Raw food, weight loss and breastfeeding?

[bananaberrie]

Okay, this might be a bit of a lengthy post, but I am new and have lots of questions. First of I will start by saying that I am 33 years old and the mother of 3 kids ages 6 and under. Having said that I have either been preggo or nursing non-stop for the past 7 years, sometimes both :o I have never had a weight issue and have always eaten what I want without weight gain. I'm 5' 1" and stay at 115. Similar size and structure to the blond on Heroes, Clarie. Not really overweight but sturdy looking...kwim. Well I decided in might be nice to lose 5-10 lbs or at least tone up a bit. So I started walk/jogging and gained 4 lbs. I was really annoyed by this so I decided, through a series of events, to go mostly raw. I have always been a healthy eater compared to most. But going raw I really cut back on a lot of what I was eating. I have always loved baking and coffee :) Having said all that, I have been 75-95% raw for a month now and have only lost 3.5 lbs. So I'm not even back to the weight I was before I started exercising. I know I should not be so scale obsessed, I'm working on it. But I was wondering if the fact that I am still nursing my youngest have something to do with lack of weight loss. It is just weird to me all the things I have cut out of my diet by being mostly raw and with very little weight lose. All though weight loss was not my top priority for going raw I just thought that more would come off.

Any thoughts?

[Shels]

Well, first of all I know NOTHING about breast-feeding and pregnancy - there are plenty of other people here who will have more specifics about that.

But what I DO know, is that (unless you were very unhealthy before), you have to go 100% raw to see a big difference in so short a time. Give it a couple of more months, cut out at least one of the cooked things you are still having (try to pick the most harmful - like any white flour/sugar, soda, etc).

Also, keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat does, and it takes up much much less room. So you might even shrink a bit and have your weight go up! I have a hard time not concentrating on numbers as well, but ultimately they are not what matters.

[bananaberrie]

Shels, thank you so much for your reply. Everything you said makes perfect sense. I guess it will just take me a bit longer. I am just so new at this. I really appreciate your reply :)

[Shels]

You're so welcome. Good luck! :cheer:

Hopefully some of the raw moms can chime in here too and help you out.

[babeak]

Good for you and for nursing. I still am as well (3yro). It has not come off as much as I would like it to, but I am about 2lbs above my pre-pg weight, but I can blame that on just eating too much....even too much of a healthy thing is not necessarily good. More calories in vs. than those burned is the basic equation. That has been the most difficult thing for me. Stress really drives me to eat more. I also do not have an opportunity to exercise every day as I am Stay-at-home mom w/ traveling spouse. I am trying to get my rear in gear and have dropped about 5lbs in the past few weeks after having gained 5lbs. Crazy stressful times.

The other point as someone has already made is muscle weighs more than fat. Do you fit into your clothes better?

I might also say that doing weight training a couple of times a week is good because that builds more muscle mass, is good for bone mass as well and then even while you are resting, you are burning more calories than otherwise.

Water is another good thing as well and making sure that you are eating hydrating foods.

HTH

[proteus]

Okay, this might be a bit of a lengthy post, but I am new and have lots of questions. First of I will start by saying that I am 33 years old and the mother of 3 kids ages 6 and under. Having said that I have either been preggo or nursing non-stop for the past 7 years, sometimes both :o I have never had a weight issue and have always eaten what I want without weight gain. I'm 5' 1" and stay at 115. Similar size and structure to the blond on Heroes, Clarie. Not really overweight but sturdy looking...kwim. Well I decided in might be nice to lose 5-10 lbs or at least tone up a bit. So I started walk/jogging and gained 4 lbs. I was really annoyed by this so I decided, through a series of events, to go mostly raw. I have always been a healthy eater compared to most. But going raw I really cut back on a lot of what I was eating. I have always loved baking and coffee :) Having said all that, I have been 75-95% raw for a month now and have only lost 3.5 lbs. So I'm not even back to the weight I was before I started exercising. I know I should not be so scale obsessed, I'm working on it. But I was wondering if the fact that I am still nursing my youngest have something to do with lack of weight loss. It is just weird to me all the things I have cut out of my diet by being mostly raw and with very little weight lose. All though weight loss was not my top priority for going raw I just thought that more would come off.

Any thoughts?

you shouldn't try to lose weight faster than 1 lb / week for your body size. going faster wouldn't be recommended even if you were not pregnant and/or breastfeeding. you should simply have patience and continue at the rate you're going now - 3.5 lbs/month is perfect.

however if it starts slowing down you can:

eliminate sweet liquids from the diet. juice less, try to eat mostly solid food (salad) and plain water.

if that doesn't work you can always start counting calories.

and keep exercising. the weight you gained from exercise was probably muscle anyway.