I Am Freezing

[Lavendula]

I just cannot get warm, and it's not even that cold yet in Northeast Illinois. I thought I was on top of it, but it's bad, I can't eat jalapenos everyday. Wool socks, fuzzy slippers, thick top with fleece jacket in the house, even, cold hands, feet, butt, legs, cold, cold, cold! What to do, will this go away?

[EZ rider]

When I am cold, like in the morning when I first get up, I put a "heating pad" on my chair and sit on it. It does the trick every time and warms me up from the bottom up. I got it at Walmart its a Dunlap brand heating pad that is a 12 inch x 24 inch and has 3 heat settings and a 9 ft cord. You might give that a try.

[Rawkinlocs]

Yes, it will balance out. The same thing happened to me as well. I was always cold but then it just kinda stopped and I felt "normalized". I can't tell you how long it'll take but just keep on keepin' on...eat those "warming" foods (ginger, cayenne, etc. in your recipes, juices, etc.) and dress warmly until it passes.

[raw_danceruk]

Be confident it will pass!!

Drink lots of suntea and keep bundled up..

Lots of thin layers, whatever it takes!!

Cayenne is lovely and warming

:cool:

[Zaphirah]

I suffer from this and posted about it a few days ago. A girl I know in town is the same way (she's not raw) and she asled me if I had low blood pressure-which i do. She told me that someone else told her that low blood pressure can cause this. I don't know how true that is, but my bp is usu. about 90ish over 65ish. Some one else told me that gaining muscle helps. I do remember weighing less, but never ever being very cold in highschool and I was pretty darn muscular (track team and chronic workoutaholic.)

[MrMike]

I just got some thermals and they work great.

[Morn]

I am cold all of the time too! But I figured it was because I lost most of my insulation! Good luck with your dilema! I suggest you taking lots of hot baths - that is what I do!:D

[Lavendula]

I have weighed way less than I do now and was not cold, but not raw. I know 130 is not a lot of padding for 5'5", and not muscular, but it is scary, I even have a small parabolic dish heater next to me. Like I said, I thought I was on top of it, with warming roots like big radishes, rutabagas, parsnips, with garlic, onions and jalapenos, as a pureed soup, and adding hot water to it . But I am chilled to the core, deep inside, colder today than I have been. I just want to know why raw affects us this way, I don't know how long I will last like this

[EZ rider]

When I am cold I have found that the best solution is to just keep layering up more and more until I am warm. As long as there is any warmth in the body then it is simply a matter of getting enough insulation on your body to keep that heat in. This insulation can be in the form of wearing a "fat suit" and/or it can be achieved by layering up more and more and more layers of additional insulating clothing until you are warm. If you need some ideas for warm layering visit a ski shop or Arctic mountain climbing shop and look at the clothing. If you put on enough insulating clothing you can overcome the coldest temperature. I hope you get warm soon.

[Zaphirah]

not raw-but I drink HOT herbal teas, usu. with ginger :o

[shine72]

I'm in the same boat, and I'm not even near my target weight area yet. AND we're keeping the heat low to save on heating costs. Add cinnamon, cayenne, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, and onions to whatever dish will suit whichever warming food. Add something to dang near everything you eat. AND LAYER up girlie! That's what I'm having to do. The other day I had on a short sleeve shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, and hooded sweatshirt on and socks with fleece slippers on. That's what it took for me to be warm. You'll need to experiment to see what works for you. HTH!:D

[Hannah]

I've found myself cold for many a winter - this is my first one with raw ... the heating ducts in my house were installed backwards and so only the main floor stays warm - upstairs where the bedrooms and bathrooms are is quite cold - I think I once had a thermometer in my room that was reading 50 degrees ... I've found that when at home and trying to be cozy blankets are a girls best friend - when I need to get stuff done, movement works phenomenally - getting the blood pumping and circulating is great - and think about the workout you get without even going to the gym. Deep breathing exercises can also warm the body up from the inside out.

Also I don't know if weight loss is your goal, but our bodies burn alot of calories just working to stay warm, so if it is your goal, then feeling cold is a good sign that your body is working hard. Do you know the saying - cold hands warm heart - :) I'm sure your heart is very warm (even without the cold hands :p ). Hope that helps!

[soulstar]

Lavendula, I truly empathize with you .I am freezing, too. I am extremely cold, and it has been below freezing in my part of Northern NY for awhile. We are also trying to save heating fuel at home, as the cost of fuel is astronomical up here.

I have doing what everyone suggests, lots of warm layers, adding warming spices to my food, hot tea, and if I am at the computer, I throw on a blanket, or turn on an electric heater near by.

But, it is still hard, and I am still cold. I hope to be able to live in a warm climate soon where the winters are not soo severe. Personally, though I believe a raw diet is ideal, I don't think that a raw diet is ideal in a cold climate. I still have much lower temperatures to face in the months ahead, and I have always had a hard time staying 100% raw through them.
I plan to try my hardest to remain 100% raw through this one. Right now, I have a silk undershirt on, a cashmere wool sweater, a sweatshirt over that, and long johns under my corduroys, and 2 thick pair of socks.
At home I also wear those down slippers you can get at an outdoor clothing store. They have very thick soles, too, which really helps my feet.

