Hello fellow raw foodists,

I have been almost 100% raw since the beginning of the new year. I feel as though I have not jumped into this too suddenly because I have been a vegetarian (and on-off vegan) for 3 years, where the majority of the food I ate was not cooked (except for the occasional stir fry).

The most glaringly obvious thing I have noticed on this diet is that I have not lost any weight. If anything, I might have gained weight... but not any significant amount (it is probably because of bloating which brings me to my next observation: I am always bloated and seem to retain a lot of water).

In the first week of my raw food escapades I experienced diarrhea, but now I seem to be experiencing a type of constipation where my excrete is very limited in amount. Back when I was a vegetarian I used to consume a lot of fiber through fiber one cereals and so forth (usually consuming a daily amount of over 40 grams of fiber) and my excrete was a lot larger and more solid.

Has anyone else experienced this while on raw foods? Is it normal and which is better? I feel as though nothing I eat is escaping my body.

In a typical day I eat: raw sprouted granola (buckwheat, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds) with fresh fruit, salads, nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, ect.), dates, green smoothie, various fresh fruit and vegetables.

bananas115

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I am always bloated

Are you practicing food combining ? I like to eat mono meals separated by a SLIGHT return of hunger to improve digestion.

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retain a lot of water

Are you using any type of salt, Including sea, pink, or Himalayan salt etc. ?

When I went raw I started losing weight right away and 1 1/2 years later (since Aug 1, 07) I am still losing weight but its slowed down a lot. You might try cutting out the nuts and any dried foods.

I get bloated when I eat salad; but not smoothie. Raw is actually pretty hard to digest. You need to blend/pulverize/pre-digest the food. I use the Blendtec 3HP Blender, it liquidfies everything (even super hardy seeds).

I get constipated when I consume too much seeds, esp. the oily type such as cashew, brazil nuts. Almond, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds seem to be okay.

Some fibers such psyllium hull (insoluble fiber) actually can cause constipation. You need to experiment with different types of fiber. Flax seeds and the Arrowhead Mills Organic Oat Bran (half soluble and half in-soluble fiber) helped me. I'm still experimenting with other fibers; will post when I find out more...

As for the small excretes. Leafy Greens or High Fibres alone just isn't enough for me. I actually need a combination of starch and some good quality protein to bulk up the stool. For starch, try yam, oat meal, brown rice. As for protein, I have trouble with beans and lentils. I actually need some real meat - raw fish, and white meat. I'm not 100% raw nor vegan. I'm probably of not much help here.

Good Luck!

no wonder you are feeling what you are.

Keep it simple and a simple happy life shall follow.

Everyone is different. Some folks cannot handle a heavily mixed raw diet. Some folks cannot thrive on sprouted grains and nuts. You'll have to examine your own diet and see the items that are causing you problems. My suggestion is to try 30 days of switching out the grains and large amounts of nuts for other veggies or fruits. Maintain a sensible level of fats in the form of avocado, coconut or sunflower seeds. Just my experience.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

An upset bowel is 'par for the course' when beginning on a vegan/raw diet due to the change, and toxic elimination.

I only eat two meal each day, and don't combine fruits with vegies and nuts/seeds, and don't drink any liquid half to one hour before or after eating. I have one meal of fresh/dried fruit, and one of nuts/beans/vegies (all raw). I don't have any trouble, and even if I miss a day, the next day sees me headin for the loo and back on track.

Cheers, geo

I'm not sure why Rawie is posting on this VEGAN site.

I agree with Davidzanemason's advice

Thanks for the advice guys,

I have a feeling that my body does not do well with all the fat from the nuts and seeds (my previous vegan diet was very low on fat). The only issue is, I absolutely LOVE nuts and seeds and i looooove to eat them with fruit!! So there is no way I can lead a happy life practicing the proper food combining where I cut down on the nuts and seeds and only eat fruit alone. I have a suspicion that this is what is the issue but I feel there is no way I can be a happy raw foodist without it...

I figure that as long as I include my green smoothie and tons of leafy vegetables/fresh vegetables there is no way that I won't be healthier than I've ever been.

Opinions on what I should do?

personally I don't think eating - an addition - of any healthful food will create a whole lot of health - or any - while neglecting the real habits and prior issues that create discomfort.

that said I don't think the solution HAS to be extreme in any way. or cutting out this or that food.

food combing issues are not limited to which foods you eat in a single sitting, being aware of how long certain foods take to digest also factor in.

a good rule of thumb is to eat lighter to denser through out the day...for someone starting out, drinking lots of pure water or with lemon, leading up to some juices (probably best to stick with vegetable) or squishy fruits. followed later by salads and denser material. if you are eating the grains and nuts in the earlier periods of the day, any fruits or smoothies eaten on top of that (2-6 hours) most likely will just bring about fermentation and other digestive issues rather then health. SO I think in this case the 'way' overcomes the 'will' if you catch my drift.

you can try eating just the high water/high fiber foods for a few days, or with some nuts/seeds in the evening. If you still have the same issues I would consult a specialist/colon hydrotherapist.


[www.giveittomeraw.com]

>I absolutely LOVE nuts and seeds and i looooove to eat them with fruit!<

I think this is probably the main cause of bloating and not losing weight, because fruit + nuts is a bad food combination. Also, if you're detoxing-- which undoubtedly you still are, as it can take a long time even for a cooked vegan to release toxins they've accumulated over a lifetime, and it could take several months or longer-- you may be one of those people who gets bloated and retains water. I was also like that when I started going raw. It took me quite a long time to release the water weight, for some reason.

