Weight gain on RAW

[ajohnson45]

Is this possible?

I don't own a scale so I really have no idea, but it seems like I'm eating all the time!

I'm aiming for about 80% raw at the moment and some days it's 100% and some days it's 60%. That said, I eat alot of nuts and seeds with my salads because I am always hungry and I'm trying to fill myself. I feel like I'm always eating and always trying to get that full/satisfied feeling, know what I mean?

Anyways, if I'm pigging out seriously all day, will I gain weight with a raw diet, composed pretty much of green smoothies, salads, fruits, nuts and seeds?

Thanks!!!!

Andrea

ps... been 80+% raw for 12 days! (although I've gone back and forth over the past few years, LOL)

[Sygma]

Go 100% and you won't have to worry about a thing: you'll transform into whatever shape is naturally yours.

[SmilingRawDancer]

I think 100% you can gain weight on raw. Calories....for me at least, mean a huge deal. I gained on raw.

[Jenifae]

You can gain on raw. If you eat a high fat diet you will gain weight. If you eat 80% of your total calories in Fruit and Veggies and the other 20% in protien and fat you should lose or at least be okay. You wont' believe how much Fruit and Veggies you have to eat to maintain calories. It phenominal. :)

[RawSar]

I gained about 7 pounds over the winter from eating lots of fat and not exercising. When I first went raw though I was eating anything and everything raw (lots of fat) but was also working out and lost 20 pounds.
Every ones different Just don't stop moving ;)

[EatRaw]

Is this possible?
YES!

Is there something that made you think NO!?


I don't own a scale so I really have no idea, but it seems like I'm eating all the time!
If you have NO idea…well…….WOW! Or …HUH?


I'm aiming for about 80% raw at the moment and some days it's 100% and some days it's 60%. That said, I eat alot of nuts and seeds with my salads because I am always hungry and I'm trying to fill myself.
What in the world are YOU asking? And what in the world are YOU doing? LOL…what YOU are doing is crazy IMO. Why are you doing what your doing? Peer pressure? Do you not what to be as raw as possible? What is causing these shifts from 60% to 100% and how often are you doing that? You can be whatever % you want to be. But these BIG shifts are ….Well you need to get that under YOUR control.


Anyways, if I'm pigging out seriously all day, will I gain weight with a raw diet, composed pretty much of green smoothies, salads, fruits, nuts and seeds?
Pigging out! Is not an option LOL.
Good Luck!

[RawYorkCity]

Yes, if you eat too many fats and dehydrated food, which clog digestion. These foods should be eaten in moderation if weight loss is the objective.

[rkk]

What in the world are YOU asking? And what in the world are YOU doing? LOL…what YOU are doing is crazy IMO. Why are you doing what your doing? Peer pressure? Do you not what to be as raw as possible? What is causing these shifts from 60% to 100% and how often are you doing that? You can be whatever % you want to be. But these BIG shifts are ….Well you need to get that under YOUR control.


I don't see any need to criticize someone for having some days 60% raw and having some days 100% raw. It's a good way to test the waters and see what it's like to have 100% raw some days while at the same time not overwhelming oneself by committing to 100% raw until one is ready. I think the OP is making progress by taking things at his/her own pace... and hopefully the more he/she enjoys the raw journey things will vary less, maybe vary from 80-100% raw instead. I don't think there is a need to judge anyone here as it seems some people jump right into 100% raw while others prefer to slowly work their way in. 100% raw might be best for weight loss.... but the OP should only jump into it when he/she is mentally ready, instead of jumping in when not ready, then feeling deprived, and going off raw and binging afterwards and gaining even more weight. When the OP is ready to commit to 100% raw, then he/she can do so... but it's okay to build to that point if that's what one requires.

[ShantiLove]

Maby high fat and high nut diet will keep your weight on but it is not a long term solution. A balanced diet should be the best way to do it.
I shoulden talk as im in the same boat as you are and need to gain weight. But im of to my second "experiement" to see if a high raw diet can do it. Im about 75-80% raw at the moment eating only somthing like some rice noodels or gluten free bread as my cooked food.
But after studing the subject for most of a year I find that what everyone is recomending is a balanced diet.
http://foodnsport.com/blog/articles/half-fast-metabolism.html
One interesting article by Doug Graham. Victoria Boutenko also recomend using green smooties to balance the acid in your stomac wich will in time help you digest better and take up nutriens and eventualy your weigth will balance out.

