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

What if you DON'T feel or look any better on raw?

I keep reading all these stories of people saying how fantastic they feel being 50/80/100% raw, about this energy, vitality, glow and everything.. This is my second time of going raw, first time I was raw for 3 months and felt kinda ok, at least - neither weak nor depressed. Then I had a break (was travelling South East Asia for several months) and now I am back to raw, been 99% raw for nearly a month this time. And... as I said - keep reading and wondering about all these heights everyone seems to experience. Why don't I ever have anything like that? Maybe it is because I am actually fine and healthy as I am? Ihave been a vegan for couple of years now and before that - have never eaten SAD anyway (all these convenience foods - it is just not a part of my culture). The only thing for me is that Iv'e been battling my weight for all my life, I REALLY have to look after what I eat as I seem to put weight on from breathing. And this is the only thing where raw has helped me - when I am eating raw I, at least, can keep my weight where it is (nooooo, I would not even dreaming of losing it, it just doesn't work for me - even when I eat low fat/low sugar all-raw).

I don't know.. I feel that I start developing some kind of criticism against all this thing. All these theories and ideas - this is bad and that is bad, can't mix those two, that is acid food and should be avoided.. I mean, does it help anyone?

Sorry for being so negative, I just feel kind of lost at the moment...

Comments

  • I keep reading all these stories of people saying how fantastic they feel being 50/80/100% raw, about this energy, vitality, glow and everything.. This is my second time of going raw, first time I was raw for 3 months and felt kinda ok, at least - neither weak nor depressed. Then I had a break (was travelling South East Asia for several months) and now I am back to raw, been 99% raw for nearly a month this time. And... as I said - keep reading and wondering about all these heights everyone seems to experience. Why don't I ever have anything like that? Maybe it is because I am actually fine and healthy as I am? Ihave been a vegan for couple of years now and before that - have never eaten SAD anyway (all these convenience foods - it is just not a part of my culture). The only thing for me is that Iv'e been battling my weight for all my life, I REALLY have to look after what I eat as I seem to put weight on from breathing. And this is the only thing where raw has helped me - when I am eating raw I, at least, can keep my weight where it is (nooooo, I would not even dreaming of losing it, it just doesn't work for me - even when I eat low fat/low sugar all-raw).

    I don't know.. I feel that I start developing some kind of criticism against all this thing. All these theories and ideas - this is bad and that is bad, can't mix those two, that is acid food and should be avoided.. I mean, does it help anyone?

    Sorry for being so negative, I just feel kind of lost at the moment...

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    Hi llindaaa,

    I've been raw for over 2 years now (about 90-95% depending on the week). It took me over a year to really notice any differences. Other people were noticing things that I didn't see b/c of the gradual process. The lines on my forehead went away after about a year. My hair stylist said my skin was looking more radiant. My hair has slowly been feeling more healthy. I'm almost 40 and don't seem to have wrinkles yet on my face making me look younger which is nice (but I think it could also be genetics too)

    The biggest thing was after about a year and a half, my knees recovered completely from 20 years of chronic tendonitis and I did my first half marathon this past October. (eliminating dairy completely out of the picture helped this recovery!)

    My point is that it sometimes takes a bit longer for some of us to notice the benefits of raw. Previous to raw, I was pretty healthy and didn't eat SAD. So I too kept wondering what the big deal was especially the first few months. I even wrote to a raw friend saying that I haven't noticed any benefits after only being raw for about 2 or 3 months. But now I can see that I am so much more heatlhy and less tired. I can't say that I have these magical revelations like some raw foodists claim. I envy those people ;-) But we are all different and own our own paths. Just be patient and do what's best for you.

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    Funny I'm struggling with something similar to this post. I've been coffee-free for over 2 months and have not noticed a single darn benefit. Now that it's getting colder in VT I'm really missing my morning cup of Joe. All the other coffee substitutes are not cutting it for me. I've had to throw away cups of yerba matte, teeccino, tea, fake roasted grain coffee, etc......each morning. Bummer!

    and I found a 20 year Harvard study claiming that a cup of coffee a day is not harmful.............

