Weight concerns

[ShantiLove]

I have been 98-99% raw for the last 2 weeks, witch has been great. But my concern is that im loosing weight. I have always been underweightet but since I have gone raw im just loosing weight. To much to my taste. Im even eating advocado, seeds and oils + lots of fruit evey day. Im eating much more fat now than I use to on my vegan diet, but im still loosing :-(

Im really close to go back to cooked foods again. Specialy breads and rice since I think that not having that in my diet is making me looss weight.

I really like to be raw, I love it :-) but im way to skinny and people is comenting on it. Im just cold all the time. People is wearing a t-shirt in august and im weaing a sweater LOL :o

Any idears ? I would highly apreciate any idears of how to gain or maintain my weight. I know about traning but I havent been able to train much theis two weeks, to much been going on and to little time.

[Zaphirah]

I'm not a doctor :cool: and I hope some other underweight people will chime in -but from what I have heard you will lose, hit your lowest weight then climb back up some.

Like I said, I'm not a doc, but my guess is that you are detoxing, etc and your body is kinda confused, but once it gets the hand of it, you will get to your *personal ideal weight* whatever that is. Some people are just very thin. My ds is going to be 11 in a few months and he weighs 65 lbs. My sis in law is 5' 10" and drinks CREAM for breakfast and eats fast food 4-5 times a day and weighs approx. 100 lbs.

In my own opinion, I wouldn't worry unless you are having other adverse symtoms (I'm thinking dizzy spells, lethargy, etc). If you feel great I wouldn't worry too much. So, how do you feel?

[Tea]

I lost A LOT of weight on high raw too, especially my butt and boobs lol, two places I did not want to see diminish although I did lose cellulite too which was great. It was actually pretty amazing seeing my body transform into that of a skinny 17 yr old.
People commented on my skinniness all the time (in a concerned way). I was cold all the time as well.
Anyway I stayed high raw for about a year and my weight stayed about the same. I was afraid I was going to lose more weight.
I did not workout at all and I think this is where I went wrong. Lifting weights and workingout is so important and I think it will make one gain weight if one is too skinny or at least get to an ideal weight.
Eating A LOT of calories is important too.
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful in regards to diet. I do know that I did eat bread and I still lost tons of weight.

[islesgirl]

Aw Tea.......I sure wish I had your problem!

[Tea]

Aw Tea.......I sure wish I had your problem!

haha, I know it sounds glamorous doesn't it :) but in reality, I didn't like my skinniness at all. I don't like feeling bones jutting out. Some padding is nice. I always envied people who could mantain a good weight on raw, like Alissa.

Good luck OP!

[Zaphirah]

yes-altho I struggled with obesity-I really do understand the underweight issue too. My SIL had to eat CONSTANTLY to have enough energy during her pg. it was almost scary. People make ugly comments to her about anorexia-or bulimia if they see her eating, because she eats like a sumo wrestler but struggles to stay at about 100 lbs.

[RawDancer]

I lost alot of weight on raw foods too and I was very thin to begin with. It has been 2 years of trying to gain weight and just now things are starting to change. I recently I have started eating sprouted grains and they have worked wonders. I tried to do the whole high fat thing but it didn't work at all it just made me nausous. The sprouted grain are great because they are high calorie but not high fat. I think the key is to eat alot of calories and weight train.

Tea... I know how you feel being super skinny is not as fun as people think it is. When I first lost weight from eating raw my parents took me to the Doctor and they diagnosed me with anorexia and because I have had such a difficult time gaining weight my parents put me in an eating disorder program. It was torture to say the least.

[MiahTay]

I second what RawDancer said, sprouted grains would probably help. I think if I was trying to gain weight on raw it would be sprouted grains and DESSERT EVERY DAY! I hope you are able to find what works for you.

Blessings,
Heather

[annavon]

I have read some other posts/threads about gaining weight and the main thing besides eating more calories is weight lifting. It helps create definition and since muscle weighs more than fat will help you gain. Also, if you not already doing some smoothies (fruit as well as green), it might help since when you blend your food, you will absorb more of the nutrients.

[ViolinCyndee]

Wish I was losing.... (losing veryyyyyy slowlyyyyyyy)

Maybe I need to balance between all the fruits I have been eating and not enough greens. (?).

I do have alot of fruit smoothies (too many?), but haven't been able to bring myself to mix greens into them.

[Green_Woman]

I was a recovering anorexic girl when I started on raw at about 90-95% four months ago. Now I eat whatever I want, whenever I want (RAW food, that is!) and whereas I did at first lose MORE weight I am stable and feeling rather curvacious at about 125lbs (5'4")... people no longer tell me I look too thin, and my Dad has stopped threatening to put me into an eating program!

From my experience, you WILL lose, and then you WILL gain back WHAT YOU NEED... no more, really! Your body will find its best balance on RAW foods... it's a miracle. :)

[Marin Mom]

I also lost too much weight really fast in the beginning but immediately gained back a few pounds where I have stayed. It's no fun to be told you are too skinny all the time and doesn't look good but I am just starting a workout program as I heard it is the only way to go.

Still, I wouldn't trade raw for the old diet, the benefits are just too great!

Good luck and hang in there!

[ShantiLove]

Thankyou all soooooo much for your replys :) It is really reasuring to hear that it is normal and that it will return (it better LOL). Im used to be called skinny, but people who has know me for years tells me that they can see that I have lost weight. And I know that many of them have this idear in thier head that im anorexic. My mother who is overweightet told me that if she ate like I did she would be sever obese, so im not worried :p . A gift of a high metabolisem can be a blessing and a bad thing some times.

