To lose weight...

[daisyduke]

So I have a couple of pounds that I'd like to lose...

Would you say the best would be to:

1) eat more veggies - less fruit?

2) eat mono fruit for a week?

I never eat fats (nuts, seeds, avos). I only eat fruits and veggies.
Thanks for your opinion!

[GHOST27M]

So I have a couple of pounds that I'd like to lose...

Would you say the best would be to:

1) eat more veggies - less fruit?

2) eat mono fruit for a week?

I never eat fats (nuts, seeds, avos). I only eat fruits and veggies.
Thanks for your opinion!

Well you ate fats at some time right ?

you got some to lose. This mean you are just starting raw?


If so PLEASE dont cut out those fats eat a lil fat a day .

Those are good fats. Just limit them but dont cut them.

Now if your just doing this and a quick fix then I cant help ya. When I was 320 pounds no quick fixed ever worked.

[Stina]

Ghost, good for you! I'm so happy for you that the raw diet is in your lifestyle. :)

[Nurse in the Raw]

So I have a couple of pounds that I'd like to lose...

Would you say the best would be to:

1) eat more veggies - less fruit?

2) eat mono fruit for a week?

Thanks for your opinion!


I am wondering this too and I am very tempted to just experiment with them both, one week at a time. Right now I am combining them both in my diet.

1) eat more veggies - less fruit? Week One

2) eat mono fruit for a week? Week Two

See which one works better and how much weight is lost. Wanna give it a shot with me daisyduke? Email me if you do.

[Riiiya]

i wonder...when you exclude fats like that doesn't your metabolism slows down? i wouldn't stay away from fats at ALL. it's hard to detach the negative connotation from the word "fat" sometimes, but they're good!! well, moderation is important of course :)

[EZ rider]

In my opinion the best answer to your question is to eat lots of fruit and especially fruit juices. The resulting energy will keep you moving and help you lose weight.

[SmilingRawDancer]

More veggies - less fruit.
Stuff your face all day with raw veggies and spices, and you'll be good to go :)

[Veganforlife]

If I may?
Two words:
Green smoothies!
That'll do the job AND you'll be getting fruits AND greens...

[Sammijane]

if you're looking for quick weight loss, just cut out nuts and dried fruit. Fruit fats will help you loose weight (avocados, olives, coconuts). For sustained weight loss: don't worry about what you eat as long as you BALANCE you diet. equal proportions of greens, fruits, and fats... AND EXERCISE!! I find that when I don't restrict my eating, I exercise more. and when I exercise more, I loose fat! trying weird restrictive techniques just don't really work in the long run. if you only eat veggies and not fruit... guess what you body is going to crave? fruit! if you only eat monomeals... well, you'll get bored (at least I do after a while). Although, monomealing and more veggies is quite healthy! so go for it if you feel thats what you want ;)
you should eat fats though... they are important for your cells

[styersky]

Perhaps we are accustomed to these fad diets that tell us exactly what to eat and how much every day. I "need" to know what to eat and how much!

Do you go for 5 fruits and 5 vegetables per day, or do you count calories? What is your guide lines for how much of what to eat each day? Some days I am hungry all day and can't stop eating . . . so obviously I am out of balance.

Any suggestions would be wonderful. THANKS!

[Shell]

I've also been having somewhat of a hard time with the whole balance thing, but I got some good advice......don't cut out fat completely, because then your body craves it, and will end up storing it in fear that there's not going to be any more coming in! What I've started trying to do, is just get my fat from fatty fruit, especially avocado.....not ALOT, mind you, but enough to keep me satisfied, and the scale is FINALLY moving in a downward direction(I KNOW.....throw out the scale....but in the beginning, I NEED it for motivation!!). I'm also doing Alissa's 30 day plan with modifications concerning the fat, and it seems to be working........it's a balance of fruit and veggies.....about 50/50....and *some* nuts that are part of the recipes.....
Veganforlife is right though......I've been incorporating the green smoothies into my breakfast routine, and they really are a great tool!

