Need some help, I've sort of hit a wall...

[climbing]

Hey everyone. So I've been high raw for a few months now and I LOVE it. I am very excited about my future now that I know what food can do for me. My skin is looking better than ever, my eyes are glossy and bright, my body looks great and my energy levels are higher than they ever have been...

My problem is I feel I've sort of hit a wall as far as how much of my diet I can get raw. I have a fast metabolism and get underweight easily. I'm healing from an autoimmune disorder and leaky gut so I am limited as far as certain foods but most of those foods are cooked stuff anyway and wouldn't be relevant to this convo. But just so ya know, I don't eat any grains, even raw/sprouted because I don't agree with them.

As of now my diet consists of the following.

Avocado
Greens (all varieties. I mix it up)
Coconut
Banana
Apples
Seeds and nuts
Sprouts (different varieties)
Pineapple
Soaked/sprouted flax
Mushrooms

^All that stuff is my raw "staples" I also eat other raw fruits and veggies when I can get my hands on them.

The cooked foods I eat are mostly meat or fish, leafy greens *steamed* and things like broccoli and cauliflower which are too hard on my gut as well as the thyroid (I have thyroid problems due to my autoimmune disorder) when not cooked. With those things I have to pretty much cook them or not eat them again at all, which would suck. :(

I guess I'm looking for more things like avocado and flax which I can add to my diet. I need raw sources of calories and different varieties so I don't get bored. I don't really care about recipes for different forms of food like wraps and sandwhiches, things like that, I'm fine eating salads all the time as long as the salads have different foods on them. But I need more nutrition.

What are some VERY calorie rich raw foods I can add to my diet? What do you who are 100% eat to satisfy your caloric needs? I used to eat about 2500 calories a day when I was eating more cooked.

Also, I am open to and interested in being vegan. I haven't given up meat yet but I have limited it to a few times a week and thus far, I either need to find something else to get the calories and protein in me or add more meat back in. I really love animals and am against factory farms and stuff so being vegan would mean a lot to me but I don't know how to go further into this without more raw vegan staple foods! :(

I know this diet is awesome for a lot of you who were interested in losing weight, but what about the people who needed to GAIN weight to begin with? Is it possible for me on this diet? I'm about 100 pounds right now and I'm 5'6'' so that is pretty skinny. I look good but I'd look GREAT if I was a bit thicker and stronger.

Anyone have any ideas for me? The only raw vegan thing that I don't have in my diet at this time is sea products such as seaweed or spirulina. Would that help? What can help me gain weight and be strong that I'm not already eating? And I'm eating BIG meals and multiple smoothies a day already so eating more of what I'm already eating wouldn't really work....

thanks in advance for reading :D

[mcster]

I'm not a doctor or nutritionist but I will suggest that if you do some homework, you might find information that points to the fact that eliminating animal products from your diet might help resolve your ailments. You might want to consider addressing this first as that may be the very reason you are having problems putting on weight. Good luck!

[sport]

I did not see bananas on your list and they are the best source of calories.
Persimmons are high calorie as well but I think that they may be gone out of season as I have not been able to get them for a couple of weeks.
Lots of people make dateraid by blending dates in water to add calories.

[Aleesha Sattva]

mmmm dates in water... that would be yummy!

[sport]

There are people who are regularly eating 4000 and 4500 calories a day all raw all vegan and low fat.
You will have no problem getting 2500.

[climbing]

I'm not a doctor or nutritionist but I will suggest that if you do some homework, you might find information that points to the fact that eliminating animal products from your diet might help resolve your ailments. You might want to consider addressing this first as that may be the very reason you are having problems putting on weight. Good luck!

Well, see the thing is, I was vegetarian for three years and got very sick, and I had a lot of healing and felt GREAT after adding meat back into my diet. So I do not really believe that meat is causing health problems or that it is inherently unhealthy. I would like to be vegan for more ethical reasons.

