Does the weight loss come in stages?

[janem]

Sorry to focus on weight here but I am curious. I have been 100% for three weeks now and I am LOVING it!! For the first time in my life I feel wonderful as I am not "worried" about what I am eating. The mental freedom and the wonderful nutirients show in my skin, energy, mood and positive thoughts! It is those areas that I am truly grateful that I am healing - BUT...I do want my excess fat to go for overall health and ofcourse appearance - can't lie! I weigh 137 and am 5'2 so I have plenty of weight to lose. Prior to raw my eating habbits were a mess due to dieting believe it or not! i would follow varios plans but was never mentally comfortable with them because I have always beleived in my heart that a raw diet is for me. So - realistically I have lost 4 pounds but am hoping for much more!
I am exercising like never before - running wieght training...
My intake is never the same but usually green smoothie after my am run, fresh vegetables during the day - peppers or whatever else I can eat without having to cut and prep at work. Night time I defiantely consuke my share of food! Sometimes a dish from Alissa's book like lasagna or sometimes a HUGE salad! DH and I like to have coconut icecream for dessert - I am sure this is the obvious culprit but it really does help me from "going off" plan because it is so decadent! I don't want to put alot of restrictions on my eating or I will end up back in the dieting mode - yuck - but please feel free to give advice - thank you!!

[pamparred]

I am by no means an expert, but weight will come off in stages. I would try eating more at lunch on some days and less in the evenings. Don't let your body get used to a routine. So vary foods and amounts throughout the day, just like you vary your exercise routine. Also, when we have cravings, it is really not for sweets, but for fats. It takes fat to melt fat, so your coconut ice cream isn't really all that bad unless you are eating say a gallon at a time. ;) Indulging in a little fat and sweetness isn't bad and if it keeps you on track then enjoy, just don't overindulge.

[janem]

Thank you!!

[Imani]

I am so not an expert either, I have been examining this weight thing. I have 5 children the first three babies I gained 120lbs, lost it, gained 100 lbs, lost it, 90 pounds lost it. Next I gained 40lbs with the fouthchild lost it with deep struggle. I only lost it after a fast and did I forget to say i do triathlons so I work out big. did I say each child I was pregnant again not loosing all, I kept ten pounds each pregnancy then was pregnant agian. so this last child I gained 40 again I have been high raw through a thyroidectomy
and now three months after giving birth high raw still I am gaining and loosing . I figure, and I heard some other folk talking about too much fruit. I eat mostly friut about 70 persent fruit, 20 percent green and then other. When i up the green and balanced the fruit, I do great weight loss. Play with it.

I told my DH when we were more active intimately I lost weight quicker, and I ate less. More love, more babies, more weight, less love, no babies, more eating, more weight hummmmmmm.... I have to find out how to beet this... i SWIM THREE days, I do a mile and half a week, I walk four days, and do T-TAP. T-Tap has been key along with eating. I t-tap i loose big, and I get to eat more fruit too. I love fruit and fruit loves me:) I have struggled with the t-taping it is more challenging than trialthlons for me. I will conquer the t-tap:mad: :p I will. I am 5feet 8inches
SW $$$
CW $$$
GW 135
RELEASED 3 POUNDS

[janem]

omg!! You are definately my new hero!! What a great workout schedule - on top of being a mom!!! I know the weight is just - "the weight" and we are eating so healthy for our bodies so it is silly to want to do otherwise!

