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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookI am new around here but have been reading the recipes and forumes for a while now. I know many people have lost a lot of weight eating raw foods, which is great. My problem is that I am already at a healthy weight. Recently I used a calorie counting website to help shed an extra five or six pounds I had gained over the summer. I stopped calorie counting and have been eating whatever I want during my short transition period so far. I would not be comfortable with losing more than five pounds right now, and wouldn’t be upset if I didn’t lose any at all. I have two questions: should I be counting calories to make sure I am eating enough calories? and has anyone at an already normal/healthy weight gained weight while starting on a raw diet?
For clarification I am 23, female, 5’6” and about 120lbs.
I eat a lot of big fruity green smoothies, sprouted buckwheat/quinoa cereal, sesame milk and salads/veggies. Plus nuts/seeds and coconut oil treats in a smaller amount.
Thanks for any info!
Comments
I’m just two weeks in, so I’m definitely not the voice of experience. I’m also not at a healthy weight. I need to lose 40 pounds. Well, actually, now I need to lose 45 pounds as I’ve gained 5 pounds in the 2 weeks since being raw. I don’t eat very much oil/nuts/avocados either. I think I’ve had one avocado the whole time and a handful of nuts once every few days. I’m still going to stick with raw because I think my body is just adjusting…at least I hope so!
My stats: 27, female, 5’10”, about 195 lbs (want to be 150 lbs).
Thanks for your input Madness, I was starting to think I said something terribly insulting in my post! Maybe I wasn’t being clear, I just want to basically maintain my weight, not gain much or lose much. So far I don’t think I have gained or lost much, but I do feel thinner. I think this is just because I am not all bloated and super full all the time.
You will probably have to adjust your intake as you see the need. There are some online body fat calculators that will give you some idea of where you are and then increase your intake to stay there. I used to food diary religiosly but I stopped when I went raw and gained a good bit of weight. I eat too many nuts! I also had to stop exercise due to heinous work schedule. It seems some can really eat a lot and lose and others can’t so start with today’s calorie intake and adjust as needed. BTW I really have no idea how much I was eating during the 2 wks I was 100%. I slipped off the wagon back int a sugar addiction and I am on a cleanse now in prep for going high raw. My main goal right now is to get the sugar addiction under control. Good luck to you. Hope this helps.
Most of the advice I have heard is that there is no need to count calories on a raw diet. But more recent advice also talks about watching fat intake (from the summer issue of Get Fresh). That’s the only thing that I’ve been ‘counting’.
So you gained too Deborahann? Are you already at a healthy weight or were you looking to lose on raw foods? I hope this works for me!
Deborahann, I think I will keep logging my food for now until I get a better idea of how much raw I should eat in a day. I also have a pretty serious sugar addiction and trying to control the sugars (honey, dates, dried fruit) I eat has been hard. I know if I slip up it will probably because I eat a dozen cookies or a can of frosting or something.
I guess the whole “eat as much as you want” idea only works for some people. Probably mostly for people who have a signifcant amount to lose.
It is common to lose weight in the first year of going raw. Toxins are stored in body fat and as your body cleans itself the toxin filled fat has to go. It is common for weight to balance out after the first year. I lost a lot of weight in my first year, and I really didn’t have much to lose being quite a thin person anyway, and then in my second and third years it has balanced out nicely, and I am the same size now as before I went raw. But my body is a different shape…better I think.
I don’t count calories or watch what I eat. I eat whatever I want in whatever quantity I want as long as it is 100% raw.
Intuitive eating has guided me all the way. I eat far less now than I did when I first started on raw, and much less fat, but this wasnt by force, just by eating whatever I am drawn to. My tastes have changed and continue to change all the time, getting progressively more simple and fruit and greens based.
When I lost all the weight I was eating the most fat and volume I ever have done in my life. Odd isn’t it?
Hey BirdOfParadise!
Nice owl! I’m into birds, too. I don’t know a whole lot about raptors, but I have a pair of Solomon Island eclectus parrots as pets. I’m also a biologist, I’m getting my Master’s in Fisheries/Marine Biology, though.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the weight/calories thing. I’m 24, female, 5’6”, and about 118 lbs. I’m doing the Master Cleanse right now, and I don’t think I’ve lost much weight on it, that’s not my goal anyway, I’m just doing it to cleanse.
I lost about 15 lbs. when I first went raw 4 months ago, but my weight quickly stabilized at my ideal weight. Also, I went through lots of cravings and phases, eating lots of nuts, eating lots of dates, eating lots of coconuts, eating lots of fruit. But all that passed and now I eat more greens, more basic food and feel balanced. So don’t worry too much, trust your body and eventually you’ll find your own balance point.
Hey Bird of Paradise- I can relate! I have had this problem since my teens but because I was basically an exercise bulimic,I’ve miantained a fairly normal wt. I am 5’3 and like to weigh about 108-110. I shot back up to 123. I am fairly muscular so at my desired wt I wear a 1 or 3 and people tell me I am thin. Right now I eat 1 larger meal and 1 or2 smaller ones. This is what my body seems to want. I try to monitor roughly my intake but don’t write it down…yet. We’ll see how I do after this cleanse. I am also taking some specific amino acids to be sure I have enough to build neurotransmitters and so far it seems to be helping. The binges I’ve had haven’t been as bad and the craving aren’t as strong, Addiction has a stong family /genetic link and food(sugar) issues run in my family.