A Question About Weight Loss

Hello Everyone! I have been raw for almost 2 weeks (though there WERE some failures-it’s still difficult for me to give up coffee)) and I’ve lost 4 pounds so far. I’m 167 sm tall and 138 pounds.My goal is 110 pounds. First week I was tracking carefully my calorie intake-it didn’t exceede 1000 a day. I was still drinking my coffee every 2 hours though…But later I thought of eliminatig it from my diet and,instead of eating 1 or 2 times a day (what was the most optimal and helpful way for me to lose the extra weight) I began eating very frequently,mostly fruits. Part of it was because I wanted to get warmer and part-I felt like my favorite “chewing gum” was taken away. So,the weight loss has been stalled. Now I’m trying to drink more hot water,eat 2 times a day-fruits for breakfast and only vegetables for lunch. I find that seeds and nuts eaten in any quantity(even if I’m eating insignificant amount,approx. 30 g a day,make me fat) And I’m so impatient to get rid of the extra weight! Maybe,some of you know how to manage with the appetite? And another question – did you lose the weight with this way of eating?

Comments

  • Hi desenchantee. Ive lost about 100 lb in a year or so being raw. This diet truly works but the thing is not to fokus so much on weight but health.

    When I read your post you seem very fixated on your weight and the exact number. Why do you want to loose weight? your current bmi is about 23 and if you get to 110 it will be 18,5 which is where professionals set the border for anorexics.

    Another thing is the detox. It can be difficult and many experience different detox symptoms, sometimes making it a bit difficult.

    I would suggest giving your self(and your body) a bit of slack and think healthwise instead of weightwise.

  • Thank you,lushpapaya,for your advice! It’s really amazing that you lost so much weigt,it must be a great feeling of a new body! You asked why I want to be 110 pounds.Actually,it’s not only the number on the scales I’m trying to achieve.The matter is that I’m 19 years old and 5 years ago I was 30 pound lighter… Though I didn’t eat healthy at that time,I just was eating very little. But I know that I have to be close to 110 pounds just for my body and mind to feel good. I want to change.I’m doing aerobics,I like to train and sometimes it hurts to think that so many efforts that I’m applying are in vain. But still I feel so much confident with the raw eating. I’ve become less irritating,more considerable and helpful to others. When I was eating all that junk food or cooked I felt very depressed,I didn’t want to live either. Now everything’s changed.

  • I just wanted to mention that there’s a VERY big difference between a 14 year old girl and a 19 year old woman. I am nineteen now, and I weigh about 30-40 lbs more than I did back when I was 14. When you are that young you are still developing.. that is why you are able to weigh so little. It’s also part of being a woman..think about it, you don’t see many 14 year old girls running around with B cups. [I realize that there are a few out there, but for the sake of this post we’ll assume it’s uncommon].

    I took it upon myself to assume from your posts/avatar that you are a female. If I am wrong, I apologize!

    I agree with lushpapaya in that you should give your body a little slack, and especially if your BMI is already low. Being fixated on a number like you seem to be is the fixins’ for a distorted body image and possible results of an eating disorder. Trust me, I’ve been there and still am there. It’s not fun.

  • deborahanndeborahann Raw Newbie

    I definitely agree with lushpapaya and mangowoman,but I have also been where you are at for many years. I am 42 and most would find me thin at 5’ 3, about 114 right now. I also have lifted weights on and off most of my life so I am muscular. Nobody would look at me and say I was too large but I think that! I was about 100 Lb when I graduated HS. I was exteremely active and ate a horrible diet. I was a binge eater but purged on exercise. I went to college and of course gained about 15 to 20 Lb. I spent the next 20or so years trying to get that off! I probably didn’t get into eating healthy until my late 20’s. I got really serious in my 30’s when I just chronically felt bad and depressed and I looked bad. I remember thinking “jeeze, if I look and feel this bad now what is 10 more years going to do?” This is when I seriously started researching, supplementing etc. I religiosly counted calories and weighed—chasing that magic #. When I finally was successful getting the weight off, I still was focused on the number and not how I looked. The other thing is that I still had the issues with binge eating. Yes, I had cut out sugar and junk,etc. but it still isnt good to gorge on the healthy stuff either! I hadn’t addressed the underlying issues of why I eat like I do.

    I just discovered raw a few months ago and was intrigued by the fact that people said you felt more satisfied when you ate this type of food. I thought “yeah, right,they just don’t have the appetite that I have”. Unfortunately, I had fallen of the junk food wagon and had a horrible 2 wks of eating stuff I hadn’t had in years. I finally mentally put the brakes on and went raw. When I did this I quit counting calories but I still was weighing but only in the morning not 2 or 3 times a day. I made the priority my health, not the weight . Get healthy first the weight loss will follow. I gave myself permission to eat the stuff I wanted and moderation was easy. There was no moderation with cooked food! I eat a lot of green smoothies-1 pt. in the morning and another in the evening. It helps with cravings and they are super nutritious. I have blood glucose issues so I can’t eat a lot of fruit- just makes me get hungry too quick. I do have to stay low glycemic. I also was a coffee addict but I quit that a few years ago. I could not go cold turkey because the headaches and mental fog were too severe. I weaned by mixing reg and decaf and over a couple weeks was all the way too decaf and then off. I drink herbal teas now if I want something.

