Hey all,
My name is Grace and I'm from BC. I'm 17, vegan and I train intensively in circus arts. I've heard about raw food and have tried it out recently and felt pretty awesome...I have a few questions:

I'm 5'3 and about 123 lbs. Much of this is muscle mass, but I would like to lose a bit of weight so that I'll be better in my acrobatics. Raw food seems like an awesome way to go (I couldn't do a diet that wouldn't allow me to feel full, raw is awesome because my body will actually let me know when to stop eating) but I am concerned about my training. Can I do raw foods and lose a little bit of weight, while still training hard and keeping my strength?

Right now, I eat fairly well as a vegan, with whole grains and a lot of veggies and fruits. I went all raw for 4 days, which went really well overall. I ended up convincing myself that I couldn't do this as an athlete, which I think was an excuse because I was craving cooked food. For the last couple days, I've been eating mostly fruit for breakfast, brown rice and veggies for a lunch, and salads and nuts for dinner. My problem is craving baked pastries: I've struggled with compulsive overeating for a while and I find once I have a piece of bread or a muffin or something, I crave cooked food and tend to binge on it. How can I curb these cravings? I feel much better when I eat a lot of raw fruit and greens, but somehow still crave baked stuff.

I would really appreciate any advice! Thank you so much!
Grace

I think you should take a look at the posts by fruitarianone. He's a fruit only body builder. He's an awsome role modle for an athelete like your self. Cooked food is an addiction. You were raised on it, you feel you HAVE to have it. when you get those cravings, grab a handfull of almonds. the cravings will pass in a hurry.

thank you so much...i will definitely check out his posts.

I have heard that if you eat enough sweet fruits, your cravings for refined sugar will eventually disappear? Does anyone know if there is truth in this?

And I have also heard the suggestion that drinking water with either lemon or apple cider vinegar first thing in the morning is good because it prolongs your night cleansing time. How does this work?

These may be stupid questions, I'm sorry...I'm really curious about the whole thing.

I don't know if there is any truth in that or not. I do know though, that I started using steva a few years ago. after about 3 weeks of using it, my kids could not stand the taste of regular sugar any more...... I hope that helped some. LOLOL! !

Lemon's better than apple cider vinegar. Vinegar ain't good for ya.

I always would overeat whenever I ate any cooked grains, and now I hear grains have something in them that stimulates the appetite.

I eat lots of fruit and have absolutely no craving ever for any kind of pastry (in fact I've developed an aversion toward it). I've always thought it's because of all the fruit I eat (although I also eat nuts and salads).

I have a theory that the reason why kids and young people such as yourself are attracted to sweets is they're more connected to the instinct to eat fruit.

Raw wheat germ on my salads really helped me cut the cravings and the feeling of not being satisfied. Wheat germ is packed with lots of really good stuff. I often eat an orange after a salad. That really makes me feel full. Citrus seems to combine better with vegies than most fruits.

Brushing your teeth after you eat also helps curb the appetite - it's a psychological cue.

Sounds like you've got a great start.

-Ally



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/12/2006 07:24AM by Ally.

Hey there! I love the circus arts -- I was a gymnast and a diver for my entire life (until I graduated from college). Now I am a triathlete (not professionally, but I have thought about it). I eat raw and probably am competing better than ever before. I have been swimming faster, running longer and biking with more strength. I think that a smartly planned raw diet (not too much of any one thing, plenty of fruits and vegetables, though generally not mixed) with some nuts tossed in, provides more than enough. Plus, now I can eat much closer to competition time without worrying that I will feel bogged down by the lump of food making its way through my system.

Hope that helps! Good luck. And yes, you will lose the desire (and likely the taste) for refined sugar. And you don't need much fruit to do it. Just eating raw cleanly solved it for me (and I was a candy addict!).

Raw Daddy -- livin' raw and lovin' it

Hi guys...

bronwynsun.... you can do any athletic activity you wanna do while raw if you have the dedication to do it...yes along the way there's gonna be a period where your gonna feel drained and exhausted but it's a sure sign that your body is concentrating and using it's energies to cleanse itself.....and that you have a body in good working order...this may take some time so be patient with yourself because there's not much you can do to escape this.

Other than that I would just eat whatever rawfoods you want and have fun....

Wishing you the best!

F1

see? told ya' he was a good role model for you. LOLOL! ! !

this is really good stuff, thank you all...i did my first workout after having raw food all day. i didn't feel energetic, but did 3 hours of tumbling and trampoline...I actually threw a couple double back tucks (flips) which I've never done, so that was exciting. Afterwards, I ran part of the way home!

