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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookYou’ve got to help! I have a major problem! I am never full! I have forgotten what it is like to feel full/content with a meal! Here’s the deal:
-I get hungry (which I can still sense, thankfully), so I prepare a meal
-A sample meal would be: 2 cups lettuce, 1/2 cup peas, 1 medium sweet potato, 1/4 cup soaked rice, and 1 cups of broccoli
-I eat the food slowly, trying to tune into my stomach, waiting for signals that I am full, but they never come
-I continue eating until all of the food is gone
-I am left feeling no longer starving, but still wanting more, and still not content or satisfied. Feelings of guilt flood me because I feel like I have just eaten a lot of food and still want more
-Two hours later, I am famished and feel like I haven’t eaten in months
So, I am thinking, maybe since the tons of veggies that I eat are low in calories, I am probably not eating enough calories…I probably stop eating because I think I have had enough (visually, it looks like a lot of food), but I really should be eating more…. Does this make any sense?! Help!
Comments
Yeah, veggies don’t have many calories, so even if you are eating alot of food as far as volume, you may not be getting enough calorically. It totally makes sense. Maybe you should add some more calorie dense foods, such as nuts. Hey and two hours later, you could always have a snack. You should not feel guilty, This food is great and you can eat as much as you need of it with no guilt. It’s not going to make you gain weight or something. Veggies are, well, you could eat them all day and not gain weight. They are real, fresh food, and if you need alot of them you shouldn’t feel bad :)
Not enough. You are getting enough bulk but not enough of anything else.
From reading this and other raw boards, the people who do best 1) add moderate amounts of raw, good fats (such as nuts, nut butters, avocado, coconut); and 2) most importantly eat a lot of fruit.
What fills me up like nothing else is a beautiful fruit salad of 2-3 pieces of fruit, a few dates, and if I’m really ravenous, a little avocado. Norman Walker used to top off some of his fruit salads with nut cream. Doesn’t that sound delicious?
FWIW, if I eat fruit out of hand it’s not satisfying and I can’t eat a lot of it. Frinstance, if I eat a pear, I’m full after the one pear but I’m still not satisfied and I don’t want any more pear. If cut pears into a bowl and add a little something else for variety – some banana or dates, raisins, or other fruit – I can eat more and get really satisfied. A fruit meal always leaves me feeling light, energized, completely satisfied, and not needing to eat for several hours.
How long have you been raw? I know that people who are relatively new to eating raw foods experience hunger in the beginning because their body loves and NEEDS the nutrients, therefore craving more.
When my hunger is not satisfied, I eat a bowl of raw oatmeal. (soaked raw oat groats w/dates and walnuts) If I eat about a cup of this I am very full. When I am hungry I cannot concentrate, so this is great for me when I am hungry and need to get a lot of work done.
Hope that helps!!
What do you put on the lettuce? I don’t see ahny mention of fats here and that is why you are famished within a couple hours! Fat slows down stomach emptying, the foods stays in your tummy longer. Also, fats are more filling. I am not saying gorge on fats, but try 1/2 an avocado, and some extra virgin olive oil on your greens spinkle some nuts or hempseeds. Honestly it won’t hurt you!
I am pretty new to being raw. I eat a handful of nuts with breakfast every morning, there’s some fat. Am I supposed to eat fats with EVERY meal? Is that what you guys do?
I suggest that you add some good quality fats such as avocado, coconut butter, hemp seeds, and black or white sesame seeds. This should help you feel fuller longer. I like to eat lower in fat but not as low as the 8/1/1 lifestyle. Also it will take a while for you to get used to the lighter feeling that you get from raw foods. Cooked foods are very heavy and over extend the stomach. Give your stomach and your mind some time to get use to that empty feeling.
i felt this way at first too. i felt like a bottomless pit. that’s fine. trust that as your body adjusts it will go away. i would start your day with a green juice, then eat fruit… a LOT of it… i like to add fat at dinner. do you like green smoothies? you might not be getting enough greens either. kale, chard, spinach… etc.. unless you blend them you can’t really get a lot of the benefits (or eat very much really… it takes too long!)
keep TONS of fresh and frozen bananas around.
don’t fear fat, don’t feel fruit, and LOVE greens. =)
I also wanted to add that you may not be absorbing enough nutrients from your food which is the reason that you do not feel satisfied. Make sure to consume fresh vegetable juices daily. The nutrients are more easily absorbed and their liquid form because most of the fiber is removed.
I felt that way when I started. The great thing about raw is that you will never feel full (like that stuffed feeling you get eating Thanksgiving dinner). Instead, you’ll feel satisfied and your body will feel lighter, less weighed down. For me, it helps to eat smoothies that have banana, more fruit and a superfood (goji berries, bee pollen etc) in it for breakfast. Lunch is either a green smoothie or a salad with some fat, like olive oil or avocado. I’ll then eat a fruit salad a few hours after lunch. Then dinner I eat all the cruncy stuff, like sliced cucumbers and tomatoes with olive oil or a nut based meal. Then maybe an apple a few hours later if I’m still hungry before I sleep. Adding the avocados, coconuts and olive oil should help. Also understanding that your body doesn’t have to feel heavy like your tummy once did with cooked foods.
Thanks everyone! I am looking forward to filling satisfied with my meals! I have started adding more fats in each meal, so, we’ll see how it goes!
I know you have already heard this: but David Wolfe is adamant that to have a completely nutritious day you need some plant fat like avo or coconut to balance your greens and fruit