eating enough

[freak]

I know it sounds silly but I'm really having a hard time eating enough! I'm not trying to starve myself, but I'm finding come mid-afternoon I'm ravenous and keep turning to junk...AFTER eating something raw as well! When I think about what I have eaten until the afternoon it often comes out to only about 700 calories...and even if I do get through until dinner my daily intake might only be 1100 cals so NO WONDER I am getting so hungry! I like to exercise moderately too and do a lot of rushing around during the day at work.

How do people get enough calories on raw???

Here's an example of what I might eat in a day:

breakfast - huge green smoothie, maybe 6 apples and some greens...say 300 ish calories. Don't think I can physically get any more into my stomach at this time!

snack - handful nuts maybe some veg - 100 ish calories

lunch - couple of pieces of fruit, 1/2 avo and salad - 300-400 ish calories

then mid afternoon I tend to overeat on nuts or reach for the junk :(:(

I don't feel like I want to eat more at the time - but my body is clearly telling me it needs more calories.

I don't want to eat more fats as I think I get enough and too much can make me feel nauseous. Also I can get sick of fruit after having so much for breakfast - that kind of satisfies my sweet tooth already.

Unfortunately, being diabetic on insulin, I have noticed that if I combine too much fruit and fat together I get a prolonged spike in my blood sugar which makes me feel ill, so I have been making an effort to eat fruits and fats seperately or at least with one in a small quantity with the other dominant. This wipes out a lot of the raw "cake"/treat kind of recipes which are quite high in energy :( Had awful blood sugar yesterday afternoon after eating coconut/date/macadamia "cookies" at lunch

Also eating fruit for snacks interferes with my insulin regime - it's better to have low carb things between meals.

Help!!! Any ideas? At the moment I am thinking I am going to have to add in some cooked starches but v reluctant to do this on a regular basis :(

[Cerellia]

It is good that you are concerned about your food intake and although I don't count calories, myself, I agree that they are a good indicator how much you should eat before you have finally learned to understand the signs of your body.
But, I think that you underestimate the calories of your food a bit: I would say 3 apples are more than 300 calories. Also, if you overeat on nuts (ca. 600 calories per 100g), you can't get too little.
Btw, I found bananas to be super filling, also almonds which have a similar calory content as other nuts but are easier digested.
And if you want starch, you do not have to eat cooked food: carrots, sweet patatoes, ect. are also starchy.

[freak]

thanks Cerellia :)

maybe I am underestimating the calories....

I agree with you that I get plenty if I overeat on nuts - but I end up doing that because I haven't gotten enough earlier in the day and my aim is to NOT over eat on nuts lol!!! I never end up getting too little as I end up compensating with way too many nuts or with cooked junk, but I think the way to stop this would be to get more raw calories earlier in the day.

I like almonds too. Unfortunately bananas do not suit my blood sugar, they always give me a long spike which is a shame because I like them and you're right they are filling.

I will try the sweet pototo idea, thanks

[katchmoleen]

I suggest you get the book There Is A Cure For Diabetes (http://www.amazon.com/There-Cure-Diabetes-21-Day-Program/dp/1556436912#noop)by Gabriel Cousens MD, noted raw foodist and diabetes specialist. It will tell you everything you need to know about improving your health, specifically your diabetes, while eating raw.

[waverly07]

It is good that you are concerned about your diet but excessive dieting is not the solution for keep our body fit. Thare are many alternative medicine like colon cleansing to keep our body fit and healthy.

[freak]

thanks for your contributions everyone...

...but I think maybe I haven't expressed myself very well. I am not trying to diet :eek: the very opposite really! and I am not concerned particularly (in this thread anyway!!!) with my diabetes management as my hbA1c is 5.7 which is very good indeed for a type 1 on insulin.

I was asking more for tips on how to get enough calories on a raw diet as to me the fact that I am beyond ravenous every mid-afternoon and end up reaching for junk/SAD ON TOP OF a raw snack tells me that I am not getting enough calories early in the day. My blood sugar does not like high fat/sugar combinations, so all the high calorie "treats" cause me problems, as do bananas and grapes for some reason. If I eat a lot of fat, particularly nuts, it makes me feel nauseous.

I actually don't like junk food much anymore and I don't feel like it is cravings that are happening to me because I don't feel like I am missing out on anything SAD and I don't enjoy the food when I eat it. It just feels like trying to fill a huge hole because I am famished.

Can anyone relate/advise?

thanks

[Katie P]

Try & do more avacodos, that will fill you up & it's low carb. Do guac with alot of veggies, maybe make your own hummus which is filling also. How do you do with berries? Maybe eat lower sugar fruits. Also try more salads @ meal times & load up on the veggies...use olive oil dressing that will give it more density.

[katchmoleen]

The book I mentioned above has lots of info on what to eat for adequate nutrition and calories and good blood sugar control. It has an example meal plan too. Cannot recommend it highly enough.

[Barbie2]

Freak, Gabriel Cousens is a Raw Foodist also.

Barb

[freak]

I had a look at the Cousens book today in the shop and it does look interesting. The only thing that seemed strange to me was the fat content. I noticed in the text that Cousens recommends 15-20% fat in the diet, which would also seem a good level to me. When you look at the recipes, though, and the suggested meals plans, I reckon a very large percentage indeed come from fat...unless you were to live on green juice alone! otherwise it's all avos and nuts and seeds with a small amount of cooked grain and beans for calories. Not sure if I'm too comfortable with that, but I guess you've got to take the high fruit or high fat route and I'm not convinced that eating huge amounts of fruit works with an insulin regime no matter how good it tastes!

Is anyone else here following a low glycaemic kind of raw? How do you find all the fat? also, I'm concerned again about calories as I guess I should be getting 2000-2500 a day at my activity level and the Cousens plan looks quite light with all the greens...how do other people find their energy on such a programme?

thanks

[Cerellia]

The calories have to come from sommwhere, either carbs or fat.
I know that one can feel quite heavy when you eat too many nuts at once, but if you spread your fat intake all over the day (some seeds in your smoothis, some olives in your salad, an avocado cream with your veggies, ect.) you will probably stomach it much better.

[katchmoleen]

I follow the guidelines loosely, as I am just borderline. I avoided fruit at first and now that my blood sugar is under better control, I eat a couple of fruits a day, but I almost always try to have a little protein (nuts/seeds) at every meal to keep things grounded. At first I really went for the oil, poured it on everything, but now that I have been raw for awhile, I find I don't care for as much oil. I think if you supplement the nut and seed recipes with a ton of vegetables and some lower glycemic fruits, you will find you are satisfied. I am not as active as you but I find I can eat all raw and be well satisfied, without a ton of fruit, and with not exactly huge amounts of fat or nuts either. Just now I had cauliflower, mushrooms, tomatoes, and flax crackers (made with just veggies and flax, no nuts) and I am stuffed!

[Blazin'Jane]

Another good way to add calories and nutrients is to sprout. I sprout mung beans, lentils, and buckwheat usually. I add them to smoothies and salads. They add good fiber, which is filling, as well.

[freak]

thanks v much - interesting to hear others' experiences!