    Ok, don't mean to hijack the thread but maybe I just need to give it more time? Maybe in a few more months of being coffee free I'll notice the difference?? hmmmmmm........

  • That is quite inspiring, JoyceH. Thanks. Already feel better. :)

  • Raw PassionRaw Passion Raw Newbie

    What irritates me is when I see people who binge on junk and meat and crap and have *amazing* skin and bodies!

    I ate healthy but still full of spots, Im trying to go 75% so I can have the skin I desire, if that doesnt work I will go 100% my skin, I think, is sensitive to what I eat - so if Im eating 25% normal food - it may not be enough,

    Currently Im on 25% Raw, but its going up and up by the day! If by 100% raw I look no different I'm going to think 'sod nature' and go get surgery ;)

    Joking aside though, before that happens I will do my best to try and make sure my diet include all the best nutrients it can... If nothing works I will resign.

    I dont doubt i will feel healthier when I eat more pure whole foods - it makes sence really doesnt it.

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    Raw Passion, those people who eat crap and have good skin right now are lucky and probaby young. But things will catch up with them eventually. Those same people may someday suffer from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, or other diseases caused by nutritional extravagence.

  • GlitterGirlGlitterGirl Raw Newbie

    I feel ya! I don't feel amazing and vibrant like others describe (although I'm not all raw). I still have acne and I'm sleepy a lot of the time. I do feel better eating whole foods than boxes of Lil' Debbie snack cakes, though. My skin and hair have improved but still aren't perfect. I've never been overweight but I probably have less body fat now...

    Although I don't feel super incredible like others, I feel good about the lifestyle and am happy with it- a little improvement is still improvement ; )

  • luxdivonluxdivon Raw Newbie

    i have the hair issue too. 6 months. and i'm still losing hair. Tragically i think mine possibly could be because of iron deficiency. because i drink coffee with just about every meal. i dunno. cooked & sad food, i didn't lose my hair even with drinking coffee. its a mystery. i believe in raw foods, so i think it'll work itself out. but i need to find some kind of test to see for real.

  • I am just really looking after my hair, doing coconut oil masks at least once a week (this is the BEST, this is how my hair survived in South East Asia), only very rarely using styling products, hardly ever blowdrying it..

    But my weight? How come that I am not losing weight even if I spend far more calories than I eat??

    Lulushka8, I hear you on that glow! Everyone commented on it when I first went raw, but i have never ever experienced that feeling since..

  • luxdivonluxdivon Raw Newbie

    llindaaa, how much do you weigh, and what is your height, if you don't mind me asking.

  • I am 167cm and my weight is 72kg. So I am not imagining anything. And I would say that this is my best form, which I am only able to maintain by being very strict with myself. I am actually hypothyroid, which might be the reason for it, but then again - I am taking my medication and my hormone levels are fine, so..?

  • This is a great advice, Eecho. Because I do tend to eat at late (sometimes - very late) hours. I have heard people saying that they find it easier to limit the time they eat rather than the amount of calories they consume. Well, I am definitely not one of them. I would rather eat food very low in fat,sugar and calories but at all times. Maybe it is the cause, really? Because I know that my digestion is extremely slow. I will definitely try this thing out, starting tomorrow!:)

    Just one question - does not eating at night also means that you shouldn't consume any liquids (I love my herbal teas..)?

    Yeah, I will try to swap my breakfast (green smoothy) with my evening meal (salad) as it doesn't work for me anyway - I only have this smoothy because it is supossed to be very healthy to drink it on empty stomach but it doesn't fill me up at all!

  • blueyzblueyz Raw Newbie

    Lol, so for a change I read through all the posts before commenting.

    Thryoid can be an iissue, I went back to very hea;thy eating but off 2 meds so I feel better mentailly but I am suffering with weight. I'm back to eating bare minimum if I want to lose at all, 'normal hormone' levels for me mean I am usually feeling OK but can't lose weight and can have majjor GI issues unless I cut all grains/legumes. Oh, and nuts, blow me up Gi wise!

