Calories and high raw diet

[mkim]

I have been following a raw vegan diet for 2 weeks now.
Today (for the first time) I calculated the calories that I ingested and I was shocked to see 2500!!!
This is almost twice what I used to eat!
Is this healthy? Should I be eating differently? Will I gain weight?

[trinity082482]

calories raw are calories like anything else in my own opinion. I gained 12lbs once on raw from eating lots of high fat things :rolleyes:

[Rawkinlocs]

I have been following a raw vegan diet for 2 weeks now.
Today (for the first time) I calculated the calories that I ingested and I was shocked to see 2500!!!
This is almost twice what I used to eat!
Is this healthy? Should I be eating differently? Will I gain weight?

Not necessarily. Not everyone does...MOST don't. I lost weight and did not gain. Also keep in mind that body's have an ideal weight range rather than one number! Just monitor and if you see that things are going up (weight) then take a look at your diet and make necessary adjustments. But being new to raw, try not to concern yourself too much with all of this at first. Get adjusted to eating raw and allow the cleansing/detox and then you can start tweaking later.

[monkeyboy]

Yo,

Rawkinlocs is correct.

Follow the "Weaved One".

I to focus on calories at times and get myself into trouble on this board.

Raw and living foods help heal. Just eat raw and see what happens. IT's all good...trust me.

It's the lifestyle we as humans were intended to be on.

Before fire what did the caveman eat?

Peace,

M.B.

[SmilingRawDancer]

Before fire what did the caveman eat?


That's true, but the cavemen were out walking and hunting and gathering....it's VERY easy to not move at all in America.
I am eating around 1500 calories a day, and I've gained 15 pounds on raw.
Mind you, I've been VERY stressed, I am recovering from an eating disorder, and I don't exercise as much as I should/could.
I am a big TV/computer person, and the activity I get besides grocery shopping is an occasional 30 minute uphill hike on the Treadmill, and weekly surfing trips.

And I'm short.
I've been as close to 100% as I can get, the exceptions being spices, cocoa powder and the occasional B12 supplement.

[monkeyboy]

Yo Raw Dancer,

I've always been an advocate of exercise. Hunt, gather, bike, run, workout.

Go to the gym and eat raw.

I wish I had the nuts to post some photos.

You could really see what a goofy 42 year old dude looks like on 3 plus years raw.



Peace,

M.B.

[the_lab_rat]

mkim,
If you start gaining weight, then it might be time to take a look at your calories or the amount of sugar, fat, etc you're eating. But if 2500 calories or more are working for you and you aren't gaining, then don't worry about it! Personally, I was eating around 1500 for my first 2 weeks raw, and I gained 10 pounds. It's very individual. If you're worried, just keep an eye on your weight or how your clothes fit over the next few weeks, then make adjustments as needed. But don't let the numbers alone worry you!

[Anabbytree]

I EASILY eat that many calories in one day, and have not gained weight. As everyone here will tell you (and rightfully so!) each person is different! I don't work out, but have a job where I do manual labor all day and then I am active at rehearsals and performances for 4 or 5 hours each night. I think I metabolize quickly as well.

Stick with it, you'll be surprised at how your body will begin to tell you what it wants, instead of the other way around!

Good Luck!:D

[Eva]

I was eating huge amounts of fat and calories when I started out raw, and I lost weight. But I was losing my "false body" of toxic waste in my midsection :eek: rather than real fat. I have a fast metabolism, so for me raw means not having anything hanging out in my gut because what comes in also goes out. Either way, my metabolism and regular exercise take care of the rest.

Every BODY is totally different. No matter what, raw helps you to use the stuff you put in and to get rid of what you don't need quickly. All else depends on you and your lifestyle.

[livenraw]

I think we tend to eat a little more in the raw food world than the SAD world for the reason that we are finally feeding our bodies the nutrients it has been so depleted of from eating SAD food - and the body is starving for those nutirents. That's why we eat so much more.

If you are feeling great & healthy, I wouldn't worry too much about the calories.

In the beginning of raw food for me, I ate a ton of fat & eventually, it slowly dwindled where I was satisfied with less fat & wanted lighter meals.

[tanawana]

I always say count calories just to make sure you are not undereating or to see no ratios are grossly out of whack. When you are transitioning it just doesn't matter - Eat. 2 weeks is way to short a time to worry about anything yet. It actually took me 4 months before the weight fell off. And boy did it fall off and I'm lean to begin with. Everyone is different. Counting calories can lead to alot of mistakes to :D

Other than that, I feel it's more not the amount of calories, but "what" and "how" you are eating and your lifestyle that is more important.

2,500 calories of a raw diet simply can't compare to 2,500 calories of a vegan or SAD diet.

[mkim]

hey, thanks everyone for your answers!
this was my first post here and it was so nice to get so many responses.
today i ate a little less, but not much......i guess i just have to see how it goes. so far my weight has not really changed

[tammay]

Kim, I was just wondering the same thing!!! Right now I'm doing a 60% raw vegan diet and I'm contemplating moving to 100% (or as close as 100% as I can get). I made a sample menu that I thought I could live with and plugged it into Fitday. The calories that came up were around 1850, which looks really high to me. So I'm worried that this is going to be too much. However, I just might try it, like everyone here suggests, and monitor my weight. I'm about 10 pounds overweight right now but my health is much more important to me. I've had a very stressful year and am a stress eater so I got into the cycle of restricting/binge eating and only in the past few weeks have I curbed that with going back to veganism and eating more raw food. I'm hoping a 100% raw food diet will help me with cravings.

Ironically, the menu I'm eating now, in terms of calories, is about 200 calories less but I'm losing weight fine with it. I'm fairly active - I walk 50 minutes 7 days a week and do additional exercise 5 days a week in the form of either more walking, pilates, and/or resistance band exercise. So maybe the extra calories won't matter so much.

Tam