another weight loss question

[groomindogs]

Sorry if this is beating a dead horse...

I cannot afford to buy Alissa's book at this time, maybe in another month. With that said, I was hoping that someone might be able to help me with food combination questions. I have read a few posts that lightly touch on this subject and of course I am thinking maybe that is why I am not really seeing any weight loss, maybe I am combining foods that do not go togther?

so let me tell you what I have been eating. Now in the 4 weeks I have been doing this, I have had 5 days that I ate some SAD food, namely Old Chicago pizza. Then I went right back to raw. Maybe if i list what i am eating someone can find something that I might be able to correct. I think I am doing at least 90% raw if not more.

Breakfast
green smoothie-1 banana, 4-5 large kale or romaine leaves, water, 1 T raw honey, cocoa nibs, 1/2 T flax oil (got from HF store)
Lunch
mixture of veggies usually-green and yellow zuchinni, fresh mushroom, celery, sweet potato, sunflower seed, pepitas, radishes, brocolli..then I drizzle it with evoo, garlic, ginger, shoyu, green onion dressing. sometimes I throw on some nutrit. yeast, and a tiny bit of agave(not raw) about 1 tsp or less.
Snack
watermelon, apple, almond butter, things like that, whatever I can grab quickly
Dinner
I generally have the 'taco meat'-walnuts, cumin, chili pwdr, sea salt, garlic clove, fresh squeeze lime juice..then I top with 1/2 an avocado and some nutrit. yeast.

I drink a sun tea jar of water a day, sometimes I have more fruit, nuts, nut butter later in the evening, maybe some green tea.

So that is pretty much it. any suggestions? Thankyou for any help! I cant wait until I can afford to order the book, but for now I hope posting will help.

[groomindogs]

I will also make a trail mix of:
raw dehyd. goji, cashew, almonds, sunfl. seeds, pepitas, (all raw nuts, seeds), then I put about 1/2 cup of vegan carob chips (not raw) and some dried cranberries in apple juice concentrate maybe 1/4 to 1/3 cup of those. I realize 2 of the ingredients are not raw, that whole mixture makes one of those quart size ziploc bags and I munch on that. I put more seeds and a small amount of nuts.

I will also take raw honey, a little coconut oil, some almond butter, and about 1/2 T roasted carob and make a fruit 'dip' .

these are things that I eat on a regular basis.

Once again, if anyone can find some really bad things in that diet, I would appreciate the input.

[GlimR]

Your food looks good....except 5 trips for pizza......if you ask me THAT'S why your weight loss is not what you might like to see....just MHO~

[tonytate42]

I was listening to Alissa's radio show and she talked about when people say they don't experience the weight loss that they should. She said that it is more than likely because they are not 100% raw.

[TheAvocadess]

Go 100%. Make the commitment. DO IT. I went from 85% raw vegan diet with NO weight loss to 100% raw and it's all melting away. There's just no other way for some people.

Hopefully you'll get the book soon because it's an amazing tool for support and information. The DVD is awesome as well.

Love,
The Avocadess

[groomindogs]

Sorry, the pizza was only 2 days, one night out for dinner and then leftovers the next day. The other days I ate some bread and cheese, but the rest of my food for those days was raw, so I am not going crazy on the off days.

After seeing the foods I eat, would I be considered at least 95% raw? For the most part I am raw except for the little bit of carob and agave. Everything else I bought is labeled raw, organic. Yesterday I did 100% raw, so far today I have as well. It's just weird that a few tablespoons of carob or agave can turn it all upside down.

Thanks again for the input, I will put more effort into 100%.

[JulesRules]

HI....how long have you been eating raw. It looks like you signed on only this month. I too, have had rather slow weight loss compared to some and I have stressed about it online a bit. And here is some of the suggestions and help that I received.

Listen to the free radio show segments for info while you await your book and read some of the threads...Alyssa explains that it there is really no way to determine a percentage of raw...you either are or you are not. She also explains how even little non raw treats can affect all of your efforts. So, 5 pieces of pizza over several days may interrupt any progress and take you a while to turn your metabolism back on.

