What gives?

[katrina]

Afternoon, ya'll! I'm open for comments and suggestions with my, er, situation.

After a careful review of my eating habits, I've concluded that I've strayed from the straight and narrow path of 100% raw. I'm now out of denial and back on the yellow brick road. However, I am not enjoying the rapid benefits that I remember enjoying immediately when I first when raw.

I have been 100% raw again for 16 days now. I seem to have lost maybe 3-4 pounds which is great. (I think I gained about 8 pounds while in denial.) But I have a little ball belly that won't go down. I feel bloated and overfull no matter how little or how much I eat. And I'm not getting that burst of energy that I recall from before. Another strange side effect is that it seems my body is holding on to everything and I can't go to the bathroom.

I reread the first several chapters of Alissa's book and decided I was eating WAY too much fat. So I've been having orange/grapefruit juice for breakfast, a small apple at 10. Salad or veggies and a flax cracker or two for lunch, followed by salad for dinner and a piece of fruit or a couple/three halawi dates. I only allow myself a serving of oil once a day and up to one avocado a day also. I've cut out the nuts but still eating seeds. I drink about 1-1.5 gallons of water a day and walk (fast) on my treadmill for about 45 minutes to an hour a day. Last night I ran. Didn't know I could do that :D .

Do ya'll see any thing I'm leaving out? Am I over/under doing something? I don't understand the bloated feeling and the protruding lower gut along with the bathroom issues. HELP! I woulda thought my tummy would have started going down some instead of being inflated like an inner tube!!! :eek:

[misslinda]

i went thru that too. when i got off the raw wagon awhile back, my bm's and symptoms wehre alot more stubborn.

I'd do away with the juice and eat the fuit but the whole. try doing away with the juice and only drink water when thirsty.

[katrina]

I'd do away with the juice and eat the fuit but the whole. try doing away with the juice and only drink water when thirsty.
Misslinda, I'm just curious why you say to do away with the juice? (I was just trying it out to replace my breakfast smoothie. I got a juicer for Christmas. ;) ) Can you elaborate a little more?

Thanks!

[misslinda]

hey katrina,

my thinking is, when we are raw, our digestons improves etc and when we go off, our digestion becomes more sensitive and "inflammed" or irritated so to speak---those toxins that were happily leaving may have gotten stunted from going of "raw" foods and get stuck in lining,tissues etc. more than likely, increase in mucous forming as well.

the reason i mentioned eating fruit by the whole,is b/c fiber is needed to produce a healthy terrain for the small intestines where the good bacteria flourish. that fiber will also help rid, toxins, mucous and scrub the walls. I aslo noticed that when i came back to raw, I reversed my water intake--ate first then drink later instead of rising in the morning and drinking.

APPLES have a natural detergent one of the most colon friendly! Triphala is a wonderful product that helps correct the timing of the stomach/colon elimination--love this product.

Lemon water is helpful,banans and tangerines. It's amazing how senstivie the stomach is. Artichoke increase the bile in the liver--blood flow which is important for "movement" I'd try bouncing every morning and lite jogging to increase blood flow into the lymphs.

[chilove]

It looks to me like you should increase the fruit and decrease the overall fat.

Best of luck to you!

[katrina]

I was contemplating the fruit myself. Seems like that may be key right now.


Thanks ya'll for the input. I'm just gonna have to hang tight.:cool:

[Sunshine9]

I felt similar when I first started raw! I looked to all the things I was eating, and tried no fat, less fat, more fruit, etc for a few days trying to figure it out. I came to realize that it had little to do with what I was putting in at that point, and rather when I was eating. So, what time do you typically finish eating for the day? For me, cutting back on eating late completely solved the problem.

also
--careful not to drink water close to your meals... give it at least an hour after you eat to drink anything
--for your fruit apples and pears will probably help you the most
--try a light laxative tea (like senna leaf) one night which will probably relieve your discomfort
--an enema will also relieve in a big way
--consider fasting for a day on water or juices. if the pipes are clogged, this will give them some relief and time to work it out!

Mostly just keep up the wonderful work and trust that your body is doing what it needs to be doing. Fats are not the enemy :)

much love,
Sunshine

[katrina]

Thanks Sunshine for the encouragement. I don't drink for at least an hour after eating. I was wondering if anyone else did that also. I think it dilutes the stomach acid and makes it harder for our bodies to digest the food.

Seems like this summer when I was 100% all the time that I ate fruit in the morning and salad at lunch and feasted on the wonderful summertime fruits for supper...watermelon, peaches, grapes, apples, etc., and had no problem. So my fats and greens were consumed mid-day so they were likely well digested prior to my retiring for the day. I felt lighter and had more energy. So I'm going to try to duplicate that routine again and see what happens. I think I feel better when I eat more fruits. I laid off the heavy stuff yesterday and ate more fruit and feel some better today. And my tummy has gone done a little too.