Is anyone thriving without reducing fat?

[VeryBerry]

My boobs got very sour while eating soy too, I could not figure out why for about a year. I am glad to hear that not everyone thinks that low fat diet is the answer. I think I am a fast metaboliser I alway ate lots of fatty foods before raw and stayed thin. I think that fasting & clensing too much can mess up your metabolism & make you gain weigh.

My main health issue right now is constipation, any advise there.

[Shmoopie]

Are you 100% right now? If not, a colon cleanse (like drnatura). If so, I don't know. Is it an ongoing thing? I know for short term, they say prunes, berries, and even bananas (which is weird because they can also be used as a binder when having diarrhea). For the long term? No idea.

[Shmoopie]

Also, just read this post by missrawdiva. Try flax crackers?

http://rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22231
(hers is the original post)

[shelah]

veryberry,
for me, the answer to my constipation issue was probiotics. even though i ate raw vegan and very little dehydrated food, drank tons of water between meals, included ground flaxseeds and cultured veggies in my daily diet and took digestive enzymes, i had to have an exact routine in place in order to have one daily bm.
with probiotic supplements, i tried them all. only one was effective: natren.
since taking the three strains together, i still follow the same diet, but i have absolutely no problems. if i can be of further assistance, please e-mail me :)
many blessings,
shelah

[VeryBerry]

Shmoopie

I am 100% 1 month, high raw 2 years. Don't plan on going back & have absolutely no desire to eat anything cooked. I do eat bananas & apples, i know they are supposed to be binding, but they are some of the few fruits I can tolerate. I can't eat anything high in acid.

[VeryBerry]

A lot of the standard remedies, flax, prunes ect don't work for me. Drinking lots of water helps a little, but not enough. I tried diffrent probiotics & fibre with limited results, taking magnesium helps, but that is not very healthy and habbit forming.

Shelah, thanks for recommending a probiotic. I will e-mail you in a few minutes.

[livenraw]

I have been around 85% raw for the past year and have NEVER reduced my fat intake. I just do better with higher fat. Too much fruit causes me to gain weight. (I'm the only one in my family without high blood sugar) And I still got good results - better skin, feeling energized, deeper sleep. Oh yeah. And I lost those last 12 stubborn lbs as a side benefit.

Before that, I was a heavy meat eater for some reason even though I was never fond of meat that much. Then the dh and I gave up dairy but continued to eat meat. And now we've given up both.

My typical day is:

Breakfast - 2 bananas or some juicy fruit like mangos

Lunch - HUGE salad consisting of cabbage, spinach, celery, cucumbers, green peppers, carrots, jicama and avocados with 2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin
First Cold Pressed Olive Oil

Dinner - another smaller salad with 2- 4 oz of raw nuts and a baked sweet potato and maybe one more piece of juicy fruit afterwards. Or sometimes I might cook up some organic black beans and have them with my salad.

My advice would be to be consistent with whatever you decide to do. It might take more than one day to see results. It took me about 2 weeks. So just be consistent. Consistency is the key.

[Free Energy]

Hi VeryBerry,

I went 100% raw almost one year ago and the first several months I ate a lot of fats. Those were the only filling foods for me as I have a BIG appetite.

Before raw I consumed a lot of soy products also, and I was very irritable 3 weeks out of the month. I felt very exhausted in the afternoon and got frequent migraines. My pms symptoms were so severe I had to take the day off from work the first day of my P. I lost about 5-8lbs the first two weeks I went raw and then gained it back but am at a comfortable weight now. I felt I was too skinny and I don't worry about my weight. I eat sooo much more food now and I stay at a comfortable weight. If I eat too many nut and date combinations everyday, that's when I feel heavy and my clothes don't fit too well.

A typical day for me now is a hug smoothie in the morning with kale, spinach, or radish leaves with one packet of NuPlus and 1 pack Quinary (both Sunrider foods,) soaked chia seeds, hemp oil, dates and an apple.
Seafood Nori wrap with nuts, lemon juice, greens, and guacamole or marinara over angel hair zucchini pasta and raw veggies.

[Sunshine9]

Hey VeryBerry,

I don't follow a low fat diet, and I'm feeling pretty good ! However, I had digestive issues before raw, and I wouldn't say they are 100% gone so I'm still unclear as to the right amount of fat for me. I do know though that combining fat = disaster in many cases. I also think that a generally low-fat diet is healthy, but I don't want to push too hard or too fast to get there. I know I will when I'm ready and I'm focusing more now and just getting into balance, and living a joyful life. I know when I go too fast too many emotions are triggered and I feel defeated.

Anyway, in terms of constipation. I had a problem with this for a few months after I had already been 100% for quite a while. I was baffled, and figured I was eating too much fat. I tried lowering fat and while it helped, it didn't solve it. I started to juice everyday, about 20oz of all-green juice and suddenly- I wasn't constipated anymore! I think for me, it was acid/alkaline balance. And I was eating a huge salad plus green smoothies before that, but for me it was the juice that made everything work better. Didn't change my fat content. Probiotics and healthy ferments are really important too. Also eating late at night was constipating for me when I first went raw.

If you need any further support, feel free to email me
Sunshine :)

[VeryBerry]

Sunshine,

What are the ingredients of your green juice?
Do you drink it forts thing in the morning or just anytime?

[Sunshine9]

I use.... 1/2 bunch parsley, 1/2 bunch of celery (to make 12oz), 1/2 bunch dinosauer kale, 1 cucumber with skin, few big leaves of chard, few big leaves of collards, 1/2 lemon

that makes about 20oz. Sometimes I drink less, sometimes a whole liter.

I like it late afternoon, so my stomach isn't full and it's before dinner
anytime is good though :)

[VeryBerry]

I will try green juice too.
More veggies & less nuts is probably the key, even if you diet is not low fat.
Do you take probiotics, what brand?