Also, You are not eating a diet in terms of other "diets", eg, Atkins, The Zone...it is not merely a weight loss diet. It is a healthy lifestyle that provides enzymes to help you feel better and heal your body. Regardless of my small weight loss (during the last 2 + mos.) I have noticed several wonderful things:

1. I have so much energy and feel so much better
2. Some of my aches and pains are gone
3. My body is still changing...my clothes fit better despite little or no scaled measure. My friends have noticed too.
4. Someone suggested and I believe that my SAD body may be healing somethings as a result of eating raw, so don't worry about the weight.
5. I do feel as though I am experiencing an emotional clearing (I have experienced several really traumatic situations over the last two years) in a slow and deliberate way so that I am not overwhelmed...Instead I feel like I am moving forward and unstuck.
6. Don't weigh often... I have given it up for a while but try my tight clothes on every now and then instead.

Hope this helps...Jules;)

[groomindogs]

I have been raw for about 4 weeks, I lurked the boards for week or so before posting anything.

I have the glucose tolerance test and my dr. says i am insulin resistant. But she also pushes and is supposedly an expert for atkins diet. So everyone who goes into her office is insulin res. LOL. I am being sarcastic...

But I have always had problems losing weight and I am excited for finding raw. I am not looking at it as a 'diet', but would like to make sure I get the perk of the weight loss! I have been trying to lose 30# for, oh 20 years now. I try to walk every night for at least 30-45 min, but this week I just have not had the energy for some reason, or maybe I am just lazy this week. As you can see I am a pet groomer so I do get a fair share of physical activity every day. If you have never groomed or bathed 8 dogs in one day, you would not understand the 'groomer workout' LOL.

Just starting out, I am not overly concerned about being 100% raw every single day, meaning that I will occasionally go out to dinner and enjoy pizza or steak, but we only do that 1 time a month and I normally do not get the leftover pizza! My husband or son always beats me to it!:D But on a daily basis I will stay eating raw because I like the way I feel. I do not want to look at this as a 'diet'. I have done almost every stupid diet, I do not ever want to 'diet' again. I am wondering if the 20 years of dieting could be why it is actually so hard for me to lose. up and down all the time. I am sure others have had this experience.

Once again I thank you all for the input, if anyone has anymore suggestions I would appreciate it and I would also like info on the food combination things. I did read a piece from one book that says you should not combine strawberries and bananas. That is what I am wondering about. Does it cancel the nutritional values of the food if you have bad combo's?

I have also listened to the rawkin radio shows, love them by the way! Just thought if I listed what I am eating mabye someone could tell me if I am way off.

[TheAvocadess]

And follow it like a bible.

I'm betting your Dr. does have ins. res. people as patients and she'll keep them that way and retire wealthy suggesting Atkins. The Atkins way of killing yourself was banned in the UK in hospitals. Of course here in the US, where meat=disease=$$$megabucks for Dr's & pharmaceutical companies, Dr.'s are highly suggesting patients use it. :) Even though Atkins died overweight & with heart disease. Some healers!

Alissa says not to worry about food combining, fat, calories in the beginning... just eat raw. 100% and the rest will eventually fall into place.

Don't complicate this very simple simple program. Just eat 100% raw. That's it! So simple!

Love,
The Avocadess

[exurb]

I've done this for a while, I absolutely would not lose weight on what you're eating.

I find it a challenge to lose weight on raw, possible, but not easy.

So now you've done a while like that to work at getting yourself raw, now I would say track your calories and see how much you're eating. Grabbing nuts and fruits on the go IS a meal not a snack. If you truly are insulin resistant, then I would say focus on veggies more so than fruits.

I measure my nuts/seeds, MAX 1/2 cup if not having avo. If having avo, I try to limit the nuts to 1/4 cup.

I consulted a top notch dietician in NYC a while ago, and she said go easy on the fruit if you're trying to lose weight, 2 pieces a day.

Also, don't be a sugary eater (*esp if maybe insulin resistant) You shouldn't need a tablespoon of sweetener in your smoothie if there's a banana in it, you shouldn't need any sweetener if there's a banana.

