My 10th day .... and my questions ...

[rawmike]

Hello all!

This is my first post, but I have been a lurker for quite a while. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts, recipes, suggestions, etc! You have no idea how many people you are helping. This is my tenth day raw, and all is going well.

My story: I have been strict Vegan for 5 years, with VERY little processed food, and focussed on a 75% raw diet. When I went from SAD to Vegan, I went through a bad detox/cleanse period, but haven't been ill since. I lost about 40 pounds, which I gained a little back. Now ... to my concerns.

Weight Loss: I am very skinny now, but happy with my appearance. I am 6'1 and 155 lbs. While I haven't had any detox symptoms from the 100% raw diet yet, I have lost weight. I really don't want to lose much weight, any ideas for keeping my pounds ON while staying true to the raw diet?

Detox: Has anyone had experiences they could share in reference to going from a pure Vegan diet to Raw? Should I expect detox since I was so strict on a 'healthy' diet prior to raw?

Food: My current diet is Fresh vegetable juices, fresh fruit, HUGE salads with just about anything fresh in the kitchen (including PLENTY of organic spring greens), and plenty of nuts and avacados. I have experimented with some creative raw recipes, but honestly, I would rather just have the fresh salads. I think I have had at least one large salad a day for many years, still not sick of them. I am purchasing a Vitamix soon and plan to hit the green smoothies. Should I be getting more variety? My new favorite dessert is frozen pineapple and bananas in the champion juicer.

While I could spend all day typing questions, I will leave it at this. I feel great, and have NO desire for cooked food!

Thanks again, you are all wonderful people!

Mike

[3kidsmommy]

Hi Mike,
I am a newbie too so I won't be much help. Like you I went from being vegan/raw to 100% raw. Today is only my 3rd day though. Previously, I would eat about 50-70% raw and the rest vegan. However unlike you I am totally feeling detox. Actually not sure if it's detox or allergies. Never had allergies before though. My nose is running and feel a little achy. Again, I have no words of wisdom. Just wanted to give you some support and keep up the good works.:)

[vwinters]

Hi Mike,
You’re going to do great. One good way to keep your calories up and not lose weight is to eat more fruit. You could add a couple of fruit snacks to your routine.

Morning snack:
5 large oranges = 308 calories

Afternoon snack:
5 large bananas = 543 calories

Of course green smoothies are fabulous and you can put lots more fruit in them. I look forward to reading all about your adventures.
VW
http://www.tagworldresources.com/Tagworld-Graphics/Animated-Emoticons/f1c7b2ccb53b7d3cbece229de6810a07.gif (http://www.tagworldresources.com/TagWorld-Graphics/Tagworld-Animated-Emoticons/TagWorld-Image-1292.aspx)

http://www.ketoforum.de/diet-ticker/pic/weight_loss/11398/.png (http://www.diaet-ticker.de)

[rawmike]

Great advice! I shouldn't have any problem throwing down more fruit ... it's all I crave! Lately grapefruits have been tasting fabulous. Should I worry about TOO much sugar?

I really am feeling great! My BM's are definatley increasing, but that could be due to the insane amount of fiber I am getting.

Thanks,
M

[Ginger]

Do you work out? Fat is not the healthy weight you want to keep on, muscle is.

You may get some detox later, every body is different. You also may not.

[LovingLife]

Hi Mike -- Two things I've read or heard about not getting too thin:

1) Just read this last night in Victoria Boutenko's "Green Smoothies" book -- she said that once you get enough greens to where your stomach acid is high enough to digest properly, you will not lose too much weight and will even regain what may have been lost unnecessarily (or undesirably). I'm sure I'm butchering what she said, but she tells of different raw foodists who started adding in cooked to put on more weight, but then their health problems came back. Once they had more greens (and especially broken down cell wall greens like you get in a green smoothie), the weight came back on.

2) Last summer I went to a Raw Food Expo in Ft. Bragg, CA and long time raw foodist, Tim Trader was there. He talked about (and others talked about him in their workshops about getting enough protein, etc.) how he lost so much weight when he went raw that his family was worried about him. He didn't like being that thin either and really had to hit the gym to lift weights to get the weight back on.

I would think nuts and seeds would bring in more calories to help too.

[hypnocmt]

Weight: You can power up your smoothies with a little extra-rich nut milk and protein powders like hemp or spirulina to keep muscle density up. Cashew milk is a good rich one that won't break the bank.

Sweet fruits like bananas and dates added to your smoothies and fruit meals would be helpful in this regard too. I am fond of shaving carrots into a "slaw" and then adding raisins or dates, some almond, and then either a raw cider-vinegar/oil dressing, or a creamy dressing using cashew cream and spices, or a sauce made with almond butter thinned down with nut milk to taste like a Thai peanut sauce. (this last one is good with pea pods, bean sprouts and broccoli thrown in)

Have an extra nut milk/nut butter/coconut butter/banana/cinnnamon/nut meg date shake for dessert (tastes like a liquid oatmeal cookie) and you should maintain weight with no problem!

