Urgent: Help !

[Raw TightRope Walker]

Good Morning, I am new to this. I have been 100% raw for 6 days and
feel pretty good. The first few days were hard, mostly though because
I was also giving up coffee. I am diabetic, on insulin. I would like to
continue eating like this, I am beginning to like how I feel, it makes sense
to me and I would love to not eat animal flesh just from an animal
lover's point of view. My only challenge is I am gaining weight ! I have
gained about 7 pounds, mostly around my middle and am very unhappy
with that. If I can't reverse that trend I will have to stop. I am eating
a green smoothie in the morning, a big salad with Alissa's dressing for
lunch, more fruit and vegies at night. Previously I was on a no -to -
low carb diet and was loosing weight but hated eating that way. Any
suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. Jan

[Shoney]

do any kind of a transition into raw food, either by being vegan or just increasing your fruits and veggie intake first? When I transitioned into vegan there was a part of me that definitely felt better, and a part of me that didn't! I gave up all animal products "cold turkey" but also coffee and diet pop. My body went through a huge transitional phase, and I have a feeling that even though I went vegan in November, there is more transitioning yet to do now that I am committed to raw. But because there was some kind of a transition, I am having fewer side effects now.

If you jumped immediately into raw, it could be that your intestines are a little freaked out, hence the weight gain. From what I understand, our intestines are where health or sickness begins and ends. If you have years and years of build up in your intestines and jumped into raw, that could explain a lot.

What I found helpful is to take a detoxificant product like Sonne's #7. It is a bentonite clay mixture, so there are no chemicals or laxatives are anything harsh like that. Some people say you have to be on a modified juice fast of some variety to have it work, but I got results just eating at least 50% raw. With Sonne's you take a tablespoon of the mixture in the morning on an empty stomach about an hour before you eat, and then again at night right before going to bed. It takes a good 10-12 days to notice any effect, as it has to build up in your intestines, attach itself to some of the nasties, and then it painlessly cleans your intestinal wall. I have very sensitive intestines but this method has really worked for me without cramps or any of the discomfort associated with even natural laxatives. Not to gross you out or anything, but a few of the bm's I had were noticeably different - old, twisted, dark, and shaped like my intestines rather than being smooth. I felt much better after passing a few of those! :cool:

There is a great deal of info on this site, and I'd suggest you keep reading, keep asking, and experimenting with what and how much you are putting in your body. Don't let a little weight gain scare you off, everyone is different in how they react. Remember it's an enormous adjustment for your body to go from eating SAD to eating healthfully.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

One more thought . . . if you were low carbing and eating lots of meat and cheese, it would not surprise me at all if you had tremendous buildup in your intestines, both of mucuous and the other things that come with eating low carb. I doubt that your weight gain is fat, probably water and your body hanging onto everything now that it's getting fed on a cellular level from all the raw. As soon as your body trusts that it is going to continue to be fed what it needs, the weight gain will probably reverse faster than it came on. Hang in there!

[luckitri]

Most likely the weight gain, as mentioned above, is your bodies' defense mechanism coming into play. Any drastic change in intake and the body is wondering if food is scarce so it is holding onto what you are ingesting because the change in food type tells it that maybe a famine is coming. Also I know that I was one that bloated up at first. Once your body realizes that it is still going to eat - just differently - it will start releasing. If you are older or have slow metabolism it may not happen when you hope - it may take longer.

[Pierre]

Don't worry. Some people lose when they start raw (I did), and some people don't. I lost in fits and starts, then spent a few months not losing, then had a detox a couple of weeks ago, and now I'm losing again.

[misslinda]

oh yeah, that's quite a common reaction with alot of us. It's not permanent weight. consider all the garbage your digestive system is now trying scrub and clean now that it is getting it's reliable resources. Especially the fact that you were a coffee drinker-dehydrating and now raw, your body needs to be hydrated to function.

You'll be happy you did it! Low carb--sure you lose weight but you sacrifice optimal health. Depends on what your goals are.....

Best of luck to you
;)

[spicyfull]

Great Advice.....I wish you everything you need to Stay RAW......Welcome to MY World.....

[Stina]

Hey Y'All- The lady who posted this is my good friend and landlady who courageously jumped on the Raw bandwagon after hanging out with me. Isn't it wonderful how we share this and watch this movement grow. thanks for the wisdom you all are sharing! lots of love.....

[rawpriestess]

welcome to the board, so sorry to hear of your weight gain,
I'd eat much more greens, and drop some of the fruit in the evenings,

[Stina]

Good Morning everyone, Thank you so much for taking the time to reply
to me. You all are saying similar things and I needed the encouragement.
I'm going to keep at it...Luckily I have the help of Stina, who you all
know. I think I will cut down on fruit and increase the greens. Anyway
thanks and I'm not throwing in the towel yet ! Jan. P.S. I do feel better
today.

[Veganforlife]

Green smoothies! They are awesome! I'd drink more of them!

[Elizabeth]

I was wondering if you are feeling bloated or constipated. You said most of the gain was in your middle, and I think that when one begins eating raw, being unaccustomed to all of the fibre, (esp. if one was eating low carb. before)one would likely have a lot of food residue in the colon, which would bloating the tummy area.

I do not know how you feel about enemas or colonics, or teas like "laci le beau," but something like that would clean out your colon, and then, you could eat only fruit in the a.m., (less-ripe papaya has a "moving" effect LOL) and then lighten up on nuts, if you are eatin many of them, or other really heavy foods, until your body get used to the increased fibre, gradually..

Also..lots of water, and maybe warm water with lemon juice first thing in the a.m.

I hope this helps...

[ivorylodge]

oh wow. i was totally fretting about this very same thing.

it's strange. the first week i lost 7 pounds. and i was having massive bm's. 3-4 a day. this week, they've slowed down a little. and i've gained all the weight back.

interestingly it's all around my stomach for me too. i was worried that this might be related to some of the other issues i've been having. i did the master cleanse right before i started. so i feel like my bowels are pretty cleaned out. relatively.

but i was eating less this week. because of this fridge drama at my house. my intuition is that this is contributing to my fewer bowel movements. last week, i felt like i was eating a ton. and this week i don't. but it seems like a lot more stuff was getting moved out last week.

so maybe my approach will be to eat more and not worry about it.