I hope this helps, I'm not criticizing, your food is generally very good, it's just I have had the horror of gaining much weight eating like that, and it is shocking and disappointing when you go to weigh yourself and you've dug yourself into a deeper hole.

IF you look at successful "big losers" on here, it is suprising how "lean" they eat. It was a shocking eye opener for me when I was getting all upset as to why I wasn't losing weight, to see the daily food intakes of overweight raw people who have lost. It isn't all the raw goodies, and the total calories are low.

I would say track your eating in whatever way you find easiest, add up total calories, then look at it. Measure oil on salad dressing. All that fun stuff!;)

[TheAvocadess]

The really cool thing about Alissa's plan is you don't have to measure, count calories, etc... I'd go INSANE if I had to start monitoring crap like that.

As for losing, that's a side benefit of raw. Some people lose fast - some slow. My suggestion is to get the book a.s.a.p. and simply commit to eating 100% raw. It may take a few weeks, months, but if you are doing what ALissa suggests, to date, Alissa says there is NO ONE she knows who is doing 100% raw who will not lose weight.

No ONE! I love that!

Give it time & no cooked food period. It'll happen!

[lore-ah]

I wanted to comment on the low calorie thing. You'll lose weight on 800 calories of lard as fast as you will on 800 calories of lettuce. The difference in eating raw is you slowly start to not want to eat a lot of calories. Everyone said that and I'm slowly starting to get there myself. My first week I plowed down food every hour. Now at three weeks it's every 2-3 hours. First week I was wondering what I could make that tasted yummy and more like SAD food. Now at week three I'm just eating more simply and not making as much of the fun stuff and treat-like items.

Just gotta trust the process I guess!

[justinesmith]

Here I am again to say my peace. It could be that something more serious than weight loss is needed by your body right now. When you are ready to release the weight, you will. I've been raw now for 6 weeks (this time around) and have only lost 4 pounds. Early this year when I went raw I lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks so of course I expected the same results. Our bodies will take care of what needs the most attention first. That may not be weight for you. We all love the weight loss because we can see it. I'll tell ya, I'd rather have not lost 10 pounds and have my body working on a tumor than lost the weight and have a tumor growing (I am just using this as an example as I have no idea what my bod is working on right now only that it isn't my cellulite).

Again all this applies to 100% raw ~ I wouldn't expect to lose if I were still SAD eating (even a small amount). Bread and cheese.... think big ball of cheesy dough in your body that it has to fight.

Take care and listen to your body ~ Good luck!! :D

[tiggerbounce]

I don't have much time, but.....
100% is different then having a meal here or there that is not raw. I did not lose at all when doing raw unless I was 100%. It is just way to easy to overeat on SAD foods.

Also, remember , every person's body is a bit different. I currently eat all fruits and veggies and berries and no nuts/seeds/avos/fats/oils/bananas. And the weightloss is fairly rapid. But for a nice gradual weightloss and a great path to health, you do not have to remove those things.

You should play with your foods a bit, maybe try having less of something or more of something.

I would not personally decrease calories. I would try to keep those at 1000 or more even. From what I can see from people's weightloss woes, when they restrict calories they will hit plateaus. Everyone most likely will at some time, but I believe not as much if you keep your calories up where they should be.

I worry most about the nutrients and for now I use fitday to track the nutrients that I get. I don't worry about much else. And even that is truly different when you are raw compared to SAD. Your body can get more from raw than cooked foods and the numbers on fitday are fda type numbers. But I like to see where I fall nevertheless.

From my experience, your weightloss will be slow and a struggle if you try to combine the two lifestyles. Seems to really confuse the body.

Good luck on your weightloss and cogratulations for add raw to your lifestyle. Keep us posted on your results.

Take care
Tigger

[TheAvocadess]

I like what Justine said, and Alissa mentions the same thing... you may seriously need the nutrients right now to heal. The weight will come off eventually IF you remain 100% raw. One of the biggest complaints on this forum is the huge amt. of people who don't eat 100% & wonder why they don't heal or lose weight.

Patience... it will happen!:D