    I do find that I was craving nuts badly as I went raw, especially walnuts so I would eat a palmful as I craved them. I am not able to exercise much now due to work overload but the weight is still going slowly down. I am really trying not to focus on that and so far so good. I also feel profoundly happy and connected eating this way. I had previously dealt with depression with supplements and they work but this is incredible. The energy and the way you feel are certainly motivation to continue.I find that eating every 3 hrs or so works for my body with lunch being the largest meal. If I eat a lot at lunch, I usually eat a light dinner because I’m just not hungry (this rarely happened on cooked food unless I had eaten until my tummy felt like it was going to pop!). Please focus on this and not “The Number” Like Mango Woman said—you are still developing and changing. Do daily affirmations to remind yourself how blessed you are and make sure to tell yourself you are beautiful! Keep negative thoughts out, focus on the positive. If this becomes a ritual, your self image will change for the better.

    Learn from me and don’t spend the next 20 years chasing a number that may or may not satisfy you. Go for health—Treat your body like a temple and your perfection will follow. By starting now with such a healthy way of eating you can’t help but succeed! Sorry to ramble but I see myself at 19 or 20 in your words.

  • deborahanndeborahann Raw Newbie

    Oops, I forgot! I found some great nutritional info in “Green for Life” by Victoria Boutenko and “Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine” by Gabriel Cousens, MD. I will probably get “Conscious Eating” by him, too.

  • Hi desenchantee! I was just wondering from your first post how you feel and how you think you look right now at 138lbs.?? Do you feel healthy? I’m 27 and I think I’d give my right arm (and maybe a few other things) to be close to 138.. And while I’m slowly working off the weight (I’ll be doing alot more after the baby’s born) I just don’t see myself there anytime soon. In fact I don’t remember what it feels like to be under 200 (even back in HS) BUT I don’t feel the horrible I’m-going-to-die way I did before I started raw.. and that’s what I’m really trying to stick to.. I know that it’s not easy, let’s face it us girls wanna look good ALL the time, but my advice is don’t rush it. Your body is going to lose the weight (if that’s what it needs to do) when it’s right. It’s taken me over 2 years to get to where I am now, I have lost 200+ lbs. so far.

    You have a big advantage over alot of the people who go raw… you’re still very young. If you stay raw you will be crazy healthy and beautiful well into your 90’s (I’ve met a few people who were 50-80 and were raw and they didn’t look a day over 35!!) Also think positive about the few extra pounds! My mental thought would be “Killer curves!!” he he he he

    I would advise you not to count calories because it can be nerve-racking and quite usless if you do regular exercise and you don’t eat a truck-full of food everyday. Keep the nuts and fats in check and try to eat alot of greens and water and you’ll be just fine!! Good luck! K-Mom

    P.s. sorry if this was another long post!

  • Lot of good points in all the previous posts! Actually I dont feel like I have a new body, just an optimized healthy one. The biggest change is mentally. Ive learned not to be so hard on myself and just relax and enjoy life.

    When I started I also had a certain number I wanted to acheive, but realized that this specific number isnt going to make me happy. Its just going to rob me of time and energy because of the fokus and importance I give it.

    Like Mangowoman said, theres a big difference in being a girl and a woman. Unless I seriously restricted I could never get down to the weight I had at 14, and the result would be downright frightening. I would be malnourished and sick.

    Please dont let it happen to you!! the body your building now is going to carry you for many years to come, so be sure you get all the nutrients you need ie healthy fats and vitamins and minerals.

    Our body is a work of art, and we should appreciate, love and revere it as such.

  • Okay. In terms of weight loss. I eat frequently (whenever I am hungry, even if I just ate 2 hours before—metabolism slows when you are hungry)..usually just snacking, sometimes I like to eat more. It is important to stay hydrated, and David wolfe recommends eating half veggies and half fruits to lose weight. But yes—the goal is health. Health is wealth!!

