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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookMy hubby has been raw for a little while now but he keeps on loosing weight and I’m so concern. He’s 5’8/9 n weighs only 120lbs and he’s face n body looks super skinny n older looking.I even heard a comment said that he looks like a grandpa but he’s only 38. We’d tried everything by eating lots of sprouts everyday,lots of avocados, oils,bananas, hemp seeds but nothing works. I’m also raw but I eat raw fish such as sashimi/ceviche. If 100% raw vegan is not really working for him, will it work for him to eat some raw fish? He said he feels great but his looks and weight is totally horrifying to see. He looked much healthier when he was eating cooked foods before.
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Hi Chella~ That can be really concerning. My suggestion is that since there is such a concern, go to a good doctor and have hubby checked out from head to toe. If everything checks out, then focus on adjusting food. But first eliminate a physiological cause. My best to hubby and you.
I reckon his weight will even out in time. When people detox they often lose a lot of weight because fat cells hold on to toxins so they are all released together when you detox.I went down 4 dress sizes during my first year raw, now 3 years in and I have gone back up a couple. Maybe in the meantime, until his detox levels out, some muscle building exercises like the ones Storm from
www.thegardendiet.com
does would help. He does little videos you can download for a few dollars. As you can see from his photos, Storm knows all about making raw food work for men!
Also put a tablespoon of oil in his smoothies.
But you do say that your hubby is happy with his weight and feels great…if he feels better then isn’t it working for him?
does your husband have a good amount of raw greens in his diet? when i was losing too much weight, green smoothies and juices helped to balance it out
He eats alot of greens also and works-out. He always tells me that it’ll take time for him to gain some weight back but I don’t like the way he looks right now neither does he.
I would cut back a bit on the working out. Detoxification and vigorous exercise do not mix very well. He may not be getting enough calories as well. Tell him to up his calorie intake. Lot of bananas keep my weight up. But I do eat quite a lot (12-20 a day) If he is not up for that, then avocados are awesome. But I really think the real problem is the exercise that he is doing. If he wants to continue exercise light exercise would be ideal. Yoga is a superb option. It maintains and builds strength in the muscles without straining them.
hi, i think your hubby MAY BE right. excuse my english. Even i’m also around 34, 5’8” and weigh only 115 lbs. I’m 95% raw for last ~6 months and I eat sprouts daily (Fenugreek, Mung bean, Wheat). As long as I don’t feel emaciated or depleted, i’m not too much worried abt my weight. This is mainly because even before I went raw I was never above 125 -130 lbs range. You also need to understand that it’s not easy to gain weight for some body types and it takes longer than usual. If he is on downfall, like continuously loosing weight (every week 3-4 lbs), then it’s DEFINITELY A CAUSE FOR CONCERN. But if he’s stable at 120 lbs and feeling healthy/energetic, it may be OK.
If he doesn’t have any problems with gas/digestion, try eating lots of Mung Bean sprouts. They are easily digestible and most nutritious. And as humanimal suggested, Working out may be taxing on his body. Some gentle form of exercise like Walking, biking, self-massage may be more relaxing.
hey- did you say he exercised a lot? humananimal mentioned to cut back, but i hadn’t noticed that said anything about his exercise routine.
i actually meant to click here and write that maybe your husband needed to do some muscle building—some athletic yoga, push-ups, sit-ups, maybe weights. in my experience exercise builds muscle, food intake controls weight. actually, have you seen the documentary on thegardendiet.com called “breakthrough”? they mention that they notice their kids start to look rather emaciated when they don’t get enough exercise.
but if he is somehow sick… please seek out a homeopath that knows their stuff!
ooops. just noticed i totally repeated zoe’s comment. =)
he works out sometimes such as push-ups n weights to build some muscles.hmmm we’ll see out last result.
I’ll advice you and Dear Husband to read Victoria Boutenko’s book Green for Life,where she tells of stomach acid levels and loosing weight on raw food. This is also discussed on a tread called “I eat only smoothies, wife’s concerned” or so a week or two back.
I’ve seen the book for only
Does he eat enough fruit? My male companion was frighteningly skinny for a while but then he started eating like 25 bananas a day, or dates, or other high-caloric-density fruits, and lifting weights, and he looks much better-actually just gorgeous-now. I recommend this website, on which you can log what you’ve eaten during the day and it can calculate for you how many calories you have eaten vs. how many you should be eating for your height/weight/activity etc. Also it lets you know what percentage of your calories are coming from fats vs proteins vs carboyhdrates, which for the average raw foodist can be wuite illuminating! (Most of us eat far too much fat, I’m afraid.) Have him track his consumption for a few days, and he will soon realize what, if anything, he may be missing. The website’s free to use.
www.nutridiary.com
My husband found it very helpful to take ACV and drink celery juice, to help with stomach acidity. He was having trouble getting enough to eat from his poor digestion and wasn’t absorbing much, which was causing severe weight loss.
I am about the same height but weigh about 135-140. When I first started to eat a la 80/10/10, I found that I was losing weight pretty drastically. Now I have been on this diet for about 1 year I find that my weight is stable. I do not need to go to nutridiary or do anything special to maintain my weight, my appetite seems to make sure it stays constant. I work out at the gym 3 times a week with free weights, which helps with appetite and I eat lots of high calorie dense fruit such as bananas and dates. Other than that I don’t think his weight is that low for his height, maybe at the low end of normal for a raw food eater but certainly not at a red zone by any means. Doing more strength building exercise will help gain muscle, doing exercises like running will shed more weight.
You know. A lot of people dont agree with me on what I am about to say, but Im saying it anyways.
I do martial arts and I do very heavy weightlifting. When you do these things you get used to counting your calories, carbs, protein, and fats. I am 6 foot 8 and weight 186. After my detox from going raw I was down to 173. I gained 13 pounds while being raw. All muscle.
If you want your husband to gain some weight. Start counting his calories. Find his resting/basal metabolic rate.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa64.htm
This website has a calculator at the bottom of that page. The article also has some good information. This resting metabolic rate is how many calories you need to eat a day, while staying completely immobile, to stay at your current weight. My RMR is appx 2900. But because of me going to school everyday, working everyday, and general everyday stuff my real metabolic rate is somewhere around 3900.
So I have to eat appx 3900 cals a day just to mainting my weight at 186. This doesnt include the calories I burn weightlifting. But since I want to gain weight I must eat more than what I burn a day. So I eat about 4500 calories a day.
Its pretty light math, and www.nutridiary.com can help you count those calories.
A typical day for me?
A very big spinach/brocolli/sunflower seeds/flax and olive oil salad and an apple for breakfast.
Lunch= 6 dates, 3 bananas, a Raw Energy bar, avacado.
After workout shake= 4 bananas, 2 cups of water, olive oil and flax oil, raw hemp protein, raw agave nectar.
Dinner= 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, avacado.
Before I go to bed= another shake. Only 1 banana, 1 cup of water, some flax oil, raw hemp protein.
Appx= 4400 cals, 100grams of protein. This isnt in line with many raw guru’s 80/10/10 plan. But when your skinny and you cant gain weight, a lot of food and fats help. Also weightlifting, no running, will help build muscle fast.
Deadlifts, Squats, Pushups, Dips, Pullups, Overheard Presses. These exercises alone have put a lot of muscle on me.
Its a long road to gaining weight on a raw diet.