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Need help gaining weight!

I’m pretty underweight and I want to gain at least 10lbs. I look skinny overall, but my face and forearms look the thinnest. My torso doesn’t look bad because of my abdominals.

I mainly follow a whole and organic diet (absolutely no gmo/pesticides/fake foods/chemicals/etc). Not strictly eating raw at the moment, but I’m working towards it. Animal protein is generally limited to one portion a day. Gluten intake is minimal (sprouted only). I have been consuming a lot of coconut/palm/olive oil lately and I think that is helping a little bit.

I’d like to have a plan for gaining weight that maintains a good omega ratio and doesn’t throw my hormones out of whack, exacerbate my acne prone skin (almost non-existent due to diet), or produce any detrimental effects.

What foods & healthy fats should I consume and how much? What foods should I limit or stay away from? Are there any safe herbs or other alternative solutions to encourage weight gain?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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Comments

  • thecavsmanthecavsman Raw Newbie

    There isn’t much that I can say about gaining weight – I need to gain some myself (or want to, eventually) as I have lost 25 since going raw. But I will say that maybe you should go towards natural/herbal ways of getting your protein. People may have good suggestions – I’m sure they will chime in.

    But as far as animal protein, I would say DROP IT. From what I’ve read, it is essentially waste from the production of animal byproducts and is actually garbage marketed as healthy. I wouldn’t touch that. The result would be toxic muscle and toxic weight, and it seems to me like you want to gain healthy weight.

  • I’d just like to say good luck gaining weight if you switch to raw. And healthy fats definitely don’t mean you’re going to gain weight from them. I know if you drink a substantial amount of hemp protein every day it can help put on some weight in some cases, but I don’t think any raw foods will really help since they help you drop the weight. Maybe just stick to a regular vegan diet with a good balance of carbs and fats? Hope this helps.

  • By animal protein I mean like a small portion of meat. I wasn’t even aware that people consumed animal protein powders! That’s pretty nasty. I’m generally against commercial protein powders (toxic ingredients, oxidation, etc).

    Even hemp protein doesn’t last very long due to the fatty acids. I just grind up some whole hemp seeds and mix with nutritional yeast, maca, bee pollen and other ingredients for my morning shake.

    I was hoping that maybe I could eat a ton of coconut, red palm, or even cocoa butter and gain weight, but that probably wouldn’t do me very well. Is cocoa butter good to eat regularly? I’m not aware of any health benefits of cocoa butter, so please enlighten me if possible.

    Also if anyone can recommend an alternative health or diet forum with a helpful community, that would be awesome. I like the idea of a raw diet and love some of the recipes on here, but I know that it isn’t the best plan of action for me right now. I posted on this site, because I didn’t know where else to go to! Thanks for the help though!

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    I have read in a few places that practically the only raw foods that help you gain weight are bananas and raisins. You can make a banana smoothie/pudding with several (a whole bunch) of bananas in the blender and whatever flavors you like blended in (dates, cacao, etc). I am trying to help my husband gain weight too. Coconut butter actually can help you lose weight so be careful! We are working on 1 avocado a day and lots of raw ice cream.

  • Yeah I’ve heard about weight loss with coconut oil. I’ve also heard of people in the tropics gaining weight from regular coconut consumption. There’s way too much contradiction with dieting these days.. Is there a chance I could gain weight from cocoa butter? I’m going to eat more bananas and figs as you suggested. Anyone else have some food suggestions?

    EDIT: I just read that phosphorus can help assist with weight gain. Here’s a site that ranks the phosphorus content of foods. Cacao, yeast, and nuts seem to be the best vegan sources. Maybe phosphorus is the key to weight gain?

  • Do you wish to gain lean mass? If so, eat low fat raw vegan food (join the 80 10 10 August Support Group located in the forums and definitely read Dr Grahams 80/10/10 diet book!) and do intense strength training workouts.