It was strange because I didn't feel buzzing with energy, but my strength was able to sustain over a few hours.

Before training (2 hrs before), I ate:

a navel orange
an apple with raw almond butter

a banana cut up, drizzled with flax oil and then mixed with some raw wheat germ, cinnamon and raisins.

I think that banana mix is a good thing to eat before training.

Thanks again for all the tips! Would love to hear more and feedback

I love double back tucks on tramp (were you on tramp)? So fun! Congrats.

Raw Daddy -- livin' raw and lovin' it

I'm glad to hear you're doing so well on raw!!! It makes a big difference when your body gets what it needs! I don't feel spastic energy, but I don't feel tired and worn out either. I have a constant flow of usable energy all day and I sleep better at night. Good Job!!

yeah, i think i'm doing pretty well...still have cravings but am working on them. eating raw has also helped me to learn how much i need to eat, and it makes it easier to simply eat when i'm hungry and not eat when i'm not.

I was on the tramp...I went to a different gym where they had a foam pit, so I was doing back and front fulls too so fun!

what are you craving? usually for me, a handfull of almonds kill any of my cravings.

cookies! muffins and pastries! ahhhh i caved earlier today, although I hadn't eaten fully raw (I'm having a little brown rice still to try to prevent exhaustion) I had two vegan cookies someone brought to training. I need to not do this! I'll try almonds.

good idea. cravings like those are usually a need for fats. Almonds are a good sourse of natural ones. And they're kinds sweet in a nutty sort of way. LOLOL!

Be prepared for a fight myfriend...for many, getting off of cooked food is like quitting alcohol or cigarettes....

I find that nuts or some dried fruit can satisfy any craving I come across...I buy the prepackaged nuts from eatraw.com for my office just in case someone comes around with cookies, et al and my mouth starts to water -- a coupl eof nuts later and I'm happy.

Bronwyn, as a diver, back fulls just don't make sense to me anymore. I got so used to doing 1 and 1/2 twists that only doing one backward seems nuts! Front ones are fun though. Ah, I miss the tramp (sighing wistfully as I look around my windowless office). All I have is my fitball that I sit on at work. I am hoping to invest in a new tramp in about 2 years when I think my kids are old enough that they won't kill themselves. I haven't even been on a tramp in about 2 years. Go have fun today and throw some sommies for me!

Raw Daddy -- livin' raw and lovin' it

Thank you, FruitarianOne, for your encouragement...I'm working on it. I was wondering, what do you eat before and after a workout?

Luna, thanks for your advice...I do feel pretty well, but also a little exhausted still. I've decided to take it a little slower until I can take a real break from training, so right now I'm still including a small bowl of brown rice every day. Almonds and dried fruit do help.

And Raw Daddy, I will definitely go out and throw some sommies for you! Yesterday evening we brought the mini tramp and crash mat outside: it had been a really nice day, so we did some tricks out there. I threw a front full, which was amazing off of the little mini tramp

You guys are awesome, thanks so much

what are you drinking? water's great, but green tea is better for energy. Just don't drink it too close to bed time, you'll never get to sleep.LOLOL!

Hi there bronwynsun

I just eat when I'm hungry I don't believe that what I eat has anything to do with my energy or strength levels. I pretty much live on juicy fruits and for me it's all about being hydrated.

Sounds like your body is starting to use it's energy to clean itself and believe me your body will use all of it's energy and it may make things worse if you add cooked food back into the mix.

This is where the dedication and consistantcy comes in.

Make sure you do things that make you happy and surround yourself with positive things and people because your gonna need it when it gets rough.

All the best

F1

The Fruitarian One Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi there bronwynsun
>
> I just eat when I'm hungry I don't believe that
> what I eat has anything to do with my energy or
> strength levels. I pretty much live on juicy
> fruits and for me it's all about being hydrated.
>
> Sounds like your body is starting to use it's
> energy to clean itself and believe me your body
> will use all of it's energy and it may make things
> worse if you add cooked food back into the mix.
>
> This is where the dedication and consistantcy
> comes in.
>
> Make sure you do things that make you happy and
> surround yourself with positive things and people
> because your gonna need it when it gets rough.
>
> All the best
>
> F1



would watermellon be a good after-work-out energy rebooster?(try sayin' that 5 times real fast!)

Ally Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lemon's better than apple cider vinegar. Vinegar
> ain't good for ya.
>

Hi Ally - what is wrong with apple cider vinegar?