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Gymbum, judging by your picture, you do not need to lose weight!
I have the same problem and have found green smoothies and sprouted breads to help the most. I started off jumping right in and going 100% raw. That lasted about 5 days because I was so hungry, despite the amount of nuts I was eating. I really didn’t want to eat an insane amount of nuts either, so I’m transitioning slower now. How long have you been raw for? I think most people experience this effect when first going raw and you can either make the transition slower, or wait for your body to adjust – just like the first few days of a fast.
i agree with mon46. if you think you need to lose weight, you might have an eating disorder. god i hate to seem judgemental, but sometimes its hard to really see yourself the way others do, i know because i’ve been there.
if its just a nagging hunger thats driving you crazy, try drinking cocnut water inbetween meals.
I agree with the other two posters who said you do not need to lose weight. This is not meant to sound mean, but it’s completely obvious that you are thin- just by looking at your profile picture. Your arms are tiny and it’s very obvious that you’re thighs don’t even touch.
It gets a bit.. annoying.. to continue to see newer members posting questions of ‘how to keep the weight off” or “how to lose weight” or “why am i hungry?”
Hunger is a natural occurrence. It’s not something we are supposed to suppress. If your stomach is growling, eat something. You are not going to get fat from eating an apple. You’re not going to get fat if you eat TWO apples. You’re not even going to get fat if you eat five bloody almonds.
Maybe it’s just me.. does anyone else get a little tired of these kinds of posts?
mango woman~ Here’s another viewpoint… If it is useful, great. If not, skip the post.
For those that are transitioning from eating until one can “feel” it, it is disheartening to eat a huge salad or whatever and not get that familiar “heavy/full” feeling in the stomach or maybe a feeling of an energy drop that most experience as the “stop eating” signal. Most newbies don’t understand this feeling doesn’t happen with most raw food (at least in my experience) until they get confirmation from others that are further into being more in tune with their bodies’. Many people come from backgrounds where one eats everything on the plate to the point of being overfilled. In addition, many processed foods have chemicals in them that trigger the body to want “more.” When this is the “norm”, retraining/recalibrating the mind and the body is a process. I know this is where I am having my challenges with going raw, recalibrating my body’s signal for “I’m not starving” or “craving” that familiar “full” feeling. This is were I start to feel I am going crazy if I don’t fulfill that craving. I hope you didn’t have to go though this process, because, basically, it is not fun.
What I think would be helpful is an FAQ or Newbie section on the site for those types of inquiries. I think that would cut down on some of the duplicate threads and a good concentrated source of info for those new to the site and/or raw food.
I totally agree bluedolfin! A FAQ section would be a really good thing, or maybe a keyword search or browse topics by keyword search? I personally never get tired of seeing new members asking the same questions for 3 reasons: a) it means they are concerned about their health, just like the rest of us. b) it gives a chance for fresh new comments and maybe some updated info, also there are literally thousands of topics and it’s not always easy to browse through them all looking for a certain subject. c) stepping into raw foods is a huge life change for alot of people and they sometimes have little to no support for them at a time they need it most. By answering the post however repetative it may be we are able to offer some support to the person and maybe help make their transition a little easier. It may be that the kind reply from a stranger to their post is the most reassuring and encouraging support they’ll get. A little love goes a long way and there’s never enough love in the world that we need to stop passing it on or forward (like the movie said). Salams/Peace, Love, Green Wishes, Good Thoughts, and Crazy-Happy Health Mojo to everyone! From my little hole in the world in Soran, Kurdistan!! K-MOM
mangowoman – although you may be tired of seeing the same questions, by definition they’re the questions that SHOULD be coming up on the forum again and again, simply because they ARE such important issues for those new to raw food. Also, bear in mind hundreds of people will have joined since you joined, and may have some very valuable input there. I run a forum in the UK, and yes there are some questions that come up again and again, but I’m always excited to see how they encourage new members to post in reply. Anyhow, here’s my twopennyworth. Firstly, gymbum, yes, you do look fine in the picture, but that could be an old picture. I’m ‘slim’, but when first on raw still had weight (flab around tum) that could shift, and it did shift after raw. So if you think you need to lose weight I won’t disagree. Hunger? Do you eat ANY cooked food? I say this only because the standard US/UK diet is acid-forming and can give rise to those ‘gnawing’ feelings in the stomach. So, actually, the more raw in your diet the easier it should get. Try starting the day with a vegetable juice, eg carrot, apple, celery. That’s alkalising, and my non-raw husband actually phoned me from work one morning to say that after having juice he wasn’t feeling the ‘gnawing’ he usually did! Also, don’t worry about the fat in almonds. I’m convinced ‘raw fat’ does work differently from ‘cooked diet fat’. I say this because I really had quite a high level of fat in the early months of raw (and that’s another debate!), but still the pounds just melted away. Very best wishes.