  • BeTheChangeBeTheChange Raw Newbie

    oh ya, Bitt? Raisins? Maybe that’s why I was noticing weight gain last week when I was eating so many of them!!! You, miss, have just answered my questions.

  • thecavsmanthecavsman Raw Newbie

    Bananas? Maybe I need to weigh myself as I have been averaging 4-5 bananas per day recently (always having between 4 and 6) – but maybe that isn’t a lot to some people’s standards, or at least it isn’t the amount needed to gain weight.

    I realized I forgot to mention working out. I assume it isn’t just weight you want, but muscle definition. I can’t imagine how you could do 60 crunches, 150 push ups, and like 80 pull ups every other day and NOT gain muscle and weight. Gorilla’s are not humans, but they eat a purely raw food diet and are extremely strong. I’ve read that the best way to gain muscle is to, well, work for it. That’s why I have almost given up on dietary weight gain being raw – not only because I’ve realized through eating that the way I feel and the way my body operates is so amazing and that anything else is now secondary, but also because I realized that if I really really wanted to gain weight, I would be in the gym. I don’t think you could go wrong with strength exercises, though.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    To those who think a raw diet always and only causes weight loss: I was thin most of my life – too thin, until high school. I took a weight training class and gained about 40 pounds in less than a year. I didn’t keep up with it after that. In the following years, I had a lot of struggle maintaining a healthy weight. I lost too much weight any time I cut out fried foods & tried to eat healthy (and sometimes even when I wasn’t trying to eat low-fat), and I gained extra weight that didn’t come off after I had my son. Stress & bad eating habits added even more. By the time I started my journey to health, I was almost 50 pounds overweight. I lost 40 pounds in the first three months (even though at that point I was still eating some meat almost every day) AND STAYED EXACTLY THE SAME WEIGHT FOR A YEAR! That was huge for me, and had never happened until I decided to eat exactly what my body wanted & needed. Then I quit eating meat (because that’s what my body wanted then) and dropped another 8 – 10 pounds. The only times I have lost too much weight in the last three years were a couple of times when I got sick, but I have always gained it back – still eating raw – I just craved lots of nuts & fruit for a while. For me, lots of fruit, nuts, raw oils (coconut & olive), sprouted grains, avocados & young coconuts (along with lots of greens & veggies, of course) help me maintain my weight and feel my best! Hemp seeds have the ideal omega ratio and are a complete protein source (they have all the amino acids our bodies need from food) – I was putting about 1/2 cup on a huge salad every day for a while. :)

  • You may want to try SunWarrior protein powder. Its one of the only raw protein powders that doesnt rely on nuts. You can get it off of david wolfes site. It looks like its really good quality stuff (im gonna start it when im off the juice feast and back to lifting again). You may also want to look at a book called ‘Thrive’ there’s a recipe for a recovery pudding thats super yummy and really helps you after a workout.

  • Thanks for all those suggestions! What would you recommend for pre-post workout nutrition on a raw diet (something I could make myself)? Any good literature or a video series that I could check out?

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Young coconut water is a great raw source of electrolytes, and I have a friend who loves to eat an avocado after her weightlifting sessions. You could add sea salt to the avocado, too. Other than that, the book “Thrive” is written by a raw triathlete (Brendan Brasier), so it should have lots of good ideas.

  • I’m eating more bananas, dates, germinated nuts and hemp seeds which is definitely helping quite a bit. That and some raw milk from grass fed cows. I think the milk has been the best for weight gain so far. It has a high amount of phosphorus which is known to help things grow (in safe amounts of course). I know that dairy is not on the menu for many of you including non-vegans, but it’s doing wonders for me.

    Someone over at CureZone also mentioned that a parasite and liver cleanse would help my body make better use of the nutrients that I consume. I am interested in doing something like that although I don’t like taking potentially unsafe herbs or drinking a ton of Epsom Salts (which can’t be good either). I’ve also heard that those “stones” that pass during a liver flush are just the result of grapefruit juice and oil undergoing saponification once it comes in contact with alkaline secretions in the stomach.

