Losing muscle and strength

[daylene]

I'm no expert, but I did hear someone say that when you trasfer to a raw food diet you will lose the muscle you built eating SAD. Then you have to rebuild lean plant-protein muscle tissue which can last for the rest of your life. Do you think that might be part of what's happening to you? Because if so, it's no cause for alarm.

Of course i'm not addressing your bloating and caloric issues here, just the muscle mass question.

peace,
daylene

[juliebove]

Wow - you guys are great! Thanks for all the wonderful responses!

For those asking about working out - yes, 3-5 times per week I am doing strength training. This has been decreasing, though, as I feel more and more tired and less able to lift. I will try to push myself to lift more, but it really wipes me out and I don't recover from the fatigue. Symptoms of overtraining without the overtraining. I think I am not taking in enough calories, but I am having difficulty getting more in without forcing myself.

As for the bloating, it isn't really a "bloat", but more of a full stomach. I should have clarified. I do, however, think there is something going on with my digestion as to how food seems to not move through me as fast as I think it should.

This could be gastroparesis, a type of nerve damage that affects the stomach. Do you perchance have diabetes? It is more common in diabetics, but anyone can get it.

[veganman]

When you say bloating, do you mean constipated bloated or gaseous bloated?

Hi Linda1970 -

it varies, but usually more of a full stomach - food not going anywhere - constipated (bowel movements @ 1/day) type of bloat.

Solarliving - I think I have a great deal of variety, but I will keep going for more.

ellenalesa - I do a green smoothie...I could add the hemp. Did you have a different type of smoothie in mind?

Graciebeliever and Daylene - good thoughts. Thank you.

Juliebove - I have never heard of that. Do you know anything else about it?

[misslinda]

Hmmmm, suggestions Dude

since stomach wakes up about 9 am after liver cleansing all nite, I'd reverse the strawberries.


Do green smoothie in the morning...besides it's alkalizing,soft on the digestive system,helps build HCL and liver loves greens!

Do a high grade probiotic before breakfast 1 hours before eating. if you want to supplement

Keep low on fiber for the first week like if you eat an apple shave some of the fiber off and slowly add it back in that is only my personal opinion.

rough roughage need something like avacado that has cellulase to breakdown the fibers. other wise fermented foods do too.

stay hydrated but not overly watered!

good cardio nothing that over does you. deep breathing exercise are benefical to stomach. massaging the tailbone area is my latest craze---does wonders fo rthe bowels.

............what else hmmmmmmm.

[fiddler]

Veganman,

Yep, for someone who works out alot 1500 - 1800 calories is WAY LOW!
Doug Graham teaches that sweet fruit is a great source for calories. So, load up on the bananas, oranges, watermelon, yadda yadda yadda...

I've also read that muscle doesn't start being converted for fuel until nearly all the fat has been used first [ Graham says this doesn't happen until you get to below 2% bodyfat ]. Check out his articles and online forum.

There's plenty of links here too that discuss bodybuilding with several web links to guys who have succeeded in building muscle on a RAW diet. You should be able to find these links if you search this forum.

Cheers,
Fiddler

[misslinda]

I don't want to hinder what anyone is saying but do to his previous not too long history with severe anorexia, his body is malnourished and underworking. I think he ought to refrain from bodybuilding,over execising or the like. But again, only my personal opinion. ;)

[veganman]

I don't want to hinder what anyone is saying but do to his previous not too long history with severe anorexia, his body is malnourished and underworking. I think he ought to refrain from bodybuilding,over execising or the like. But again, only my personal opinion. ;)

MissLinda - thanks for looking out for me! However,. my severe anorexia was about 20 years ago, so some exercise now is great, if I could only eat and ABSORB and DIGEST enough calories. Eating is only half the battle.

After hearing everyone's thoughts on this post and the other's I have posted, I really think focusing on getting my digestion in better order is my next course of action. I don't think raw is causing any problems, except that I can't cram in as much calories as when on cooked because of the fiber. My theory right now is that something happened on my fast last year that created some problem in my digestion and absorption. I have a few leads for possible doctors to help. Hopefully one will work out.

[fiddler]

Misslinda,

I didn't see where Veganman was anorexic in this post, sorry I missed that.

Of course, I'm certainly not qualified to offer medical, nutritional or fitness training advice and don't claim to. I will be more aware of this point for any of my future posts.

Best wishes to you Veganman on your journey. There are professionals out there that do consulting. I've heard that Doug Graham is well-respected and has counseled many top athletes as well as others. So, he may be a good contact for you.

As for achieving my goals, I like to find someone that has already made the journey I'm seeking. This way, I can follow in their steps and use him/her as a role model. That is, find someone who has been successful and apply the same strategies.

Best regards,
Fiddler

[misslinda]

Thank you for correcting me Veganman,

Can I ask, during POST anorexia, did you ever fully recover physically/digestively from your disorder? Myself post anorexia I never recovered phsycially, I mean yes, I gained some wieght but digestively,I didn't realize how much I had damaged.

