So far, I've been unemployed the entire time I've been raw, so I can get 10 hours of sleep a night, no big. Lately I've been having to wake up early for various reasons, and I'm finding some unfortunate side effects of the diet. If I get 8 hours of sleep or less, I just have no energy at all. I don't mean that I get a slow start and then eventually work up the energy - the day is literally shot, as I am a zombie (sans flesh consumption). This is really problematic when I actually have a lot to do in a given day. I eat all kinds of nut-based gourmet foods, but somehow am not getting enough calories. I want to stay 100% raw, but I'll never be able to hold a 9-5 job again if I have to get 10 hours of sleep every night to function. I've heard some people insist that after a couple months of calorie restriction, they have energy again. Is this true?
I'm 22, male, been 100% raw for just over 3 months. Halp!
Comments
You should try cutting out nuts completely. I find that the more nuts I eat, the more tired I feel. However, when I just have green smoothies and lots of fruit, I have so much energy! I've actually needed way less sleep lately because I don't eat any nuts or seeds.
Greens, greens, greens!!!
Greens do give me a lot of energy, briefly, but after they wear off they've still left me full, which contributes to the lack of calories. Given how much of a calorie deficit I already have, I'm hesitant to cut things out. This mostly happens early in the day before I've eaten much. My appetite is small in the mornings, so I kick off with a green smoothie and don't usually end up eating my first meal for a couple hours. This could actually be part of the problem, but my body seems to have no interest in digesting stuff first thing in the morning.
Greens for energy? Are you kidding me? Greens are good, yeah, for vitamins and minerals purposes. But what you need is fruit. If you have no energy YOU ARE UNDERCARBED. Eat fruit until you are full and you will experience something a gourmet raw lifestyle cannot give you.
I feel like after several juice fasts and already having been a pretty healthy eater, I could only go through so many spontaneous fits of detox, but maybe I'm wrong. You've definitely got a point with the eating late. I do that a lot, as in every night. Maybe I should start there :)
the59sound: Yes, greens. Of course, as with everything else, in balance with other things. I do not believe there is any one item that will give you energy if that is all you eat. Greens contain a TON of vitamins, minerals and amino acids which contribute to having a balance of everything that is needed to sustain a healthy, balanced body. Without a healthy body as a whole, you will not have a good amount of energy. I am not trying to argue with you as I believe that fruit is a necessary part of a balanced diet as well; mainly I was making the suggestion of greens because my research and personal experience has led me to believe that most people do not consume enough greens, and this is often the key missing ingredient in a raw food diet.
As with any post that anyone every makes, this is my opinion that is the result of my personal experience and research up until this moment in time. There will always be an abundance of different opinions on every subject!
~Peace, love, prosperity and good feelings to all!!!
Yeah, you're right in a lot of ways, but it's really irrelevant, and the probability is unlikely. Any gourmet raw fooder needs to up his fruit intake and decrease his fat intake, this is crucial for long term, i'm not saying go straight 8/1/1 (although the benefits from this diet are endless, if you are an athlete or just want to feel good), but there is no way you could sustain that long term, and if you do, you must be sedentary and work a desk job or something. The probability of him needing fruit in his diet is very high, as he is a member of this site, and even said he consumes nut based dishes. Eat more fruit.
Hey! Since the thread's still going, I'll toss in an update - I scaled back the nut-based dishes, added a lot more fruit, and stopped eating after dark. Since then I've been waking up earlier and doing much better throughout the day. Had some major headaches from the calorie withdrawals at first, but I'm feeling grand now. Thanks again for all the great help!