[pinkrosebud]

Hi I have struggled with my weight my ENTIRE life, honestly from the time I was about 4 years old I have always been aware that I am chubby. I excercise, I eat healthy (primarily raw) and still I am about 20 lbs over weight. When I first went raw last May I went 3 months at a hundred percent and lost about 10 lbs. Then I incorporated a few cooked items nothing major only occasionally and maintained my weightloss, but still wanted to lose another 10-15lbs. Then the holidays hit, and my mother was in town and I halted my raw lifestyle for about 2 1/2 months and gained all 10 lbs back and had other issues going on. So in Febuary I returned to my really high raw diet expecting the weight to melt off again. WRONG!!! All of Febuary is gone and still I am at my higest weight in a very long time:mad: I am frustrated and upset and attend a very demanding graduate program that leaves me little time for myself. Weight loss is a struggle and so is accepting our bodies the way they are. My advice to you is the same I have to tell myself every day; love and appreciate yourself for where your at and all the good things you do for your health and the environments wellbeing by not eating meat and animal products. You are the best you can be. I believe my body will shed those last 20 lbs when I can mentally handle the challenge of restricting my food intake, but now is not that time.

[juliebove]

I think it depends on how much you need to lose. It seems those who have a lot to lose often start out losing it a lot quicker, at least in the beginning.

Some years ago I lost about 30 pounds. I would lose it about 10 pounds at a time and then there would be a long period of time where I wouldn't lose any more. It was as though my body was adjusting to the new weight or something.

Now my weight loss has been a really slow, long haul. It seems to go up and down, with little to no change in my diet.

[theresaann]

also, I think the body will not release fat until it is detoxed enough to process the toxins stored in it. Especially the liver needs to be detoxed before it will ramp up the metabolism and allow fat to release. So, hang in there, stay raw, help the body detox, and it will come off. That's what I've found in my experience.

[janem]

Oh WOW!! Great replys! Thanks everyone!!! Today I was up ANOTHER pound! But I love what everyone had to say - I believe what was written about oxins is true - the body probably does need to get them out first. I had been on prozac the month before I started raw so maybe I am still detoxing from that. After going raw and giving up coffee I had the courage to drop the prozac - I feel great which surprises me because I felt great on that too! Now I am completely drug free which makes me very grateful to all of you who made me aware of a raw life!! I spoke to dh this morning about my weight and I admitted there is no alternative - I am not going back to a weightloss program of any kind - I believe in this way of life and will do what the previous post said - be grateful and happy for what I have - however hard that may be and be glad I am not hurting Gods creatures!!

[Frugal Raw]

I have found that it comes in stages as well. You're just starting out, so let your body get into the groove before you go shaking things up. If you lose for a while and hit a plateau, then look at what you're doing and tweak it a bit - be it exercise-wise or food-wise...just enough for your body to note that something's different:)

[Florina]

Hi janem.

I have a few hints for you that will help. You could pick and choose, but my experience is that they work in synergy, producing faster and better results when combined.

_____________________

Weightloss in a nutshell:

1: Flax oil mandatory
2 grams of flax oil per 10 lbs of bodyweight every day.
Blend it with your shakes, or pour it over salads.
It definately doesn't have to be all at once.

2: Apple Cider Vinegar optional
1-2 tablespoons of ACV in an 8 ounce glass of water 3-6 times a day after meals.

3: Resistance Training mandatory
Do ONLY 8 reps per set when you excercise. 2-3 sets of each with 30-60 seconds of rest between sets. No rest between reps!
If you can do more than 8 reps, you need to increase the weight/resistance next time!
Every rep should take 7-8 seconds. 4 seconds lifting the weight and 3-4 seconds lowering the weight.
Spread squats and full body lifts are a must in every workout.
30 minutes should be enough, when you only pause 30-60 seconds between sets/different routines. But don't spend more than one hour training per session. Actually, if you can do as much as 60 minutes, your intensity is too low!
REST 48 HOURS BETWEEN TRAININGSESSIONS!

4: Your diet. mandatory
No point in mentioning this, since a RAW (and organic) diet is excellent for weightloss.
A protein shake (hemp) on resistance training days is highly recommended, but not mandatory. Just make sure you eat lots of proteinrich RAWs on training days, if you don't do the hemp-shake.
Eat every 3 hours. First meal of the day should be within 1-1½ hours after waking up, and last meal of the day should not be later than 2 hours before you go to bed.

