Keep Gaining Weight but..

[JenzZx2]

I don't want to give up raw!

I FEEL much better and I know it's the healthier way. I'm just getting really frustrated.

A little background. I lost 120lbs doing Weight Watchers, which was a great program, but I felt like I was stuck in a rut. I ate the same things every day because I knew they were within my point values and safe. I just felt like I was missing so much.

I am eating about 80% raw or more some days.

I started off probably eating too many fruits and nuts, but that's what I was craving so much! I gained quite a bit off the bat, and so I switched to eating less nuts/oils. I drank more smoothies, and ate more salads, and still quite a bit of fruit.. still gained.

Now, I start my day off with a green lemonade, then I eat some fruit. I have a big salad for lunch, and usually something veggie based for dinner. I usually have a couple of smoothies or juices during the day. Smoothies are usually fruit based, Juices are mostly green based with maybe an apple for sweetness. I usually have a few dates with pecans in the evening because I have an incredible sweet tooth that never seems to be satisfied. Otherwise I've really cut back on nuts/oils. I do occasionally have a cooked dinner with my family. A small piece of fish or chicken, lots of veggies (steamed or BBQed), and a bit of a grain or starch (usually wild rice, or a sweet potato).

I drink as much water as I can. I have a hard time drinking water as it just doesn't taste good to me most of the time. So I try and add extra water to my juices, smoothies, and drink water with my meals. I do still have a latte pretty regularly.. though if I'm at home, I make them with almond milk. Still trying to kick the habit, but my green lemonade in the morning just doesn't seem to give me the kick in the pants I need when it's my morning to get up at 6 with the little one! (I'm SO not a morning person!)

...still gaining. I've been eating raw for 6 weeks, and have gained roughly a pound a week. I'm right at the brink of the top of my healthy BMI range and I am getting frustrated.

I don't want to fast since I'm still breastfeeding, and I'm trying to listen to my bodies cues, but I don't think that it is working!!

Any advice? Thoughts? Suggestions?

I really don't want to go back to point counting and feeling hungry all of the time, but I would like to be down 15lbs where I was before I got pregnant with my second baby. I felt that was an ideal weight for me, even though I feel healthier on the inside now, I feel disgusted with the outside!

Oh, and I exercise 3-5 days a week on top of chasing a 2 year old, and lugging around my 8 month old. Usually do a 4 mile walk, or rebound for 30 minutes a day (broken into 10-15 minute sessions).

Thanks!!

P.S. Long time reader, first time poster ;)

[kgarrett]

Wow - that sounds really frustrating! I imagine that some people will say that 100% raw is the only way to beat this. I am not sure as my experience is a bit limited. I am still in th eprocess of losing my weight. I have 80 pounds to go.

First off, 6 pounds isn't too much to worry about but, I can understand that it is scary for someone who has had such weight problem in the past. I absolutely don't recommend going back to counting though.

My sister is doing a raw challenge with me and has probably gained weight in the last couple of weeks so she is looking at retooling what she is doing. She loves to eat lots of avocados and dates. She is also convinced that one of the keys is how much water you drink.

You are really going to have to tool this to your body but, I will give you a couple of thoughts that I have come up with from my own knowledge about nutrition and my experience as someone dealing with obesity.

1 - the juices. I won't normally drink them outside of a juice fast. Yes, you can juice fast while you are breastfeeding, especially if your little one is eating solid food now. Just make sure you get plenty of water. Juices have a lot of sugar and I am thinking that this may be part of your issue going on here. I am not saying you should do a juice fast just that you can.

2 - Nuts and dates together should be a special treat. They are hard to digest together. I initially wanted to deny the food combining this but I have realized that anytime I eat a sweeting and fattening recipe, I hold onto or gain weight. Still no guilt involved because I am all raw so everything is nutrient dense and is not processed but, all the same it effects my weight.

3 - I would really try going 100% for a week or 2 and see what happens. Switch that sweet tooth over to apples. It really worked for me. I now find the dates too sweet! If your body is not telling you what to eat then there is something you need to do still and going 100% might be the trick. For example, rather than eating the same things everyday you will get to the point where you body craves something it needs. I'll eat like 3-5 apples a day for a couple of weeks and then suddenly I eat like 5 bananas the next day because I am craving them. I have also stopped eating oranges because my body doesn't want them.

4- If you haven't already - do some high intensity interval exercises 3 times a week. It really revs up your metabolism. Just 15-20 minutes should help, especially if you exercise right now is walking.