Sharrhan:


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bananas115

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So there is no way I can lead a happy life practicing the proper food combining where I cut down on the nuts and seeds and only eat fruit alone.

I think its important for people to start looking at food as fuel and not the source of happiness.
Eating mono meals is a great way to separate out foods for easy digestion. As anaken posted above = "a good rule of thumb is to eat lighter to denser through out the day". Start your day with the fruit and end your day with the nuts.

I understand what you guys are saying about paying close attention to proper food combinations and timing of digestion but you have to understand that I absolutely LOVE food and it just so happens that these fresh/ organic foods are what I love.

So if I just eat for fuel as you suggest (which I have in the past) my life seems somewhat droll and there is definitely something missing. People always say to not be too extreme in any diet and I think doing as you suggest would be too extreme for me.

I read in Rita Romano's_Dining in the Raw_that it is okay to mix fruit with nuts/seeds that have been soaked or sprouted (and all my nuts and home-made granolas have been). So I don't feel as though I absolutely have to eat my fruit alone and I often mix berries with my home-made granola (sprouted buckwheat, pumpkin and sunflower seeds) with almond milk.

If I'm not willing to practice proper food combining, I wonder if it is healthier and better for digestion to just go back to my normal vegan diet? Although now that I have switched to raw I don't feel I could ever go back...

I feel as though in general (whether proper food combining is followed or not) it is a lot healthier and better for digestion to eat raw because of the enzymes consumed.

Horses for courses Bananas, but as you have just said, you don't think you could go back to the previous vegan diet. So you have grown to love the raw, and changing part of it, like combinations, may seem difficult, but give it a go and you may find that you'll get used to it,'LOVE' it and lose weight. Perhaps you're just eating 'too' much???

Psychology plays a huge part in all of this.... I used to think that I could never drink tea without sugar, well, now I couldn't stand sugar in it.

Cheers, geo

hey, its not up to anybody to decide what you need to do. But It is up to you - I believe - to troubleshoot your own problem honestly.

From the first post, I don't see what benefit at all you are gaining from your current system, if there is then by all means stick with it.

Like I said there is no need to do anything 'extreme' but clearly from your results alone (without me having to go into a 'scientific' 'proof') there arn't any beneficial enzymes working on your digestion.

If I had to judge the situation yeah I would say even a junk food vegan diet with an abundance of raw vegetable matter w/o improperly digested and fermenting fruit matter would be preferable.

Everything can potentially be attributed to detox - and I say that without sarcasm - but what you describe doesn't sound like it will work itself out over time, and I can't recommend just plugging through and seeing what happens if your elimination does not shift.


[www.giveittomeraw.com]

I just watched this Brian Clement(Hippocrates Health Institute, Florida) audio vid on You Tube; it may help:

[www.youtube.com]

I especially like the part where he says we must stop focusing on taste buds, and start focusing on nutrition. Too true.

Hmmm...I've been thinking a bit about YOUR concerns bananas. My thoughts:

YOU indicated you did not feel well. You indicated you have not been raw for years and years...or even months and months...but rather some weeks. This is rather early to make TOO many conclusions. Initial discomfort is very common - especially when combining many items....or changing diet too quickly. Thus, only stretching slightly....but consistently from a place where you are 100% comfortable is rather important (in my opinion)....much like physical exercise. A stretch is good...but not a tearing...if you follow my thought.

In any event, no one is forcing you to eat raw. Whatever % of raw is comfortable and non-upsetting for you...then more power to you!

I think if you are....sort of...thinking that you HAVE to make some kind of difficult choice between: 1) All raw and feeling terrible....and 2) Non-raw and feeling free......then you are seeing things....umm...slightly narrowly. Heh..heh.

Just choose a level that's right for you and stretch from there. And if you ever have discomforts, I would wager that eating simpler would probably alleviate your discomforts....but it's just a tool that you can choose to use or not.

Either way, you have my 100% support!

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Being that it is Jan 28th and you said that you started at the beginning of the year, perhaps you need to give the whole thing more time. i know people have results in 30 days in some cases but that is not everyone. Perhaps your body is just cleaning house, even though you were vegan prior, there is a huge difference between vegan and raw vegan to the system. Especially 100% raw. My suggestion is to keep eating 100% raw and eat what you like, but wait at least 60 days to make any assessments.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.


todd

Thank you so much for the advice guys. The thing is that I actually prefer eating raw to not eating raw (I was never too keen about warm/cooked food and love fresh, organic fruit and vegetables).

I honestly just learned about the whole combining foods concept a week or two ago so I think it is still a shock that I will eventually get used to (I used to always eat fresh fruit after my last meal if I felt like having dessert - which I know can be detrimental to the digestive process).

It is not the eating raw bit that I have to stretch and get accustomed to one step at a time, it is the combining foods concept. But thanks to all of the adamant advice, success stories, and support, I feel confident that I will eventually reach this goal.

One question I still have: How strongly do you guys feel about undergoing gravity colon hydrotherapy in order to reach detoxification goals?

Great! Remember you don't HAVE to combine foods. You may, however, find that you might WANT to....depending on YOUR physique. But don't force it! Heh..heh.

Gravity colon hydrotherapy: I think it would be excellent to try after you have been all-raw (if that is your goal) for 6 months.....and you still feel you need additional cleansing programs.

Note: Personally, I would tackle some basic abdominal massage and 3 day juice fasts before moving on. Heh..heh.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com