Can't seem to lose weight

[Rosie]

Hi I need some help please. I have been trying to be raw most of the time but can't seem to make the transition I don't know why. I think I am raw about 50% of the time but don't seem to be losing any weight. I feel like I have though. I have diabetes and am worried about eating too much fruit which does shoot my sugar up. Can any give me some good advice. Also is there a lot of fats in nuts and avocadoes which seem to be the mainstay of my diet.

Thanks and keep smiling.:)

[cara4art]

A few things - it seems that you are having trouble mentally getting on board with committing yourself to raw, even a higher percentage. Also, your non-raw foods could be sabotaging your efforts. When you say you "think" you're 50% raw, it doesn't sound like you have a handle yet on WHAT you're eating, and how much. At least that's what I'm hearing here. Try keeping a food journal for the next couple of weeks - every single bite or sip of anything you take in. You'll be surprised at what this exercise in accountability will do.
A further note about some of the sabotaging foods, our age(I'm in early 60s)refined carbs of any sort are not a great idea(these are absent in the raw way of eating), and often, even whole-grain carbs can be problematic on account of the change in digestion that occurs with menopause. This goes double for diabetics. Actually, the mainstream advice for diabetics to eat whole grains a lot is off-base - there are many who go raw and eat fruit and it's fine, as long as it's paired with greens or seeds/nuts or raw protein powder like hemp. Others have to follow a very strict no-fruit diet for several months at least just to get things on an even keel. You might want to check out the DVD "Raw for 30 Days", and Dr. Gabriel Cousens' work with diabetics.
Also, you need to be exercising meaningfully and smart. As in solid weight-training(or a very committed Ashtanga yoga practice), and hard cardio exercise that includes interval training. With this combo, along with a tight diet, the fat should come off in due time. Sufficient exercise of the right kinds will help in blood sugar control, in type 2 diabetes.
If you are on insulin now, that can make it difficult to lose weight too. In fact, many people GAIN weight on insulin, thereby making the whole blood sugar control even more difficult. This is why it's good to investigate other ways of controlling blood sugar, and ONLY have the insulin as a last resort. In more and more cases(unless one is just plain unlucky and/o resistant to dietary and lifestyle changes)a major diet change(like going seriously raw)and a solid fitness program really do help. There are many people who have turned around major health stuff on raw.
A final thought - out there there is a lot of anti-fruit paranoia in the anti-carb zealots who say sugar is sugar, no matter what the source. As mentioned, every body is different, but I'd be willing to bet that one is far better eating fruit than some processed junk that someone says is "good for diabetics". Again, how much fruit depends on your particular biology, and how it is paired. Alyssa does go into this in her book too.
Hope this helps!

[CathyA.]

This may sound silly, but it works for me. Put it out into the universe. I will reduce my weight buy x amount of lbs by this date. Say it out loud and mean it. You have to have faith that the process will work or you will just retain what you are trying to get rid of.

Just my 2 cents.

Have fun on your journey. Delight in the process.

[Aleesha Sattva]

i highly recommend you gift yourself the time to listen to this.

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=53430

[FreedomSeeker]

One thing that helps me a good deal is blogging about my day on this site. I don't worry about whether anyone reads it or not, I just imagine someone might and it might help them in their efforts. It is like journaling with mental accountability. I got the idea from Alissa's book--the section in there where there's a long journal of a raw journey is something I turn to frequently.

Whether my posts help anyone else, they help me not feel invisible in my efforts. I blogged in the fall, and it was when I slacked off with that that I started slipping back into cooked foods somewhat. I started again a week and a half ago. Posting what you eat and what exercise you get each day may help. I blog either when I am feeling good about raw, or when I am feeling challenged with it, or when I just want to touch base with what I am trying to do for my health.

Just a thought! My best to you. :)

[PammieTaj]

Dr Joel Fuhrman's program is a mostly raw one and I know he recommends that diabetics eat some fat with each meal to slow down the rate at which sugar might be processed by the body. So a diabetic would eat some avocado or nuts with their fruit or salad or whatever. He also promotes the consumption of beans (about a cup a day) which isn't raw at all, but some say help diabetics maintain steady blood sugar.

