Exhausted

[oigetit85]

If any one has any advice or lead to a thread I have not come across, but I have been high raw for at least 3 months and am so exhausted! I used to run, do weights, aerobics, etc. My love for running is insatiable. However I am so depressed right now cause my weight is up and all I want to do is sleep. Has anyone else experienced this? I am having a green smoothie and bananas for b-fast. At lunch it's 2 cups of veggies and a fruit, then for a snack it's more veggies and a fruit, then another fruit on the way home from work (typically an apple - LARGE) then dinner of a large salad with salsa. Before bed I'll have my kind of unraw snack but with 2 pcs of fruit. Can anyone see if I'm doing something wrong. I feel physically and mentally miserable. But I am glad to be raw, I just want to do it right. Any help is so, so much appreciated!!!

oigetit85:(

[Juicyfruit]

I didn't notice any fats. Are you eating any fats?

[Liserpiece]

Are you getting enough fats? From what you have decribed, it seems like you might be low in nuts and seeds (protien for longer term energy). When I feel a little sluggish, I eat an avo with some pinenuts and Bragg's and it perks me right up! I've also noticed that my depression is better when I eat more fats (avo and nuts) and denser protien sources (seeds and sprouted grains). I also combine my fruits with nuts, making the sugar absorbtion slower so I don't have the ups and downs which can lead to feeling tired and depressed.
Maybe that would help?
Elissa

[pinkrosebud]

I too am not always as high energy as I used to be before going raw. My mood swings are up and down my energy is sometimes very low. But I have only been raw for 41 days(100%) before this I was 70-80% for 3 months and felt great but was gaining weight. So I am playing and experimenting with things. Try sprouted grains and beans make things out of them or add them to your salads and smoothies. French lentils are great on salads because they add a peppery taste. Also garbonzo beans for hummus and falafel. Make flax crackers and maybe add more fat. I hope you find a balance. But we are all so different just listen to what your body wants. Have you been craving any (raw) foods that you are not eating?

[oigetit85]

Well, I am eating a handful of nuts, I've just read that it's really not that great to eat a lot of them and I eat a lot of flax seeds. I don't grind them, I just eat them raw. I've not tried an avo yet. I don't have a dehydrator and I don't know how to sprout. I live in an apt., so don't have any soil to try to sprout ( is that how you do it?). I'm having a hard time listening to what I really need, I've been so 'other' programmed for so long, I feel that I will know better in time. I know I'm being sporatic in the reply, just trying to answer some of your questions. I need all the help I can get! So, thanks! I just really want to get back to running...

[salsababy]

Perhaps more fat and protein. Especially since you are so active. Have you tried hemp milk? Also raw energy bars. Recovery raw puddings. There are some bar recipes that don't require a dehydrator. E-mail me if you want a recipe. :)

[salsababy]

Oh yes, I forgot. How about a raw electrolyte drink (instead of Gaterade)? Pretty easy to make. All you need for most of this stuff is a blender. And the drink will help replenish your levels after your workout. :D

[oigetit85]

Thanks for your advice, but that's the problem...I can't work out. I can't do anything...just want to sleep all the time. I thought I might be getting enough protein by what I'm eating, but not sure. I listed what my daily habits were at the beginning. Maybe some hemp would help. I'm not sure what is causing the bloating and constipation either. Just makes me wonder if this is right for me. Just not sure what to do. Thanks for ya'lls help...I do appreciate it!

[Revvell]

My feeling is if you're eating something on a regular basis... tomatoes maybe? You may have a food sensitivity.


That happened to me many moons ago when I went on a "purifying food program" (before raw) and all I wanted to do was sleep, eat and read. I had no energy for anything else. Come to find out it was the almonds and tomatoes. Citrus will do this as well...or anything you're eating regularly.

Soaking the almonds made a difference there and eliminating tomatoes. I see salsa listed as one of your regular recipes.

You didn't say what you're eating "Before bed I'll have my kind of unraw snack but with 2 pcs of fruit." That could be your problem as well.

How about dropping that and going totally raw?

btw> sprouts grow in water.

R.

[jeannieh99]

Thanks for your advice, but that's the problem...I can't work out. I can't do anything...just want to sleep all the time. I thought I might be getting enough protein by what I'm eating, but not sure. I listed what my daily habits were at the beginning. Maybe some hemp would help. I'm not sure what is causing the bloating and constipation either. Just makes me wonder if this is right for me. Just not sure what to do. Thanks for ya'lls help...I do appreciate it!

