Nutrition and growing while raw?

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum, and I am having some real difficulties finding information about this on the web.

I'm 14 years old and while I've been vegan for 2 years, I have only been raw for a little more than a month now. I feel great and I have not had any trouble as far as being tempted by cooked food. BUT, I have lost 10 pounds- which I did NOT need to lose- and about 7 of those pounds I lost within the first week.

My parents were obviously VERY concerned and I went to talk to a dietitian last week, who seemed interested and on the whole very impressed with my raw diet. She did, however, tell me I was seriously lacking in protein(no surprise) and that I should have 2 complete servings of protein at every meal because I am a ballet dancer and I need to maintain my muscle. While it has been a struggle getting this protein(almost every meal I eat includes either "soytein" or sprouted tofu) I do feel stronger.

But now the problem is that, while I am getting more calories from this protein, I am losing even more fat and I look like I'm 10. I have always been pretty physically mature and was an early bloomer but I feel like I've lost almost all of my, er, "feminine" assests. Also, while my period was right on time last month, it's late this month- which worries me because my periods are usually very close together.

Are my hormones out of balance due to a nutritional problem? I do take supplements including B12, calcium, vitamin D, etc.

Are you getting enough calories.

pumpkin seeds are high in protein and a fresh crop is coming in

can make pumpkin milk out of

can sprinkle on salads

can grind into powder to add to smoothies

sesame seeds also are used to make a milk

plus taste great heavily sprinkled on salads

walnuts put weight on me , i eat with fruit or
coarse chop for my trail mixes which also include
sun flower seeds

imo the more dark greens in diet the better . maybe
even huge amounts juiced , like say a 3 gallon bag
per day juiced into a potent concentrated drink .
make sure to cover greens in water then strain
to remove any pesticides / fertilizer / etc

its my opinion the key to raw vegan diet is in the
dark greens and seeds , the exact mix i dont know .
theres no one to me that has it perfected yet so
we must experiment and study the seeds and greens .
BUT IVE NO COLLEGE EDUCATION AND AM JUST A
SELF READ / TAUGHT VEGAN OF 16 YEARS SO AM
NOT AN EXPERT

seeds / greens in both mature and sprouted forms

* now here in 50's my friends and i observing our kids
always comment how smart we all thought we were back
in our teens when in reality we were a bunch of idiots :eek::D
point is your parents are looking out for you with all their might
and have alot more experience at life on earth than you so
take their opinions as seriously as you take your own . keep
showing them everything you read and like about raw and get
their opinions on each topic , their there for you to utilize
so take full advantage of it it'll help

* now here in 50's my friends and i observing our kids
always comment how smart we all thought we were back
in our teens when in reality we were a bunch of idiots
point is your parents are looking out for you with all their might
and have alot more experience at life on earth than you so
take their opinions as seriously as you take your own . keep
showing them everything you read and like about raw and get
their opinions on each topic , their there for you to utilize
so take full advantage of it it'll help
__________________

That is probably the best advise given to a teenager. I agree take all your research to your parents and get their take on it because they are only looking out for your best interest.

Good luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JulianneMarie

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum, and I am having some real difficulties finding information about this on the web.

I'm 14 years old and while I've been vegan for 2 years, I have only been raw for a little more than a month now. I feel great and I have not had any trouble as far as being tempted by cooked food. BUT, I have lost 10 pounds- which I did NOT need to lose- and about 7 of those pounds I lost within the first week.

My parents were obviously VERY concerned and I went to talk to a dietitian last week, who seemed interested and on the whole very impressed with my raw diet. She did, however, tell me I was seriously lacking in protein(no surprise) and that I should have 2 complete servings of protein at every meal because I am a ballet dancer and I need to maintain my muscle. While it has been a struggle getting this protein(almost every meal I eat includes either "soytein" or sprouted tofu) I do feel stronger.

But now the problem is that, while I am getting more calories from this protein, I am losing even more fat and I look like I'm 10. I have always been pretty physically mature and was an early bloomer but I feel like I've lost almost all of my, er, "feminine" assests. Also, while my period was right on time last month, it's late this month- which worries me because my periods are usually very close together.

