter, but heck!)? or hemp oil?

Blimey!

I just made him a banana/water smoothie and added a tablespoon of almond butter and a tablespoon of sunflower oil - how yummy was that!!! Like liquid cake!!! I worked out on Fitday that this smoothie contains about 440 cals, 25 g of fat, 60 g of carbs and 5 g of protein. That should keep him going for a while! Also gave him a a nut/seed mix with orders to finish it by the end of the day! ;) It was the pine kernels that he didn't like, but he likes them in salads, so it's all good!

Thank you so much for the tip, Naturallynice! :D This smoothie (or rather variations of the theme) will be a staple from now on!

Mira Sheri