I'm glad you are asking this question. I am going on my second month of 100% raw. I too have had the same symptoms you describe. I do mc drinks, green drinks, I am eating avos. I do eat nuts and seeds. My arms are tired, I find myself having to lean on the shower wall while showering, I don't go walking like I used to. I would be interested in hearing what other proteins might be of help for energy and alertness. I think mine has to do with my thyroid that is non functioning. I just started back on my synthroid because I found I was sleeping way too much.:eek:
Jeannie

[oigetit85]

Thanks R for your feedback. I am basically the same thing every day due to a limited amount of produce we have here in TN. The same friuts most of the time. I really don't think it's a tomato thing, I just picked up the salsa a couple of weeks ago and the fatigue has been longer than that. My unraw snack is (and I hate to admit this) is 1 cup of yogurt and 1 oz of organic dry cereal. It's really an emotional thing and I don't know how to substitute something raw for it. I am not going to quit my raw, and I know it will get stronger, I just want to keep reading that other ppl are successful at fitness so I can have hope. Reading these gives me hope. I just wish I could make the great sounding recipies that others do and I'm jealous of those in CA due to all the choices of raw foods you have!! :) Thanks again for all of ya'lls help! I love this forum.

[belleadonna]

I haven't been 100% raw for that long but maybe your body is still adjusting. I find that when I lack energy that a glass of powered barley grass just mixed in 8 oz. cold water really picks me up. It's nice and alkaline and gives me energy.

[lydias]

I like blue green algae from E3Live.com- chlorophyll and oxygen
Start slow with it though.

[bonniejo]

i know how you feel. in ohio i had more produce options there then in michigan. i feel your pain. its hard. you need more protien. a base to help you carry on through the day.try some soy products.soy nuts, etc.... i don't know what your flavors of eating is exactly like, and being in an apt in tenessee is hard as well. when being that active your muscles were used to being with some type of sound protien behind it such as tuna and chicken if you were eating it before. now they're stripped and are in shock. all i can say is protien! take care bonnie jo

[Raw Bunny]

When I hit about three months raw I stared another round of detoxing. Do you think that could be it? It was hard to go through after feeling so great on raw for most of the first three months.

Also as mentioned above, food sensitivities are common. Before going raw I went to a very simple diet for a couple of weeks and then started adding back foods that can cause sensitivities one at a time. I reacted strongly to wheat and dairy. I had no clue that the cheese and yorgurt that I loved could make me feel so bad.

[rawsurfer]

i know how you feel. in ohio i had more produce options there then in michigan. i feel your pain. its hard. you need more protien. a base to help you carry on through the day.try some soy products.soy nuts, etc.... i don't know what your flavors of eating is exactly like, and being in an apt in tenessee is hard as well. when being that active your muscles were used to being with some type of sound protien behind it such as tuna and chicken if you were eating it before. now they're stripped and are in shock. all i can say is protien! take care bonnie jo

sound protein? what exactly is sound protein anyways? fish and chicken??? no way dude. that takes so much energy to digest, poisons your body in the process, provides only a small percentage on what is originally in it (around 15%), dehydrates you, robs you of enzymes, makes your bones weaker, and much more. its hard to get past all this social conditioning (brainwashing) that we all have. as you will learn in any biology class, proteins are complex chains of amino acids that your body uses for a number of functions, such as structural support, protetion, catalysis, transport, defense, regulation, and movement. amino acids are most concentrated in dark leafy greens and sprouts. these are readily digestible because they come with the enzymes that are specific to the breakdown of each of those foods. we dont even have the enzyme (i want to say cananine, or canavanine) that breaks down flesh (which naturally would be raw by the way), or the short intestines without pockets (we have long, curvy, pocketed intestines); animals such as tigers, lions, and bears do.

i might be beating a dead horse here, but i feel that this is so important for you to know confidently and completely, because those who believe that you will become protein deficient and get blown away in the wind are absolutely certain that animal protein is superior, and that you cannot survive long term without it. this is, of course, a generalization, but you can understand what i mean.

whenever i feel weak or groggy (which, now that i have figured it out, is never), if i drink a green smoothie, juice, or eat sprouts, i rebound with tons of energy. i dont really eat too many salads anymore just because they take forever to eat and my body just doesnt absorb what it does when my food is blended. i get up at 5 every day and run and work out and all i eat is raw, living, vegan (with the exception of honey) food.

for a while, i was feeling pretty tired and groggy, as i was struggling with nighttime eating, and because my body was digesting all night, i wasnt getting the sleep i needed. i started sleeping a good 12 hours a day some days, and i knew intuitively that it was my nighttime eating (i also knew because on nights that i went to bed with an empty stomach i bounced out of bed in the morning). i would eat raw food for the night session, but it was nuts, dried fruit, oatmeal, or improperly combined foods in excessive proportions. the day i stopped doing this was the day i started feeling great. the less i eat, the better i feel, amazingly. if i need to eat, i eat and dont worry about it. in fact, i love eating and enjoy it even more now that i eat only when i need to.