How's work by the way? :)

[Leslie_L]

Have you tried any of the raw protein powders. I find they help me. There are a few out there. They usually contain Hemp. There is one called Thor's Raw Protien Powder. My Health food store has it but you can get it online at www.rawfood.com. I add them to my green smoothies in the morning.

HTH,

Leslie

[misslinda]

Misslinda,

I didn't see where Veganman was anorexic in this post, sorry I missed that.

Of course, I'm certainly not qualified to offer medical, nutritional or fitness training advice and don't claim to. I will be more aware of this point for any of my future posts.

No worries Fiddler,you didn't lose any brownie points tonite!~ I just get this panic mode b/c of my prior history with the same condition. LIkewise I am not a professional either here but offer peer suggestions and wish you the best too!

[veganman]

Misslinda,

I didn't see where Veganman was anorexic in this post, sorry I missed that.

Of course, I'm certainly not qualified to offer medical, nutritional or fitness training advice and don't claim to. I will be more aware of this point for any of my future posts.

Best wishes to you Veganman on your journey. There are professionals out there that do consulting. I've heard that Doug Graham is well-respected and has counseled many top athletes as well as others. So, he may be a good contact for you.

As for achieving my goals, I like to find someone that has already made the journey I'm seeking. This way, I can follow in their steps and use him/her as a role model. That is, find someone who has been successful and apply the same strategies.

Best regards,
Fiddler

Fiddler - you have nothing to apologize for. I did not mention here - MissLinda is referring to another post. You shared some great ideas that I will look into.

[veganman]

Thank you for correcting me Veganman,

Can I ask, during POST anorexia, did you ever fully recover physically/digestively from your disorder? Myself post anorexia I never recovered phsycially, I mean yes, I gained some wieght but digestively,I didn't realize how much I had damaged.

How's work by the way? :)

I believe I did recover physically. I had no real problems until about a year ago. However, I was doing a non-fat strict vegan (grains, fruit,veggies mostly, added some beans around 1997).

[Judy]

I'm sorry too if I offended you Veganman, I didn't know you were anorexic either and already recovered, just had a feeling because you were losing muscle and the diet didn't seem sufficient, this is usually not a good thing.

Here are some suggestions that may be of help for the bloating and for gaining some weight:
- tummy massage (really) or certain yoga asanas, breathing excercises
- eating slowly, with attention and chewing thoroughly (can make a major difference)
- try skipping the nuts for a while and see how that works, you can replace them with a little olive oil, avodo or seeds (nuts can be really heavy on digestion, almonds soaked and without skin could be a better digestible option)
- more fat doesn't necessarily mean you will gain weight, you may have to find a good ratio of the three different groups (fruits, vegetables, fat) that perhaps will work better for you
- smoothies are great: blend your fruit (or vegetables, you can make soups), not only will you get more in that way, it is easier for your digestion also (not to mention how delicious smoothies can be). the blending breaks down a lot of fibers, which makes it easier for your body. you can also add a bit of ground (golden) flax seed, hemp seed or olive oil while your at it.
- perhaps juicing greens will help, is much easier for digestion, and again, you will get more nutricion that way without having to cram in more food
- probiotics as miss linda mentioned, i also read in a book by sergei boutenko that a spoon of raw apple vinegar will aid in digestion, especially when you have problems with the fibers (you can put it on your dressing). another thing may be sauerkraut
- have you thought of superfoods? it is concentrated stuff, you don't need much of it and it will give your body something extra. wheat grass juice in the morning seems to be easily absorbed within 20 minutes by your body and will do it very good, you may want to do more research on that (i haven't tried it myself yet, but i've heard so many good things about it!). also: honey, beepollen (that's the powder from flowers and in my opinion just one Ts is unbelievably nutricious, it helped me enormously when i transitioned to a raw diet and i didn't have to use it for long), but you're vegan so perhaps: spirulina in powder form (add to your smoothies) or tablet form (marcus rohrer has a good quality and very affordable one), chia seed and there are other things as well, like goji berries etc, but I haven't tried those myself so perhaps someone else can chime in here. superfoods can be a good way to give your body something extra without having to eat a lot of extra food.
- be careful with the training at this moment. you may want to do less or even stop for the time being, maybe take some short walks or something gentle, until you're body and esp. muscles have become stronger. if you keep training, you may even lose more muscle at this point, and since you say it is very tiring, it isn't the best thing you can do now, it can be damaging. rest a lot and take good care, you can always pick it up when you are gaining more energy and more weight.

hope this helps!

[PATH301]

misslinda,
please explain this new procedure:

good cardio nothing that over does you. deep breathing exercise are benefical to stomach. massaging the tailbone area is my latest craze---does wonders fo rthe bowels.

My cardio's have reduced as well - I've also lost muscle size, but I'm working on that as well. But what is the tail bone business?