    As to not eating at night..it does help. Herbal teals and light veggies are still fine, or at least for me. The main reason I do better in cooler weather is the maszsaive amounts of herbal teas I drink these days!!a

  • Blueyz - how I understand you about limiting yourself and only eating bare minimum!! Yeah, that is very strange - my medications were supposed to reduce my weight as well but.. Nothing so far.

  • well after dark here is 5pm.. pretty dfficult. And I go to bed aroud 1am...

    Drinking warm water also seems to help me, so i dont drink so much herbal tea. I probably drink nearly half of my daily liquids after my last meal.

    Maybe that isnt a good thing.

  • I only started to notice differences when I consume green smoothies throughout the day (mine's usually a kale/spinach/leaf lettuce mix). WHenever I go back to drinking fruit smoothies during the day instead of the green ones -without fruit- then I start to get sluggish, sleep more, and gain weight.

    Those green smoothies aren't delicious, but they've their own allure:) My hair's been fine...but I hvae to say, going raw has made me feel cold much of the time. I sometimes just take a hot shower just to get warmed up again.

  • GlitterGirlGlitterGirl Raw Newbie

    As for the weight, I've seen a lot of ppl lose weight eating 6-8 smalls meals a day, mostly veggies. Light on the nuts and super light on the sweets (fruit and agave stuffs).

  • eechoeecho Raw Newbie

    My one bit of advise is to stop eating late at night (after sunset). Perhaps you don't do this, but most do. Eliminate this habit and you will feel more wonderful all day. Eat a big breakfast, bigger lunch, and a moderate sized dinner before sunset.

    Also, JoyceH mentioned not getting immediate great results, but then went on about how she only recently kicked her coffee habit. No offense Joyce, this might be a fine path for you, but don't knock raw. You have to take things like that into account. People hold on to this or that, or maybe indulge "only every now and then" on some junk foods, and then wonder why things don't work out. In a scientific experiment, you need a base case to test against your other trials. With raw food, your base case is eating 100% raw during daylight hours. If you are not doing this, then other factors will be skewing your results and you have no base case to compare against. If you are looking at what is your highest potential, first try being 100% raw during daylight hours (and fasting at night time), then adjust from there.

  • kellyannekellyanne Raw Newbie

    Hi Llindaaa!

    I'm sorry to hear that you're not seeing results. Eating raw doesn't necessarily mean it's healthy. There are some raw diets that are actually worse for your health than eating a cooked diet. What does your diet look like? If you consume any salt you may just have a lot of water weight.

    When I first started eating raw I ate higher fat gourmet raw which included oils, salt, vinegar, lots of bad food combining, low-fruit, etc. I didn't see any results and I didn't feel any better. I ended up getting a candida overgrowth and was desperate so I tried a low-fat all fruit and veggie diet with no oils, no salt, no spices, etc. Nothing but raw fruits and veggies and that's when I started seeing results. I couldn't believe the difference, it was immediate. For the first time in my life I was waking up with energy and actually feeling rested. My acne cleared up, my body and face are no longer puffy, and my facial features became more defined. My skin is hydrated and smooth and the whites of my eyes are really clear. My hair is still healthy and thick. It's been 8 months now and I'm still loving my diet.

    It might be a good idea for you to experiment with different raw diets and pay attention to the results and the way you feel.

    Wish you all the best :)

    Kelly

  • eechoeecho Raw Newbie

    If you are experimenting, it would be optimal to water fast from sunset to sunrise. This will give you the most "unbiased" results. I personally do juices at night because I have found this is manageable for me. However, I would confine your experiments to plain liquids, i.e. if you do tea don't put anything else like honey in it.

    The reason for this "restriction" is basically that your metabolism slows down at night. So, if you eat at night then food won't digest properly. And if you go to sleep while this is happening, you will be robbed of good sleep and also the food will turn into fat. Most obese people don't become obese by eating huge meals all day, they become obese by eating huge meals all night.