    I’m no expert of course and I’m merely passing on information that I have heard. If you know a safe an efficient solution, then please do enlighten me. Thanks you all for the great info! I will definitely check out the book that you mentioned. A raw triathlete is definitely an inspiring force in the choice to become raw.

  • here’s what ive uncovered from a lot of research – mostly have to credit david jubb here.

    if youre underweight, you are deficient in either body fat and/or muscle mass. bone mass and connectve tissue do not change significantly.

    a body fat deficiency (other symptoms include dry skin, dandruff, joint pains, receding gums) is caused by an inability to digest and absorb fat. either bile is not flowing easily from you liver and/or you have a celiac condition, which is damage/inflammation to the fine tissue of intestine, causing malabsorption.

    the only way to restore bile flow is to do liver, gallbladder flushes (DO NOT USE EPSOM SALT. i had an awful experience doing this once) the only way to reverse a celiac condition is to stop eating all strange undigestible proteins. these would be grains, beans, corn, rice, legumes, chashew, nama shoyu, miso, dairy, carrots, beets, dates, pineapple.

    loss of muscle usually is the result of a loss of nerve force in the body. after so many years of eating hybrid starches, espcially wheat, the cells of the body literally become addicted to the chemical stimulation. when thos foods ar taken away, the body can waste way very quickly. its like a heroin addiction. people who are higly addicted to the drug can die if they go off of it cold turkey, but they dont die from a heroin deficiency. they die because the body doesnt know where to get its energy from.

    as i understand it, if you totally cleanse to liver, gallbladder, and make sure your intestine is healthy (also do parasite cleans with black walnut, wormwood), you should have no weight issus at all.

    i am also underweight – at least 15 lbs. when i went raw i was 150 and very quickly dropped to 120 in like 2 months – got really scared, went back to 80% raw with meat a few times a week and didnt gain any weight.was totally fatigued all the time. that was 1.5 yrs ago. i was really hopeless as to what to do because really couldnt stomach a cooked meal anymore. i found a bunch of interviews with dr jubb and got advic from ppl at his cafe in nyc. since doing 3 flushes since june i’m up to 144 lbs and IM EATING LESS THAN EVER. i feel better than ive felt in over a year. im planning on doing one flush a week indefinitely til no more stones come out.

    i highly recommend calling jubbs longevity and ordering a cleanse guide, and some of the needed herbs.”evacuease” is the only really necessary one. they try to sell you a ton of shit. very expensive.

    hope that helps. feel free to email me, anyone with questions. jesc126@yahoo.com im planning on starting a blog soon with all of the needed information to do a good liver, gb flush and my results with the weekly flush (and hopefully pics of stones)

    from what iver heard the avg number of flushes you need to do to empty all stones is about half your age. so if youre 30, do around 15 flushes.

  • jellibijellibi Raw Newbie

    Interesting information, Dreambrother. Hmmm. I have to think about that for a little while.

  • Indeed that is some wonderful information! I don’t have any of those symptoms of a body fat deficiency, but I do have some verrry minimal digestion issues (constantly improving). The muscle loss theory sounds very interesting and I’m glad you have shared that.

    What do you recommend as a method of flushing the liver+gallbladder and some simple methods to improving intestinal health?

    Can someone can explain how oil + acidic juice actually flushes out toxins in the body and debunk the theory of stones just being the result of saponification?

    What should I be reading/watching/listening to further improve my knowledge of methods such as these?

    I’m sorry if these questions are a nuisance, but I am oh so eager to learn! I really want to learn about these methods as quickly and efficiently as possible to benefit not just myself, but the rest of the world! All of your input is greatly appreciated!