I have always had problems with cold in the winter, but while eating 100% raw, I am constantly cold.
Perhaps Zaphira is onto something, and I may have low blood pressure, who knows. I never go to a doctor, thankfully, so I don't know what it is. But many years ago it was something like 120 over 70 or so.

In my experience, the warming spices and root veggies don't help me much. Warming up some raw soup to finger warmth, and drinking hot (cooked) tea helps. The spices only help if they are in something already warm.
This is just my experience though. It does seem to help everyone else on here. I guess I am just a hard case. But like I said , I have been cold every winter even before raw, I just become insanely cold while raw in the winter. Go figure. I dream of having a sauna nearby to get the chill out sometimes, but there are none in my neck of the woods. ANyone out in Northern NY with a sauna out there listening? Didn't think so. Oh well.

Best wishes to you, and layer up and maybe it will get better one day as everyone suggests. We can hope.

Soulstar

[lily]

I'm absolutely freezing too, sitting here at my desk in thermals and a lovely mock-fur fleece and warm boots -- and I don't think the UK is as cold as it is for some of you!

One thing I find helpful is to fill a large mug -- it's really large, double the normal size -- with boiling water and warm my hands around it until it's cool enough to be a 'raw' drink... so comforting, both the hand-warming and the drinking.

I also use the same big mug to drink raw soup from, warmed as hot as I dare, to keep it raw -- and I first warm the mug by rinsing it out with boiling water.

In a perfect world I'd live somewhere where it's hot all year round and, oh, let me see, where mangoes and avocados grow, and I can pick them off the trees... well, a girl must dream...

lily

[soulstar]

Dear Lily,

I am soo with you, somewhere in a tropical clime, sharing a mango and some warm sunshine!
Keep the dream alive!

Aloha

Soulstar

[GHOST27M]

Up your fat intake !

then you will be warmer Simple as that. spices will not help you long term.

[rawkchicster]

Interesting... I've been very cold every winter for as long as I can remember (except when living in Puerto Rico), and this winter is my first one Raw... I'm actually hot at night, while DH is freezing his little butt off (and he's not 100% raw... usually gets hot before me). I wish you the best.

Oh, and I also have a really low BP, somewhere around 110 and 60. Always have... haven't tested it since raw though. and I also eat a lot of healthy fats, maybe that helps.

[Allison]

Before I went 100% raw, I was always cold. We live in the South, and I was wearing sweaters in the summer. But as soon as I went 100% raw, my temperature almost immediately evened out. I do have extremely low blood pressure; I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not.

Allison

[RawKev]

I was suffering from constantly being chilled to the bone afew weeks ago when fall arrived and brought cool temps and moist air. I've been wearing alot more layers that I used to wear in winter and I find it helps. I also try to avoid any frozen stuff in my smoothies and try to store some fruits out of the fridge so that I can eat them without getting a chill.

Exercise has also been a great help in keeping me warm. If I do some light exercises in the morning right after I wake up it's enough to keep me warm for the rest of the day. I'm usually training and exercising almost everyday but I find that the morning warm ups really help.

[KatK]

I save my dishwashing for the times I'm especially cold (midmorning). Eating raw garlic helps too.

[EZ rider]

Eating raw garlic helps too.I love garlic and eat it regularly. Do you have any favorite ways to eat it ?

[JennaBoBenna]

This morning to school I wore:

Long John's
Jeans
Socks
Long thick socks (up to my thighs)
Thermal
Tshirt
Sweater
Sweatshirt with faux fur hood
Scarf

and I was still really cold during class :( I don't understand! It's not even that cold over here, only in te 60s! I was thinking maybe it's just really really cold in class, but everyone else was fine. One girl was wearing just a tshirt!
I've been drinking tea and I think that's been helping

[deegarry]

From a book called "Raw Foods Bible" by Craig B. SOmmers, N.D., C.N.

"For the benefit of those people who wish to stay warm on cold days"

Basil, burdock root cabbage, cashew, collard greens, cauliflower, cherry, chestnut, chili pepper, cinnamon, cloves, coconut meat, dill, fennel, garlic, honey, dumquat, mustard greens, nutmeg, nuts, oats, onion, papaya, parsley, parsnip, pecans (very warming), quinoa, rice, rosemary, rutabaga, seeds, vinegar, walnut, wasagi, watercress, wild rice

[maui_butterfly]

everyone laughs at me in our little office with my big sweater... in Maui! it's 80 degrees outside, but when they turn on the AC in here... forget it, i'm cold. my nickname is "the lizard".

i just got back from visiting my family in Colorado, first time i'd been away from Maui since going raw. froze my ass off, and it was 60 degrees. wool socks, big sweaters, and (for the first time since rawness): HOT TEA by the gallon (roiboss or yerba matte).

i feel for you rawbies going into winter. you can come crash on my couch if you want! :)