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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookI know this request might be a bit unusual, but I was wondering if there's any healthy / safe way to gain weight while eating a mostly raw diet. Both of my parents seem genuinely interested in the raw lifestyle, but my mother hesitates to make any sort of plunge for fear of becoming thinner. She is a bit underweight and finds it endlessly frustrating with so many people concerned with *losing* weight, and she becomes extremely sensitive whenever her body weight is mentioned. She's 5'5 and would love to be at least 120 lbs .. I'm not sure how much she weighs currently, but it is much less than that. Most people she confides in about this just tell her to eat more junk food, but she's very health conscious and knows that isn't the way to approach it. She generally doesn't eat too much throughout the day, but certainly can and does eat a lot in general. Neither of us are sure what the problem is. I'd like to offer her some advice in a healthy way, but I'm not sure how to approach it. I came across a testimonial on We Like It Raw about the subject, but it mostly seemed to be an exhaustive eating plan that involved way too many nuts, avocados, and eating late .. none of which is good for your health. Is there any hope of her gaining weight this way, or should she just keep eating more or less a Standard American Diet? Any tips would be very appreciated .. as I said she raw and still eats some meat and plenty dairy, so any sort of food may suffice.
Thanks in advance!
Comments
well, first off... i don't know how she could be health conscious if she still eats meat and dairy. is that possible?
my suggestion would be for her to eat more fruit. it is calorie dense and she will gain weight. she doesn't need all the nuts and avocados.
You are right, most people are concerned about gaining weight and wish they were thinner, but your mom is dealing with the opposite. I don't think that eating more junk food would be good for her either. Yes it would make her gain weight, but she would be very unhealthy. I think that including nuts, seeds, and avocadoes are a good thing to include on a raw food diet, in moderation. I guess she could eat a little more than "normal" without overdoing it, for example 1 entire avocado a day rather than 1/2 of one. Since she eats dairy, she could include more cheese in her diet since it does have fat.
I don't know if your mom exercises at all, but if she were to lift weights she could gain muscle weight. That way her body would have a bit more shape to it (although I shouldn't really say this since I don't know what she looks like), she would be muscular and weight more, but she would still be very lean and healthy.
Ok this is pretty much exactly like my girlfriend as well. First, some good youtube videos:
To summarize them, hemp is a good protien source to use a lot of, and if one wants to gain weight they must be consistent. A consistent diet (no going back and forth with certain foods), and a consistent training program. For my girlfriend, I am trying to encourage her to just continue eating more and more healthy and to stick with her running schedule. Excercise not only makes the body more efficient but gives a truer sense of hunger so one is more satisfied with healthier foods and is able to consume more calories from them (for weight ganing purposes). I think those two videos are a good start. Just ignore that guys gross calves.
Thanks a lot you guys, I'll see if she'll pick up on any of this stuff. :)
joannabanana, I know, I'd like her to be vegan too .. in her defense, she only eats meat once in awhile, and my dad is the cook of the family so sometimes she just makes the mistake of eating what she's given. :P I never thought about the eating more fruit thing though, good idea!
AVL, she doesn't exercise as much as she should, but she's picked up on the benefits of weights a bit. On top of her poor frame though she also has a very curved spine .. :( hopefully she gets stronger!
eecho, thanks a lot for the tip! I'll show her the videos :D