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Truly lost :(

Hello,

After my 30-day raw food challenge (which actually ended up as 25-day raw food challenge..) I feel in am a bit in crisis..

I'll start with were I came from - a vegan for a year, eating lots of raw but also having cooked meals. My typical day would be like - cereal and some fruit for breakfast, soup and some salad/ an ocassional jacket potatoe for my lunch and then - big salad with some cooked tofu/beans and a slice of bread for my dinner. Lots of fruits throughout the day. When I try to calculate it , it seems that I had at least 50% of raw anyway..

There is another thing, though. I have been for years and still am - an orthorexic (obsessed with healthy eating). It started as all kinds of diets, then I was with Weight Watchers for a year and then - just all kinds of limiting myself, spending hours in self-accusations about foods (which I did not regard as healthy) I had had, thinking for hours and hours planning my shopping, shopping, cooking, always carrying my food with me, even when visiting people as it seemed to me that they all ate soooooo unheatlhy (which they actually didn't).. Now, when I look back I see that at what I ate at the tie was NEVER unhealthy, still - I felt guilty for eating what I ate as what I regarded as healthy changed from one diet to another (low-fat, low-carbs, low-sugar, vegan and now- raw foods..) - a huge psychological distress. The only unhealthiness was in the fact that I probably never ate enough to satisfy my body needs and, hence - I have problems with my period as I only have a period like every 6 months.. There also might be other health problems which I am not aware of.

Of course - the reason for all this was that I have always had issues with my weight. Ironically - gone through all these years of orthorexia, my weight is still pretty much the same as it was before. No, I am not obese or even really overweight - although I have some extra pounds (167cm, 70kg), my weight is still considered as being on the upper edge of 'normal'. But - of course - I am not satisfied with this and my weight always is a reason of (whatever kind of) healthy eating.. There SHOULD be some way how to decrease my weight from upper to middle 'normal'??

Now about eating raw. First days were fantastic, I felf great - happy, energetic etc. Then, perhaps, detoxing started. One day was particularly bad when I felt so sick at work (sickness, headache, weakness) that I had to go home. The following week I felt really depressed and weak. And then started the next phase which I am in now.. Knowing me - obviously, I targeted 100% raw straight away as otherwise I felt it was just not good enough. Now I am still eating high raw (70-80% at least) and have couple of questions:

1. Is it really ok to eat cooked food sometimes (I now it is a stupid question, it is just that for me it feels like that otherwise 'all is lost again'). Is it better to have seperate cooked meals then or to mix it with raw food (like a big green salad and a slice of bread or some cooked tofu)?

2. Does raw food work for everyone? I really like the idea, but maybe there are people who just can not digest it all? For example, during these 25 days I had quite a lot of broccoli, cauliflower and kale salad as I thought it would be more substantial than just spinach and salad leaves. Tasted great but left me all bloated and gassy. Or is it another sign of detoxification?

3. What about fruit, how much is too much? I usually eat like 5 apples, 4-5 oranges and a couple of bananas a day, is this too much of sugar? I have heard from some raw foodists that it was due to their consumption of too much fruit what lead them to putting on weight on raw food diet (a well-known raw-foodist in UK Karen Knowler, for example).

4. And.. I did not lose any weight, could it be that this is just my 'natural' weight I can't do anything about or I should blame raw food bars (1 in 2 days, maybe), or my VERY ocassional slices of non-raw bread I had with my food on the days when I was working (I work phisically very tiring work and a shift may last up to 12 hours)?

I would be really, really, really grateful if someone who knows would take time to answer at least one or two questions as at the moment I feel really lost.. :(

Comments

  • zinfandelzinfandel Raw Newbie

    First of all, chin up. You don't need to be depressed any more because raw food CAN provide you with all the answers. Somebody on here will post all the answers to your questions for you so you can move forward and be more informed.

  • leahcelesteleahceleste Raw Newbie

    Hi there!

    First i would like to ask what reading on the raw food diet have you done besides on the internet? It sounds like maybe you started this diet not having enough information on nutrition and good eating habits.

    Raw food is no magic pill that will make you loose weight just because you ate it for 25 days. My weight has fluctuated greatly during my past 2 1/2 years on high raw. I really had to experiment and look closely at what I was eating, do alot of reading and thinking to figure this out. If I eat cooked food now it makes me gain weight. Let me give you some wisdom from my experiences and my journey and I hope it can be of some help to you.

    First go a get a couple books on raw food nutrition, for example:

    David Wolfe's The Sunfood Diet

    Fred Bisci Your Healthy Journey

    Gabriel Cousens Conscious Eating

    Tonya Zavasta Quantum Eating (also check out her site, www.beautifulonraw.com I think it will hold many answers for you)

    If you want to loose weight start juicing everyday and stick with it. When I feel the best about my body is when I drink 2 vegetable juices everyday.