I have for long periods of time been on high fat SAD diet to gain weight, but with no succes. Actualy it just made a huge mess out of my body and gave me candida. We need fat, really important, but not in huge amounts. Everything in moderation.
Some say high protiens diet, but I havet tried that yet, but The china study says that a high proient diet is not good for long term health.
I have come to the conclution that health is more important than having the ideal weight. So a balanced diet is the best way to go :D
Find what feels good for YOUR body and folow that. We are all different and som thrive on a lot of nuts and seeds other dont, or maby you are somewhere in the middle ? see what works for you. The most important is health.

[Cerellia]

I'm not particulary interested in gaining weight but I'm also not inteding to lose too much.
When I have only fruits and greens, there is no way of covering my demand of calories. Avocados and coconuts help but I just can't eat them all day.
Lately I dicovered a craving for nuts. I'm a bit torn on that: on one hand I think they are good because they contain healthy trace elements, fats and proteins, on the other hand, they are not so easy to digest and most raw food masterminds recomend not to eat too much of them.
Then I wonder if the cravving has any relevance (maybe I need the proteins because I have just taken up weight lifting) or if it is just an addiction to heavy food :rolleyes:

[ShantiLove]

Just thought of one thing. Sproutet grains :D great way to get calories. Oats too. Buckwheats, Quinoa, amaranth, millet, wheat, barley a.s.o can be sproutet and used for a lot of things like porrige, dehydratet breads a.s.o.

[jurence]

Being raw turns you into your body's set point regardless of what it is- thought i'd throw that out there

[Rufassa]

I'm not particulary interested in gaining weight but I'm also not inteding to lose too much.
When I have only fruits and greens, there is no way of covering my demand of calories. Avocados and coconuts help but I just can't eat them all day.
Lately I dicovered a craving for nuts. I'm a bit torn on that: on one hand I think they are good because they contain healthy trace elements, fats and proteins, on the other hand, they are not so easy to digest and most raw food masterminds recomend not to eat too much of them.
Then I wonder if the cravving has any relevance (maybe I need the proteins because I have just taken up weight lifting) or if it is just an addiction to heavy food :rolleyes:

IMO you should stop counting calories all together and just eat till your hearts content. If you have done your research then you should have discovered that you body may try to shed toxic fats before it rebuilds. This may cause a dip in your weight but it will be temporary if you are not over weight. As a few others have said your body will move towards it's natural size.

My big question would be, what do you eat when you are not raw because that could have as much to do with your weight as what you eat when you are.

[Bananna]

I believe in calories in vs calories out. I think raw makes it challenging to overeat calorically with all its fibre and water and that's why it seems like magic.

This is why you see people losing weight Or gaining weight. Rawstrength for example has been raw for some time, went home for several weeks and ate loads and loads of nuts and gained 10-15 pounds. (I don't remember Exactly what she said though...but the gist was that you Can gain weight and it Is based on eating choices despite being raw).

That being said, I HATE counting calories and wouldn't recommend it for more than a day or two just to see...if at all.

[Sygma]

You can't go wrong with 80/10/10

Also, relax about the food and just enjoy it. Take time to make it look really nice, I noticed that if I really worked at making the dish (usually a salad or a plate of fruit) look really artistic, I ate less and slower.

[Veronica01]

You have wean yourself off high fat and gorging on nuts and get your body back to its instincts, it will always crave carbs (fruit sugar) over fat, as it digests in minutes and nourishes your cells faster, if your body is starving you will want that first over a feeling of absolute fullness from fat and nuts.

Try this:

Eat ONLY fruit or smoothies for breakfast, as much as you want

Eat ONLY fruit or smoothies for lunch as much as you want

Have more fruit or smoothie before dinner (so you're not ravenous) Have a large salad and THEN whatever else you still think you "need" to feel satisfied.



I used to have a hard time not craving that stuffed full feeling at the end of the day so i'd eat havy nut meals and then feel sick the whole night and tired the next day. If you are constantly hungry and pigging out that is your body telling you it's starving for nutrients. You simply are not eating enough fruit and your body is triggering you to eat. When you eat cooked foods like complex carbs or nuts and fat you will ALWAYS overeat if your body thinks its starving. It takes hours to convert complex carbs, protein and fat into simple sugars to nourish your cells. So you will overeat before you get that physically full in your stomach feeling. You have to listen to your body instead of just shoving food into your stomach to get it to shut up. That is not the point of eating and optimum health right? Eating should be delightful and nourishing not stressful, confusing and making you feel worse.

