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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookI admit to being a little obsessed about my fat intake. I admit that. But I am trying to be healthy about it. I want to be all raw but don’t want my fat intake to be too high. Yet eating a bunch of nuts and avos just puts my fat percentage sooo high. i know i shouldnt worry—raw is good—but over the last week i’ve been adding some quinoa and legumes into my diet so that i can eat my calories without adding fat.
someone knock some sense into me. Since trying 811 i feel so confused. I did feel good on the diet—don’t get me wrong—but decided it was not 100% for me (though i will definitely incorporate things I learned)...yet now I feel going back to the high fat raw vegan way I was eating before just isn’t right. When I say high fat, i mean 1/4 cup nuts and maybe 1/2 or 1 avo a day…might not seem like a lot, but really, it is.
so tell me something that will help…please!
Comments
i have read a lot of things that say fats from nuts and avocados are good for you in moderation. this is in mainstream media mind you. i’ve even read stuff that says that people who included nuts in their diet had weight loss. the main things that are bad about fat are the saturated and transfat and cholesterol. now some people will probably find other things that are bad about fats other than this.
i think you should relax a little and listen to your body. i for one am eating a small amount of fat per day because i want to stay raw. i just don’t digest cooked food too well. what is your body telling you? my husband eats all raw except cooked quinoa and sweet potatoes and a few other cooked veggies. that feels best for him. there really is no best recipe for everybody.
i feel the same way confused about all the different messages out there. boutenko says more greens, cousins says more fruit no nuts, monarch says less fruit more fat. it’s very confusing to listen to all those gurus. so that is why you have to learn to listen to your own body.
nycgrrl….you’re reading so many different views and asking the same thing in different ways….i undrstand it can be confusing
you must decide which of your two solutions for staying on the journey is better
whether you
a) keep a little low-fat cooked until such a time as you commit to raw again….i know your hubby has the best of intentions , but cooked food will always represent a compromise to health…..in the short term, represent a good transition food if kept healthy as possible and in moderation
b) or add more fat….again represents a compromise, depending on who you read
yes, i realise i’ve just stated what you already know, but i wanted to set it out clearly….
i think there’s only one reason for the confusion and it has nothing to do with intellectual understanding…it has nothing to do with the different people you read
there would be no real confusion if you had JUST read 811…..
i feel, and i maybe wrong, that the problem is that you have FELT the benefits of low-fat for yourself…...you are asking, essentially, for someone to tell you that eating this extra fat will be of no detriment….maybe if enough folks tell you, you’ll disregard your own experience
this is all that matters…YOUR personal experience..so extend that experience to the 2 options above..and as bitt says “relax a little and listen to your body”....how you have lived till now , as well as myriad other factors, will determine (to some extent) how your new raw life evolves…this will obviously be different to everyone else…..reading cousens, graham, boutenko, monarch, diamond,talifero and all the others will give you loads of ideas….take of all of these and form a programme that works for you intellectually…then start your experiments…..30 days(or whatever you want) to give things a try…if it works, stick with it till it doesn’t and then try somthing else…..
pianissima said a while back that she felt that the different raw food authors were all right, just for people at different stages of the journey….it’s also true that these authors write books at different stages of THEIR raw journeys….matt monarch is fresh off the raw boat…there are probably many folks here one gone raw who have more ‘raw’ experience that him, but haven’t written a book about it..i wonder if in 10 years time, he’ll still tell people to eat less fruit, more fat…..read david wolfe in ‘natures first law’, then in ‘sunfood nutrition’ to now when he’s whacked off his t**s on un-raw cacao….because he is an author we get to read the different stages of HIS personal journey
there’s a guy over at gi2mr who started a big discussion about his ‘raw’ confusion…he had read so many conflicting views, that he was too scared to commit to 100% raw….we need to jump in and test the waters ourselves
one thing i don’t understand is that you say that you felt good on 811, but decided it wasn’t for you…..what is it you want, if it’s not to feel good
sorry if i’ve added to the problem
Personally, I have not found raw fat to be a problem. I am 3 years 100% raw, and I just feel better and better, and it gets easier and easier. I eat as much raw fats as I want to.