I would worry less about the weight than doing what you know to be best for your health - Eat raw, get some exercise and get good rest. I think we have to let our bodies have their own wisdom in the time it takes to heal, release weight etc. In other words - it wasn't overnight that we get in a state of illness, and it's probably not overnight that we'll get to a state of wellness.

[mrshammer]

I hear you - I have been eating raw for breakfast/lunch since March 1 and have lost about 6 pounds. Thought it would be much quicker but I am happy with the progress. Try a diet journal.

[christinajade]

One important thing to remember is that going raw doesn't guarantee weight loss. I think a lot of people assume that. Just like on a SAD diet, limit sweets and nuts/oils and really up your intake of leafy greens. Just like said by the previous, exercise is key just like when eating SAD. I'll tell you what really helped me. I invested in a heart rate monitor that goes with my garmen watch. It tracks my calories burned and basically everything. It monitors my heart to make sure I am exercising with enough intensity to lose. You would be surprised of how so many people exercise without the level of intensity and length needed to lose weight. I don't count my calories since I'm like 90% raw but counting calories might be something you want to do as well. I know that there are more people on raw that don't count than on a SAD diet. Hope this helps.:)

[cara4art]

"You would be surprised of how so many people exercise without the level of intensity and length needed to lose weight."
Bingo! A lot of people still think that exercising aerobically for 20 minutes 3x a week, or just going for a stroll after dinner is going to be sufficient for weight loss, because they read that somewhere, not realizing that that 20 minutes 3x a week is just for general health, not weight loss. Then there are the people who are slogging away for a whole hour on the treadmill and being able to read a magazine while doing so, and wondering why they're not losing either - lack of intensity! Trust me, if you can read while on any cardio equipment, you're not working hard enough. As I mentioned above, it does take a combo of a strength-training program 3x a week, plus at LEAST 4 cardio sessions(that are sufficiently challenging as I also mentioned)5 are even better. If one is working hard enough on the steady-state cardio, 45 minutes should do it, and one or two sessions a week can be devoted to high-intensity interval training. However, that shouldn't be attempted until one has gotten some basic stamina and endurance going on. Generally speaking, a workout day that includes the strength training routine, and the cardio will take close to 90 minutes, the amount that's now recommended for weight loss. Another thing that people overlook is the amounts of physical activity incurred(or not)during the day, aka NEAT, non-exercise activity thermogenesis. That means everything from fidgeting a lot as you sit at the computer, always getting up to go do something, daily housecleaning, parking further away from one's destination, taking stairs instead of an elevator, carrying groceries, walking somewhere whenever feasible - all this adds up with more calories burned over the course of the day. This is why many people are still overweight despite going to the gym because they're also not getting enough activity on a daily basis, in addition to dietary issues.
Plus every body is different as far as what foods one has to balance in order to get the weight moving. For some people, they have to cut back on the heavier fats and up the fruits and greens, others have to limit fruits and up the greens and fats. But bottom-line, if one is simply eating way too much food, even raw food, for the level of activity one is doing, weight won't be lost either.
One last thought here, it is more challenging for women to lose weight around menopause, but not impossible. It just takes longer, and exercise becomes even more important. A younger woman can simply restrict her food, and the weight will often just drop off, while an older woman doesn't do so well restricting to the same degree, but does better when getting into serious exercise in addition to dietary change.

[Rosie]

Thank you everyone for your help, support and advice. I do value this tremendously. Most of your comments are very helpful and yes I am struggling with the 50% raw however I know that I feel much better when I eat raw and therefore whilst I cannot commit to it fully I keep going with 50%.

Thank you all for taking the time out to write back.

[christinajade]

One thing to be careful of. If you are 50% raw, you will most likely not be able to handle the same nut/fat/oil/sweets content compared to someone that eats 80% raw and above with out gaining weight. Unless your SAD 50% doesn't include processed stuff like breads, crackers other fats and sweets. I would be very careful in the type of SAD food you eat if you are going to be having more than just veggies and fruits. This combination could really up your calories too. When I was converting, I made sure that the SAD food I ate was not to include bread, deserts and high fat stuff.

