Weight Loss

[rawcakie]

Okay I have some questions. Firstly, I've started eating raw for my health, and that means I also have weight to lose (55lbs). However I am not 100% raw and I still enjoy yoghurt and cheese (in small amounts).
I see a lot of yummy looking raw recipes that focus a lot on nuts, seeds, avocados and dried fruits - are these foods okay to eat while trying to lose weight?

My average daily menu is this:

Breakfast
Green smoothie - baby spinach, mango and fresh squeezed orange juice
Banana

Snack
Handful of mixed nuts and seeds

Lunch
2 or 3 Ryvita crispbreads spread with unhulled tahini and honey

Snack
Yoghurt and grated apple with cinnamon and chia seeds
Banana
Mango

Dinner
Large garden salad (lots of baby spinach) with a very small amount of shredded cheese

Dessert
Fruit (any I feel like - usually 2 pieces)

[k8sl8]

How you choose to transition to raw is your choice, but if you are worried about losing weight, I'd lose the dairy and crackers... and eat the nuts, avos and dried fruit (unsulphored and unsweetened). Fastest way to weight loss/release is all raw. The minute I start playing around my loss slowssssssssssssssssssss or stops.

[janicejourney]

I totally agree with the previous poster. Don't even sweat any foods that are raw in any quantity. The thing that will slow your weight loss is whatever cooked food you are eating. Seriously! It sounds too good to be true but raw food allows weight loss whether you eat all fruit, all veggies, or lots of nuts/fats. The exception is restricting calories- that WILL slow your weight loss. Some people do find that after a significant amount of weight lost, they slow down and some say they have had to reduce certain amount of fats or whatnot after the first wave (50 plus pounds lost)... I never have had this issue though.

[rawcakie]

Thanks for the replies :)
I guess what really worried me was reading another raw foodies experience, and how for years she didn't lose any weight on raw. Quite a few women commented on her blog that they didn't either - and some even gained weight!

I think I'll just get my fats more so from avocado and coconut, rather than lots and lots of nuts. I'll stick to one or two handfuls of nuts a day so I can fill up on greens (luckily I'm not really a big nut eater).

I think I'll end up going 100% raw, simply because I don't enjoy how my body feels after eating cooked food! I never really noticed until yesterday, when I ate some sushi, how tired I felt about half an hour after eating it. Whereas for dinner I had raw custard with grated apple and cinnamon, and felt great!

[Revvell]

Thanks for the replies :)
I guess what really worried me was reading another raw foodies experience, and how for years she didn't lose any weight on raw. Quite a few women commented on her blog that they didn't either - and some even gained weight!

Without really knowing what they were eating.... 100% raw?




I think I'll just get my fats more so from avocado and coconut, rather than lots and lots of nuts. I'll stick to one or two handfuls of nuts a day so I can fill up on greens (luckily I'm not really a big nut eater).

Funny, not one person who responded said to give up nuts. As a matter of fact, they said "...eat the nuts, avos and dried fruit" and "...Don't even sweat any foods that are raw in any quantity..."

When I first began raw, there wasn't (weren't?) the recipes there are today. Most everything, other than salads, contained nuts ~ "breads", loaves, crackers, burgers, etc. Six of us began together and all 6 eliminated excess weight and then some.

Eat raw and play with your food!

btw ~ those mixed nuts you're eating ~ all raw?

[rawcakie]

Without really knowing what they were eating.... 100% raw?
Apparently - but who knows! This is the website I found the comments on:
http://karenknowler.typepad.com/living_in_the_raw/2007/10/my-raw-kind-of-.html




Funny, not one person who responded said to give up nuts. As a matter of fact, they said "...eat the nuts, avos and dried fruit" and "...Don't even sweat any foods that are raw in any quantity..."

When I first began raw, there wasn't (weren't?) the recipes there are today. Most everything, other than salads, contained nuts ~ "breads", loaves, crackers, burgers, etc. Six of us began together and all 6 eliminated excess weight and then some.

Eat raw and play with your food!

btw ~ those mixed nuts you're eating ~ all raw?

True.. in fact I had a good think about it last night - I didn't decide to go raw to deny myself good food. I'm eating raw so I can get the benefits of healthy live food, so I should go ahead and enjoy it in whatever way I can!

No the nuts aren't raw. I will be buying raw nuts, but I can't afford to waste the big bag I bought the other week. I'm also a little concerned about raw cashews as I've read some people have bad reactions to them?

[Revvell]

Apparently - but who knows! This is the website I found the comments on:
http://karenknowler.typepad.com/living_in_the_raw/2007/10/my-raw-kind-of-.html

I don't have time to read that yet, people will say they are eating all raw and not and not realize that what they AREN'T eating raw is there problem ~ like mixed nuts. ;)





True.. in fact I had a good think about it last night - I didn't decide to go raw to deny myself good food. I'm eating raw so I can get the benefits of healthy live food, so I should go ahead and enjoy it in whatever way I can!


True that.




No the nuts aren't raw. I will be buying raw nuts, but I can't afford to waste the big bag I bought the other week. I'm also a little concerned about raw cashews as I've read some people have bad reactions to them?

Some people have bad reactions to all kinds of things. Question is, are YOU having bad reactions to them?

[vexvelour]

Please don't focus on the weight loss. Focus your energy into picking your foods and listening to what your body wants as far as raw food goes. I personally found that once I started feeding my body right and giving it what it wanted I naturally eat less because I'm giving my body the nutrition it's been craving for years! Weight loss came as a surprising bonus- I wasn't even aware I was losing weight until 4 weeks after starting to eat raw and everyone at work was commenting on how much weight I've lost.

[James Carmichael]

I'm sure its easy to make raw yogart. I seen a recipe a while ago and I made it mayself and it was lovely. I'll see if I can find it again.

[maisielou1]

Some people will gain weight on raw because they were underweight to start with (certainly the case with at least one woman on that website.) Raw is about being healthy. The body will decide what is the healthiest weight for you. Ignore the media.