  • the liver/gb flush basically looks like this:

    Day 1-2: preparation (assuming youre all raw already) -follow strict raw diet with no grains, beans, legumes, cashew, seedless fruit, carrots, beets, dates, soy products – eat mostly blended smoothies, soups – use -take shots of lemon juice 2-3 times a day – helps dissolve gunk in liver – prepare for the flush -take herbal laxative 2-3 times a day – can use Swiss Kriss – cheap and fairly effective – or order some “Evacuease” from Jubbs Longevity – this stuff is amazing but much more $ -also do proper food combining to eliminate any chance of gas – eat sweet foods first. never eat sugars within 2 hrs after heavy savory meal. gas always = fermenting sugar GOAL: reduce inflammation in body, and speed up transit time of food thru digestive system

    Day 3: Flush day -Eat very lightly in morning – just a little celery, cuke, lemon, apple juice -2 PM Slowly sip 6 oz fresh lemon juice and 6-8 oz cold pr. olive oil The oil stimulates a massive response from the liver to push out bile to digest the fat. As the liver squeezes like a sponge stones will be carried out along with the bile. -Directly after oil/lemon do a coffee enema chemicals in coffee cause bile ducts to dilate and allow larger stones, debris to pass the enema will clear the colon allowing whats coming later on to pass easily you’ll need an enema bag – can buy from amazon.com coffee prep – 2 tablespoons fine grind organic coffee in 2 qts pure water soaked overnight – strain out coffee in morning with filter or nut milk bag

    there are 3 reasons i’m positive that the “stones” that come out are not saponified oil/acid 1- ppl have done experiemnts drinking dye while doing flush and only the outside of the stone is colored 2 – when this stuff comes out, the smell is horrendous – like its been stuck in the body for years not at all possible that olive and lemon juice create that 3 – the consistency of what ive gotten out is like pea-sized rubber pellets. oil/lemon dont combine to make a rubbery consistency

    i originally came across all of this info through mp3 files of david jubb interviews and lectures. i got those on david wolfe’s member site thebestdayever.com. ive read all 3 of jubb’s books and got maybe 30% of the info – he’s really terribly at explaining his ideas in layman’s terms – lots of complex biology terminology. if you are up for a challenge, go ahead and read – “secrets of an alkaline body”

  • ZanzibarrrZanzibarrr Raw Newbie

    so, apple juice, 32oz everyday not needed? and what about the epsom salts, not needed either?

  • ive seen that apple juice version of the cleanse floating around the internet. from my own experience, it’s certainly not necessary to flush. nothing wrong with having a little apple juice though.

    i tried epsom salts once and i never will again. the coffee enema takes the place of epsom salts in encouraging dilation of bile ducts.

  • Wow! I’m really interested in all this information. I have had extreme digestive problems for the past few years. I got fed up with regular doctors just trying to prescribe me different drugs so I went to a website called diagnose me. It is a 900 questionaire and is analyzed. It told me a lot of things that the regular doctors didn’t even think of. It even told me I had kidney stones. A month later I ended up passing it. Strange that a computer can tell me more than a doctor can. Anyway, it suggested that I go on a raw food diet(have been for the last three weeks), and also suggested that I perform a liver/gullbladder flush among many other things. It suggested the epsom salt method. I’m not interested in having to take epsom salts every day. So , DreamBrother, just out of curiosity what happened that discourages you from taking the epsom salts again. And thanks, for all of the other information.

  • Wow! Thanks DreamBrother for sharing! You have answered some of my questions. But why do you say not to eat dates? They are a fruit with a seed and they are not fatty.

  • and why not pineapple?

  • gomindy – great story. most doctors know little about health, they are great at writing prescriptions though. my experience with epsom salt was burning, painful, liquid poop every 30 mins for an entire day. took me like 3 days to heal from that. really painful. kinda gross but i’d rather save other ppl the experience.

    pulse – i think with both dates and pineapple, the primary reason against eating is that they raise blood sugar significantly. both are highly hybridized and have lost the ability to self-reproduce.

    personally i dont think its any big deal to eat some dates now and then, but not everyday. Dr Jubb is pretty adamant about no dates though. probably shouldnt eat them during a liver/gb flush.

