Presently, I eat normally eat 2 or more raw meals per day and 1-2 cooked meals consisting of grains, cooked veggies, rice/beans, oatmeal etc. I am considering working my way up until I am 100% or near 100% raw, but I have a LOT of questions

1. Calories: I'm 20, male, 5'11, and around 140lbs. I have a super fast metabolism and commute to work on my bicycle every day and on the weekends. Mypyramid.gov estimates my caloric needs at 2600 calories/day. Is that what I should aim for? If so, how the frick am I going to get all those calories!!! 1 cup of spinach has like 20 calories and carrots like 45 calories. Every time I have tried to go all raw for trial periods, hunger cravings and extreme weight loss have forced me to add back in grains. I feel better on raw, but its hard to maintain. Any ideas on what I can eat to satisfy hunger and get sufficient calories to maintain my weight or even gain a little?

2. Money: I don't make a lot of money and I'm going to begin attending the UW-Madison full-time next fall. Given my high caloric needs, and buying conventional produce (no organic within 45 miles of Kenosha, WI) how much money would I probably spend on groceries each month? What sort of a meal plan would you suggest?

3. College next year: During part of Spring and Fall I can go on Saturdays to the huge City Market in front of Madison's capital and get some raw foods. Has anyone on here managed to maintain 100% raw at a university while living at the dorms? They do have lots of vegan options, but I'm afraid my raw foods will be limited to 5-6, so I may have to return to veganism at college for a large part of the year.

4. Winter in the northland, eating locally, and raw foodism: How does a northener maintain a raw diet without supporting a 3,000 mile journey from South America? Is it even possible? I go to the Kenosha City Market and buy local each week, but it ends at the end of October.

THANKS SO MUCH!! It means so much to have experienced and conscious eaters out there that can help me come out of the SAD diet that my whole family and nearly all my acquaintances are engulfed in.

1. If you are hungry, eat more. Don't worry about what others say you should eat. If you find you are losing weight, then eat more. Sweet fruit is the way to get more calories, if you need them. The other alternative, which is less healthful, is to eat more fats.

2. How much you spend depends on what you buy, and how you buy it. If you were to eat only bananas, say 2400 calories worth, or say 12 pounds a day, thats 360 pounds of bananas. Buying them bulk and commericial, that would be about 50 cents a pound, of 180 dollars a month.

4. Without tropical fruit, eating all raw in the winter is less pleasant. It means eating more fats to get calories.

1) I would certainly advise eating at least the same amount of calories you were eating before changing your diet in a significant way. If anything, you should try to eat more calories until you settle on a final way of eating that matches YOUR goals. There are plenty of calories in fruit and nuts - just for example.

2) Eating organic is not a 'rite of entry' into health. Just eat at YOUR chosen level of all fruits and vegetables for 6 months - and don't stress.

3) Just stock up and bulk up on greens and inexpensive staple fruits in season. Sprouting can also be a healthy, inexpensive (and fun!) tool.

4) There will always be SOME produce where you live. Eat what is available and what you can - and don't sweat the rest.

-Thank you for your excellent questions. Power and success to you.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com