[EZ rider]

Do you go for 5 fruits and 5 vegetables per day, or do you count calories? What is your guide lines for how much of what to eat each day?
I eat when I'm hungry and I drink when I'm dry. :)

[styersky]

Today I thought maybe it was not enough fat. I have had two avocados, almonds, tons of fruit, kale . . . need I say more! Just not a good day. I will try drinking more water.

Question . . . I ordered (we live in a very small town) a dehydrator (Ronco) thru WalMart. I like it but I thought teflex sheet would be included and it was not. Now what do I do. Can't find a source for teflex sheets. Someone mentioned unbleached parchment paper but I know nothing about that nor do I know what type of store would sell that. Not my little HFS.

[honeycat]

I am by no means an expert, having only just begun the raw journey, but the first couple of days I started I felt just awful - the only thing that seemed to make me feel better was having half an avocado...I agree that my body was craving those fats and even though I may not have the urgent need for them if i were to fast or juice for a few days after this initial transition, eventually I think I would break down and choose something much worse to satisfy that craving if I cut it out completely.

[styersky]

Thanks for all of your replies. Have a question . . . I ordered a cheap dehydrator thinking Teflex sheets would come with it. That was not the case. I also understand unbleached parchment paper will work for breads, etc., in the dehydrator. But can't locate either. Local HFS is small and has neither. Any suggestions where I can order either?

[NYbutterfly]

I literally was starving myself at one point in life. When a nutritionist added healthy fats like nuts and oils to my diet... what happened? I lost MORE weight (which at that time was not the goal, but it happened).

Today I find that the more avocados I eat, the more I go to the bathroom and the "cleaner" my bm's are. I also never need to put lotion on my skin and my face is glowing. On a personal note, I do not feel that nuts and seeds offer me the same result as avocado and oils.

So add the fats, but combine them properly. You'll be better off.

[NYbutterfly]

Also, what exactly is mono eating? You just eat the same thing every day? For how many days? What's the benefit?

[GlimR]

NYB~
Mono eating, I believe, is where you eat only one type of food at a meal.....all bananas, all melon, all oranges, all greens, etc...until you are full and satisfied.......the benefit is that it is easier to digest your food that way.

[EZ rider]

I like to eat small mono meals. For example an apple and then thats it until my body signals that it would like to eat again. A small mono meal for me is 2 carrots juiced. I like to eat small mono meals all day long. I guess i'm a forager.
RAW RAWKS

[barose]

I eat mono in the mornings mostly, especially with melon. The problem with mono meals is though, 30 minutes later I want more with my stomach growling. Yesterday I tried to eat mono-ly again in the afternoon and ended up eating 6 organic large white peaches in addition to a large melon in the morning, more fruit mid morning, large salad with no bean humus for lunch and other food later (large cucumber, nectarines, green beans, etc) . The peaches were consumed from 4:30 - 11:30PM. I could have saved most of the peaches and had a real meal. :rolleyes:

With mono meals, I can put away huge amounts of food which is can cost a lot of money per day.

[EZ rider]

I don't think I eat more by eating small mono meals all day in fact I think I eat less. In about the first 4 hours of my average day I may have eaten 2 or 3 apples, a couple of bright colored bell peppers, about 3 pounds of carrots (juiced), a stalk of celery, a 4 oz box of alfalfa sprouts (juiced), a head of romaine lettuce (Juiced), and a cucumber (juiced). These are eaten as small momo meals seperated by whatever length of time passes until I feel like eating again. Come to think of it I guess that is quite a bit of produce, but then it makes me feel like singin and dancin in the rain. :)

[mrscplatz]

I have been on the diet now for 3 weeks. I have also been having a hard time losing weight. But I do feel a lot better. I have had to travel the last couple weeks, so I have been taking dry fruits and nuts with me. I think that is the main reason I have not been losing weight. Does anyone have any ideas on travel foods that would help me stick to more of the Fruit and Veggie side of the diet? I am getting a little discouraged. But I am going to try another week and limit the fats and dried fruit.