[crazydoglady]

Hi
Read this, from the site, 30 Bananas a Day!


You may like to read the below excerpts from Doug Graham's website. Fruit isn't a problem, it is excess fat that blocks the insulin receptor sites that causes blood sugar problems. All the cells of the body use sugar as a fuel. Type 1 insulin dependancy can be reduced, because a more efficient uptake of insulin (by eating LFRV) means there is less of a demand for insulin.

Type 1 can also be reversed, see: Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days http://www.rawfor30days.com/index4.html



"Excess fat also blocks the action of insulin in bringing sugars to the cells, which leads to diabetes. It is better to eat small amounts of avocados, nuts and seeds, and not to eat them daily. There is more than adequate fat for the body from fruits, vegetables and leafy greens.

"Should I continue taking medicine prescribed by my doctor if I adopt the raw food lifestyle?

"The medical profession and its supporting industry, the patent medicine makers, operate from the theory that there are 400 or so separate illnesses whose symptoms can be treated or suppressed by ingesting synthetic chemical compounds. Our approach is entirely different. Other than a few genetically inherited abnormalities usually arising from generations of poor dietary and lifestyle choices, there is only one illness: toxemia, an uncleanness of the blood and tissues, caused primarily by poor diet and lifestyle. This toxemia, and its concomitant enervation, gets progressively worse over the years, leading to all manner of health problems. In order to "cure" a disease condition, such as diabetes, cancer, or cardiovascular disease, you must eliminate the underlying toxemia of which the "disease" is only a manifestation. With a raw diet, you no longer overload the body daily with toxic residue. The body will begin to clean the blood, tissue and organs of their toxicity, and the medical condition for which you are taking the pharmaceutical medicine will fade away, ultimately removing the need to continue taking the medicine. http://foodnsport.com/faq.html?start=5

"If too much sugar is not good for you, why the emphasis on eating so much sweet fruit?

"Before the body's cells can utilize food for fuel, the food must first be converted into sugar, whether the originating food is carbohydrate, protein, or fat. Carbohydrates are the easiest to convert to useful sugars. Fruits are mostly simple carbohydrates. It is much easier on the digestive system to process fruits for fuel because they are composed primarily of sugars, requiring much less digestive energy, and they come in a complete nutritional package of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats. When there are insufficient carbohydrates present to convert to sugar, the body will transform fat and protein into sugar, but at a higher cost: more time and energy spent on digestion with the creation of toxic residues.

"I have candida or a yeast infection. How can I eat so much fruit?

"Excess fat is the culprit in candida, not sugar, per se. When fat levels in the blood rise, so does blood sugar, because excess fat inhibits insulin from performing its function of escorting sugar out of the bloodstream. The excess fat lines the blood vessel walls, the cells, insulin receptor sites, the sugar molecules themselves, and the insulin with a thin coating of fat, thus blocking and inhibiting normal metabolic activity.

"Too much sugar in the blood is as life threatening as too little and can result in serious illness or death. Yeast, or candida, is a constant presence in the blood; it serves as a life preservation mechanism, blooming when there is an excess of sugar in the blood stream to bring blood sugar down to a non-threatening level. When the sugar is distributed and used by the cells of the body, the yeast quickly dies off as it is supposed to.
If fat levels stay chronically high due to a poor diet, sugar will remain in the bloodstream and feed the large candida colonies instead of feeding the 18 trillion cells of your body. Starved for fuel, these cells can no longer metabolize energy, and you become tired, and feel rundown. Because all carbohydrate, fat, and protein that we eat is converted to simple sugar (glucose) if it is to be used by the cells for fuel, the way out of this cycle is not to eat less sugar, but to consume less fat. When fat levels drop, the sugar starts to get processed and distributed again, and the yeast levels drop because there is no longer excess sugar available."

[lovenlife]

Um I say...eat raw, stop tryin to lose weight, stop lookin, it will happen all by itself when the bod is ready.

[Bethanie]

and the blood wasn't flowing like it should.
When i read more about it i read that it helps with weighloss:)look it up and it should tell you what it does to help you lose weight, and loads more good things it does for the body,
I need a jump start so to speak.
Beth