Hello Beautiful!

It looks like you're new to The Community. If you'd like to get involved, click one of these buttons!

In this Discussion

Loosing weight :(

I guess I am tying this to my introduction.

My name is Jeremy and I went raw on Monday of last week.

When I was eating cooked food (vegan organic) I was having aout 4000-5000 calories a day.

The reason? Im 6 foot 8 and my walking weight is/was 200lbs. So I am rather skinny. I train in martial arts and i weight lift. So I needed most those calories to get me through the work outs and gain weight at the same time.

Since becoming raw, I have dropped from 198 (weight fluxuates between 198-202 with cooked food) to 193. In a week and a half! Im going to my chiropractor today and Ill weigh myself again, Im afraid of the results.

Is this just fat falling off? Or am I actually loosing healthy muscle weight? I can get through me work outs fine enough, with energy to spare usually. I have been eating anywhere between 2900 calories – 3500 calories a day. Calories are easy during breakfast and lunch. But dinner gets hard to come up with stuff.

I have read Raw Power and I follow a lot of what it says, but shrugs. My body type and metabolism is completely different from other people.

Thanks!

Comments

  • chriscarltonchriscarlton Raw Newbie

    If you take a common sense look at it…

    Why would going from ‘cooked vegan’ to ‘raw vegan’ cause anyone to lose “healthy muscle”. If the numbers on your scale have changed in the past week, during which time you have improved your diet by not destryoing your food, why should you connect the two or believe that this is bad?

    If the weight change was caused by a healthy change in your diet, then common sense says that it is a healthy weight change. Maybe you have dumped some stored toxins???

    You are talking about a weight change of around 2% (5 pounds). When I was SAD I could lose 5 pounds during a visit to the toilet.

    To quote you “I’m afraid of the results”. You have no reason to fear the food nature has provided. There was no mistake in nature, that ‘wise mankind’ has corected with cooking. Pots and Pans do not grow on trees.

    If you study ‘Raw’ you will learn that after a while your body will find it’s optimum weight on ‘Raw’. You are gonna have to apply a little faith and patience. ‘Raw’ is not a 10 day wonder cure.

    I don’t count calories and I don’t understand what you mean when you say “calories are easy during breakfast and lunch, but dinner gets hard”. I would advise you to stop counting calories, stay off the scales for a while and start stuffing yourself with some of the 377 amazing recipes on this website.

    After being 100% purely raw for 6 months or so, If you are having health/weight problems please let me know because you will be the first I have heard of.

    Lovebows, Chris

  • Thanks for your comment.

    I honestly never thought of it in those terms.

    Ever since I started cooking for weightlifting I started counting calories. So I just supposed it would be smart to do it going into the raw lifestyle. I already feel much healthier, my sinus problems have disappeared and I have been getting sleep I never dreamed possible.

    I guess I just have to trust that it will be the best for me in the long run. Thanks for your help.

  • spiritedmamaspiritedmama Raw Newbie

    Chris gave you some good advice…I was thinking the same thing also, maybe your body dumped some toxins, which is a very good thing. Patience and trust is all you need and your body will find it’s optimum balance. Congratulations on going raw!

  • Chris and SpiritedMama,

    So, caloric intake should be completely disregarded and put aside when going all raw even if we need to maintain and gain weight?

  • the cooked vegan diet, though healthier by degrees than some ways of eating, relies on a lot of grains…..these promote water-retention

    that first initial dump of weight lost is often dramatic and is commonly known as ‘water-weight’

    this same change occurs in the experience of fasters or those attempting different cleanses, but after the initial loss, things slow to a steadier rate

    keep in mind that the body will always work towards health to the best of it’s ability with the nutrients that are available and as you are now feeding your body with the best nutrition possible, trust that the body is doing what it needs to

    there are examples of (previously underweight) people gaining weight with raw foods…with the right nutrients, the body will eventually find balance….

    with respect to the calorie argument…....

    this can become quite contraversial as everyone has their own experience…but….

    from what i can gather

    calories are the energy that powers us….regardless of the type of diet, we need them

    there are formulas which you can use to find out (according to height, age , weight etc.) the amount of calories that you burn…at rest

    then you calculate the levels of activity and add those calories to your requirements..this becomes the fuel that burns to power this extra level of activity

    if you burn more calories than you intake you will lose weight….simple

    and , as some of us know only too well…if you intake more than you burn…..well….