Someone mentioned before that we are so use to having a certain number or type of food to eat. It seems likes there are a million books telling you how much of and what to eat. So I find myself questioning how much fruit I am eating. I know veggies are always a safe bet, but does anyone have an average fruit intake that has been successful at taking the weight off?

Thanks for you help and input!!

[Shoney]

needs some fat to maintain optimal functioning, so even if you have a few extra pounds on you, I wouldn't cut fat out altogether.

Also, don't get legalistic about limiting yourself to certain (raw) foods. Listen to your body, not a piece of paper! Your body knows exactly what it needs to lose weight, and those needs will change from day to day. Trying to fight what your body is calling for by eating a mono diet or imposing some other rule on it will only frustrate you.

So when you're hungry, eat what you want and let your body take care of the rest!

[Frecs]

Thanks for all of your replies. Have a question . . . I ordered a cheap dehydrator thinking Teflex sheets would come with it. That was not the case. I also understand unbleached parchment paper will work for breads, etc., in the dehydrator. But can't locate either. Local HFS is small and has neither. Any suggestions where I can order either?

I use plastic wrap with success in my American Harvester. In fact, for breads it often does better than the solid insert that came with the Harvester.

[GoingtoRAW]

For me, making up a bunch of rules for eating while on raw would only frustrate me and reminds me too much of a SAD diet. I like raw cause there are no rules. If its raw - EAT UP AND ENJOY!!! When I am raw my body ALWAYS tells me what it needs. With SAD, a great percentage of the time my body didn't tell me what it needed - it would just tell me I was hungry. If I couldn't figure out what I really wanted/needed - then I would just start eating whatever I could get my hands on and if I would figure out what I really wanted - I would eat that too if I had any room left in my stomach! That's why I couldn't lose any weight.

I have noticed over the last few days that I have not had much of an appetite at all. I feel great and I have a lot of energy even though I'm not eating much. I have craved watermelon and a few other fruits and I've had a couple of salads this week - that's it. The problem is, I usually crave fats likes nuts so I drove how ever many miles to Whole Foods and got my supply -but now I'm not craving them at all so I had to put 'em in the freezer. I also bought a raw desert from my favorite raw restaurant - don't want that now either. My body is just not that hungry this week for some reason and I have not starved myself - the fruits and salads have been more than enough. I say throw away the scale and just watch how your clothes fit and how your body looks. Eat what your body tells you it needs and you should be fine!:)

[sharilynn8962]

I find that the more that I obsess about "more fruits, less veggies" "more veggies less fats" the less I lose. When I just listen to what my body wants and is telling me I seem to balance out nicely, and the scales always move down.

[Frecs]

I totally agree with everyone who is telling you to stop obcessing about amounts of fruit vs veggies...and definitely eat some fat! That said, let me tell you that what I ate to lose my weight on raw was 1000-1300 calories a day of fruits and veggies and a small amount of seeds/nuts (though now I regret not eating more fats in the form of avos as I've been on a 7 month long plateau caused primarily by not eating enough fat...).

You might be surprised at how much fruits/veggies you will need to eat to hit that minimum 1000 calories! You will relearn how to relate to food because so much that we thought we knew about eating and weight does not apply to the raw world. "Fat" is not an four letter word when you are talking about raw avos, or raw nuts or olive oil or raw coconut oil.

One of the many benefits I've gotten from eating raw is that I no longer have that constant "food talk" going on in my head. I mean, I used to be thinking about the next meal while eating the current meal...thinking about the how's (not just how to fix or get it but how to hide my eating from others) and when's and what's of the next meal. I'm so thankful that my mind can focus on other things beside FOOD.