5: Cardio (Running in your case) optional
Unless you're just doing it for fun, then don't even bother if you're not doing it the HIIT-way (High Intensity Interval Training).
You can do HIIT only on days you're not doing resistance training. But imo it will not make that big of a difference in weightloss. Focus on resistance training (as described above) instead.
But if you really really want to do cardio, then do it like this:

HIIT/IBUR:
3 min. warmup
30 sec. Jog
*** 20 sec. Sprint
60 sec. Jog
*** 30 sec. Sprint
90 sec. Jog
*** 40 sec. Sprint
120 sec. Jog
*** 50 sec. Sprint
150 sec. Jog
*** 60 sec. Sprint
180 sec. Jog
*** 70 sec. Sprint
3 min. cooldown

About Sprints: They should be VERY intense. Go as fast as possible without feeling sick or nausiated.

6: Visualize optional
See yourself having already reached your goal. Be specific. Do it often.

__________

That's it. Take it or leave it. (Or google it :D)
I would say "good luck" but if you do the above, you don't really need luck ;)

Let us know how you're doing. (With or without following the above)

/Florina

PS: I deliberately didn't write any comments on why or how the different things are working, since this is not a weightloss forum.
If you really want to know, then Google is your friend :)

[maui_butterfly]

Florina, that is great advice!

[Aleesha Sattva]

i need to get some flax oil to add to my green smoothies...

[Florina]

i need to get some flax oil to add to my green smoothies...

Yes you do :D
It actually makes smoothies more creamy in texture, too.

As a vegan and/or raw foodist, we can get (most of) the same benefits that we're hearing about fishoils and/or oilblends (like Udo's choice) from flaxseed oil.

I don't understand why flaxseed oils isn't listed next to all the superfoods in online raw food stores. It is goooood for so many other things than weightloss.

/Florina

[Snoozy]

janem, since I've been on this site reading all the posts, I've learned about Oil Pulling. It is another way of detoxing. As theresaann said, the body needs to release those toxins before it will release the weight, so maybe give Oil Pulling a shot. I started on Monday and I started feeling the symptoms of detox by the 3rd day (tired, aches/pains, etc. - just like when starting raw).

http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/oil_pulling.html

http://www.oilpulling.com/

[Raspberry4]

Florina - what does the ACV do for weight loss and could it possibly mess with the alkalinization of the body????? Thanks.

[Pitaya]

this has pretty much been stated in the thread here but thought I'd confirm with my own experience: when i first started raw, i lost 12 pounds in the first week or so.......then nothing for 3 weeks........then 12 pounds in the last week or so. I remember reading when first consdering going raw that if nothing else, you will learn so much about the body, and it's so true! I can now see my body needs time to detox after and before each weight release, and now spend my time learning how to help it.

thanks for the oil swishing tip....going to try that!

also i read yesterday that starting and ending your showers with 10 seconds of really cold water helps - it's a homeopathic technique!

yayyy to all of us to cleaning our bodies and working in tandem with it now instead of against it! :)

[janem]

I can not begin to thank everyone for the wonderful and helpful responses! Florina - the time you took to write that answer is so appreciated!! I will definately increase my flax oil. I have been haveing phenomenal workouts lately so that area of my program is going great. I am determined to live this lifestyle so hopefully I will see results in my weight - I know I feel fantastic! The fact that I can run an hour and weight train with out any caffeine blow my mind!!! Thanks again to everyone!

[ShelShel]

Snoozy, Thanks for those links. I've always wondered what oil pulling was. Very cool. I start tomorrow. :p

[ShelShel]

Janem,
If you click on my blog, you can see my befores and afters. :rolleyes: Not sure if it will help, but I use to hunt for these kinds of pics when I first started. Hope it helps. (((HUGS)))

[janem]

Shel!!!!!!!!!! You are beautiful!!! Thank you so much for the suggestion to look at your pictures - WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anastazia]

Great blog, so far! & thanks for the tips on the egg-less egg salad! You are such a natural beauty, it's amazing to me how much that's come out! I mean to me, you were ONLY 177 lbs, but wow, what a difference letting go of all excess weight can make!