    so if you needed 5000 calories to train at this level before….then you will need the same amount of calories from raw food

    can i recommend a book entitled the 80/10/10 diet by dr. douglas graham…..he presents a well, rounded, scientific and extremely down-to-earth argument for the raw calorie argument….his book will resonate more for someone like you as it is a program used to train raw enurance athletes, of which the author himself is a shining example

    good luck, mon bruv

  • I agree with the comments given. For starting out on a new diet it is best to do what needs to be done to stay the course and not return to the old cooked diets. Disregard the calorie counting at the start and start a regular scheduled workout with strength building as the core. This will help build muscle to replace the water that is being lost. The body retains water for survival purposes as it uses the water to dilute the massive amounts of toxins that were entered into it by eating cooked foods and other sources. If these toxins were not diluted they would be strong enough to cause more damage and possibly death. Be happy that you are becoming less toxic. Weight gain will happen as you create the demand by doing strength exercises such as weight lifting, pullups, pushups etc. You will naturally eat more as your body demands more calories.

  • Okay, I find everyone’s feedback very interesting. Although, I am not the avid weight trainer- and to my dismay for logistical reasons I have been unable to make it the gym on a regular basis I too have been to my dismay losing weight the more and more raw I’ve been going. So when I had my appointment yesterday with my doc- and they weighed me- evidently I have now lost 6pounds in the last month which leaves me at 110 at just under 5’9. I figured perhaps that partly the bit of muscle I had has disminished- and that was the result in part of the couple of pounds. But b/c I get so full so soon after eating a basic raw dish- and the traditional docs of course say I’m not intaking enough to not lose weight I dont know. Does any raw foodist have a method or ex food plan that could better give me an idea what I could better do or incorporate to get enough nutrients and what not?

  • orgfoodaddict, you need not go to a gym but just start with a walk around the block. Then try to add situps, pushups, or whatever other exercise you prefer (yoga is great). If you give your body the desire for more calories and do strength building exercises you will eventually gain weight. Eat a balance of food including lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Do not compare yourself to the average person because the average person is in a failing state of health – healthy weights are much much lower than what society percieves as normal or average.

  • SocaL, I am not trying to compare myself to the average person believe me. I made it quite clear to my doctors how I thought the bmi is nonsense- and how I dont see the need to be 130 or 140 lbs at my height. However, I do not want to lose weight- especially not the weight I had worked hard with alternative practioners to gain back to be healthy again and maintain. I do take almost daily good walks with my dog and walk up to the store frequently as I cannot drive. I am going to aim to work in more and more physical exercise and strength training like you said.

  • I found a website once, i think it was rawfamily.com, but am not positive about that because i tryed to double check and their url isn’t working right now. But the website said that people who have a problem with a lot of weight lose should be drinking ALOT of green smoothies throught out the day and that they usually gain it back. The person had even written a book about it and had testimonials. I’m sorry i can’t be more specific but you should try checking rawfamily.com out

  • blujett8blujett8 Raw Newbie

    I think you may be thinking of sergei boutenko?

  • jkd_soccer801 & orgfoodaddict

    I just wanted to give you a word of encouragement. I find that in this world there is a serious obsession with weight. We lose a few pounds and we think it is unhealthy. Yet there are some who are paper thin and think they are too fat. The key is to be healthy. No one can tell us what our ideal weight is. Everyones body is a different shape and size. Alot is based on genetics, ethnicity and lifestyle.

    You are losing an ample amount of weight that is basically toxins, fat, water etc. After you have gone through the process of elimination, the body will restore itself to the proper weight and size that is best for you.

  • Hi Jkd_soccer801,

    Once your body goes through the natural detox and cleansing, you should be able to eat the 4000-5000 calories/day. Don’t worry. If you want to make sure you are eating adequate amount of calories (since you are an athlete), use www.fitday.com. A raw foodist told me about it. It’s great. The website allows you to input what you’ve eaten and it will give you the caloric value of the food (fat/carbs/protein). Eventually you may not need the site because you will have an understanding of which foods will provide the necessary nutrients.

    All the best.

  • Maybe you could add more fats to your diet, ie avos, nuts, oils…

    I am a triathlete in training and I eat avos almost everday. I also always put coconut oil and dark leafy greens in my daily smoothies. You can check out my daily routine at www.lindaintheraw.blogspot.com. I have been loosing weight but I find that consuming more fats/oils and greens has given me a fuller look so that I don’t look to thin.

Sign In or Register to comment.