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

We don't eat enough calories

RawsikiRawsiki Raw Newbie

Okay, so I have been reading up daily menus that you guys have posted on what you’ve been eating, and it sounds great and all, but it also sounds like there is a serious lack of calories. I mean, some people only have a salad for lunch with other veggies, and we all know that veggies are very low calorie. I bet a lot of us are getting less than 1000 calories a day. What do you think? Does anyone count calories and notice that they are able to function on a small amount, contrary to what society’s nutritionalists say?

Comments

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    from what i understand the reason you need a certain amount of calories is so your body doesn’t go into too heavy a detox. you should eat as many calories as you need to avoid too great a detox that your body can’t handle. as you eat more raw foods you clean your body and eventually need less food to stabilize yourself… your body is healthy enough to do this for itself.

    this is why i think there are so many disputing theories of nutrition, why some people NEED fat and others can moderate, etc… we are all at different levels.

    this is my opinion for today at least, we’ll see what i think tomorrow. =)

  • I guess everyone’s different…

    But I agree that for me I don’t always get enough calories if I just go by whether I’m full or hungry.

    I seemed to be getting around 1100 a day, which I do not consider to be enough especially when I do about 6 hours of exercise a week.

    So I am really focussing on getting more fruit, simply for the calories, and using my salads/veggie dishes as a nice plate of nutrition to go with my fruit, rather than relying on a salad for a main meal.

    I was bingeing a lot on nuts and SAD before, and getting more calories seems to be helping with that.

  • coconuttycoconutty Raw Newbie

    I think of it a little differently… yeah according to the standards out there we may be eating way less calories, but on the other side of it, we are getting WAY more nutrition out of our foods. So therefore I don’t fall for the whole “this is the ideal amount of calories you should consume”. For those who lead more active lives then by all means they should be consuming more natural fats and what not. But as far as worrying about the amount of calories it takes to function, I don’t. I base it on how I feel.

  • My running partner just schooled me for not eating enough calories and I think she’s right. I don’t feel right and if I eat another banana I’m going to start swinging from the trees.

  • lets not forget that raw fooders have to expend less energy in metabolic processes. we are more efficient burners of energy, and therefore don’t need more calories. I usually go by how i feel, but have found that if i eat enough complex carbs, ie oat groats, and greens, my blood sugar never dips down. of course if someone exercises they might want to have an extra meal sometime during the day to replenish their reserves. Kind of funny how the food guidelines given by the government suggest 2000+ and so many people in North America are so overweight…. something to think about.

  • Very true coconutty, I would also like to add that if you are calorie counter I would jump on FITDAY.com and log your calories. I am a very active person doing some type of fitness 6 days out of the week, and I drink juices, smoothies and a salad to end the day, sometimes with a few raw treat like fig and date squares. I continue to gain muscle mass and strength with no problem.

    NOTE” I also take E3LIVE which I am no pusher, but I have to say why would you be raw without this stuff, its way better then that chlorella and wheat grass stuff seriously. Plus it’s more of food not a supplement, which I hate supplements.

    PEACE

  • achin70achin70 Raw Newbie

    Yeah, everybody’s different. I’m finding out that I need tons of protein and calories in general to function well. Because of my caloric requirements, I consume quite a bit of fat as well. On an 80% raw diet, I’m consuming 2700 calories a day. And I’m only 120 lbs!

    I might also need to detox a little more. After detoxing, my caloric requirements should go down. As you become clearer on a cellular level, you’ll likely need less and less food. :)

  • SuasoriaSuasoria Raw Newbie

    I think there’s such a huge variety in people’s physiologies that there’s no right answer for everyone. However, I’m always skeptical of what the conventional wisdom is on nutrition – whether it’s calories, carbs, fats, food pyramids, specific nutrients like protein or calcium, etc. Just about everything we’ve been taught about food is wrong, so why not calories too?

  • SueSue Raw Newbie

    Wow, achin70, 2700 calories a day!! You must have a built in furnace..Good for you. Ardesmond2, I took E3live for quite a while but I ran out. I can’t really say if it made a big difference because I felt good from other stuff I was eating/doing. As far as calories, If my pants are loose, I lost some weight, if I have to lay on my back to snap them up, I better stop stuffing my face.

  • I eat enough calories for sure, otherwise I would have lost some weight and body fat, which I didn’t unfortunately.

  • This may seem like common knowledge but can someone remind me—when you aren’t getting enough calories, is it fat that gets consumed first or muscle?

  • Luna bluLuna blu Raw Newbie

    Zoey, i believe it is muscle. The body is too efficient and sotres fat like it’s going out of style!:( Although, as you know, I am vegan and we are slow witted, so I could be wrong!;)

  • I’m never going to live that one down.

  • achin70achin70 Raw Newbie

    Sue: Sure it’s fun to eat, but I miss being hungry, believe it or not! Food’s more enjoyable to me when I have an appetite. I look forward to the day when I can eat less and live more. :)

  • Luna bluLuna blu Raw Newbie

    Zoey, hee hee hee! :)

  • I miss you, Luna.

  • Ok so Calories are units of energy. We all need energy.Your body uses the energy from carb then fat then protien.

Sign In or Register to comment.