Where, oh where, do I begin?

[KHo]

Hello Raw Foodies,

I have started the raw WOE this week, and I need some help. I have read many popular books to get some ideas, and I think I have the recipe thing covered.

What I don't know is "how much" to eat? I have seen some blogs where one man ate 10 bananas at one meal, and then I've also seen the other end of the spectrum where people have a few smoothies and a couple of apples in a day.

I have no food allergies, but I am very concerned about gaining weight. I haven't eaten rice, pasta, or breads in over a year and really the change for me is to drop animal protein.

Do people eat 3-4 meals a day, or snack 8-10 times a day, or some combination? Is there a general guideline on how many calories I should be consuming?

Thank you in advance!

Kristen

[speltrong]

My advice is to consume what you feel your body needs. Your body is very good at knowing what it wants. :-) If I were you, I'd eat what feels satisfying and keep a close eye on the scale if you are concerned about weight gain. If things start trending in the wrong direction, it might be a good idea to change something that you're doing.

[ZombieDawn]

It still boils down to calories... You want to lose and not gain, check out sites like chronometer.com Try not to obsess over ir though. Today, I only hit at about 300 calories. This is not the norm for me, but for today I felt great being busy and not thinking about eating so much.

[Revvell]

Get Alissa's 1st book and dvd's. It'll give you all the information you need to get going strong. This is her site and her understanding is ~ eat what you want, when you want as long as it's raw. Your body will adjust as you go along. It's got infinite wisdom to say what's right for YOU and no one else. This food program is about freedom ~ not about counting calories. Have fun ~ play with your food.

[KHo]

Thanks for the input everyone. I am coming from another WOE where I lost 80 lbs. and though that was not about calories either, we were instructed to make sure we were eating at least our BMR value, or else the body will go into starvation mode.

I am waiting for my book to come in, and probably should have waited to start the program AFTER reading the book but I was so excited to start, I didn't want to wait.
Sunday's are usually my "cooking" days where I cook all day so that I have food for the week. On those days, I eat very little because I am so busy - so I am fine with not eating large quantities of food.

I have 20 lbs. more to lose before I hit my goal number, which is the middle of the chart for my height. I spent 2 years losing the 80 lbs. and I am just TERRIFIED that I will gain it back with this WOE - but I think I just need to have a little faith. <insert nail biting here>

Thanks again and I will check-in later after I have read the book and given it a week.

~Kristen

[qwerty988]

Thanks for the input everyone. I am coming from another WOE where I lost 80 lbs. and though that was not about calories either, we were instructed to make sure we were eating at least our BMR value, or else the body will go into starvation mode.

I am waiting for my book to come in, and probably should have waited to start the program AFTER reading the book but I was so excited to start, I didn't want to wait.
Sunday's are usually my "cooking" days where I cook all day so that I have food for the week. On those days, I eat very little because I am so busy - so I am fine with not eating large quantities of food.

I have 20 lbs. more to lose before I hit my goal number, which is the middle of the chart for my height. I spent 2 years losing the 80 lbs. and I am just TERRIFIED that I will gain it back with this WOE - but I think I just need to have a little faith. <insert nail biting here>

Thanks again and I will check-in later after I have read the book and given it a week.

~Kristen

Check in as often as you like, we're all here to offer support!

Personally, I eat CONSTANTLY. It's only 8 a.m. and I've already had 4 tangerines, a banana wrapped in romaine, a big bowl of chia pudding with sliced banana and walnuts, and a HUGE bowl of zucchini pasta with cashew-cheez sauce and sundried tomatoes..... YUM! (granted, I've been up since 3, but still.....)

I'll probably also have a green smoothie today and a HUGE kale salad and several more pieces of fruit, and possibly some nute pate in collard wraps..... that's a pretty typical day for me.

I have no idea how many calories I eat in an average day. I only know I couldn't be happy with any program that restricted my intake.

Raw is easy, delicious and fun!

Welcome and ENJOY.

ps: What's WOE?

[Revvell]

ps: What's WOE?

That's my question as well. WOE? Oh! Way of Eating????

[Traceyraw]

I have never gained weight raw only lost. Sometimes I stall when I eat alot of nuts. I tend to loose more with greens and seeds. I almost always have fruits for breakfast. I eat alot all day. I eat when Im hungry about every two hours. Listen to your body. It will take the first week or so to adjust to the diet then tweek it.

[speltrong]

Yep, my experience has been similar to Tracey's. The more salads and greens I eat, the more I lose. For some reason, fruit doesn't agree all that well with my weight either (my weight actually goes up if I eat a lot of fruit), and nuts and seeds and coconut cause my weight loss to stall. I still eat a few nuts here and there, but I always weigh them to make sure I know how much I'm eating. I've lost about 125lbs this last year, largely due to eating raw food. I try to always be thinking salad salad salad! If you'd asked me a year ago if I could eat this much in the way of salad greens and be happy, I'd have said no, but I never seem to get tired of them, and now I'm always looking forward to my next salad. :-)