you really just have to evaluate yourself with rigorous honesty. are you being the best that you can be? the best that you deserve to be? if not, then "indulging", or "treating" yourself, is the most surefire way to harm yourself, and to prevent your body from healing itself. the moment i realized this was so incredibly liberating. i hope you may realize this as well.

peace and love

[rfn]

Were you a heavy meat eater before transitioning to 100%? I grew up a heavy meat eater and was also very athletic. I assume my body grew to be heavily reliant on the most accessible form of protein, animal protein, and it will be harder for me to wean myself off of it than others who went to raw food from being vegetarians or vegans. I feel very weak if I don't have meat, and so am transitioning slowly, still eating a very small amount each day. I'm hoping to slowly wean myself off it. Otherwise, I just wouldn't be able to function in the simplest ways b/c of the constant exhaustion.

[cinnamon panda]

sound protein? what exactly is sound protein anyways? fish and chicken??? no way dude. that takes so much energy to digest, poisons your body in the process, provides only a small percentage on what is originally in it (around 15%), dehydrates you, robs you of enzymes, makes your bones weaker, and much more. its hard to get past all this social conditioning (brainwashing) that we all have. as you will learn in any biology class, proteins are complex chains of amino acids that your body uses for a number of functions, such as structural support, protetion, catalysis, transport, defense, regulation, and movement. amino acids are most concentrated in dark leafy greens and sprouts. these are readily digestible because they come with the enzymes that are specific to the breakdown of each of those foods. we dont even have the enzyme (i want to say cananine, or canavanine) that breaks down flesh (which naturally would be raw by the way), or the short intestines without pockets (we have long, curvy, pocketed intestines); animals such as tigers, lions, and bears do.

i might be beating a dead horse here, but i feel that this is so important for you to know confidently and completely, because those who believe that you will become protein deficient and get blown away in the wind are absolutely certain that animal protein is superior, and that you cannot survive long term without it. this is, of course, a generalization, but you can understand what i mean.

whenever i feel weak or groggy (which, now that i have figured it out, is never), if i drink a green smoothie, juice, or eat sprouts, i rebound with tons of energy. i dont really eat too many salads anymore just because they take forever to eat and my body just doesnt absorb what it does when my food is blended. i get up at 5 every day and run and work out and all i eat is raw, living, vegan (with the exception of honey) food.

for a while, i was feeling pretty tired and groggy, as i was struggling with nighttime eating, and because my body was digesting all night, i wasnt getting the sleep i needed. i started sleeping a good 12 hours a day some days, and i knew intuitively that it was my nighttime eating (i also knew because on nights that i went to bed with an empty stomach i bounced out of bed in the morning). i would eat raw food for the night session, but it was nuts, dried fruit, oatmeal, or improperly combined foods in excessive proportions. the day i stopped doing this was the day i started feeling great. the less i eat, the better i feel, amazingly. if i need to eat, i eat and dont worry about it. in fact, i love eating and enjoy it even more now that i eat only when i need to.

you really just have to evaluate yourself with rigorous honesty. are you being the best that you can be? the best that you deserve to be? if not, then "indulging", or "treating" yourself, is the most surefire way to harm yourself, and to prevent your body from healing itself. the moment i realized this was so incredibly liberating. i hope you may realize this as well.

peace and love

not beating a dead horse. love reading your posts. you are inspiring.

[Stina]

I get like that and colon hydrotherapy will snap me out of that rut. My intestines are muddled up with mucoid plaque coming lose and it poisons my system, so I just get it rinsed out.

Also, are you getting a good variety of greens? That's very very important.

[Spiral Leana]

I feel you, I had the same drop in desire to work out when I first went raw...I felt better in a lot of other ways but my body was getting SOFT and I had no desire to work out and push hard....for me it 100% about protein. good luck

[Yeshia]

I would suggest that you nix the un-raw snack at bed time.

Once you are 100% committed to raw you will notice a big difference. Also, because you are eating some cooked foods you are in perpetual detox , VERY challenging on the body!

lol and I agree with all the above posts too:)

[rawnhealthy]

hey oigetit85,
sorry it's a bit rough for you right now.:(
one thought when you mentioned bloating and constipation, when I first started with the green smoothies I was juicing the greens first then making a smoothie- I got bound up right away. Once I started blending the greens whole and drinking that I haven't had a problem since.
Not knowing what exactly how you go about smoothie making, just thought I'd throw it out there:p
Also sprouting is quite easy: if you have a bowl and a strainer you're good to go for sprouting lentils, wheat berries, quinoa, barley, garbanzos- you name it! Instructions for sprouting are in Alissa's book, and I'm sure googling sprouting will bring you what you need. Good luck!