Nursing and GAINING weight

[faith4u]

I am getting so frutstrated with this way of eating. I see so many benefits but weight loss is not one of them. I have always maintained my weight easily on a very low fat vegan diet for the last 9 years. Now since going raw I am gaining.

And I am nursing a 5 week old baby at the same time. By now I am at my pre-pregnancy weight on my cooked diet. Is it because I went from a low fat diet to a higher fat? I ate a lot of raw food while being a cooked vegan too. I probably ate close to 75% all the time.

I am about ready to go back. Unfortunately I am just finishing my first major detox since going 100% raw. (I went raw at the beginning of my third trimester so I am over 4 months raw now)

I have tried today to cut out all avocados, nuts, seeds, etc... but I feel so hungry and have very little energy.

I am exercising daily if possible too.

So, am I the only one who gains on this diet?

I almost feel like I have lost muscle mass and am now a higher body fat %. I feel squishier than normal now.

I just don't know what else to do. I don't think I can keep up my milk supply while eating so low fat on a raw diet but I just can't seem to eat the plant fats without gaining.

I usually eat:

Carrot juice with spinach, celery, parlsey, kale or whatever else I have
Buckwheat porridge with banana and pear and flax seed for breakfast
Lunch is a huge salad with veggies, bragg's, lemon juice, and I was putting a half of an avocado.

I was eating a couple of apples afterwards but stopped to see if it was because of eating fruit and veggies together. (it didn't change anything)

If I didn't have apples at lunch I would have them for a snack later or a couple of bananas.

Dinner was the same salad as at lunch followed by either a few bananas or smoothie or sometimes the buckwheat porridge.

So any ideas as to what is going on with me?

Thanks!

[greeninlosangeles]

I never heard about anyone gaining weight on raw diet. I know that it is hard to loose weight after birth while nursing, because your body wants to make sure you have enough reserves to produce milk for the baby. Just read www.shazzie.com her journals after she had a baby and you will see. How much weight did you gain after birth?

[Rawkinlocs]

Faith4U,

How long have you been raw?

You mentioned seeing other benefits of eating raw except for weight loss. Did you have those other benefits when eating a low fat vegan diet?

The weight you have gained, how far out of your body's ideal weight RANGE is it...3-5 lbs. or more? Do you consider this weight gain to make you considered obese or is it just that YOU have an ideal of what YOU want your weight to be?

See, the way I see it is this...our body's have an ideal weight and sometimes that ideal weight isn't what OUR ideal weight is in our own minds. I would never have thought my ideal weight would be below 130, but it is. I've always been 130 and upwards. When I went raw, it went down and the further down it went, the more scared I became because it wasn't what MY ideal was. It then crept back up about 5lbs. and it's remained pretty stable from then on. I now have a set range that my weight will fluctuate between depending on circumstances (that time of month, what I've been eating or not eating, etc.).

Weight will fluctuate ESPECIALLY if you are still fairly new to eating raw. Also, I'm not sure how old your nursing baby is, but hormones may have a role in this.

I advocate sticking with raw, but you have to do what you have to do. IF you feel as good as or feel better eating a low fat vegan diet with some raw incorporated, then do you. But if you feel BETTER eating raw and your ONLY issue is gaining a few pounds or so, I'd really reconsider going back and just stick with it. I've seen all sizes on raw...very, VERY thin to heavier.

Let me ask you some rhetorical questions for you to only answer within yourself...

1. Why did you decide to go raw in the first place?

2. Do you believe in what is said about cooked foods being void of nutrients and that they create a toxic situation in the body due to cooking changing the molecular structure of the food (regardless to whether it's SAD or "healthy cooked vegan")?

3. Again, do the benefits you have received from eating raw foods outweigh the fact that you've gained weight and do you receive the same benefits from cooked vegan foods as you do from raw vegan foods?

You need not answer those here unless you want to...it's just for you to ponder on as you make your decision.

You will decide what is right for you, so whatever decision you make, trust it is right for the time.

[eachpeachpearplum]

I must admit that while breastfeeding my body tends to hold onto weight. It could be the same in your case and when you are done the weight will come off.

Also, dont expect the moon - you have just had a baby and your body will be adjusting for sometime! I know it can be frustrating but just enjoy this time and know your eating the best possible way for you and your baby. :p

[faith4u]

Thanks for the responses.

The benefits I have seen since going raw are great.

The reason I am stuggling with my weight and weight gain is because I am weighing about 18 pounds more than what is normal for me for many, many years.

To answer some of your questions, I have been 100% raw for 4 weeks now. Before those four weeks I was 100% raw for 3 1/2 months while eating one cooked meal per week.