I believe a lot of the problems people have with fat when they are raw is that they don’t realise that many of the fats they are eating are not in fact raw. For example. Only Olive oil that is cold pressed AND not filtered is raw. They use heat to filter the oil it is rarely found unfiltered, but surprisingly we can get organic unfiltered olive oil in supermarkets here in the UK.
Also most shelled nuts are not raw. Pecans, and brazils are boiled and steamed to get their shells off. Macadamias are so wet that they are dried at high temps thus cooking them, cashews are boiled or steamed to get their shells off. Almonds are pasteurised. The only truly raw shelled nuts I have found are walnuts, hazel nuts, pine nuts and almonds that aren’t from the USA.
When I cut out the things that I thought were raw but weren’t, I felt so amazing, it all became very easy for me. I can eat a lot of raw fat and it has no noticable effect on my body. I don’t gain weight, I don’t feel sluggish. I am not addicted to it either as sometimes I go for days not eating any fat.
When I ate non raw nuts and everything else raw, I did out on weight and feel crappy. That all went when I cut out the non raw stuff. I know you don’t want to be 100% yourself, but I just wanted to put across my experience.
I agree with Bitt, relax and do what your body wants. Maybe look at other approaches to raw eating like the Boutenko’s book 12 Steps To Raw, or Wolfe’s Sunfood Success Systems. Or Shazzie’s Detox Your World.
thanks everyone. I know i am obsessing about this.
el-bo-you know, I did feel good doing 811, but i wasn’t really doing it—i was still at 17% fat for the week, and was adding a wee bit of olive oil to my salads. So I don’ tknow. I do want to feel good.But 811 was hard because I just don’t like eating THAT much fruit! It was hard in that respect. Plus, i like to eat local,and it was hard because i feel like 811 needed you to eat lots of bananas and lots of mangos….
btW—how are your teeth? I know you were feeling pain in them but wondered what came of it?
Thanks for posting this. The question of fat is a mystery for me. I want to eat raw and controling fat isn’t my main problem right now, it’s more important for me to eat raw even if high fat. But, i really don’t understand the fat issue.
On the one hand good fats are not only good for us but necesary, and it is supposed that we must it them.
On the other hand someones call for a low fat diet, and 811 calls for 10% fat only (which it seems to me very little, i mean: if you use a Tbsp of olive oil (90 kcal more or less) it is supposed that you must eat 900 kcal from food with 0% fat – i’m not a great mathematician, so if i’m wrong please tell me).
So… a big mystery.
Ps. thanks Zoe for posting your long term experience
I wanted to chime in because I had/have the same concerns. I am new to 100% raw (well like 95%, I have yet to give up balsamic vinegar or nutritional yeast, maybe someday…) I’ve been going pretty successfully for about a month now and I have not really figured out the fat question either. I was having some bowel issues at first and someone mentioned that eating too much fat from nuts made them constipated. I checked out the fat in my diet and ascertained that I was eating about 45% of my calories from fat. HA! That’s a lot. And to be doing that and still loose weight astounded me. I do know I was eating some not truly raw nuts, like cashews. I cut back a little bit, to like 30-35% and upped my fruit and it was smooth sailing. So I think what works for me, calorie wise is 30-35% fat, 10-15% protein, and the rest carbs. I know this is working because I am back to pooping my normal vegan poop of 3 times a day and I feel great. Plus eating fruit for the first few hours in the morning seems really cleansing for me, then I just go based on what I feel like having. If I am feeling hungry and craving something I will have a little fat and I feel better. Let me know what you come up with because I am still really new and learning.
thank you sara! i am beginning to think like you, but for me i think more like 20-25% fat is right for me. it feels right in terms of my day, i don’t feel dissatisfied or hungry, and i can eat my salads with a bit of flax oil, which i am consuming for their omega 3 (weaning off antidepressants).
thanks for posting everyone.
