Frustrated -- Trying to figure out the right balance

I am trying to figure out the right balance of foods for me. I'm trying to get out of disordered restricting / binging and lose the weight I've gained in that process and I've found that the framework of "raw vegan" really helps me, plus, I feel great eating so much fresh raw as well as green smoothies... So, my pattern has been:

breakfast : green smoothie of 1 banana, 1 cup of other fruit and about 4 packed cups of greens

lunch : fruit (e.g. 1 asian pear, 2 persimmons OR 1 small melon OR bunch of grapes)

dinner : several cups of greens, tomato OR carrot OR bell pepper, green onion, fresh basil, 1 avocado, 2T coldpressed, unfiltered olive oil, vinegar (sometimes Braggs ACV, sometimes non-raw vinegar)

This feels good to me -- I don't feel hungry, digestion seems great, etc., but it's a lot of fat, percentage-wise of my diet. Plus, my weight went down quickly initially for 7 pounds or so, what I think was mainly bloat-weight, but now it's just stuck there for about a week.

So, I'm thinking what I *SHOULD* do is cut out the oil and cut down the avocado to 1/2 avocado per day. But then my salad, which I look forward to all day would be so sad... :'( Maybe if I cut down the oil to 1T and 1/2 avocado? I just do want to still enjoy eating raw.

Or, I really try to figure out a no-oil dressing that I can still enjoy salds with... maybe blend some veggies with some herbs and some lime juice?

Or, I just stick to it for a month and don't journal food and don't weigh myself, because it's kind of stressing me out if I'm not losing weight. But then, not weighing myself kind of stresses me out too. I just don't know........... ::: Sigh ::: I wanted this to be easy.

Comments

  • joannabananajoannabanana Raw Newbie

    i think your diet now seems fine, but i'd add some more fruit to lower your ratio of fat in your diet. mainly a bigger breakfast and lunch. that wouldn't hold me over at all!

  • My suggestion- quit weighing yourself (and try to quit worrying about it all too:-)

  • UPDATE: I did a lot of searching around and reading and came across an interview of Frederic Patenaude on raw vegan radio (podcast) and have read some of his stuff (I really like the approach) and I'm going to try to to really focus my diet on fresh fruits, vegetables and greens and cut out the salt and the oil (and not get into nuts or use them very, very sparingly, since I had not even gotten into yet at all). I'm trying to keep fat under 15%, which is like 1/2 an avocado per day. I'll miss my salad with olive oil, vinegar and himalayan salt, but I'll get used to it and come up with some oil-free dressings. I know in my heart this is the right thing for me to do and the cleanest way to live.

  • zinfandelzinfandel Raw Newbie

    cutting out salt has been wonderful for me. i feel so much clearer and cleaner, and i lost several pounds of water weight. also, my taste buds have rebuilt themselves and salads are now sufficienctly flavorful even without seasonings. i never want to touch it again!

    the 80/10/10 diet is the ultimate. Fredrick is a supporter of this diet as well.

  • sv3sv3 Raw Newbie

    I was eating a bit too much fat a while back and decided to switch my oil based dressing with fresh fruit juice. It sounds strange at first but having a salad with some apple (or mango or any other fruit!) juice is so refreshing and tasty. Give it a bash if you fancy.

  • thank you, I will try it. I am on a quest to find a no-overt-fats dressing. Today I'll try celery blended with grapes and see how that goes. That way I can save up the bit of overt fat I can eat, while keeping overall fat low -- my choice is always going to AVOCADO and add that to the salad. :)

  • Chef ShuannaChef Shuanna Raw Newbie

    I myself believe that what your doing sounds good and you feel you good doing it as well so I say go with it. Maybe your body needs those fats. 80/10/10 is NOT for everyone. I myself support it BUT it does not fair well for my body all the time. I need the fats (as much as I would love to cut them out to lose weight faster) and my body thrives on those salads you mentioned. Your body is going to drop weight fast (like your 7 pounds) and then it is going to stabilize. Such as your body did. Having the oil based dressing WITH the Avo is not a great idea so what my rule is I get one or the other. Not both I'll make a tomato basil dressing with avo's OR make a coconut vinegar dressing with fresh squeezed lemon and green onions. Oh lord it is AMAZING! The best dressing I feel I have made for myself!

    Frederick P is a bit over the top to me. Always trying to sell something. In general just bothers me.

    It sounds like you and I are similar in how we eat and what makes us feel good. If you think the 8/1/1 will help you feel good then I say pee in the wind. I just know it is not a lifestyle I can maintain. It is something however I maintain on the weekends and such. Honestly, I am smack dead in the center of 8/1/1 and just raw vegan. I cut out the more fatty gourmet dishes but there are things I will NEVER give up. Salt being one of them.(super controversial) Always in moderation and high quality for me but it is an important mineral helping with many things! I also am not anti supplements. I even hate the word supplement but I dont take them to supplement my diet per se. 8/1/1 ers believe supplements are NEVER needed and I dont buy that for a second! Because of MSM I am able to walk upright again and no longer limp. 8/1/1ers give me shit for it. Not cool in my book. There are some things that I think SOME individuals can benefit from. Camu Camu helps me feel great when I fast or cleanse. It keeps my emotions in check. Only when I fast though.

    Do what makes you feel god and it sounds like you DO feel good. I would suggest making SMALL changes rather than switching over to an entirely new diet. I dont think the same diet works for everyone. Tweak it a bit each week and see how you feel.

    Hope that helped AT ALL :)

     

  • iliveyourdream is right, 811 isn't for everyone, as good as it is for some people, it's still a pretty extreme diet to stick to long term. Don't get caught up in the politics of the different diets, just eat what you to eat. if you want to lose weight then cutting down on fats will help, but dont do it just because you want to match the textbook example of 811.

  • superfood2superfood2 Raw Newbie

    Number 1, not everyone on the 80/10/10 or low-fat, high-fruit raw vegan diet thinks the same thing or does the same thing. I'm not sure why people seem to lump everyone together and stereotype like a bunch of ....well, I'll leave it at that.

    Number 2, what I find extreme is people eating crap out of jars, acting as if fermented and acidic garbage is healthy. Fine if you want to eat it, but pretending it's healthy? Let's just get back to reality a bit here.

    I think you should/can do what makes YOU feel good. I would definitely do 1/2 avocado per day or 1 avocado every 2 days and no oil. Or just do 1 tsp. of oil until you feel you can cut it out. And I agree that you need more fruit and more calories that are lower in fat. I enjoy greens plain. I will sit on the couch with a 16 oz. container or bag of spinach and just eat it.

    In my opinion, the healthiest and happiest and most fit raw fooders seem to be the lower fat ones in the long term. Even if we are supposedly extreme. ;)

  • superfood2superfood2 Raw Newbie

    this is a good transition dressing: http://goneraw.com/recipe/mustard-date-herb-dressing

    you can lower the salt or don't use it. i'd eventually stop the garlic, too, if you do use it. i don't use the dressing anymore but it was great when i was reducing fat and salt.

    another good idea for salads is to eat sweet fruit on top instead of tomatoes or basil, etc., that you are using now. use apples and grapes. or strawberries and mango. it takes time. give yourself time. it's a journey! :)

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