Suggestions welcome

[Karene]

Hi all, I was 100% raw for three months. At first I felt really great! I was eating lots of fruit, nuts, greens and was making a lot of food from Alissa's book. The only issue I had was I could never shake that foggy feeling I constantly had. I felt very dizzy, tired and out of focus. I slowly started incorporating more cooked protein and that feeling went away. So I was convinced that I need more animal protein in my diet. WELL, I am 100% SAD and I feel horrible. I have gained 10lbs back, my face is swollen and I cannot stop eating. So much for the animal protein. I would love to go back to 100% raw but am looking for some advice why I was feeling so dizzy and tired. What was I missing??? Thanks for listening, I am so eager to hear your thoughts.

Warmly
Karen

[Raene]

Sounds like you were either detoxing, which can last up to several years!!! but hopefully won't, or you were eating too many fats. I would check out Graham's book called 80/10/10. Amazon has it. Anyway, you should be eating mostly fruit and veggies. VERY little amounts of nuts/seeds/fats. I know it's hard in the beginning b/c our stomachs feel hungry and it takes time to adjust; that's why gourmet recipes are very helpful, but often not an ideal way of eating. When I eat nuts or fats, I get VERY tired. I notice I do tons better when I have meals of just fresh veggies/fruits. Hope this helps. Good luck :)

[Karene]

Raene,
thanks for the reply. So you think too many fats. It's a thought. I did detox for weeks and boy did I feel lousy. I am going to try again because I really believe in raw food. I don't feel like that feeling was detoxing, I truly believe I was missing something in my diet but being new to raw I was not sure what to incorporate. I was out of balance. Maybe not enough greens.

thanks
Karen

[Raene]

Have you read "Green For Life?'' That book is what got me back on raw after 2 years of having gotten off the raw path. Now I've been raw again since January, so I've been raw this time as long as I was the last time, and I feel like it's so easy now. I think that before I personally was doing way too much gourmet and I got burned out being in the kitchen all day after a while, even though the food was great. I detoxed a lot then, and ate cooked vegan in between, though I cheated occasionally and had cheese or yogurt. This time around I have detoxed again, though not as badly, and I've just felt like it's really easy and simple for my body now. I eat really simply, maybe a green smoothie in the morning, fruits for snacks, salad for lunch, fruit/veggie snacks, and then a huge salad for dinner, sometimes with avocados or nut/seed pate. It's been a lot more affordable eating less gourmet and it feels a lot easier on my body. I think we all bounce on and off the raw path a few times before sticking with it, so just realize that it's part of the journey. Happy Healing to You!

[Karene]

Raene, great words, thank you. I am so draw to raw, i know it is where I need to be. I am going for it. THANKS

[parsnip]

It could be that you'd feel better eating less nuts and fats, but you could also try adding more non-animal protein like hemp seeds. You say incorporating cooked protein made you feel better so I'm wondering if you tried adding raw protein.

[maui_butterfly]

when you start raw again, try logging all you intake into nutritiondata.com or fitday.com... free sites that calculate your nutrient/vitamin/mineral intake. i did it for a week, and it really showed me some interesting stuff. (1) i was consuming WAAAAYY too much salt (2) i had almost no selenium or zinc in my diet... so now ive got a way better handle on my salt intake, i pop a brazil nut every day (for selenium) and eat some zinc-rich foods.

it also showed (of course) that i was getting no/very little B12. there is a controversy over whether we need it on a raw foods diet or not. alissa says no. many people say yes. "brain fog" is definitely one of the symptoms. it would probably not be a bad idea to try supplementing with a vegan B12 supplement, and see how you feel. i don't personally supplement, but i am not experiencing any of the symptoms of B12 deficiency. i believe everyone is different. if i had the symptoms, i would supplement.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Vitamin-B12-Deficiency-Symptoms&id=373089

[Bodhi]

I agree with Raene on the too much fat. I feel much better when I hold my fat intake down to 10%. If you feel you need more protein, try hemp protein or some other vegetable protein powder. :)

Stay Raw and stay strong! :D

[Raene]

If you have been eating meat though, that just wouldn't be B-12. We don't become deficient in B-12 for years after eating meat...it's stored in our bodies as I understand.

[rande]

Colon Cleansing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[iaborn42]

Where can I find hemp seeds and hemp protein? Also I had someone tell me they use powdered wheatgrass....

[Raene]

You can get hemp seeds and powder at your local health food store or online at raw places like Natural Zing and Raw Guru. Powdered wheatgrass, same thing. Vitamineral is a really great powdered grass supplement...has wheatgrass, barleygrass, and lots of other things. I love it :)

[chilove]

Hello there,

Were you eating a lot of fat? That happened to me when I was eating a lot of fat.Someone on a raw board somewhere suggested that I try cutting back on the back. I cut it back considerably and felt SOOOO much better.

Also, depending on how long it persisted, it could have been detox.

Blessings,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[Karene]

I was eating a lot of nuts. So you guys think the foggy lightheaded feeling is from too much fat? I am going to give it a try. Anything else you can think of that I may have been lacking?

Thank you so much everyone, your help is invaluable!!

Karen

[zig_zag]

Too many fruits and not enough GREENS?!?! Dark, leafy greens.... miracle food:D And avacado... they're grounding, but not NEARLY as heavy as nuts.

[shashibala]

I personally had to take a break from eating lots of fruit. I was feeling foggy and tired after eating fruit, especially if i had it in the morning. Now i am eating mostly vegetable, greens, sprouts, and a few nuts and seeds and i feel better. Berries don't bother me, but bananas, apples, and oranges do.
It's a matter of experimenting until you feel good. Best wishes!

[islesgirl]

when you start raw again, try logging all you intake into nutritiondata.com or fitday.com... free sites that calculate your nutrient/vitamin/mineral intake. i did it for a week, and it really showed me some interesting stuff.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Vitamin-B12-Deficiency-Symptoms&id=373089

maui_butterfly, this is wonderful information. You can be sure I will take advantage of this site. Thank you so much.

Sue.

[Ginger]

Detox can be pretty uncomfortable at times, and yes eating meat will completely stop it and give people the illusion that they just needed meat to feel better. If detox is too harsh you can draw it out longer and lessen it by keeping a few carefully selected cooked whole foods in your diet for a bit. Like potatos or vegetables or rice etc. Try to eat a salad first or top them with lots of raw to help them digest since they have no enzymes of their own. You may also want to look into food combining, at least at first. Not everyone needs to worry about food combining but in some cases it can really help digestion. I'm thinking that the combination of sweet fruit with too much fat was what was going on here though because I get the same thing. Not everyone can just eat whatever they want as long as it's raw and get the results they want. People are at different places in their health & have certain health challenges or genetic weaknesses or lifestyles etc that can make a difference.

[zig_zag]

I personally had to take a break from eating lots of fruit. I was feeling foggy and tired after eating fruit, especially if i had it in the morning. Now i am eating mostly vegetable, greens, sprouts, and a few nuts and seeds and i feel better. Berries don't bother me, but bananas, apples, and oranges do.
It's a matter of experimenting until you feel good. Best wishes!
DITTO!!!!!!!! Except grape fruit works wonderfully for me:D