I have not tried dates other than in Lara bars. And I eat 1-3 bananas each day as it is. Will try dates for sure!


There are people who are regularly eating 4000 and 4500 calories a day all raw all vegan and low fat.
You will have no problem getting 2500.

How? What are they eating? I'd like to see that meal plan.

[mcster]

Well, see the thing is, I was vegetarian for three years and got very sick, and I had a lot of healing and felt GREAT after adding meat back into my diet. So I do not really believe that meat is causing health problems or that it is inherently unhealthy. I would like to be vegan for more ethical reasons.

I understand and I agree that eating meat doesn't necessarily mean you are unhealthy. However, if you have ailments, it's likely something is causing an imbalance in your body and given how healthy your current diet is, it seems that the only thing that could be causing that imbalance is meat (acid forming and difficult to digest). I don't know what your diet was before reintroducing meat but maybe you were missing nutrients that were reintroduced when you started eating meat again. Your current diet is very balanced and would provide all the nutrients you need. Again, it seems intuitive that your inability to put on weight could be tied to your ailments and addressing that first might be a good way to attempt addressing your situation. Just my $.02.

[sport]

How? What are they eating? I'd like to see that meal plan.

There are lots of people who are major athletes on 30bananasaday who take that many calories without eating any overt fats at all. The just eat fruit and greens.

[damaru]

I get a lot of my calories from raw "junk food", like fudge balls and blueberry pie. You would need a food processor for this, but they are very simple recipes. They are contained in Alissa's recipe book. If you want to eat more calories, make a blueberry pie and I promise you, you will want to sit there and devour the whole thing at once. It's that good. Dates, bananas, blueberries, almonds, that's it, but lot's of it at once, oh and honey.

Good luck to you on your journey.

[climbing]

Thanks for the responses! I am going to try raw chocolate soon I think. Maybe make some desserts would help. And add more banannas. And dates. *I'm making a list here haha*

[Dimond]

Nutrient dense liquid meals is the way to get plenty of calories on raw. 1-3 bananas is not much. Try making nutrient dense smoothies, soups & puddings. Superfoods whole or powder or protein powder offer additional calories when necessary.

Example nutrient dense smoothie:

2-4 cups Greens
6-10 Bananas
Goji Berries or Powder 2 Tbs-1 cup
Hemp or Chia Seeds 2 Tbs-1 cup (depending on how much fat you want) or Avocado
Chlorella Powder 2+ Tbs
3-4 cups Water

I like to make huge smoothies and break them up into 2 servings. With soups it may be additional servings. Besides fats, you can also eat a lot of other high calorie fruit such as mango and melon.

Broccoli and cauliflower are not important that you need to eat them cooked, if they bother you raw. It's your body's way of telling you they're not the ideal food for you. Many have issues with cruciferous vegetables. If you really like them or occasionally want their nutrients, you can try them blended, chopped well & marinated or juiced.

[climbing]

Wow. You eat 6-10 banannas in ONE smoothie? That sounds mighty expensive. And like you have a mighty big blender, lol. :D I've been making smoothies with one apple, one bananna, one avocado and some pineapple and the thing is as full as it can go and won't blend very well. I need to get a better one.

I want to try hemp seeds and chlorella powder. Thanks for those ideas. Can you sprout hempseeds? I need more varieties of sprouts as well.

[Dimond]

Yes. :) Bananas are one of the cheapest and most cost-effective fruits there is. Hemp seeds don't need to be sprouted and are easily digested, which is what makes them perfect to eat. I love them. They give a unique nutty flavor when you add enough to certain meals.

While you're waiting on a new blender, you can try blending in stages. Like first water with just some water fruits like apple and pineapple, then you can add in the denser ones like avocado and banana, along with any nuts/seeds, super foods and powders.

[climbing]

I've eaten all raw aside from my coffee this morning. We will see how it goes.

