calories?

[Pturski]

My question is do you need to count calories when your on raw or just eat when you feel like it. People say that if your under 1200 or something like that you go into starvation mode is this true?

[juliesvoyage2]

That happened to me my first two weeks of raw, and I lost a whole .5 pounds. This week, I'm getting more calories and hope to do better with the weight loss. :)

[Ilse W.]

Yes, it's true, you don't have to worry much about calories unless you are totally sedentary and consume mostly avocados, nuts, seeds, and oils. If you eat fruits and salads, preferably 5-6 smaller meals a day, you should be fine without ever counting a calorie. If you get too few calories and do not speed up your metabolism through exercise, your body thinks it's famine time and will reserve every little bit of reserve it has.

[iamacranberry]

You don't need to count calories IF you listen to your body for what and when to eat. eg don't eat when tired, angry, anxious, etc. jut because those emotions may cause cravings.

[rawstrength]

I don't know how many calories I eat, and I don't care!
Listen to your body! That's all you need to know.

[MiahTay]

I agree with imacranberry... if you only typically eat when you are hungry you are probably ok not ever worrying about calories. However if you are one of us who has compulsive/emotional eating habits you are attempting to break, you may want to count for a little while just as a tool to gauge what you are consuming. There is also the theory that if you just eat raw how you want and when you want you will eventually level out on your own, but you COULD gain a few pounds in the process. Ideally one would learn to just eat when hungy, I'm still working on this one. Good luck finding the path that works for you.

Blessings,
Heather

[Veganforlife]

Have you read Alissa's book? I agree with her. You don't need to count calories, carbs, fat, etc.

That's the freedom of eating raw. You're eating good fats. Those days of counting are over. YAY!!!

[spicyfull]

No Worry..........just be HAPPY.

[Veganforlife]

This is off Alissa's web site:

Why don't I have to count calories or fat grams? How can I eat avocados, nuts and other high fat foods on this diet and still lose weight?

There is a huge difference between cooked fats and raw fats.

The studies that have been done linking fats to high cancer rates, heart attacks, kidney failure, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, angina, cardiovascular disease and all of the other diseases that clog up the blood and the arteries have been done with cooked fats. Obesity is linked to a high cooked fat diet.

Raw plant fats on the other hand, have exactly the opposite effect. Raw fats such as avocados, olives, coconuts, nuts and seeds are imperative in a healthy diet. These fats contain antioxidants. They contain oils that help the joints, nerves and bones.

These raw plant fats do not cause the body to gain excess weight because they still contain the enzyme lipase; this is the enzyme that is needed to digest fat. Cooking fats destroy lipase; along with other important enzymes and minerals. The fat digesting enzyme, lipase, breaks up the raw plant foods as they are eaten and help to digest the oils in these foods. Because this food is getting assimilated and digested properly, it is not clogging up the blood and arteries, causing all kinds of chronic and degenerative diseases. It is not getting stored as excess weight in the body. You will not get fat by eating avocados, sprouted nuts and seeds and other plant fats. When starting this diet, many people eat 2-3 avocados a day and lose weight. Even people without a lot of weight to lose, will find that the few extra pounds they have will just melt off because they are eating fats in their whole natural form with all of their enzymes intact.

[iamacranberry]

Many people who attempt a high-fat raw diet fail due to the fatigue it causes. Enzymes or not, fats are still more taxing for the body to digest, and it is wise not to overconsume them. Listening to one's body is generally the best measure for determining that which counts as overconsumption, as the optimal amount of fat will differ from person to person. I personally feel very fatigued if I eat too much fat in one day or over a period of time.

[Bodhi]

I'm going to crawl out on a limb here. I think people need to journal about their eating habits so they can pinpoint what makes them feel good or what makes them feel poorly. I also think people need to know what their BMI is supposed to be and where they are on the chart. People need to track their calories, protein, carbs, and fats to ensure they are consuming enough. Don't go under 1,200 calories, cause you'll be sorry if you go back to SAD diet, you'll pack weight on like crazy. Crawls back off limb.

[RawKnitster]

I found this thread posted by Alissa that has helped me understand a little better. If I may paraphrase here, it basically says, eat whatever and however much you want for the first month or two of going raw. And that means 100% RAW. It does not mean that you can eat whatever you want as long as it's raw, forever!

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=29032&highlight=eating