Help! Too much weight loss!

[PomegranatePip]

I know this is probably a problem that some people would love to have, but I'm finding it pretty distressing. I've only been doing raw for about a week or so, and not even 100% raw (I'm probably at about 65-75% raw). Unfortunately, I haven't been able to keep the weight on. I've lost about 5 pounds in the last week (and I was just under 100 pounds to begin with). I don't want to abandon this, because I've noticed a difference in how I feel after I eat the cooked stuff (bleh!), but I don't want to put myself in danger, either.

My problem is that I can't stuff in any more food. I get full before I get enough into me (I guess it's the high water and fibre content). Any ideas on what to do? Do I need denser food? More calories? More fat? More fruit?

[lafsalot]

Hey, just finished listening to Revvell's interview with raw athlete, Tim Van Orden - the very same thing happened to him when he first started his raw journey. You can hear him talk about it at:



http://rawfood.revvell.com/2007/10/08/revvell-interviews-tim-van-orden.aspx

[amyambro1]

I wouldn't worry so much about the weight loss. Your body should balance out and be the correct, healthy weight over time. As long as you feel great, you are fine!

[PomegranatePip]

The thing is, I only feel good until I look in the mirror. I can see my ribs now, and my clothes are getting loose. I'm pretty sure this isn't healthy, and I don't know whether to stop trying to do this altogether (I'm not sure when I'll hit the "danger" point when it's bad for my heart and whatnot).

I would love to go at this whole raw food thing from the position of needing to lose weight, but my problem has always been gaining weight. At least on cooked food I was able to maintain my weight... even if I did feel like crap.

Is there anything raw that's known for putting on weight?

[MysticTree]

Have you tried eating more nuts, avocados and dried fruit rather than veggies and fresh fruit? Try adding raw oils to your salads as dressings. Eat more small meals rather than three "normal" sized ones. Perhaps get in some Raw bars such as you can find online and in some health food shops.

Most of what you have lost is in fact water so unless you lose a lot more, you are only revealing the body that was there under the veil of fluid retention.

Chin up. You'll be ok :)

Georgina

[rawsurfer]

do some heavy lifting if you want to bulk up. othewise, i would just say eat a lot of sprouts and excersise. your body will eventualy balance out. overloading on fat and dried fruit is only going to add fat to your body. do you want to have extra fat to make you appear bigger, or would you like to accomplish this in a healthy, reasonable way?

[mjhendrik]

Aaand you may lose more weight. That happend to me in my first year of raw. I lost about 30 lb weight and my weight was normal. You body is starting slowly to remove old junk in you body to make a new you. I'm on my 5th year of 95-99% raw. I work out in my gym almost daily, i have one water day (fast) in a week and still I have noticed that my muscles are increasing in weight and my stamina is improving. The best you can do is to have a broad scale of nutrition. I have found some superfoods very benefectial (for example spirulina and maca). Just my 2 cents....
Good luck!!

[sbaker]

that quick it wasn't really fat you lost, it was just crap in your system, people are quick to say toxins, but more than likely it was water in you body that salt was holding on to. i gain 5-8 lbs before my period sometimes when salt holds on to water, or when i slip up and dont eat raw i gain 5 right away. I would get some oils, like hemp and do some heafty shakes once or twice a day, add some banana, cashews or cashew butter and cocao and coconut oil. hell if you are trying to gain weight add all the fattening stuff you can think of, it will only make it taste better:) making a cheesecake in the fridge and snacking on it all week works too, with a nut crust and such, just eat a piece every day:)

[KittyMommy]

Would additional muscle burn yet more calories and make her lose more weight?

[mjhendrik]

Would additional muscle burn yet more calories and make her lose more weight?

Thats quite possible. I did work out in my first year of raw and did not gain any muscle weight but lost it. The muscle which you gain in raw is better quality that the SAD muscle (IMO). The important factor is a high quality nutrition and enough calories.

cheers!!
MH

[meg.june]

Plus it would require her to consume more calories. I think GS are the way to go adding dry fruit and bananas. Just keep eating (healthy stuff) until you balance out.