[mcster]

I've eaten all raw aside from my coffee this morning. We will see how it goes.

Have you considered nixing coffee? Coffee absorbs and flushes out all the vitamins and minerals out of your body so it doesn't matter how well you eat, your body won't get most of the benefits if you consume coffee. If you drink coffee, you may as well eat SAD.

[climbing]

Nah, I love the coffee. :) It's worth whatever the consequences may be for me. It's literally my only vice. Do you happen to have a source for that info btw? Just curious to read more.

I had raw date/almond bars as my snack at work today. So good and very filling, the dates were an awesome suggestion. The only thing is-where the heck fo you find normal raw dates? Not in a bar or processed... I have been to four grocery stores and haven't seen any.

[mcster]

Nah, I love the coffee. :) It's worth whatever the consequences may be for me. It's literally my only vice. Do you happen to have a source for that info btw? Just curious to read more.

Caffeine consumption, promotes vitamin deficiency, iron deficiency and anemia. I stay away from the stuff as I personally don't like to be dependent on any stimulant. However, for someone who is healthy, I'd say having a cup once in a while is not a big deal. Up until a month ago, I'd have a mocha or latte once a week and I believe in moderation. However, given that you have an autoimmune disease and leaky gut syndrome, I'd day caffeine would be terrible for you. You may at least want to consider cutting it out until such time as you fully recover from your conditions. It seems counterproductive to drink something that has a neutralizing effect on the very nutrients that can help you heal.

This forum is pretty militant about posting links so I suggest you google "caffeine and vitamin deficiency", caffeine and mineral deficiency", "caffeine and iron deficiency" and "caffeine and anemia". Be forewarned that as with meat and dairy, there are a lot of studies endorsed by industry that suggest that coffee is good for you. It's a big and profitable industry after all. However, for those of us who have studied and understand research, one can substantiate almost any argument so one must use logic to discern between what rings true and not.

Good luck.

[climbing]

However, given that you have an autoimmune disease and leaky gut syndrome, I'd day caffeine would be terrible for you.

I know in my heart you are right. Thank you for pointing this out to me. I do know my caffeine addiction is an issue, it's just been hard as I've gone from SAD to gluten free, to corn/soy/gluten/dairy free, to free of all grains, to high raw and now attempting to be all raw. It feels like I have given everything up but haven't replaced what I've lost with anything. This is my struggle.

Not to say I don't love the raw foods I do eat. I do, I just can't seem to keep weight on so far. BUt I am trying. Perhaps I will switch from coffee to tea. Still caffeine I know, but I just don't know how to go without any at all.

Once I tried... I made it a month caffeine free. The withdrawl headaches and depression didn't leave the entire month. Agonizing headaches every day for an entire month... it got old and I don't even know how I made it through the month. I finally gave up, had ONE cup and almost instantly the headache was gone and I felt better than I'd felt in my whole life... what a freakin' high!

Grr... there is nothing more addictive than this stuff. And I say that as a former smoker. Ciggs were far easier to kick.

[proteus]

super high calorie:

raw honey, raw chocolate, raw nut butters ...

you can mix whole nuts with honey

you can have nuts with chocolate

you can make chocolate nut milk

but the fastest and most reliable way to get fat :

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1234&bih=618&q=nutella&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=f&oq=

last time i binged on it i gained ~ 15 pounds in ~ 2 weeks. at some point i spent the entire night vomiting with my head spinning so bad i couldn't stand up on my feet. i never fully recovered from that episode either - ever since that time i feel dizzy.

its already based on raw nuts so shouldn't be too hard to create a raw home-made version of it. this stuff works like magic ! in the words of my friend "this stuff is worse than crack"

generally speaking when you want to get fat as quickly as possible you need to eat sugar and fat, consume food mostly in liquid form and avoid fiber. ice cream ( being a frozen liquid composed of sugar and fat ) is the perfect food for getting fat but its not vegan of course.