So, relax...take a deep breathe...and enjoy!

[styersky]

I am rather new with RAW and trying to lose weight. I have had a problem with hunger, and now I believe that hunger is because I am not drinking enough water. Hope I am correct because that will be easy to correct. Might apply to someone else also! Also I thought one leaf of kale or three small leaves of spinach constituted a Green Smoothie. Now I am having at least a cupful of spinach in a Green Smoothie and that makes a difference . . . just getting more green vegetables which are essentially calorie free is making a big difference for me. Not really losing weight fast but getting the hunger under control.

[barose]

I always to drink a glass of water if I feel hungry (before resorting to food!). It helps probably 50% of the time for about 10 minutes.

[smarison]

Thanks for all of your replies. Have a question . . . I ordered a cheap dehydrator thinking Teflex sheets would come with it. That was not the case. I also understand unbleached parchment paper will work for breads, etc., in the dehydrator. But can't locate either. Local HFS is small and has neither. Any suggestions where I can order either?

I think you could try kitchen and company, maybe look online if you don't have one in your area.

[irishserra]

I read, and pretty recently too, that a large percentage of your brain is fat and healthy fats are needed to maintain it.

I figure that's why god put fat in avocados and nuts. We gotta get a bit here and there.

[EZ rider]

I have had a problem with hunger . . . just getting more green vegetables which are essentially calorie free is making a big difference for me.
I have found that the fastest way for me to get out from under the hungry feeling is to make a green juice. If I am very hungry then I make a green juice consisting of an entire head of romaine lettuce (or other leafy green) and nothing else. If I am just moderately hungry I use half a head. This knocks out hunger better and faster for me then anything else I have tried. I guess its like you said in your post about green vegetables making a big difference.

[freelive]

My advice would be eat raw and get rid of your scale or weigh yourself once a month.

[irishserra]

I've been eating raw for about a month. My scale shows no budging. However, three people who had no idea I had changed anything about my eating habits have commented on my smaller figure. I am encouraged but baffled. I do feel a difference in my jeans, but I am confused as to why in the heck my scale shows not a single pound of loss.

[barose]

I've been eating raw for about a month. My scale shows no budging. However, three people who had no idea I had changed anything about my eating habits have commented on my smaller figure. I am encouraged but baffled. I do feel a difference in my jeans, but I am confused as to why in the heck my scale shows not a single pound of loss.

Despite having gone from a modern size 10 to an 8 (and on my way down to a 6), smaller body overall and face, I still weight the same. I've increased my strength training so that is probably a factor. I know for me, most of that is muscle and having a large frame in general.

Maybe your circumstance is similar?

[RAWk Angel]

I refuse to stand on a scale more than once a month. When I was a teen untill my mid 20's I had an unhealthy obsession with my weight. And all that turned around when I had a very personal loss in my life. I went into a deep depression and gained 90 pounds within a year and a half.

When I decided tostart looking into the raw lifestyle, sure I was curious about it because I was looking for a "magic cure" to shed the pounds, but the more I read and lurked on this forum, the more I realized I didn't want this to be a "diet" If I happen to shed some pounds from this I will be overjoyed. But the main reason I am doing this is to heal my body and mind from all the damage I have done to it eating SAD.

I think things will be easier on you if you don't look at this as a "diet" If you consider it a diet, you are telling yourself on a subconsince level that you are restricting yourself and that will cause you to want to stray from the raw lifestyle.

Your body will adjust to this lifestyle and soon it will be clearly telling you what it needs. Give yourself time to get in tune with how your body is speaking to you.

Good luck with your new lifestyle.

[KristensRaw]

When I'm having cravings, fruit is a sure-fire way to fix it for me. Eating a banana or two does wonders. They're great and easy to transport, too, so I always grab a couple when leave to run errands (just in case I get hungry or have a craving). It gently raises your blood sugar and satiates you. Yum!!!

Cheers!