[ajohnson45]

IMO you should stop counting calories all together and just eat till your hearts content. If you have done your research then you should have discovered that you body may try to shed toxic fats before it rebuilds. This may cause a dip in your weight but it will be temporary if you are not over weight. As a few others have said your body will move towards it's natural size.

My big question would be, what do you eat when you are not raw because that could have as much to do with your weight as what you eat when you are.


I pretty much am eating to my hearts content - I'm doing some research here (hence the question). thanks. :)

What do I eat when not raw, hmmm, pasta, cheese, chicken, potatoes, random things that I need to cook for my family who is not on board with 100% raw.

[ajohnson45]

Thank you for ALL of your replies!! Well, except EatRaw, that was uncalled for. But everyone else, thank you, I really appreciate it.

One of the reasons I was asking is because my aunt, who has been raw for 4 years now and has basically cured herself of cancer, warned me about fruits and nuts and gaining weight. I'm not obsessed about it, but I really would love to fit my prepregnancy pants again one day (youngest is 15 months), LOL!!

As for 100% and all that, we are a family of 6 and we're in the weaning process. The kids are much more receptive to it all, for sure when they get to make their own smoothies, but the hubby is totally rejecting it. So right now I'm trying to balance everyone. :) And still keep everyone happy, it's tough.

Thank you again!!

[Bananna]

Yeah, same boat here....gave my daughter her first green smoothie today and she....reacted, lol.

[Cerellia]

IMO you should stop counting calories all together and just eat till your hearts content.

I'm not exactly counting calories, I sometimes estimate them because I'd like to know if I'm eating enough.
I certainly eat as much as I like, I'm more or less eating all day with breaks of just 1-2 hours to give my stomack the chance to digest the last meal. Somethimes I'm suprised how much I eat, but I guess it is good, at this stage, because my body is rebuilding.



If you have done your research then you should have discovered that you body may try to shed toxic fats before it rebuilds. This may cause a dip in your weight but it will be temporary if you are not over weight. As a few others have said your body will move towards it's natural size.

I think the truth is somewhere in between. If you don't cover your demand in energy over a certain time, you will lose weight. Most fruits don't have so many calories, so I think it is legimate to ask how many nuts, olives, avocados, coconut... you should eat to be on the safe side.



My big question would be, what do you eat when you are not raw because that could have as much to do with your weight as what you eat when you are.

I'm 100% raw for 3 1/2 weeks. Before that, I used to be a semi health-concious lacto-vegetarian. Mostly I had fruits for breakfast, yoghurt with fruits für lunch and a lettuce-vegetables salad aswelll as a cooked meal (patatos or whole grain rice with steamed vegetables, occasionally something with soy) for dinner. Very rearly (~ once a month) sweets or a coffey.
Since I'm raw, I eat sweet fruits (preferably tropical fruits), try to have at least one fatty fruit a day, fruit vegetables (cucumbers, tomatos, zucchini...), wild greens (not as much, as I should), mushrooms, root vegetables (moderatly), and nuts (too much, I think).
I also mostly mono meal, meaning that I eat one fruit at a time, wait until it is pritty much digested and than eat the next. The wild greens, I sometimes eat together with fruits or vegetables to get used to the taste. That way, I'm more or less eating all day.

[Rufassa]

I think the truth is somewhere in between. If you don't cover your demand in energy over a certain time, you will lose weight. Most fruits don't have so many calories, so I think it is legimate to ask how many nuts, olives, avocados, coconut... you should eat to be on the safe side.

Here is what I see in my world. Those on SAD that cut their caloric intake temoparily lose weight; at least until they add there calories back into their diet. But a raw food diet creates some kind of bazaaro world that is not that simple. I meet a lady that had been a fruitarian for over a year and she was slinder though not rail thin. At the same time my wife eats a lot of nuts and wants to gain weight but can’t. And as far as calories in calories out, I have went through long stretches were the amount of calories I was using far exceeded the amount I was consuming (based on FitDay calculations) but yet I felt full of energy, recover quickly, and was not always hungry. I also met a woman that was on a 100% low fat raw diet that trained for a marathon and said about the same thing. All of this leads me to believe, although I admit that this is just my opinion, that calories as counted by standard means do not correlate into the amount of energy you have while eating a raw diet.

But each person is different and must learn from their own experiences.