Are my hormones out of balance due to a nutritional problem? I do take supplements including B12, calcium, vitamin D, etc.

---

There two issues I see here. Number one if you compare yourself to the "average" person then you're going to be different because the average person is diseased and unhealthy. Therefore what some people decide to call "manly" or "feminine" may actually be a toxic condition and you're going to have to choose either health or the media's image. Two examples I can think if are
Men- size. Muscles, meat, size. Most men bodybuild because they believe they should look a certain way. Big muscles are supposed to be "manly". In reality what most of these guys call "muscle" is actually just undigested proetins and waste diluted with water and stuffed in the cells. This is what they call "mass" building.
women- huge breasts, butts and thighs. This is actually a really sad phenomenon. Because of the estrogenic properties of foods and the slew of toxins most girls end up physically "maturing" WAY too early. Similar to the cattle in feedlots, they grow big, their utters (breasts) become swollen, and they're set up to have lots of offspring, then they die early. I know thats not a pleasant image but it's sadly often the case.

So you may have to redefine what "healthy" is to you. Is it how you look on the outside or is it how you FEEL in the inside?

Many people lose weight rather quick when switching to raw foods. It's water weight, dont worry. The body retains water to neutralize and dilute toxins. When you go raw or fast you merely let go of it. You don't have any need for it. As for losing fat. Let me share with you an experiment it did...

I'm rather slim (5'9 130lbs). So one day I was sick of it so I decided to drink 1 gallon of raw milk, eat 1/4 of butter and some raw cream DAILY. The milk alone was 3200 calories over 300 grams of fat. With the butter and cream I was into the 4000s and around 500 grams of fat. Guess how much weight I gained? -5lbs. After TWO WEEKS on this I lost 5lbs. I got CUT (I have abs now :D ). So now I wonder what causes weight gain? ;) You will lose fat, you will lose water, you will lose toxins and you will become what people call "slim". Remember you're being compared to the average person who is obese, so naturally they're going to think you're abnormal.

Usually what happens is the body will break down everything, eliminate all toxicity, then rebuild. If you want to put on healthy weight then it's likely you're going to have to wait until your clean on the inside, especially in the colon. One of the main issue slim people like me have is the inability to absorb nutrition. Naturally when one cleans themself out they will be able to better assimilate what they ingest and will rebuild themselves over time. And when they put on weight it wont be fat, water, undigested animal proteins or anything, it'll be healthy tissue.

Lastly...<sigh> this wont be taken well, BUT i must say it. Most detox symptoms are blamed on deficiencies, especially that of protein. There is alot of stuff that goes on when you switch to raw foods and especially when you "do it right". Remember you're switching into healing mode, you're body is going to be rearranging a few things and getting rid of alot of things, so stuff is going to change. You have to trust your divine vessel, it knows what it's doing. There will be times where you feel weak. Toxins will be released into your system, they will make you weak, and cause symptoms, it's a part of the process. You don't need all the stuff you're told you need. Ancient civilizations like the Hunzas and Mayans don't know what nutrition is, they simply ate what they had and people grew up healthy. I'll tell you right now, worry, stress, doubt, these will all do more harm than any diet will. Nature is not complicated, it's we that make everything complicated. Yogis in India live off simple meals of grains and fruits. They don't count amino acids or protein or fat and carbs. Just trust your body. Eat raw, eat natural and everything will take care of itself.

Hope everything works out well

-Psyche

do a google search on chlorella rna/dna growth factor for young people, just what you need :) it is also 65% protein through natural amino acids.

Try raw protein powders, like Sunwarrior and the others! I absolutely LOVE my sunwarrior. It also contains a few vital nutrients like calcium and such. Also try LOTS of different nuts, dates, and nutritional yeast. I find these to be pretty good nutritional powerhouses. Try some raw chocolate (which I think is delicious!) like Lulu's, L.O.V.E., or other such brands.
Some of these can be expensive, so plan accordingly and (possibly) buy in bulk to save time and money.
Hope this helps!