    If you keep eating bread even occasionally you will not be able to loose weight. Sometimes weight is actually swelling or bloating in the body which I found out once when I did a month long cleanse and my feet shrank 1/2 a size! Some people say don't focus on weight focus on inches, get a measuring tape and measure yourself. This is really what you are looking for I think. Weight does not matter as much as size, this is what makes you look more attractive and fit into your clothes better.

    Eating all that broccoli, cauliflower and kale will give you tons of gas!!

    Here is a sample of things that I like to eat often and make me feel good, thin beautiful healthy:

    Green juice with apple

    Green smoothies (pear, banana, romaine)

    Breakfast porridge, flax seed, apple, brazil nuts, dates and cinnamon

    Fresh Gaucamole spread on Romaine leaves

    Spinach salad with red pepper dressing

    Nori Rolls with Cheeze with Spring Onions (Cheeze recipe on this site)

    Wakame Salad

    Salads made from spinach or arugala or radish greens

    small fruit salads or just papaya (my favorite)

    I usually get my fruit in my juice or my smoothies and don't eat to much by itself. I have tried high fat raw and low fat raw and really just like something in the middle. I have not had problems with my period on raw but I think that is because I eat fat pretty regularly. It sounds like you may be trying to go too low fat, try eating a small portion of nuts each day and 1 avocado and see how that works for you.

    Let us know how things are going and if you have any questions!

  • CarnapCarnap Raw Newbie

    You need to be careful about food combining. When I first started transitioning, which I am still doing, I would have to leave class to go to the bathroom or even go home. You should make green smoothis, which are easy to digest.

    I hate to say it, but you will just have to learn what works for you. I know if I eat too much raw brocolli I have a problem. I also have to shred it in my food processor or juice it. Nuts are a big one for me, too. Walnuts are fine, but if I eat loads of almonds or even pumpkin seeds, I will have problems.

    You will lose weight, but for now concentrate on NOT having a stomach ache.

    Also, my digestion problems got better when I did a liver cleanse and a colon cleanse. I obviously had and still have a few problems after years of processed foods...

  • SuasoriaSuasoria Raw Newbie

    Hi Lindaaa, and welcome. I doubt you will find consensus on any of your four food questions even from people here with years of experience. I'm less inclined to say "you should do/eat XYZ" but more inclined to say find what works for you, since you live in your body.

    I do think it's a benefit that you understand orthorexia is an eating disorder, like any other ED, so that you can identify the symptoms that may pop up for you. There are others with a history of EDs here who can offer support and information too. Going raw will bring up "raw emotions," of course, and you seem prepared to manage them.

    If you're in the habit of keeping a food journal it might help you identify what foods cause upset stomachs or do/don't provide you with enough energy to get through a long day.

  • all very good suggestions above, especially leahceleste's book recommendations. read, read, read, and you will discover how your experiences fit into the bigger picture.

    regarding the non-raw portions of your transitional diet, i have read it is beneficial to have raw food along with the cooked. i can't quite remember the science of it, but some sort of negative immune system reaction happens when you eat cooked food that doesn't get triggered if at least 50% of the meal is raw. sorry it's so vague, i read it a while ago. point is, i think if you're going to eat a little cooked, it's best to have it with a lot of raw.

    i have trouble with weakness when i go too raw also. for me, i think it's lack of calories (i have an active lifestyle and a high metabolism). i am still figuring out how to get all the calories i need in a day raw. i'm sure it's possible, but i'm not quite there yet. 90% is my goal. until i can make that a feasible reality, there's no shame in my adding some cooked calorie padding. for example, i added some rice to my raw vegetable salad today. rice, pumpkin seeds, yellow squash, carrots, corn, lemon juice, olive oil, basil, nama shoyu, and nutritional yeast. yum-o! and it got me through my demanding afternoon without weakness or a sugar crash. no shame because i know that i am working towards a goal and that i am still in the process of getting there. no shame because the 60-70% raw that i am now is still really healthy compared to just about everyone else i know.

    no shame. just remember that every lifestyle and body has different needs. try not to be so hard on yourself. it takes a lot of trial and error to figure it out. and ultimately, it's about being good to your body and feeling good. let that be your guide.

    and read! read more than one raw author to get multiple perspectives and ideas!

  • Thank you VERY much for your replies everyone, it really helps to hear other opinions and learn something new..

    Those of you who mentioned that I should read more are right, all of my 'knowledge' about raw eating I have only gained through internet and haven't read any books yet - this probably is why I have so many questions.

    And yeah, this is my problem - I don't listen to my body at all, I usually only eat what I think is good rather then what I actually want..

    I'll try another month I guess, but this time will eat what I will feel for.. and no more raw cabbage!! :)

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