This is new to me but here goes

[rebecca]

Hello all
I have been 85-90% since may 25.I am doing this to lose weight.As of july 13 I went 100% raw. My weight loss is going really slowly,and I am really tired. since starting I have lost 6 lbs.This is great but that means, it will take like 6 months at least for me to lose 30 lbs.I need some encouragement
I love this way of eating ,but I want that boundless energy people talk about.I am still drinking green tea because I wake up more tired than when I was eating a standard vegetarian deit. Any energy building food suggestions?

[sport]

Maybe you should tell us what you are eating in a typical day. There are lots of people here who are knowledgable and can help

[Arky]

Ensure you are eating a wide variety of produce in order to get a full spectrum of nutrients. Also, although it is not absolutely essential, you may find it beneficial to include as many 'live' foods as possible (e.g. plants that have been picked no longer than 48hrs prior to your consuming them). A good example of this would be home-sprouted seeds etc. To do this, you can simply use trays and water the seeds manually, or you could invest in an automated setup which would be more likely to help you stick to a live foods regimen. I obtained mine from http://www.eatsprouts.com/ (also linked to on Alissa's links page, coincidentally).

Many raw-foodists initially shy away from dark green leafies, which can be a big mistake. If you find these troublesome to consume, then I recommend blending them into green smoothies (just do a search on this board and you'll find plenty of discussion on this). Plenty of dark green leafies will provide you with an abundance of healthy chlorophyll and will also ensure adequate levels of iron, to avoid anaemia (symptoms of which can include tiredness). Eating plenty of leafy greens will also ensure you do not consume too much sugary fruit - rollercoaster blood sugar levels can lead to bouts of tiredness.

A good way to give a welcome boost to your mineral levels is to include a tablespoon of sea vegetables in your diet on a regular basis (say, once every 2-3 days, or more, provided you are sensible not to over do it - 'everything in moderation!').

Sea vegetables are not only crammed full of essential minerals and trace elements but they also contain good levels of iodine which can help healthy functioning of the thyroid gland. Symptoms of hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) can include tiredness and lack of energy.

Also, be careful not to overdo it on the fats (another common mistake by novice raw-foodists). According to Dr Doug Graham, excess fat consumption can potentially interfere with oxygen uptake and insulin efficacy.

Lastly, it is absolutely essential that you get adequate excercise. Do not underestimate this fact - exercise is not a 'bonus' on top of a healthy diet - it is an essential for a smoothly-functioning physiology, to say nothing of dramatically assisting weight loss.

If weight loss is your primary aim, then eating raw is an excellent way to go. I'd also recommend Joel Fuhrman's excellent book 'Eat To Live', in which he really cuts to the chase and dispels a great many myths, while propounding the benefits of a wholefoods diet.


HTH

J.

[Sweet lips]

and do you exercise at all. We are here to hear you and are waiting to help you through this. Don't be discouraged about the weight loss, it will happen eating 100% raw. I just re-read information in Alissa's book this morning and it was a wonderful reminder that the body, which is fearfully and wonderfully made will get to it's true weight being provided living food.

[Rawkinlocs]

...and...it's only been 3 weeks Sweetie! :) Give it time and patience. Maybe a juice fast is in order to help release some old stuff that is coming out and bogging you down (?)

[Revvell]

First off, I would suggest you knock off the caffeine. What caffeine does in short is, hits the adrenal glands which then go into fight/flight mode. Well, nowhere to go, no one to fight, now what? So, they calm down (actually drop one into the basement) sooooo, more caffeine ~ same cycle. There are a couple of thread here about caffeine you might wish to look up which will give you LOTS of information about the negative effects of caffeine.

If you read the posts in the threads you will see how folk naturally became energized after dropping the caffeine.

For energy building ~ greens are good. As far as weight-loss, you didn't gain 30 pounds in 3 weeks. 6 months maybe? Have patience. MANY have lost lots of weight from being on this food program yet, one never knows what's going on inside that all these nutrients you are now ingesting, need to take care of.

As SW said, exercise is also a factor ~ in both energy and weight transformation.

:cool:

[twinyoga]

How much are you trying to lose? Also do you see your body changning? Do you feel lighter?

I too am searching for that "energy" people on raw say they have. But I think everyone is different and you need to find the balance for you. Easier said than done. Also, watch the nuts and dried fruits.

[swiddweas]

I have some suggestions that helped me loose 46 pounds in about two and a half months.
I ate all raw. Nothing can be cooked.
I ate as much as I wanted and never got hungry.
I had the desire and I was ready to loose it.
I had no stimulants.
I ate EV Coconut oil morning and night.
I drank lots of pure water and exercised in the fresh air everyday when it wasn't snowing or raining,

much luck to you!
Swid

[Allison]

I always say this, but it's true...six months will come whether you lose weight or not, so why not just stick to the diet and be 30 pounds slimmer when it comes around?

I also advocate exercising.

[pizda]

Well, the raw food diet is great. However, you can be raw fooder and still be overweight. The trick to control weight is not to eat high GI index fruits and vegetables. In your case I would limit yourself for GI no more than 40. That what I do and it keeps me slim. So far ,-)))).

[theresaann]

If your body is pretty toxic and acidic, it could take it some time to detox, esp liver and colon. But when that happens, your metabolism can sky rocket and the weight'll start coming off. So even if you're not losing "weight" yet, you are giving your body a GREAT, GREAT gift in letting it start healing itself. Be patient. You are so much more than a dress size or number on the scale. Your body needs your love and patience and to continue giving it alkaline forming nutrition, oxygen through deep breathing exercise and LOTS of LOVE!

You can do it~be patient that is! Your body knows what to do, it just needs your support to do it.

ALso, it really needs the alkalinzing minerals in greens. Do green smoothies everyday, and have a big salad, then relax and have what else you want-but get those minerals in there.

Also make sure you get enough sleep. Between 10pm-2am is when the body does it's detoxing, so make sure you're asleep at that time to help it do it's job.

Overweight is just another symptom of overacidity and toxicity-the things that heal those are minerals (greens), oxygen (exercise), LOVE (meditation, gratitude) and fruits (cleansing, vitamins). Don'tcha love this stuff?