    As far as 6-8 small meals a day goes, I personally advise against it. It gets the job done, yes, but only because it overly stimulates the metabolism. Its like putting a huge pile of bricks on the gas pedal of your car. Sure, you're gonna go really fast, but you're also going to destroy your engine. I have written more about this here. For weight loss, I recommend first trying to eat at the right times.

  • try 80/10/10, you will feel much better, on low fat, raw vegan...low fat is the key to making this diet a success (so I have heard, I am on my 6th day and feel great)..you can read about my progress on:

    http://fruitisstaceysfriend.blogspot.com/

  • RawEverythingRawEverything Raw Newbie

    Hmm I noticed the same things as the original poster (less muscle, less energy, weak body). I changed from 85+% raw vegan to something disgusting and the energy levels are way up, body is much stronger (becoming brad pitt like in snatch or fight club unbelievable even with once a week fitness). Raw vegan is great changed my life completely great improvements in health (also mentally) but I think the diet is not THE solution for super health in the long run. Ofcourse I'm also experimenting and learning every day maybe the choice I made now are also not the right one but then its time to change again 8).

    To think about it maybe everyone's health improvement when starting raw vegan is because they remove grains from there diet?

    Low fat is not it (I'm eating raw butter and other really fat things (also raw) now and body still function perfectly).

    Water fast is not my thing If your hungry eat if not don't eat same goes for drinking.

    Eating on specific times. Nope I eat when I want early in evening or just before going to sleep what ever I feel like. Gives me no problems and I like it.

    Cleaning parasites, bacteria is a waste of time and money. Just eat it if you trow up right after you eat it it was to bad to eat or your heath is weak to fight the bacteria.

    Raw food makes eating and cooking very simple 8).

    Of course everybody is different and reacts differently on food, these are my findings it may or may not fits your body 8).

  • eechoeecho Raw Newbie

    Everyone is beginning from a different state of toxicity and therefore will have different paths to optimum health. If anything, we should be discussing what works the best for most people. Just because one person can live a certain way doesn't mean they should promote that way as the truth. There are always exceptions for whatever reason, but we need to stay focused on what makes sense logically and what most people are actually using to succeed long-term.

  • Raw PassionRaw Passion Raw Newbie

    Haha I guess. It's like my overweight but VERY healthy tutor said. Outside apperances dont always reflect your interior.

  • What times do you normally eat your meals eecho? I agree with not eating late at night but I haven't been able to do this in the winter, the sun sets before I leave work.

  • I agree with you, Coconut Love! For my lifestyle, not eating after dark, would mean 1 meal a day, as it is now getting dark even before 5pm here!

  • eechoeecho Raw Newbie

    First, the honesty - I don't always do the "daylight diet" (only eat during the daytime). Its usually on and off depending on stress levels and motivation. However, recently I have been doing so consistently. And many others will tell you the same thing, that doing this produces wonderful results. And, the logic is simple and somewhat intuitive once you submit to it.

    Second, sunset here (Philadelphia, PA) is currently sunset is about 4:45pm. So, it is possible. If you can't stay up till 1 or 2 or 3am and be on the daylight diet, then just go to bed earlier and wake up earlier! That's how we're designed to function anyway (go to bed at night, wake up at sunrise). Then your eating patterns will also shift to where they naturally should be, and you will feel better.

    Third, eating times. Personally I usually eat breakfast a little bit after waking up or after working out. I'm in a military program in college so we do 6am workouts. So I end up eating breakfast between 7:30am and 9am. Then I eat lunch around noon, and dinner around 4ish. Dinner varies the most. Sometimes if I don't do any workouts I will eat two meals and eat 2nd meal around 2pm or 3pm. Then I fast until the next morning! However I still drink juices as I desire them for the rest of the night. I've found this is a good "compromise" for me and its really helps me to have a lot more energy.

    However, eating times will change for a lot of people and you basically have to figure that out on your own, in my opinion. I think it would be best starting out to simply conform to eating during the daytime, and fasting at nighttime. If you do that you will figure out what times work best for you.

Sign In or Register to comment.