New to the forum... would like advice

Hi everyone! My name is Holly. I am thirty years old.

I have been interested in raw foods for about a year. In the winter of 2009 I became interested in raw foods after reading Harvey Diamond's books. I started experimenting with all fruit breakfasts. I found that I felt great! Then I became a vegetarian. In June of 2009 I started experimenting with 80-10-10. I felt amazingly good and was able to maintain my weight (115) without issue. Then in August of 2009 I started to swell and retain water. I gained weight and was uncomfortable most of the time. It is now almost a year later and I am still struggling with the same issues. I have struggled through an eating disorder during this time. I have been mostly raw except for some evening binges. I am now back to 80-10-10. I have been back on track for three days. I have only been eating fruit because it seems that is what my body wants right now. I am still swelling. My clothes don't fit. My fingers and face swell. My legs get puffy and redish. I have tried to up my water intake but I am not thirsty most of the time. My doctor said it is a lack of protein. I tend to eat fruit because I do not overeat fruit. I know that I do not eat nearly enough but I am often not hungry. This has been driving me crazy. I know that raw is best for me. I just want to stop swelling and return to my happy weight so that I can be comfortable and wear all of my clothes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much in advance. :-)

Comments

  • Hi Holly,

    I am sorry you are feeling so uncomfortable! I'm not sure what would be making you retain water. I'm a big believer of variety in the raw food diet. I think lots of fruit is great but I think greens are key. Have you tried green smoothies? Maybe getting more minerals from greens in your body might help. Also, have you been to the 30-Bananas-a-Day forum? They are 80-10-10 and might be able to provide some good advice!

  • Sunrise,

    Thanks so much for the comments! I think you are right. I do need greens. The problem is that I am only wanting to eat fruit right now. I need to figure out how to incorporate greens in to my diet. I also need to find a salad dressing that I like. I stay away from oils and vinegar and I have yet to find one that I really like. I am a member of 30 bananas a day. I did post and I have received a few responses and they say the same thing about the greens. Thanks again! I really appreciate you replying to my post!

  • You're welcome! To incorporate greens in your diet, I suggest you start making green smoothies, heavy on the fruit and gradually increasing the greens to fruit ratio. You won't even know they are there! Gradually, I think you're taste buds might change. Lately, for salad dressing I've been piling my plate with greens, shredded carrots and cucumber and then peeling an orange and squeezing the juice out a bit and piling the fruit on top for dressing. I never imagined that I would do this before1

    For green smoothie maybe try a few bananas, another fruit and just a handful of spinach or collard greens to start! Let us know how it goes!

  • Hi Holly, I understand 100% ! I have not had any swelling but I do understand being hesistant towards the leafy greens! I am on day 5 of a 100 day raw food challenge and I find myself wanting to eat nothing but fruit, seeds and nuts. I understand how important it is to eat the dark leafy greens so Ive been finding ways to incorporate them into my raw diet by making different juices with spinach and rainbow chard with apples.

    I'd love it if you could stop by www.youtube.com/100daysraw

    Its the daily video blog that I'm keeping with my husband and it's all about our experience. If you have any advice or comments that'd be great!

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