My only concern is that I really would like to have another child, and going raw is kind of a preparation (detoxing a.s.o.) for getting pregnant. But if I looss to much I might not be able to get pregnant and if I do and I get nausiatet like i did with my last child how will I survive ??? :o LOL no fat stored up to survive on (not that I had much before).
But I gues that stocking up on nutrition is the bedst thing I can do. With my last child I was really depleded after the birth and that is one of the reasons im going raw this time. Funny enough doring my pregansy I was craving fruits, lots of fruit (enough to make Doug Graham proud LOL) and after the birth I was craving salats and raw vegies. The body is smart :)

Thankyou all for your reasuring posts :-)))

[Erika]

I eat organic steel cut oats and organic wild rice. I soak the oatmeal for about a day and a half and warm it in the dehydrator for a few minutes. I soak the rice for about 2 or 3 days and change the water out in it so that it doesn't get rancid. When it's ready to eat, I lay it out on paper towels to soak up some of the water and then eat it with veggies. I think the carbs in those keep me from losing too much weight. Maybe it would help you too.

Erika

[coco]

me too, skinny mini and not loving it. exercise is the key, build up your body with healthy lean muscle mass instead of fat. it does take a lot of excellent calories to build that muscle with but it's worth it. green smoothies are a good one because you can really pack in the leaves and add soaked nuts or seeds for fat, protein and calories, raisins or dates can get thrown in there if you don't mind the bad food combining. nut and seed pates, walnut taco filling, avos. i hate to say overdo it with the nuts/fats but including enough can help if you are a fast metabolizer like me.

as an aside, it sure is refreshing to have a thread about being underweight that gets taken seriously and isn't only full of comments about how "lucky" we are. being too thin is just as difficult and unhealthy as being a few pounds over but mostly you get made fun of and frowned upon if you dare to complain or express concern about it. it's always been an issue for me, something i have struggled with. my food costs are outrageous too!

[Thomas3344]

Shanti,
I just wanted to share with you that I can empathize. Currently, I have too many other factors in my lifestyle that need to be altered and could be adding to my weight loss issue,so I am not proposing it is exclusively diet in my case.

Although not fully raw, since increasing my raw food diet I have lost weight, told I look not well, people r beginning to accurately know my real age (always had a real baby face and looked 10 years younger than real age) and as a man( from the women who I know and societies perceptions) a man looks good with a little meat on his bones. So, I fully understand those of us who never had a weight issue and R melting.lol

For me, once I take care of a couple of lifestyle issues I think there are two important ideas I need to work on. One, consider some professional advice and of course pay attention how my body responds to varous foods. In other words, there are probally some questions that only I can answer when I factor in my physical, emotional and spirtual reaction and wellbeing in relation to food and diet.

I think you mentioned something about beginning to eat bread. I am not say do or dont; however, if you choose to I can tell you I have good successs with the Ezkeil 4:9 which I get at Whole Foods.

Best Wishes. Hang in there!

[RawHeaven]

Depending on your body & metabolism when you first go raw, there is sometimes the tendency to drop a lot of weight. Keep in mind whatever you're losing is generally the stuff you want to get rid of as your body heals. Also depending on your activity levels and muscle mass if you do not have a lot of muscle...as you lose weight you're going to look even more slender. This is because when you have excess fat weight, even when you're already slender it's usually due to the fact that your muscles have marbled fat in them. So when you release the fat from your muscles which happens when you're eating raw foods, not too much muscle is left over which gives you the appearance of being slender to very skinny depending on your body type, bone structure and overall condition.

As you continue to eat raw and pay attention to your body's needs (ie intuitive eating), your body will eventually find balance and will begin to rebuild itself. It helps to exercise and participate in strength building exercises or yoga for example to help this process along. Hang in there. You're on the path to discovering what your true body weight and appearance is based on attaining true health. In other words, your Raw body. And sometimes your body does not turn out like you think it should - you could just have a more slender body or carry more weight on your body than you may have thought. Usually the cycle when you begin eating raw foods is: detox, release, rebuilding....then detox, release, rebuilding and so on. This is not necessarily true for everyone, but most will experience one or more of these levels. There is plenty of information on the web and written up by the well known raw food people on this subject. Gabriel Cousens, Paul Nison, Alissa Cohen etc. It's how I learned about it and helped me not to panic when I started losing a lot of weight on my 5'2 frame. I'm now in the rebuilding muscle phase and I'm feeling great. Good luck!

[petaltothemetal]

Shanti,
I think you mentioned something about beginning to eat bread. I am not say do or dont; however, if you choose to I can tell you I have good successs with the Ezkeil 4:9 which I get at Whole Foods.

Best Wishes. Hang in there!


Ezekial starts with sprouted grains but then they cook them as any normal bread baker would do. Manna bread is also heated, but to much lower temperatures and would be a better substitute.

Do you have a dehydrator? It costs a lot in the beginning $200-225 for a good one) but it makes a huge difference in your ability to make delicious calorie-packed foods cheaply. Making your own crackers, breads, fruit roll ups, etc will definitely help you. Also it allows you to buy tons of whatever you find on sale and make good use of it.

I was once waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too thin and it hurt to sleep - couldn't lay down in any way one bone wasn't touching another bone except spread eagled on my back and I didn't like that. I like to lie on my side - and then my knees and ankles and elbows would touch - or even if they just touched my bed and I couldn't sleep. I don't know if you're that thin.

I miscarried a child in '95, got tremendously depressed and gained some. Then gained more when I got depressed again when I decided to move across country (by that time I also had a thyroid problem). So now I'm trying to lose weight and hold myself at a comfortable level. Will be interesting to see what happens.