PDA

View Full Version : New to raw eating and I have Hashimoto's disease



barbellbeauty
05-09-2010, 05:26 PM
Hi everyone.
I am fairly new to eating raw(approx. 2 months) and had some questions. First let me give you a little backround about myself. I am and always have been someone who is very much into weight training and fitness and have competed in a few figure competitions in the past. In fact I am even a fitness trainer and nutritionist. My old way of eating was counting calories and macronutrients, plus ingesting lots and lots of animal protein, a lot of veggies and some complex carbs. But this all changed this past September(09).

I started to have some serious reactions to foods, along with other physical health problems and to make a long story interesting just recently got diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease. In case anyone doesn't know what it is, its an autoimmune disease that attacks your thyroid. So I began to research and realized that food intolerances and allergies were part of the reason I was having flair ups from the disease. I have been on medication for 2 months now.

I now know that I need to stay way from gluten, corn, soy, dairy, eggs, almonds and a few other things. So it was through a process of elimination that I thought what can I eat now? Thats where I found the raw way of eating. As of right now I'd say I am eating 90% raw because I still do eat fish but no other animal protein and I'm eating less of it. That's been the only cooked food that I eat anymore and I feel so much better. I've been on the fence about giving up fish completely so I have been eating it just at dinner lately.

I'm struggling a bit with the protein thing though. I know that there are other sources of protein besides animal protein but I'd think you'd have to eat more of it, which would be a lot more calories, to sustain your muscle and not to lose any either. I first and foremost want to be healthy and I also want to still be able to have a tight physique. Is there anyone who avidly works out with weights here?

Also I have a question about calories, weight loss and maintenance. I've read in a lot of different websites and also from even Alissya that calorie counting is not necessary when eating a raw diet. But I'm trying to wrap my brain around this concept. I mean........coming from my knowledge of what I have been taught as a nutritionist.....we are taught that it basically comes down to calories in vs. calories out. This makes me curious because I've seen so many recipes that are very nut and seed based and they tend to be high in calories. I do know that the body can process foods differently, however I just wonder if anyone has any experience or feedback that they would like to share so that this makes more sense to me:)

Overall I want to feel better and try to make the best of having Hashimoto's. But I guess I'm trying to get some feedback on a few things that had been uncertain to me. Thanks everyone for listening in advance:)

FreedomSeeker
05-09-2010, 06:36 PM
Vegetables are something like 10-30% protein by calorie content, and fruit is about 1-10%. If you eat plenty of veggies, especially leafy greens, you'll be getting an abundance of amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein and what your body really needs.

lodestar
05-09-2010, 11:23 PM
do some youtube searches and see what fitness trainer Dr. Douglas Graham has to say about your questions. you will be amazed.

Ekin
05-10-2010, 01:40 AM
Hello barbellbeauty and welcome! I'm sure you'll feel even better with time if you stay raw.

About protein, with what you were eating before you were getting abt 30-40% protein. But as lodestar said, if you see the results of Dr. Douglas Graham's research, our body needs only 10% of the calories from protein. You can thrive as an athlete on 10% protein too! In fact, after some more time, you will feel that your energy levels will rise after giving up animal protein completely because you will be filled with LIFE energy from LIVING foods. I was a vegetarian before but when I gave up dairy I can't explain how good I started to feel after 10 days. I'm sure your life has improved after giving up so many things too. Trust the power of raw foods and don't worry about protein, best of luck :)

See this website:

http://foodnsport.com/

Ekin

somelikeitraw
05-10-2010, 10:11 AM
Hi BarbellBeauty! Welcome to RFT!
Here are some links pertaining to raw food and bodybuilding.
Charlie Abel (http://www.therawdiet.com/meetcharlie.html)
and
Raw Body Building (http://www.rawbodybuilding.net/)
and
Raw Food Bodybuilder Article (http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Raw-Food-Bodybuilding-Diet---What-You-Need-To-Know&id=769923)
and
Interview with a Raw Food Body Builder (http://www.living-foods.com/articles/bodybuilder.html)
and
Storm (http://www.thegardendiet.com/storm.html)

These will amaze you!

Also to quote Revvell, another member here, "go to YouTube. Look up Zenkahuna. Vegetarian for about 35 years now. Vegan, mostly raw... He introduced me to raw.... 61 years old."

barbellbeauty
05-10-2010, 11:50 AM
Thanks everyone:) I really appreciate the feedback. I did research Dr. Graham a bit and really found his beliefs to be quite interesting and they did make sense. His thoughts on eating carbs(mainly fruit) post workout to replace muscle glycogen totally makes sense to me, along with a few other things he mentions.

His thoughts on fats are interesting as well. I do eat fats and probably more than 10% but I still try to maintain a balance. I know that too much fruit makes me feel a bit shaky. And I have found that when I eat too many nuts for example I feel less energetic and weighed down a bit. I have been enjoying some raw desserts but I have been treating them just as I did any other treat in the past only 1-2 times a week tops!

I was wondering about the whole fat thing in regards to eating raw. I have noticed that a lot of the recipes I have seen are loaded with nuts and fats and just wondered how anyone could maintain their weight let alone lose weight eating fats in this kind of quantity. I have actually eaten at 2 raw food resturants here in Los Angeles, Cru and Juliano's planet raw and was suprised, especially at Juliano's, how heavy the foods contained nuts and salt or as they use Nama Shoyu.

Does anyone have any opinions or experience eating high fat or low fat? Also does anyone here count calories?

Subtitles
05-18-2010, 12:15 PM
It's great to see you here! I saw your thread on the other forum. Nice to know I'm not alone over there!

spicyfull
05-19-2010, 09:41 AM
I wish you everything you need to Stay RAW..........Welcome to MY World.

barbellbeauty
05-19-2010, 12:41 PM
It's great to see you here! I saw your thread on the other forum. Nice to know I'm not alone over there!

Oh, yes, I saw your comment:) Good to see you here as well:)

barbellbeauty
05-19-2010, 12:46 PM
Hey everyone since I originally posted I am happy to say that I am feeling better already. I switched to a new medication(Armour) and as of last Wednesday and I stopped eating even cooked fish. I'm not sure what doing it, probably a combination of both my new meds and eating raw but I am totally commited to eating raw, especially if its going to make me feel better. I'd have to be a fool or a masochist to do anything different....LOL :p

Shels
05-19-2010, 01:05 PM
Good to hear you're feeling better!

I suppose I could say I have experience eating high-fat. :p
Before going high raw, I found I was slimmest eating high-fat low-carb. Nowadays I still consume lots of fat - possibly too much - and I feel and look better than before. Granted, I don't exercise much so I'm not sure how relevant this is to you personally.

CathyA.
05-19-2010, 06:55 PM
Welcome. Glad to have you here.

barbellbeauty
05-20-2010, 10:13 AM
Welcome. Glad to have you here.

Thanks Cathy:) I really love the energy of this forum. Everyone is so friendly, helpful and nice:D

margoss
05-20-2010, 10:17 AM
glad you're feeling better!!