After reading debbietook’s and K-Mom’s posts, I had another thought… There are tons of posts about people feeling better/great. I can see a newbie coming in here and thinking “I’m the only one that … Am I doing something wrong? Is this going to work for me? They said I would feel better and I’m not.” I know for me, I sometimes think I’m the only one that has thought of this or that, or feel this way or that way, or do this or do that, and so on. To get support is life affirming that I’m not a creature from outerspace or part of someone’s/something’s insane experiment.
Hey, I just eat the ton of almonds.I am 5’1 1/2 amd weigh between 90 and 100. Anyone know if this is a good weight?
thegymbum19 – if you’re still reading this thread, and have not run away (!), you are absolutely stunning; in perfect physical shape & just glowing with health. I hope you keep eating the living foods that are making you look so alive in your photo, and as much as your body wants of them!
Your body is most likely asking you, through hunger, for what it needs to keep you in such a wonderful state of health. Listen to what your body is asking for, and eat, eat, eat it :-) At some point, most likely, your body will not want to eat so much, and all you have to do is listen out for it without trying to control it. See, for example stylistchick
Eat more FRUIT!!!
i think with this diet, you can eat as much as you want as often as you want and it would be near impossible to gain weight. nourish your body! and i’m with lovefood eat more fruit.
i feel best when i eat about 5 times a day, mostly snacks. bring fruit with you to work or school, and be conscious about eating evry 2-3 hours. it actually makes your metabolism increase if you eat more often.
Yes, I agree with stylistchick—listen to your body and eat what nourishes. The raw lifestyle is so different for most of us, so we don’t know quite what to expect. How long before I feel a difference? The answer is different for each of us since we have unique bodies/minds/spirits. I am so happy being raw since May 1st and have as of today lost 50 pounds. I have never felt better! It has been a spiritual shift as well as a significant physical change.
I agree with all the responses here so far (except I’m not annoyed by the question).
Raw food is about nourishing your body, not starving it. What helps me feel satisfied are: 1) green smoothies; and 2) Fruit fruit fruit! Somehow eating pieces of fruit doesn’t do it for me, but making a fruit salad does. Go figure. I like to cut of 2-4 pieces of fruit and add 3-4 dates. Wow! I feel completely satisfied and energized from a meal like that. Somehow I feel totally full and totally light at the same time, full without a trace of heaviness. On days when I’m really hungry, I add some avocado to the mix.
I also think you look really thin, gymbum. IMHO a lot of people who get into the raw food thing make it into an eating disorder and obsess about everything they put in their mouth. I’m not trying to criticize or judge (believe me, I’m not in a position to point a finger!) but just to add my voice, a reality check. Unless that picture was taken long ago and you’ve since gotten a lot heavier, you sure don’t need to be careful about gaining weight. Just the opposite.
For a great article on what to expect when making dietary changes, goto Glycoscience.org. Click on How soon should I expect to experience the effects of dietary supplements?. The article has a cool chart on how long different cells live. The article addresses both dietary changes and supplementation, which, if the supplements are produced properly, are simply a condensed food source, a “dietary change”.
I did stop reading the posts but I will say it took ALOT of reading bulletin posts to understand the process has a lot of ups and downs. You really have to be less demanding of yourself and less expectant and have to listen to what your body is telling you. Don’t forget to drink LOTS of water and sometimes cocnut water helps because it has electrolytes. Keep it up!
I think the newbie FAQ thing is a good idea!
PapayaLove~ Welcome back to the roller coaster…
How funny…. we have Mango Woman, PapayaLove, and Coconut Dreams. Can we get a Banana or Pineapple something to round out the tropical fruit salad? ;-)
Gymbum, sorry about the hunger. Are you working out a lot right now? And is it very cold where you’re living? Someone did a study recently which showed that exercising when it’s cold outside can make people very hungry.
If that’s what you’re experiencing, you could try to eat your heaviest meal of the day right after working out. Make a giant smoothie with a lot of superfoods: bananas, dates, hemp protein power, ground flax, algae, goji berries, maca, etc. Then, for the rest of the day you can eat lightly without feeling super hungry.
Fruit.