any advice?

[RoseGreen]

Hi again, everyone-

I wanted to get your opinion. I frequently read about people who lose a tremendous amount of weight almost effortlessly on a raw food diet. And then there is me.

My friends, I have the metabolism of a slug.

I have ALWAYS had trouble losing weight. I was an overweight child and teenager. I don't think I have ever even come close to achieving what I'd hoped. My thyroid stimulating hormone levels are normal. I am adhering as well as I can to raw foods: green smoothies, salads, cold soups, raw nuts, hummus, cut up veggies and whole fruits, virgin coconut oil or raw almond butter (by the teaspoon). When I have on occasion gone out with friends, I have been ordering the salads and vegetarian options as much as possible. To show for it, I have lost eight pounds in one month.

I am very pleased I have lost any weight at all. But I had hoped it would be slightly more... dramatic? The only times I have experienced fast, dramatic weight loss were during flare ups of ulcerative colitis (which is really unhealthy and just lands you in the hospital) only to have it packed back on and then some through medication side effects. I understand the process of lose-gain-lose does eventually weaken your metabolism. But I had trouble losing weight even BEFORE the ridiculous yoyo-ing from disease and recovery stages.

I thought I would at least shed a good deal of water weight, initially. And yet the scale inches down ever. so. slowly.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Do I have to wait til detox is done to experience an upswing in weight loss? I realise at this point I may sound very shallow (I do even to myself) but I'll be honest; I tend to have very low self-esteem and just want to feel better about myself. It's been a really hard year...

Mind you I have no plans to quit! I feel too good and have been sleeping well and not having so much pain. You have no idea how much I appreciate all these benefits.

[Dimond]

You can try eating more quantities of fruit and lowering your fat intake. High calories fruits are the best for replacing fats-mangos, bananas, melon, etc. Veggies have little calories. When you do have fat, try sticking with whole foods versus oils.

[Aleesha Sattva]

You need healthy fat to release fat so don't cut it out completely.

I find that adding in some fasting days can assist...

But honestly, eating raw will bring your weight down. As Alissa says, "it's not what you are eating raw, it's what you are eating that isn't raw that stops your weight release."

[melia]

I don't really have any real advise, as I haven't been on this lifestyle very long, but just thought I'd throw this in anyway. ;) I started almost three months ago, and have lost exactly 30 pounds now. So maybe 10lbs per month? For me it started coming off fast at first and this month it has been a bit slower. I do tend to notice that the weight loss cycles - I'll loose 3-4 pounds and for about three-five days I will maintain my weight (at least that's what the scale says), and then I will lose more, etc... I was just wondering if any one else experiences this cycle?
But I don't know what the average weight loss is on the raw diet. Maybe it varies for all of us - depending on how big we are when we start?
I figure my weight loss is all right and that is what my body requires, it seems to be working on other things while I'm not losing the pounds. Like tighening up skin and stuff like that. I have not been having any problems with loose skin yet, it seems to tighten up as it goes. I am slowly losing my stomach rolls! How nice!
But I too have been sleeping much better at night - more restful - I can sleep through the entire night (I am a light sleeper) and I don't have the tension headaches or migraines I used to. Also my sight is getting better! And my face - the skin is smooth and the blemishes are going away. People tell me I have a 'glow.'
So yeah, even though the scale can be a downer some days, I have learned to expect that - you do have to remember all the other benefits! :)
@ Dimond -- I am craving fruit like crazy this week! :) I have kind of learned how to listen to my body and eat what it wants. (except when it's craving pizza or something) :D

[melia]

But honestly, eating raw will bring your weight down. As Alissa says, "it's not what you are eating raw, it's what you are eating that isn't raw that stops your weight release."

THanks Aleesha! :) I needed to hear that! I have been falling prey to salmon all this week and I have really just been feeling ridiculously tired and exhausted. And crappy. And loosing hardly any weight. *puts two and two together* :rolleyes:
It is amazing how quickly your body will tell you that it doesn't like what you're doing to it. But first you just have to learn to listen to it.

