At A Loss for Weight Loss

[cara4art]

In addition to what others have said here(exercise, calories in and out, etc.), one's age and reproductive status can have something to do with it too. There are many women who are approaching menopause, going through the transition, and post-menopause who find themselves not releasing weight despite a very good diet and fitness program, or worse yet, find themselves gaining MORE fat weight, even with increased solid exercise and a much better diet. The underlying reason in these types of cases is hormonal imbalance which negatively affects blood sugar use and cholesterol and for some people this is worse than for others due to individual body chemistry. When one's blood sugar use goes out of whack as in being insulin-resistant, you will not release weight unless you are way stricter than you want to be, ever, or you address the underlying hormonal imbalance. But definitely being on a well-constructed raw eating plan helps. People like Dr. Gabriel Cousens are doing some important work in terms of reversing diabetes with raw food diets. Reason I know this is because I recently found out that I was slightly insulin-resistant(and with elevated cholesterol), 11 years post-menopause, despite being of normal weight(but would like to get rid of more body fat to be truly healthily lean), having an excellent diet and been exercising consistently for 35 years. Prior to menopause I never had blood sugar or cholesterol issues. But I hadn't had any blood measurements for many years, so it might well be possible that my numbers might have been somewhat worse prior to me going pre-dominantly raw last February. Time will tell anyway. But I have gotten onto a simple Chinese herbal formula that addresses menopause, blood sugar issues and cholesterol in one fell swoop. In just 10 days, a couple of pounds fell off me just like that with no further change in diet, plus my pants loosened up some. I didn't really release ANY weight until after 3 months raw, through a detox illness, and then 3-4 pounds dropped off just like that. So I'm confident that I am on the right track here as far as what I have going on. But for every body it's different. Stay the raw course, and do take a look at how different foods affect you too. Some of us, especially older ones have to be a bit stricter than younger ones in just how much and what type of raw food to eat to help release unwanted weight. And of course there's no good fat loss program out there that doesn't include meaningful, challenging exercise. Too many nuts can be a culprit in halting weight loss for some people, while switching to avocadoes and coconut oil can be the trick to getting it going again, or some people do well with a lower-fatm higher-fruit approach. As they say over on another board that I frequent, YMMV.
Hope this helps - we're works in progress here!

[Vegan sista]

Oh and another eye opener for me was when this past summer I bought one of those bodybuggs as seen on the tv show the Biggest loser...after wearing it for three months I was able to see how many calories I used working out and moving around throughout the day..I was shocked to see that we really dont burn as many calories as we think we do...in order to burn the calories I wanted I basically had to be moving all day,lol...I was on a food plan then that wasnt raw...I will be 44 next week so that whole metabolism slowly thing is a factor...but I'm choosing not to embrace that..I have decided that I can and will change my body.

[lsadeseyens]

SM,
I too am going through the menopause thing, am 52. Started raw about 5 months ago. I was really good with my raw diet and lost about 12 pounds. then went to about 80-90% raw and I hit a brick wall. These last 3 weeks, am back to 100% raw and so far nothing has happened..... I am having some of the menopause symptoms and hope that being 100% raw will help, but I don't think that I am going to lose weight very easily. When I hit 40, it's like I had no metabolism left????!!!???? I wondered where in the ?? did it go? I am hoping that the longer I am on raw, the better it will be. I am also trying to get back into walking hills 45-60 minutes several days a week and then upping the exercise. I think that exercise is also the key.

[Nayeli_Raw]

I would up the exercise. Movement is the answer. Then again I am a personal trainer by profession so of course I would say that. Remember Muscle Burns Fat!!! You need to build some muscle (not become a body builder). I think that would help tremendously.

But anyway.. how much do you weigh now? I saw you are looking to lose 50 more pounds. But how tall are you? I mean are you even overweight? I just want to make sure you don't have unrealistic expectations. If you aren't overweight you aren't going to see dramatic weight loss because your body doesn't have the extra weight to loss. I am just curious.

[Raw Angel Mom]

thanks raw angel mom- yes things did shift- I dropped a jean size- which for me is huge. I think my expectations got so pumped up to start with. A friend went raw and lost 20 lbs in 2 months. As I said above- I love the other benefits- my skin, hair and nails, energy and outlook. I;m just frustrated and scared that maybe I AM doing something wrong. But you all are right- I need to just trust the process...
thanks a lot for the supportive words. you are an angel mom indeed :)

Oh don't you worry. Something in me tells me that you are a gorgeous woman no matter what you think about your body. You are cute now and not until but now. Just relax and let your body do its job. Now that you are doing some wonderful choice for your body, the rest will take place. The fun thing, is that the result are now. May i suggest to hide that scale for a little while. Remember, your body needs to do the important stuff to keep you young, healthy and full of energy first. On my second round i lost my weight way too fast and i look like i was beat up and older. Thank to goodness, everything got back to normal. Just enjoy the everyday miracle from your body. You will just be amazed all the time. Me i had a c-section and the scar desapeared, i barely have a little line almost invisible. So amazing. I had a cyst and was cut at the same place years ago in my twenties and i had that massive scar and now, i got cut again for that c-section and the scar is almost invisible. You are on the right path and just keep the faith. Be grateful now and don't worry about the weight, this is so much fun to watch our body transforming month after month. Take picture and save it.