Keep blogging! (Doesn't blogger drive you nuts, though??? I just wrote a LONG update post last night, went to post it, & it dissapeared! ARUGH!!! & I've heard that happens often! So much for autmatically saving it now!

~Anastazia~

[Snoozy]

Snoozy, Thanks for those links. I've always wondered what oil pulling was. Very cool. I start tomorrow. :p

You're welcome ShelShel. And BTW, your blog is very inspiring, thanks!! I love seeing success stories like this.

[Florina]

Florina - what does the ACV do for weight loss and could it possibly mess with the alkalinization of the body????? Thanks.

Well... It does actually "mess with" the alkanine/acidic balance. But it messes in the right direction, making your body (or the digestive tract to begin with) more alkaline.

Just like lemonjuice, ACV is acidic "in the bottle", but alkaline forming when metabolized.
Most (if not all) alkaline/ph-diet coaches and authors recommend ACV or lemon in your drinkingwater. (Though some of them only mention bottled ph-drops, because they're selling those).
And btw. PH-drops, imo., is a good alternative. Especially if you sip on water during the day (see below about teeth), or if you simply can't stand the taste of ACV or lemonjuice.

With ACV - as with lemonjuice - it is important that you don't sip on the ACV-water all day, but rather flush down the whole 8-ounce glass. This has 2 primary reasons:
1: It is meant to be consumed to help you digest your foods better, as well as helping your alkaline/acidic balance, so drinking it just after meals, is key.

2: ACV (as lemonjuice) is acidic before metabolized. Therefore it can cause cavaties in your teeth, if consumed slowly during the day. This even goes for pinapplejuice and other acidic fruits. When you eat or drink this, it's like you're constantly "spraying" your teeth with acid.

Personally I often chew on a few slices or sticks of cucumber after drinking ACV, or just flush my teeth with plain water.
Brushing your teeth right after drinking ACV (or eating other acidic foods) is NOT recommended. Most dentists will tell you that brushing your teeth right after acids, will have the opposite effect, actually.

Regarding ACV and weightloss:
Some people (including me) believe that ACV has the ability to prevent the process of transporting fat into cells for storage, and helps transporting fat out of cells, to some degree. (The PH-drops don't have this effect, btw.)
Sometimes I explain it like this; The effect of ACV is like putting an "EXIT ONLY"-sign into all fatcells in your body.

About the taste of ACV:
I don't like it like it is, so I add a little Stevia or Lakanto into my ACV-water to sweeten it. Don't use agave nectar, honey or sugar, since it will mess it up. (Won't go into details about sweeteners here, so either trust me or google it :D )

Oh... And all of this really shouldn't be hard science, but fun ;)

Best wishes!

/Florina


Links:
Lakanto: http://shop.bodyecology.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BE021 (Not endorsing it, but detailed info about it here)
ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/acvinegar.html
Alkaline diet in general: http://acidalkalinediet.com/forum/
ACV and alkalinity: http://www.geocities.com/pathways2eden/ph_balance.html

[Eva]

Florina, that's great info!

I juice most mornings, then drink a full glass of water with a lemon juiced in it. I did that once just to try it out, and I found that it cleaned me out big time and made me feel sooo good.

I have a green smoothie the next time I get the hunger signal.

Then, I eat whatever I'm craving for the rest of the day, as long as it's raw.

I think that it's necessary for significant long-term weight loss to:
-eat raw
-do things that help the body detox (i.e. green smoothies or oil pulling or juicing)
-take care of yourself (i.e. lower stress, follow your dreams, keep yourself in safe relationships, etc.)
-exercise enough to keep your body healthy.

Raw food is at the top of the list for a reason. Our bodies can use it, then lose it. Your colon will vouch for that.