Some people really thin out when they are detoxing, but then regain and find a natural healthy weight that "sticks"

Variety: Some of the best health advice ever is also the simplest- eat every color of the rainbow each day. Variety ensures that you get all your essential nutrients and antioxidants.

Detox- If your body is already running clean, it is reasonable to hope for an easier experience than say, someone who is on antibiotics all year and eating Wendy'ss every night. However, your body may dig up some deep stuff and purge it. Better now than after it's had more time to grow, right?
Compared to many, my detox experiences have been a cakewalk, but like you, I was eating hi-raw and organic long before I had an interest in a formal raw diet. I had a little, tiny, almost-not-quite headache, a mini-acne breakout, and some fatigue during long cardio sessions (60 mins plus- 3--45 mins was still a breeze- I just upped my sugar intake right before cardio with some orange slices).

Welcome and best luck!

[barose]

Detox: I'm a newbie and I ate meat (chicken and fish) before going raw so I cant be of too much assistance. But I didn’t eat soy, gluten, very little caffeine (1x a month or so) very little refined sugar, no pasta, no bread, no artificial food, all organic. Its been almost two weeks since going raw and the only detox symptoms I've had is more frequent bathroom trips, fatigue and more vivid dreams. Hopefully, it won’t be much more than that.

I'm pretty new so things can change as my body continues to clean itself out.

I eat mostly smoothies and salads now, but I do make gourmet items 1-2x weekly and go out for raw food during my lunch break if I run out of time to make something the night before - thats about 1-2x a week.

[Rawmommie]

Welcome! :)

All our bodies react differently, but for me, more fruit, more avocado's, & more nuts keep the weight on (something I don't want! LOL)

It's a good thing you aren't detoxing badly, that means you have been eating pretty well up until now! Some people detox more than others. Congrats on the 10 days and enjoy! :)

[rawmike]

More excellent advice .... Thank you all so much. I am constantly amazed at how helpful the raw community is. Hopefully, one day I can be the one helping out.

My afternoon snack today was a mixture of grapefruit slices and a banana, and then a banana but bar that I dehydrated a few nights ago made up of bananas, walnuts and raisins.

I am warming up my body for some weight training. I am doing push ups and pull ups nightly to get my body ready before I hit the weights.

Thanks again all!

m

[tweety]

rawmike,
i agree with others on here about the nuts/seeds/avocadoes.

when i transitioned to raw, i gained weight from eating a lot and that almost started to make me lose faith in raw... however, i had to figure out on my own rather than others tell me.. DUH :rolleyes:

Storm Talifero is a good mentor for weight gain/bodybuilding on a raw vegan diet. you can find him at thegardendiet.com
he has been raw vegan for over 30 years and is pushing 60, so i think he's a good voice on this topic.

good luck!

[barose]

tweety - what is your definition of "a lot"? I know everyone is different but I'm curious. :o

[solarliving]

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the forum. I thought I would respond because I too am starting off on the thin side. Two weeks ago I set out to gain a few pounds and it has worked. I've been adding a bit more fat to my diet, such as:

Avocados
Young Coconut water
Young Coconut meat
various seed and nut recipes.

I also upped fruit intake. Grapefruits, oranges, bananas, apples, pineapple, strawberry, canteloupe. I'm basically increasing the amount of calories as a means to gain weight. I have no idea how many I'm eating at this point, but I trust that if I go over board I will know.

As for detox, everyone is different. I've had ache joints, fatigue, dizziness, and emotional upsets.

Best of luck,

Angelique

[Dj 247]

Good luck, Mike! I have ran and worked out some with weights for a long time now. My problem was not being consistant enough. I would wait until my weight started creeping up then workout like crazy only to do it all over again. I am really excited to start working out since going raw because I do not have all that fat covering my muscles... I think if I work out at my current weight I will actually be able to see my muscle! Whoo Hoo! Let us know what works for you!

[Veganforlife]

Mike - welcome!
I went from a strict Vegan diet into 100% raw. Hardly any detox happened.
Your weight? What the others have suggested is good.

[Sunshine9]

Hey Mike! Welcome. My answer to all of your questions is... everyone is different.

But my experience... I've been a vegetarian my whole life, went raw at 18/19 from a mostly vegan, all organic, no sugar, no gluten diet and I absolutely detoxed. My body is really sensetive and while for most people my diet was healthy, it wasn't working for me.

To keep weight on I would focus on blending your food. Excess weight loss is usually a sign of malabsorbtion, so blending & juicing really helps.

If you feel good with what you're eating... keep it up! My only advice would be to stay open to trying new things and not getting locked into the "perfect" way of raw eating.

Enjoy!

Sunshine

[StarFire]

Aloha and Welcome Mike! I'm a newbie 30 days raw (but with no prior Vegan experience like you!) I dont offer advice since I'm so new at all this - but I just wanted to welcome you!:D

[Jeannine]

I am purchasing a Vitamix soon and plan to hit the green smoothies.


Hi Mike I just wanted to let you know that a Vitamix is not a prerequisite for green smoothies. I've used my old $20 blender and it works just fine.

Hope that helps, and welcome! :)