[Aleesha Sattva]

***nodding***

[michigan roman]

i read that cold pressed virgin coconut oil helps to lose weight ,
i think by upping metabolism maybe

[Tenuviel]

it took me 6 months to lose 6 pounds lol.... that was 2 years ago. just this past winter I lost the other 6. I have major hormonal imbalance, so my body wants to store everything lol. The best thing I did was start to exercise a bit regularly, not even that hard lol :).... short bursts of high intensity exercise, like jumping jacks, interspersed with longer exercise like riding my bicycle, using ,my hula hoop when watching tv. I never lost weight from doing extended cardio or light weights before.(ie treadmill, elliptical, gym stuff) The other thing that really helped was upping my calories a bit. In the past I always used to eat 1400- 1500 calories a day, and wondered how I could possibly be carrying extra fat eating this "magic number". So when I upped it to around 2000, plus the above exercise it started to come off all at once :).

You can tell when your metabolism starts to go up, becuase your feet and rear end won't feel like icicles anymore :D

[klomasius]

Sometimes a body needs to do some serious spring cleaning before it loses the weight. Sometimes there's a dramatic (or even not so dramatic) weight loss at first, then a plateau as the body regroups and starts to do the deep cleaning thing.

Eating foods like fish (especially ocean fish) can mean you are putting the toxins your body is trying to get rid of, back into your system, possibly delaying any weight loss that might have occurred.

You might want to do a very deliberate 30 day cleanse, giving up all cooked foods entirely in order to let your body go about what it needs to do. Up the green juices and green smoothies, increase the fruit intake, get some exercise (it really helps, both as an energy burner and as a way to make the detox process go faster).

Good luck!

p.s. in my opinion, 8 pounds in a month is a very healthy rate of weight loss. Imagine if that happened each month! You'd be at your goal weight in no time! :D

[k8sl8]

Hi again, everyone-

I wanted to get your opinion. I frequently read about people who lose a tremendous amount of weight almost effortlessly on a raw food diet. And then there is me...

I am very pleased I have lost any weight at all...

I thought I would at least shed a good deal of water weight, initially. And yet the scale inches down ever. so. slowly.

You are being impatient, lol. You have lost weight, without much 'trouble'. You are enjoying your food... what's the problem?????? I think whatever is happening is normal for you.

I initially lost about 10 lbs. in a couple weeks, but then stayed there for close to a month. Comes out the same - and that was 100%. EVERYONE is different. I eat what I want, and that includes a quite a bit of nut/nut entres, avocados and oil. I have very rarely had a "treat" and it usually wasn't worth it!!

I've now been 17 weeks 4 days (yes I'm counting) and have lost 40 lbs. more or less, depending on the scale and the day. My weight goes up and down and I have decided it doesn't matter as long as the TREND is down!!

It will happen. You don't want to lose it all in a very short time and have a bunch of left over SKIN do you?? Your body will catch up.

Good luck and keep at it.

[RoseGreen]

Good Morning!

thank you everyone for your advice and inspiration. I appreciate it and it makes so much sense to me. I will take all of this to heart.

k8sl8, I am being impatient, so that is the problem! LOL! I realise now that as long as I remain on a downward trend weight-wise, however slow, and not gaining, I should be thankful.

I notice several of you are recommending increasing intake of fruit. Which I don't mind in the least because I never met a fruit I didn't like. The difficulty comes with the guilty feeling as a result of all the nutrition information that has been thrust at me regarding fruit all these years. "Don't eat so much fruit. It's full of sugar. Sugar is bad. Fruit is bad. Blahblahblah..." It going to take some re-programming to get out of that mindset.

Another thing my sister suggested is that I am not getting enough calories. I am a swimmer and a runner. I do yoga when I can. She was saying "You need more fuel because you are more active than you used to be. You also need more fat than you're eating. A teaspoon of coconut oil or a small handful of nuts once a day isn't going to cover it."

which makes sense because I need it to process fat-soluble vitamins. duh. My sister and I buy up all the avocadoes at the market, halve them and freeze them to put in recipes. maybe I should actually use them sometimes?

I'll tell you one thing I have noticed. In spite of what people tend to say, it DOES cost less to eat raw. You can go to the farmer's market or to the store on local produce days (that's something our grocer has every week in summer/autumn), get everything you need and never even leave that part of the store. I have to go back to the store more often, but I am saving money nevertheless. I'll just put a basket on my bicycle or something. It is shocking how much you pay for packaging! And wasteful. I like to save and re-use stuff. Learned than from my mum & aunts who grew up on a farm. Convenience has made people lazy.