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Welcome to the group Dain5000~ You ask an interesting question that I think has something not asked that maybe the real question that you are asking…

    First I will answer the question you asked. The only way, without exception, no matter what body type, life history, blood type, way of previously eating, drug (prescribed or otherwise) history, size of head, ancestral history, eye color, genetics, whatever, that “works” for everyone to loss weight is…. wait for it… is to die! Yep… After someone dies, THAT PERSON! is 100% guaranteed to lose weight. There has never been a documented case (that I know of) of anyone staying the same weight or gain weight (long term) when they are dead. That’s the “magical” way, no matter what, no exceptions, to lose weight. :-)

    Now for the living… The answer to the question I think you might be asking is whether it will “work” for you? The answer is actually up to you. There are people who eat raw that are “overweight”, some that are “underweight”, and some that are “just right” (however that is defined…) just as there are eating other “styles.” You can choose foods that are raw that will put on weight (for most), cleanse, energize, give you the runs or a stomach or head ache, clear up your skin, support your heart, support your blood sugar levels, etc. Raw foods are not immune from the full range of “effects” that other foods have.

    There are many pieces to the “being healthy” equation. I say being healthy because, in my opinion (and this whole post is my opinion and a “model” that I use that is no more “THE TRUTH” than any other model that you might find or develop for yourself) size or weight is not the sole nor the best indicator of vitality/health. Some people are very vital (they can do what they want, they have minimum health risks, lots of energy, think clearly, have a full range of emotions, healing ability, etc.) at what is termed “large”. There are those that are “thin” that have very little vitality or none in some of those areas and about to die.

    What I offer you is that educating yourself about food (including drinks) and taking responsibility, not a “blaming” responsibility, but “I am the owner of my health and have 100% of the responsibility and the POWER to choose what goes in my mouth, on my body, and the environment that I’m in”. This is a great site to start educating yourself, as well as, other sites. People here will point you in a good direction if asked. There is tons of info available and some is even contradictory. Use your brain and your intuition to select what works for you. There is a HUGE range of being raw from >0% to 100%. There is room for all to be viable options.

    You can take on your health as a struggle or a fight. Or, you can take on your health on as an adventure, journey, fun and play (I mean being playful with it) or something else, whatever empowers you. I totally advocate empowerment because the alternative activates more damage to the body than consuming a Big Mac and large fries or any other such foods at every meal.

    I applaud you for starting to educate yourself (posting here) and for taking a great step by taking the “uncook” class. Choose whatever way(s) (there is no “right” way) to educate yourself that works for you. I like researching stuff on the internet and taking classes like you are taking (there are demos of making raw food on the internet, some are on youtube, type in

  • Lushpapaya – good luck on your journey… from reading your post, and knowing your age (19), i would make 1 serious caution to you: if you are weighing yourself every day (or more) – stop. weigh yourself once a week. if you are doing otherwise, i would say: a. it’s an sign of an unhealthy attitude/body image b. there are tremendous fluctuations due to salt, working out, fluids, etc. and your weight.

    also, i think coffee every 2 hours for someone like you needs to stop… do you really like coffee that much? as for seeds/nuts, you need fat in your diet, fatty acids, to encourage your body to burn fat as fuel. Definitely keep exercising! less fruit, more vegetables if you really want to get lean. good luck!

    Dain5000 – sorry to hear about your compromised metabolism. i would really recommend getting with a doctor who can give you some advice. a naturapath can be good, but ultimately, it depends on the doctor. it sounds like you have some underlying health issues that they can address. take care~

  • It was a long journey-I did fall off the wagon!!
    The reason-I was hungry!!!
    But now I’m back!It was well said-if you ONCE started raw eating,you,probably,will never let it down!
    The most terrible thing is that doubts are always torturing me-
    do I really need to stay raw in order to lose weight?
    Now I know the answer-yes.
    If you ever give in to any cooked food-you will never stop!!!At least I can judge by myself.
    I’m living in Russia.It’s deathly cold here in winter and it’s not so easy to maintain your holy principles about nutrition during such frosts.But I’m thankful to the God that now I’m trying to use my brain))Sometimes I’m wondering-Am I too blind not to see what kind of rubbish I put into my mouth?
    I know that I will never feel happy if I’m trying to fill my mental emptiness with chocolate,junk…
    The other days I was drinking nothing but plain water and I was sleeping like a child-carelessly,quiet,with many memorable dreams)))-isn’t it a point against coffee?)))
    Oh,God,now I’m trying to confess that it’s really formidable for me to endure raw eating because of a hunger.
    I’m very precautious about all fats-not only they leve me without satiety;they make me fat.It’s definatly.
    Did anyone hear about Gerson therapy?He is also sceptical about fats.I think the reason is that all concentrated foods are fattening.
    Speaking about american SAD diet….Well,I think that this is a very sad diet))))....Maybe the diet itself is not so sad….but the consequences are sad for sure)))
    It’s really a pleasure to be free.Now I know what is healthy for me-raw vegetables and fruits.It’s really easy to say but hard to fulfill…
    But is not it for my health?Truly,I’m doing it for myself,for my own happyness…So,all the mistakes can be averted.And nobody but me can do it.I need just to treat it consciously.

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