  • When you say to not eat grains, beans, and legumes does this include sprouts? Is there anything bad about eating sprouts every day? What other hybridized/etc type foods should I limit or avoid?

  • ZanzibarrrZanzibarrr Raw Newbie

    I did one with apple juice and epsom salts a while ago and it was fine. Although I have seen a lot of sites not very much in favor of it, guarding against too high a concentration in malic acid, overload of sugar etc with the apples, I guess it is true, I usually don’t like much to juice, I don’t think getting rid of the fiber is a good idea for the adrenals and the pancreas, but I think a 3 day fast on apple would probably be a good idea and very different from an apple juice feast with meals. Same with Epsom salts, a lot of people say the dehydration thing is not good. I don’t know ,Edgar Cayce used to recommend them a lot. And some sites encourage the use of Apple cyder vinegar instead, I don’t think it’s a great idea, candidawise etc… Still I think I will try the lemon juice, coffee enema next time, as I usually do coffee enemas anyway. I readily agree with the dates and the pineapple, and probably you could add bananas.

  • Hey James!

    I’m in the same room that you are in. I need to gain a little weight. I went to see a nutritionist and he put me on this crazy calorie diet which most of my calories where gained by fat. I didn’t feel good at all. I felt groggy, lack of energy, my face started breaking out, I was bloated so I quickly got off of that. I’ve been doing research and realized the 80-10-10 would be best for me. I’m awaiting Dr. Douglas Graham’s book and hope to start soon.

    My best and only advice would be to actually pay attention to what you are eating. Get full off of high caloric foods. For instance a banana(large) has about 120 calories. Avocado (high fat for a fruit) has 320 calories per average size avocado (the florida ones are usually a decent size). I love dates (only 23 calories) so I eat those things all of the time. Fruit (size of peach) has about 60 calories. So just research. You can get a lot of calories from nuts, I try to get a minimal amount of my calories from nuts since most the calories from nuts are about 75% from fat.

    I wish you luck on your raw journey. Are you still going to do the Wai diet?

  • I’ve kind of been following the Wai diet for the last few days without even realizing it. I’ve only been eating fruit, hemp seeds, olive oil, nuts, and rare meat as well as my daily tsp of bee pollen and raw honey. I actually feel full of energy and don’t have digestive issues from doing this! I’m following the rules of food combining as well, so that is definitely helping..

    I think the main reason I lost weight is from muscle loss rather than a dietary deficiency. I’m about a month recovered from being sick most of the year (ebv-like symptoms and some wacky stuff). I used to workout every other day (moderate compound exercises) and was much more active before becoming sick.. leading to the muscle and overall weight loss. I am doing much better now though.

    I’m going to start doing higher intensity compound exercises to gain more muscle once I put together some type of meal plan. I like the results from my short taste of the Wai diet, but I’m going to follow a balanced raw diet for now.

    I don’t understand this controversy about fat though.. Isn’t it sugar and fat that keeps us going? What’s the proper ratio of macronutrients for optimal health and muscle gain?

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    I think the “proper ratio” isn’t the same for everyone all the time, and that’s why there’s so much controversy about it. Different things work for different people, and different things work for the same person at different times. Sometimes I feel great eating tons of fruit, and other times I want to eat a ton of fat, and other times I can’t get enough green juice. I feel great as long as I listen to my body & feed it what it needs. There are many different approaches that have healed people – Doug Graham says 80% carbs (fruit), and Gabriel Cousens says no fruit at all for at least the first three months, and then limited amounts after that. Both have healed people of diabetes and all kinds of other ailments. Not everyone needs the same things all the time.

  • Eating plenty of bananas, almonds, almond butter, coconut butter, avocado salads and guacamole has plumped me up PLENTY and I didn’t want to gain. LOL you can gain eating like I did last month…

  • angie: I understand this… It’s just tough for me to go out and try everything though. I’m aspiring to write a total nutrition book, so people actually know where to start instead of being lost in all of these new diet fads. What are some of the best ratios for me to try? I gotta know where to start!

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