[klomasius]

Forget the 'fruit is evil' mantra. So many of us on this board have lost weight on a diet of eating as much fruit as we like. It's fun, delicious and oh so easy!

Remember, conventional wisdom tells us we need to eat meat and dairy to be healthy, I've never been so healthy in my life and I haven't eaten meat in 15 years and dairy in 13 years.

Sometimes 'conventional wisdom' is caught up more in what is traditional rather than what is logical and backed up by evidence.

[Zaphirah]

[QUOTE=Tenuviel;
You can tell when your metabolism starts to go up, becuase your feet and rear end won't feel like icicles anymore :D[/QUOTE]

SERIOUSLY?!??!!? This has been a severe issue for me for YEARS!!! (My metabolism has been destroyed by 30 years of anorexia, binge eating and yo-yo dieting.)

[klomasius]

Yep, increased metabolism means increased overall activity in the body, which also means increased blood flow to the extremities.

Do you exercise much? This will help to up the metabolism, increase blood flow and decrease feelings of cold at the extremities.

You might also want to up your comsumption of things like fresh tumeric, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cardamon, cumin..

I used to have cold extremities too, but not on raw even in the winter I don't seem to. Maybe that's why I no longer feel fresing in the winter.

[Cottonball McFluffy]

RoseGreen, I feel your pain. I've been overweight since before I turned 1 and I know you just can't "get there" fast enough when it comes to finally losing the weight. :D
But I have to tell you that the less you worry about it, the faster the weight comes off and even at the times when it's stuck for a month or two, as long as you're raw and enjoying your life, you can rest easy that you're "getting there". Don't fret the goal, just enjoy the ride. Worst thing you can do is forget to enjoy your life.

[melia]

I'll tell you one thing I have noticed. In spite of what people tend to say, it DOES cost less to eat raw. You can go to the farmer's market or to the store on local produce days (that's something our grocer has every week in summer/autumn), get everything you need and never even leave that part of the store. I have to go back to the store more often, but I am saving money nevertheless.

Amen! Hehehe. That is so true though, I was afraid when I started that it would cost more to eat raw, but it's actually making me budget better! And now my paychecks last until the next one!!!! haha.
THanks for everyone's input on this matter, because I am impatient too! :D

[Raw Angel Mom]

Here are some tips:

-Without question, you need the good fat in order to lose the bad one.

-Go 100% raw food, if you cannot do this, stay away from starch especially rice. Don't eat anything labelling in such a way that you canno read the word. Especially MSG. It is contained in many fast food including some coffee shop. MSG is poison and lead to weight gain for so many.

-Don't eat past 6pm.

-Eat often but little portion at the time

-CHEW, CHEW AND CHEW. You will eat less and digest so much better

-Make your meal sacred and bless it before you eat it.

-Eat as much as you are hungry on raw food, don't be afraid of healthy fat or fruits. Try water, many time we are thirsty and not hungry but the body makes us feel hungry instead.

-Exercise in the morning, it will boost your metabolism

-Let your body guide you, you will know what to eat but first, you must train her to recognise the food it will needs by eating as much variety as possible.

-Remember that we may not see the weight lost just yet on a raw diet because your body is setting his priority to keep you alive, meaning repairing the inside first such your important organ etc....

[RawHeaven]

Give it time. Eight pounds is very significant as it indicates your body is beginning to release what its ready to let go of. It doesn't necessarily mean its fat weight, as it repairs itself it could be other toxic substances. There are so many factors that could be involved...water retention for example...the body innately knows what it's doing. You're already taking steps providing it with the tools it needs to heal. The best is yet to come. :)

Try using raw organic coconut oil (aka butter) as your clean fat for a few days and see what happens. Intuitively I'm seeing this will work wonders for you.

Apple Cider Vinegar (w/Mother) may help you as well. You can take it as 1 tbs shots or put 2 tbs in 8-10 oz of water daily. Ingested before meals helps with digestion as well. Whenever I use ACV on a regular basis I notice an increase in my metabolism.

Exercise can't be beat to do the same as so many have all ready mentioned.

Best wishes.