ahh…here you are…thanks for commenting…i saw what you posted to debbie and didn’t wanna be one of the ‘antagonisers’ :o).... i’ve just bowed out of that thread…way too much energy lost, retreading familiar issues
my teeth…”super for asking” (in my best ‘big gay al ’ from southpark -voice)...they have started becoming more sensitive again today…..i may have to have this new tooth pulled…..oh well
what’s more of a pain is that one of our cats walked across my laptop this morning (as always)..ths time when i picked him up he managed to pull 3 keys from the keyboard….aaaahhhh!!!!...i’ve replaced 2, but one of them is really broken…luckily it’s not one of the most used….i’m gonna have to order another….grrrr
peace grrl
Dr Gabriel Cousens has a plan of eating NO fruit for the first 3 months or more, Dr. Graham’s plan is a TON of fruit, etc. Both have helped A LOT of people heal & find optimum health – as have many others. Dr. Cousens talks about different ayurvedic types, and how some people need more fat, or protein, or whatever, than others. I think the key is to find what works for you, and it sounds like you’re doing that! I am like Zoe – as long as I eat really raw, I can eat all the fat, or fruit, or anything else, that I want – and my body works, I have energy, my weight is stable, etc. etc. etc. So for someone to tell me I’m eating too much of something or not enough of something else doesn’t really make sense to me – that person isn’t me, and therefore doesn’t KNOW what’s best for ME! (Although I’m grateful to read/hear their research & experience – it widens my options & lets me know why I crave certain foods sometimes) I love that we can choose to feed ourselves what we need :)
thanks angie-i find gabriel cousens very interesting myself!
elbo-it’s all good—i am sorry you felt antagonized on that thread—didn’t mean that at all. just sorting things out for myself.
and you know what? i was running today,and in the middle of my run, i found myself saying aloud “i can do whatever i want” and that kept thrumming through my head. and you know what i want? i want to eat raw. that’s all. i don’t know about anything else yet, but i am going to keep on the path, listening to my body. That’s all—nothing amazing, just “i can do whatever I want”. Whatever I feel. I can eat whatever i want.
thanks for G. Cousens reference (since i’m not a big fan of fruit i’ll try to read something of Cousens). What i don’t understand is why fruit is the main food in 811, why not vegs?
nycgrrl, that’s a good idea: i want to eat raw, i’ll do it!!
nycgrrl..i didn’t feel antagonised…just wish i hadn’t fallen for the bait to debate again…...just get’s loud..and takes too much energy
anngoingraw…811 calls for calories from fruit beacause it’s easier to get your calories for the day…fruits are also incredibly easy to digest when eaten under the right conditions…and some even assert that our natural sweet tooth leads us towards persuit of fruit…....vegetables are very low calorie and high bulk and therefore it’s difficult to fuel ourselves with just veg
that’s what i’ve heard, anyhow….good luck
Thanks el-bo for the explanation.
On other hand, i’m not agree very much with “our natural sweet tooth” assert, perhaps i’m so corrupted by my sad years but the sweeter (riper) the fruit the less i like it. Anyway, i’ll try to find my way and still learn from other’s ways. Thanks!
elbo-you’re right about the energy. i am going to stop thinking so much about things. and just eat. raw! no more worrying. I’ve been thinking too much and not feeling enough. being away from my home, my blender, my frozen fruits, has made things harder for me, and then i slipped, and then i began to question. i am returning home tonight, so it’s all good :)
nycgrrl…i’m glad…enjoy it….you’re one of the lucky ones…if fat ever becomes a problem at least you have some knowledge and experience behind you that will give you options
good luck and keep popping in to the 811 thread….always welcome….
today has been interesting….arguing about the benefits of being raw on a raw forum….at least it’s whipped me up enough to re-affirm my commitment to 811….i became too attatched to my rapid weight loss and started to undereat….i didn’t really notice the defecit for a ew days, but it didn’t take long for me to have a dance with the (cooked food) devil….dangerous is the business of undereating….:o)
peace
:o)
“I can do whatever I want” :)
I re-read your description of “high fat” & had to laugh! In one day, I usually eat more like 1 to 2 cups of nuts, 2 avocados, 1/2 cup oil… :)
It’s so interesting to know how much fat people eat, because i was satarting to think that 2 avo and less of 1/2 cup oil was too much fat. Just because i only can compare my “practical diet” with “theoretical claims”. So knowing what people really eat makes it easier. thanks for sharing!