Hope you get it figured out - I am sure you will get some great advice. I really want to try rebounding sometime, it sounds fun:)

I hope this makes sense as I just woke up in the middle of the night and am rambling a bit.

[christinajade]

I think I know what your problem is. You are definitely having too many calories. You see, by combining all those smoothies and juices and fruits along with cooked meals is not a good idea. Rice in itself is very high in calories. Smoothies and juices can be too but if you are mostly raw, you wouldn't be gaining all that weight. If you are drinking all those smoothies, which are probably sweet, you are having a lot of fruits and probably not enough veggies. The combination of all those fruits and then rice and other cooked things is what the problem is. If you are going to eat cooked food in combination with all those fruits, make sure you are eating very very light calorie cooked foods. Otherwise, you will gain weight.

Hope this helps. :)

[SmilingRawDancer]

I had the same problem.
I can't really give you perfect advice because everyone's body is different, but I can say this:

-Cardio is fun, but putting on muscle is just as important in terms of fat-loss, and while maybe some muscle is built while doing cardio, it's not the same as heavy lifting. So try looking into that.

I have to follow my own advice! I'm at a perfectly fine weight, but my body composition is no where near what I want it to be.

- Calories still count to some extent.
I went through a long period where I didn't eat nearly enough to fuel my activity, and I firmly believe that because of that, my body became very, very efficient at absorbing calories and nutrients - so while others can eat tons and tons without gaining weight because their bodies aren't efficiently utilizing the energy, I can eat less than that and gain/maintain.

I love raw food and strongly believe in it, but I also believe in science, so for me "calories in vs. calories out" is 100% true.

- Listen to YOUR body. I was told that I should eat only fruit in the mornings and less nuts and sprouted grains, but I always felt like I was on a blood-sugar roller coaster and I'd be physically full, but still have desire to eat. Ever since I've switched to the opposite - that is, more fat, tons of veggies and far less fruit (1-2 pieces/day) I feel 10x better. And satiated!

I can't say that you'll have the same results, but I think that some people are just far more sensitive to sugars, natural or not, and need to adjust accordingly.

Don't give up! Raw food is where it's at.

[katchmoleen]

Counting calories for a long period of time, such as in weight watchers, has slowed down your metabolism, so now your body is used to the 1200-1500 calories per day that you were allowed. So I can see why you are gaining weight. There seem to be two types of people who do raw: those who eat a lot of fruit and less fat, and those who eat less fruit and more fat. I have experienced first hand that if I drink juice, I gain weight. I am in the low fruit (NOT no fruit!) category. So you might try to see if cutting back on fruit and juices stops the weight gain. Maybe you are in that category. I eat plenty of nuts and fat and of course veggies, and have no problem losing weight.

[Mary Kay]

Wow. I agree with everyone who has written. I do think you're having too many calories in vs calories out, but DON'T think it necessary to absolutely COUNT them. Just watch your weight, be sensible - if you gain a lb in a week, realize where you have to cut back ---the fruit, the rice, the late night date/nut combos..... etc....

Best of luck,

Mary Kay

[kjduf]

I was also on WW and lost 54 lbs but gained back 30 of those lbs when I ate my "normal". I have been eating raw for about 6 weeks and have lost 20 lbs. I would have to say I am about 90%. I feel amazing and never want to go back to counting points.

I too had a major sweet tooth and haven't craved sweets since I've been raw. I think the trick for people like us is to eat lots and lots of greens. I drink a green smooth every morning it has lots of spinach, one kale leaf, one frozen ban, 4 frozen strawberries and 1/4 of a apple. Lunch is a big salad with tons of veggys and a avocado (my body is craving avocados for some reason) and for dinner its usually another salad or something nut based. I also have snacks in between, sometimes fruit sometimes some nuts. I have made chocolate brownies and was really afraid to eat them the first time because I thought it would bring up my sweet craving but I was so very happy that I only ate one and didn't need to eat the whole batch.

Keep with it and I agree with the people above that maybe you should not eat as many fruits and see how you feel. Hopefully your sweet craving will subside.

[beyceo]

I am in the same boat as you. I believe that most of my weight gain is due to a new job where I sit in a cubicle all day attached to a phone. I drink smoothies, drink at least 1.5l of water a day, eat fruit, veggies ( I do feel that I don't get enough veggies in ). I am not 100% raw so I am still eating rice, bread (I love it) and sometimes fish due to hubby cooking it. The more I cut out the SAD food the more weight I am gaining. I also stopped taking my Metformin so that may be the cause too. It definitely can be frustrating.