But the other stuff is important too, in my book. :)

[Raspberry4]

Florina - thanks for the reply - you are so wonderful to share so much with all of us and taking the time to write extensively. Thank you for your time and help. And, by the way , this has nothing to do with being raw - except that it brings people together - but I see your location is Denmark and I wanted you to know that my father's family is Danish - I just thought it was cool to connect to someone from Denmark (it was bittersweet for me since my father passed in June). Anyway...thanks for the help. :)

[Florina]

Raspberry4> Yeah... the danish connection is kinda cool :)
And right back at'ya! It takes (at least) two to share and sharing ROCKS! ;)

/Florina

[roo]

Very interesting thread! Thank you for all the information. I have a question about the flax oil. I use freshly ground flax seeds daily in my smoothies. Usually 2-3 Tbl. Should I replace that with the flax oil? If so, can you tell me why there is a difference?

Thanks!

[Florina]

Very interesting thread! Thank you for all the information. I have a question about the flax oil. I use freshly ground flax seeds daily in my smoothies. Usually 2-3 Tbl. Should I replace that with the flax oil? If so, can you tell me why there is a difference?

Thanks!

Isn't it funny how when you answer one question you get two new ones? :p


First of all the dosage suggested in my previous post is meant for weightloss. (2 grams of flax oil per 10 lbs of bodyweight)

Different people; different opinions. If you really want to know the details, I suggest you google them. This post reflects my opinion and knowledge, and not necessarily the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
That being said...

The oils in flaxseeds are omega-3 and they are called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)
Raw flaxseeds are about 40% oils, so the potential problem here is volume, really. Can you consume enough seeds to meet the daily "dosage"?
When you're doing seeds you're getting about 40% worth of oils.
That's a lot of seeds.

Difference in ground seeds and oils:
Well... what's the difference between whole fruits/vegetables and juice? It's a long answer. You could say that oils are seed-juice in a way.
Oils in concentrated form is digested differently than ground seeds.
By extracting the oils from the seeds before digesting them you get different (not better, just different) benefits.
It will be too much to go through the whole subject here. People have written whole books on this subject alone, so I'm not even gonna try.
(A few links at the bottom of this post)

About replacing ground seed with oils:
Instead of grinding the seeds, I would suggest that you soak them in water over night, and then just throw them in the blender with the rest of the ingredients for your shake. Then again, you could just use oils, if you think the soaking first is a hassle.
But since you already have a routine with ground flax seed, I would suggest that you simply add some flaxoil to your diet, either in the shakes or use it as dressing on salads or use it as a dip for veggies.
By all means, keep doing the ground dry flax seeds in your shakes, if you like them that way! There is no such thing as too many flaxseeds in your diet, really :)

I bet you're gonna ask "why is soaking better than grinding", right? :D
Google is your friend! Do a search on "soaking versus grinding", start with the links below or search this forum! There will be pages and pages of stuff on this.
It is one of those things where opinions are often stated as facts. I would recommend soaking over grinding in the vast majority of all cases with nuts and seeds. But it is still just my opinion... even though I think I'm right ;)


/Florina


Flaxoil explained and some books: http://www.altcancer.com/flax.htm
Fishoils versus flaxoil: http://www.supplementquality.com/efficacy/fishoil_flaxoil.html

[Snoozy]

Very interesting thread! Thank you for all the information. I have a question about the flax oil. I use freshly ground flax seeds daily in my smoothies. Usually 2-3 Tbl. Should I replace that with the flax oil? If so, can you tell me why there is a difference?

Thanks!

NO, you get so much more from the actual flaxseed (freshly ground) than you do from the oil or the meal you buy. Stick to the freshly ground flax seeds. It's much better for you.

[Snoozy]

Florina, I'm not disputing anything you said. I started my post earlier and just finished it so I didn't read yours before I posted mine. Just wanted to let you know. :D

[roo]

Isn't it funny how when you answer one question you get two new ones?


