Becoming a raw food vegan?!
My biggest problem was being hungry all the time. At first, I was dealing just fine... It seems, though, that my body will plateau and fluctuate by 3 or 4 pounds (this is in general, not in the raw transition) and as soon as I start to dip below that, I feel insatiably hungry until I load up on food and go back up to my "regular" weight. I hit that plateau about two weeks after going raw, and managed to stay raw- although overindulging- for another few weeks before starting to re-suppliment my diet with cooked grains, ect.
I have had problems in the past with eating disorders. When I hit these plateaus and become ravenous all the time, I get very depressed. When I can keep my food intake steady, I manage ok, but when I start pigging out and eating everything in sight, I tend to "crash" and eat more because of these problems with food that I've had in the past.
The main reason that I started putting cooked food back into my diet was protein... I felt that a big reason that I was hungry all the time was because I was lacking it. (Has anyone heard about the Blood Type Diet? About a week ago I was doing some reading, and came across information on it... If the theories that it presents are correct, then as an O- protein should be a major part of my diet...)
Does anyone have any suggestions for moving past this initial phase of detox and getting back in the raw swing? I started taking a greens suppliment, to make sure that I was getting enough. I know that nuts have a good amount of protein, but sometimes they make me sick.
Are there any side-effects that I should expect from this detoxing phase, and anything that I can do to ease the transition?
Answers: About three months ago, I began transitioning to the raw food diet. At first, I was strictly raw... I just kinda threw myself in there, and managed to upold it for about a month. Since then, I've kinda fallen off the wagon, though.
My biggest problem was being hungry all the time. At first, I was dealing just fine... It seems, though, that my body will plateau and fluctuate by 3 or 4 pounds (this is in general, not in the raw transition) and as soon as I start to dip below that, I feel insatiably hungry until I load up on food and go back up to my "regular" weight. I hit that plateau about two weeks after going raw, and managed to stay raw- although overindulging- for another few weeks before starting to re-suppliment my diet with cooked grains, ect.
I have had problems in the past with eating disorders. When I hit these plateaus and become ravenous all the time, I get very depressed. When I can keep my food intake steady, I manage ok, but when I start pigging out and eating everything in sight, I tend to "crash" and eat more because of these problems with food that I've had in the past.
The main reason that I started putting cooked food back into my diet was protein... I felt that a big reason that I was hungry all the time was because I was lacking it. (Has anyone heard about the Blood Type Diet? About a week ago I was doing some reading, and came across information on it... If the theories that it presents are correct, then as an O- protein should be a major part of my diet...)
Does anyone have any suggestions for moving past this initial phase of detox and getting back in the raw swing? I started taking a greens suppliment, to make sure that I was getting enough. I know that nuts have a good amount of protein, but sometimes they make me sick.
Are there any side-effects that I should expect from this detoxing phase, and anything that I can do to ease the transition?
Buy vegan raw food bars - these are life-savers! Raw Revolution and Active X both make some great raw food snack bars that are easy to throw in your bag and eat when you're hungry. They have nice chocolately flavors, and they contain things like raisins, nuts, seeds, raw cocoa, fig, etc. The nuts are a great source of proteins in these and will help keep you full. You can also go to your local natural food store (or in some cases even your grocery store) and go to the bulk food section and get raw nuts. Grab a bunch of different kinds and then make your own protein-packed trail mix! My favorite thing to do is make home-made peanut butter with raw peanuts, and then I put it on celery. And a last option is buy a raw food shake, there are plenty on the market now!
I think the blood-type diet is a bunch of hooey. It's a bunch of junk science. Since you've had an eating disorder in the past, you want to be careful to avoid falling into bad patterns.
What you could do is eat mostly raw and have cooked food when you sense you're getting to that "plateau". It's not unusual for people to be roughly 75 to 80 percent raw, eating the occasional cooked dish.
However, if you sometimes have trouble with nuts, a raw foods diet may not be for you, as it's very heavily nut-based (nuts have the protein you need).
I'm vegan. But there is no way I could only survive on raw food. I agree with Marduk D. Raw Vegan diet sounds like a bit of a fad to me. You should be eating a good VARIETY of foods. Not just fruits n leaves. You need grains and cooked food to survive. It's obvious you binging coz your body is malnourished . stop punishing yourself and eat some real food.
raw food diet is a unhealthy any diet where you need supplements because the food does not provide what you need is unhealthy
just follow a calorie controlled diet usually around 1200 for a women and eat things in moderation and exercise at least 3 times a week for 30 mins each time the weight will come off it is healthy and you won't feel like binge eating because you can have you fave treats now and again
Here is a great website for all the questions you are asking;
http://www.hacres.com/home/home.asp
They have a free newsletter & access to their archives.
The base of this diet is 85% Raw & 15% Cooked. They also have a Childrens variation of the diet.
Slainté (to your health)
Our diet affects not just our bodies but also our emotional and mental well being. Eating habits build up over a long period of time and you need to examine your motivations for changing your diet.
- do you want to lose weight?
- are you concerned about animal welfare?
- do you want to cut back on unhealthy cooked fats and processed foods with high salt and sugar?
The ritualistic nature of preparing raw food can appeal to those with eating disorders but this is a very bad reason to embark on a raw food diet.
I am a great believer in listening to your body. I eat about 50% raw food in my diet. Every now and then I will get a craving for a piece of toast for example - so I just have it.
It's no big deal!
I know that eventually these cravings will dissipate because eating raw makes me feel so good. I've lost weight without even trying, my energy levels and sleep patterns are way better and I can't even look at a McDonalds now!
There is so much conflicting nutrional advice that it's impossible to follow everything you read. I would advise that you listen to what your body is telling you - if your are constantly hungry then maybe you need to think about regulating your blood sugar levels with some complex carbohydrates that give you a slow calorie burn.
Try out different textures of food. Did you know you can make crunchy raw pizza crusts with a food dehydrator? This may give you some psychologocal satisfaction in your diet.
As for protein - it's one of the biggest myths that you can only get sufficient protein form meat and dairy products.
Hemp seed for example is over 60% protein - way higher than a piece of steak. Supplements may help you too -spirulina is a superfood that contains virtually all of the nutrients required by the human body.
Good luck in your raw journey, but please consult your doctor if you are in any doubt about your overall health.
http://www.rawfoodideas.com