[Davylp25]

Just my two cents...

If someone has switched to raw, and they show no loss in much weight, then it's time to help your body adjust. Those who do lose right away, good for them. But others don't. So bring in some gr8 helpers for you body to adjust to the raw foods. Purchase good vegan quality enzymes, take it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, and with food's. Green smoothies, with lemon to help hydro acid build back up to HELP digest the raw food. Bring in some good foods like Spirulina, Chlorella. Those aren't supplements THEIR FOOD. MSM MSM MSM, certain vitamins and minerals cannot be fully utilized without it. Some people going raw never ever have these problems so they almost shun anything other then RAW FOODS... But if I knew what I knew now at the beginning I would have had a completely different experience. But ya live and learn. Anyone want any other personal advice can email me if ya want. I'm here for ya. Been there. I know how it is...:D

In the beginning your giving up so much of who you have been, which in many cases is a good thing, but if results are hard to come by, it's almost like you're thinking.. WTH am I doing this for, I see no changes? Whats going on... Where if you saw the smallest change, you would be like WAHOOOO it's working, momma, it's working... So should this Lifestyle choice be viewed as a long term diet? No, I don't think so. But in the beginning, since were coming from an old paradigm, it will take some time to drain those old cellular memories from the body and create newer ones in order to achieve this level of consciousness- where food is healing and not guilt inducing. Where my food can sustain me and not DISDAIN ME.... It's not an overnight thing... You cant go from the 1st grade to a bachelors degree overnight... So hang in there.

[holisticfox]

I never eat fats (nuts, seeds, avos). I only eat fruits and veggies.
Thanks for your opinion!

I lose weight SO MUCH FASTER when I eat avocados. Maybe it's just me?

[styersky]

My breakfast this morning was . . .
1/2 head lettuce
2 stalks celery
1 nectarine
A bit of stevia for sweetener
1/2 cup of water, more or less
Blend all together and enjoy

No opportunity on Sunday for a mid morning snack so I was really hoping my stomach would not start growling in church. Sure enough, no problem and I felt absolutely invigorated right up until time for a large vegetable salad for lunch. And this aftenoon I had a banana. Will have the same for dinner as I had for breakfast . . . and anxiously await the message from the scales in the morning.

Yeah, I know I need to not need the sweet taste and I will work on that. But in the meantime thought the green smoothies would be more acceptable to me without so much fruit with a bit of stevia from the health food store. I think it is "legal". :cool: :)

[Sunshine9]

DaisyDuke,

I hope this appropriate, and I'm only saying this because someone I worry about you.

I remember you posting on this site a long time ago, still not eating fats (you ate only bananas and greens at the time) & wanting to lose weight by exercising two hours per day, and it sparks a question in my mind if there might be an eating disorder lurking? NOBODY, not even Doug Graham, advocates a NO FAT diet. Our bodies need some fat to function properly.

Is there anyone you can consult with? Maybe Dr. Graham if you're still following his program?

I wish you the best of health :)
Sunshine

[diali36]

Hi,
I think you can get teflex sheets thru Alissa's store, if not in her book it says it's o'k to use saran wrap.
I'm new to raw also and trying to lose a lot! of weight but in stead of focusing on that I'm looking at the health aspects of eating this way. I think if you eat healthy and listen to what your body wants the weight will come off, at least I hope so. I did find that for the 1st week of doing this I was so sleepy I could not stay awake, I fell asleep at work! But I am getting back on track now and finding my energy again. Also had some tummy aches the 1st week.
What I'm eating now
AM mixed fresh fruit with a handful of almonds
Afternoon mixed gs with 1/2 avo
Evening mixed gs with 1/2 avo
as I learn new recipies I expect this to change but I like simple.
I am missing cruncy and salty stuff but have no dihydrator.
Also we have a co-op in town that has a raw food deli so if I want something more to go with a gs I stopped in there for pizzia or whatever looks good.