First of all the dosage suggested in my previous post is meant for weightloss. (2 grams of flax oil per 10 lbs of bodyweight)

Different people; different opinions. If you really want to know the details, I suggest you google them. This post reflects my opinion and knowledge, and not necessarily the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
That being said...

The oils in flaxseeds are omega-3 and they are called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)
Raw flaxseeds are about 40% oils, so the potential problem here is volume, really. Can you consume enough seeds to meet the daily "dosage"?
When you're doing seeds you're getting about 40% worth of oils.
That's a lot of seeds.

Difference in ground seeds and oils:
Well... what's the difference between whole fruits/vegetables and juice? It's a long answer. You could say that oils are seed-juice in a way.
Oils in concentrated form is digested differently than ground seeds.
By extracting the oils from the seeds before digesting them you get different (not better, just different) benefits.
It will be too much to go through the whole subject here. People have written whole books on this subject alone, so I'm not even gonna try.
(A few links at the bottom of this post)

About replacing ground seed with oils:
Instead of grinding the seeds, I would suggest that you soak them in water over night, and then just throw them in the blender with the rest of the ingredients for your shake. Then again, you could just use oils, if you think the soaking first is a hassle.
But since you already have a routine with ground flax seed, I would suggest that you simply add some flaxoil to your diet, either in the shakes or use it as dressing on salads or use it as a dip for veggies.
By all means, keep doing the ground dry flax seeds in your shakes, if you like them that way! There is no such thing as too many flaxseeds in your diet, really

I bet you're gonna ask "why is soaking better than grinding", right? :D
Google is your friend! Do a search on "soaking versus grinding", start with the links below or search this forum! There will be pages and pages of stuff on this.
It is one of those things where opinions are often stated as facts. I would recommend soaking over grinding in the vast majority of all cases with nuts and seeds. But it is still just my opinion... even though I think I'm right


/Florina


Flaxoil explained and some books: http://www.altcancer.com/flax.htm
Fishoils versus flaxoil: http://www.supplementquality.com/efficacy/fishoil_flaxoil.html

I did google and read about 4 or 5 sites on the differences. I thought you might have some insight that I couldn't find on the weight loss part of it. Nothing I found addressed weight loss, either ground, soaked, or oil. That's why I asked you. :)

From a nutrition stand point, it looks like the seeds are better for you than the oil but they both do different things so I think the suggestion to have both in your diet is a good one. I intend to!

Thanks for your reply!

[Florina]

snoozy> No problem! Different people, different opinions ;)

roo> Exactly right. Both seed and oil is good for you. Just in different ways. Combining both is the way to go, imo. :)

About oils versus seeds for weightloss:
The problem is volume, as I mentioned in an earlier post.
Choosing to eat seeds instead of oils, one has to remember that it takes 2.5 grams of seeds to make 1 gram of oil. (Making the daily dosage for weightloss 5 grams of flax seeds per 10 lbs of bodyweight.)
For a person weighing 250 lbs, for example, that's 125 grams of flax seeds a day! I would think this is more than most people are prepared or able to consume.

A good tip, if you're into raw chocolate, is to soak some flax seeds over night, then blend them with flaxoil and put it in your raw chocolate recipes. It is devine!


About flax oil (or omega-3, really) and weightloss:
It's not that I don't want to share my knowledge! The problem is that the subject is HUGE, and explaining it in a few sentences is impossible.
One needs to have a extensive knowledge about both metabolism and fatty acids in general to fully understand why flaxoil is good for weightloss.

The most important things to mention about flaxoil and weightloss:
Omega-3 fatty acids increase beta-oxidation and are anti-lipogenic. (Increase fatburning and blocks fat storage.)
They are also slightly thermogetic. (Increasing the core temperature of your body.)
They also play an important role in insulin/sugar balance, helps store glycose, and they have an anti-catabolic effect.
Flaxoil has highest concentration of ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) of all vegan oils.

Hope that'll do ;)

/Florina