i’m willing to bet from what you’ve said so far (and please don’t think that i’m judging you) that your calorie intake is such that adding this amount of fat daily will put you in the region of 60-80% fat…make of that what you will…..if all is going fine then, all good…but the moment you think that raw isn’t going so great, i’d give this a little cut back
Zoe, do you order the nuts from a website, or do you have a shop next to the house? And what about seeds? Are they usually heated as well? I found some Tesco unfiltered oil today for a reasonable price :) DO the other oils go through the same process of heating when filtered? I really would like to have the nuts sedds and oils really raw :)
you’re probably right elbo, which is why i am not eating those fats right now LOL. i am eating more like 1/2 tsp of olive oil and a bit of avos every other day. i think i need to up my calories-i just love my simple salads so!! and i’m not hungry! so i am just listening to my body.
i wasn’t referring to you when i spoke of 60-80% fat….or are you just saying that now you aren’t worrying about it and you’ve given yourself permission to “do what i want” ;o) that you are naturally falling into a lower fat lifestyle ???
i’m sure pianissma said the same thing the other day…that once you give yourself permission not to do something, it becomes easier to just do it…..
i’m sure as you increase your training you’ll be creating a real hunger for, and an ability to eat the extra calories you need
wow angie—really? and you’re not gaining weight? hmmm…veddy interesting…
Nope! No weight problems, as long as I follow my body I don’t get under or overweight, and I’ve had problems with both in the past – I had a friend come over when I was eating one day, and he was telling me to “slow down, girl!” when he saw how much I was eating. Then I asked him, “Why? I’ve lost 40 pounds eating like this! :)” He was like, Oh, yeah, I guess you’re not going to get fat eating fruit & vegetables haha
el-bo – Yeah, probably pretty accurate on 60% – 80% fat – no big deal. It amazes me all the time! :)
“60%
Angie I’ll admit it. I’m jealous. And curious. May I ask how old you are? My 40 year old self seems to store store store any added dietary fat. And this was not the case when I was younger. ;0(
el-bo – I said no big deal cuz I’m not worried about you judging me :) Weight?! Who ever said this was about weight? The weight stabilization is just a nice bonus as this is really all about my healed thyroid, my drastically reduced insulin needs, my no longer needing antidepressants, my normal cholesterol, my higher energy levels, etc. etc. etc. I could say more… Thanks for biting your tongue – don’t bleed too hard on my account ;)
Mariechiesa – I am 33, but a few years ago my body was overweight and I had to limit to 1,800 calories per day to keep from gaining weight. I don’t know if that worked to lose any – I hated the counting. Anyway, now I eat around 3,000 calories per day. I think it’s cuz my thyroid is working now, but it’s also nice to not get too thin like I was as a teenager and again mid-twenties. Not fun to struggle either direction!
ha elbo! well, my only ‘sin’ is liking udo’s blend on my salads. I don’t eat many nuts, I don’t eat much avo. I am away from home so not calculating my percentages, but I am curious to see where I am at when i get home.
still debating on the ‘eating a bit of healthy cooked food’ vs. eating fatty raw foods issue…..
nycgrrl – It sounds like you’re on the right track in listening to your body – I’m sure you’ll figure out what is best – for me, what is best seems to change from time to time, & it’s kinda fun :)
nycgirl, i am also eating fairly high fat. i do not really keep track of percentages because i eat complex meals and it is a lot of work! i eat maybe a handful of nuts a day and the occasional avocado. (i have a cooked food friend who eats 1 avocado a day and is super thin). I have not gained any weight (lost at least 15 pounds in 2 months) and my waist is where it has shown the most. i have lost inches off the belly. it was where most of my fat was. for me i think processed foods put on the fat and i was a huge sugar addict. i mean to measure my body fat one of these days but honestly it is lower than it has been in a long time (maybe 5 years) and that was with only moderate exercising. there is just something with raw food that has clicked for me and my body is going to its healthiest place.