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GAINING WEIGHT!!

I am eating a lot! I have been raw for about one month. My pants are tight, really tight??? I thought it was supposed to do the opposite and that you can eat all you want as well! I just love all the food, much more than my vegetarian diet.

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  • veghealthcoachveghealthcoach Raw Newbie

    Weight gain/loss has to do with your caloric intake vs amount of physical activity.

    So if you're taking in more calories than you're burning, yeah, your pants will be tight.

    If you're putting on "false fat", bloating and swelling that is experienced within a few hours to a few days after eating, then you might be sensitive to something in your diet.

    Glad you're enjoying your food though.

  • Hey kimmy,

    Good for you for taking a leap into the world of raw veganism for your health! During your transition period you'll experience a lot of things that you weren't necessarily expecting or desiring, such as gaining weight. This could be because of a laundry-list of reasons:

    1) If you were eating dairy before going raw your body could be detoxing all the mucous. It takes a lot of effort from the body to process this and get rid of it. You might want to try taking fenugreek supplements to help get it out of your system quicker and more efficient.

    2) Something that a lot of new people do when they eat raw for the first time is to eat all the "gourmet" raw food that is really rich in nut-based dishes. These can be good for mentally transitioning as substitutes for meat dishes or for you if you were eating for example Boca burgers or tofu products a lot.

    3) You could be eating either too little fat or not enough fat. Fat is really essential for triggering our satiety-feeling. Too little of it and you'll feel like you could eat an epic-sized dinner, like a salad bowl fit for a family of 20 at Thanksgiving.

    4) Your stomach hasn't shrunk yet and/or your body is still adjusting to eating mainly raw and is actually over-feeding itself to get all the nutrients you need. My food counselor told me that it is absolutely normal for a raw newbie to overeat for the first two years of being raw.

    5) You are not drinking enough water.

    6) Your body is busy cleansing things on your insides right now and needs to hold onto some weight to do that. Trust your body. Have faith in your body. You might not see what's going on under the surface, but your body might be working overtime cleaning house and that takes a lot of energy, or, um... calories, to do so (if you are counting calories though, I suggest you stop! Listen to your body and feed it when you are hungry.)

    In any case, you have already taken such a great step for your body and its healing process by going raw. One thing you'll learn by being raw is patience. You'll soak, sprout and dehydrate things for 24-48 hours, ferment others for days... you'll learn that anything good worth having is worth waiting for, including weight loss. Here's a quote that I have written on my bathroom mirror in eyeliner that has helped me whenever I feel frustrated:

    "Rushing into action, you fail.

    Trying to grasp things, you lose them.

    Forcing a project to completion,

    you ruin what was almost ripe."

    -Tao Te Ching, 64

    Peace and love,

    raw swede

  • A short water fast might help to even things out, it gives your body a chance to work through its backlog of cleansing and processing. Finish eating for the day in the late afternoon or early evening, then take in nothing except water until the same time next day.

  • if you will,look into the low fat raw vegan diet ,also known as 80/10/10 or 811 .it saved my life

  • Oh thank you so much!!! Very good information! I am eating "gourmet" raw from whole foods, these vanilla almond snackaroons are insane!! I probably am making up for years of eating poorly. I have more energy than ever, happier, I don't know if it is like a placebo affect or the real thing?? hopefully real! I cannot fast at all, I get really sick and terrible cramping. Anyone know about that? I get terrible bloating and cramping, if after a meal or if I don't eat. I don't get it as much on this diet, I am tinking maybe it is breads?? Or maybe IBS. Other symptoms in that department , but don't want to get to personal. ha ha. Anyway, I really appreciate the responses and I am going to look into all of them for sure!!

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