The funny thing is during my last three months of my pregnancy while I was eating one cooked meal per week I was losing weight. I didn't start gaining until I went 100%.

I also have been detoxing pretty badly for the last 3 weeks with chest congestion, coughing and I did have some skin rashes and itching, etc... I was wondering if that was part of the problem too.

I decided to go raw because I have always been drawn to it. I have always wanted to try it out. But on some hands I actually feel like I ate better on a cooked vegan diet. I say this because I ate low fat and high raw at the same time. If I follow what I want now I will tend to eat tons of greens, fruits and the raw treats that are high in dates/nuts. That is way more sugary type of food than I ever ate on a cooked vegan diet.

I am not sure what I believe about the belief that cooked food is void of nutrients and toxic. Yes, I believe we were meant to eat raw foods the way the Creator made them. I still struggle with some of the raw food theories about the enzymes etc.. It makes sense but there seems to be so much contradicting information in medical journals and studies out there. I would like to see more of the information that proves this rather than just reading it in a raw book, know what I mean?

As far as the benefits outweighing the gained weight. To be honest, I am not sure. The problem I have is that when I ate a cooked vegan diet that was low in fat it freed me from the bondage from food. I struggled with anorexia for a couple of years. I finally broke those chains and got healthy. Now I feel out of control and fearful about food again because of the weight gain. It has made a lot of my old fears resurface. Does that make sense? It was so easy to maintain my weight on my low fat vegan diet and I naturally ate high raw.

I still want to make this work and don't want to give up yet. I know that it is a matter of me finding what works best for me. That is hard for me. I am black and white. I like to know the rules and follow them not pave my own way.

I keep wondering if things will change after I finish detoxing. If I ever do, it has been 3 weeks already. :confused:

My body has never held onto the weight during nursing. I even looked back on my journals from my last baby 2 years ago. I was back to my prepregnancy weight by now and I was hardly exercising at all. Here I am exercising regularly and my weight has increased.

I also wonder if it is from years of living on such a low fat diet that my body is going to go up before it comes down. I still have that mindset that fat is bad and makes you bad. I am trying to work on changing those beliefs that I have instilled in myself for so long.


Thanks again for your responses. I truly do appreciate what you have all shared.

[sassafrass]

I've been thinking about your situation a lot and I suggest you get your thyroid checked (simple blood test ordered by a doctor). With my first child, my thyroid went into hyper mode (hyperthyroid results in weight loss, increased energy--possibly manic--while hypothyroid is the opposite: weight gain--no matter what you eat--fatigue, possible depression). The doc said it would eventually flip to the other extreme and then iron itself out. You can take meds for it, but you'll have to stop breastfeeding--something I wasn't willing to do. Let me know if you have questions. Thyroids going wacky after childbirth is very common, but it's not often tested for, so, speak up.
Also, consider switching your juice to something green--don't carrots have a lot of sugar in them? BTW, I'm currently BF-ing my 10-mo-old. Anyway, hope that helps!

[faith4u]

Actually, I have been hypothyroid for many years and am taking medication for it.

[greeninlosangeles]

That is so weird! I never heard before about gaining weight on raw! Are you sure everything you eat is raw? Dried fruit, nuts, seeds and oils and nut butters sometimes can be advertised as raw, when they are not.
I noticed, that if I binge on raw foods(I still do it, if the day did not go good sometimes), I do not gain, but I also stop loosing more. I am nursing, but my nursling is 2 and half years old.

[oceanluv]

Sorry you are having problems. Your baby is just 5 weeks old, I am sure that your hormones are still trying to get in balance after childbirth, and it also takes a while to establish your routine with nursing, etc. Especially if this is your first baby. Like the others said, when you are nursing, your body wants to make sure you have enough reserve to feed your baby, in case you get ill, or there is a famine, etc. Sounds weird, maybe, but true. Just like when your milk first comes in you have enough for 2 babies, until it knows how much your baby needs. Hope this helps, don't get discouraged, you are on the right path. :)

[faith4u]

Yep, everything I am eating is raw. I have tried going low fat (can only do that for several days) and I have tried eating small amounts of fat. Nothing seems to change it except I gain quicker when eating the fats. Is this because I ate a very low fat vegan diet for so many years prior to going raw?

I am exercising too. At least 5 days per week. I get up after the morning feeding anywhere between 5 and 6:00 in the morning. Otherwise I can't fit it in with my children.

The funny thing is that with my last child I couldn't workout much after the birth because I needed to have surgery to have a plate removed out of my leg. It was causing tons of pain and I had a hard time carrying the baby around. Here I wasn't working out, was eating tons of cooked, low fat vegan food and was easily maintaining my prepregnancy weight.

This is so frustrating!!