Thank you in advance to any and all info that can help in my endeavors! To make a LONG story short: - I started raw about 2 years ago, in that time I have gained about 12 pounds due to overeating(duh!) I do not eat nuts or fats I eat a ton of fruit - then I feel guilty and say I blew it and indulge in anything I see. - Great(!) I have never had an eating disorder but feel like I am causing one! Anyway, to get back in control my dh suggested a high protein diet. I tried it for 2 hours and felt mentally yuck! I like being vegan but I have to get this weight off! My plan is toi juice during the day and do a meal at night - am I just continuing a bad cycle? Are the people around me right when they say you can not cut out a food group? I am so confused! When I eat fruit during the day it sets off something in my brain - I think about getting more and more and I eat way too much - yes there is such a thing as getting fat off of fruit! Oh well, I don't know if I am hopeless or not - I just know I am doing something wrong and in the NorthEast there is no place to turn! All of the weight loss centers are high protein etc...Sorry for the ramble!

Run,

Exactly what is your diet comprised of? Second, how much water do you consume? Most folks that are raw don't consume enough water and therefore the toxins aren't flushed out of the body properly. Also, do you exercise? If so, what type and how much? Have you done any internal cleansing like colonics, Dr. Flora, etc? If so, how often and when was the last time?

I will wait for your responses my friend and maybe we can all help you out.

Peace,

Marcos

Go Vegan for your life, your health, the planet and, most importantly, the animals that we share this wonderful world with!

Marcos, thank you so much!! - Yes, I exercise - I run between 6 and 10 miles a day. I also weight train 5 days a week pretty intense. I was doing colonics regularly - atleast 2 per month but have pulled back recently because I find I "rebound" after a colonic and eat a ton!
My diet is composed of fruits during the day - lots of grapes because they are my favorite - super high in calories though, and bluberries, the eveinings I eat salads. It does not sound like alot but it musr be because I am putting on this weight! I have to come up with a way to stabilize my blood sugar so I am not constantly thinking about food. I really do not want to eat flesh - that works for me but I am morally against it. - Is there any hope?

I have no advie for I do not have the experience, but i will keep watching for I am interested in the responses you recieve. goodluck

Is there a reason you do not eat nuts and fat?

That is how I stabilize my blood sugar. My body needs that. Not every moment, and if I eat too much - yech!

The deepest part of me would like to ask you if you would be willing to surrender your care about your weight for just awhile - put it on the altar and let it burn. Focus on exploring finding that balance, so that your blood sugar does stabalize. I would suggest green smoothies instead of straight fruit all the time. I would suggest when you feel your blood sugar cratering - and get the desire to eat other things that you pop some walnuts in your mouth. Sit down, relax, eat them gently, slowly, savor them. Eat as many as you need to stop the desire for other thigns.

Or, in a food processor put a few kale leaves and a handfull of spinach leaves, and a few nuts, or a tablespoon of oil - coconut or olive. Add some salt to tase if you eat that. Throw in a few tomatoes, or celery if you like. Add a spice if you wish. Then blend it till it's like creamed spinach. VERY satisfying. Very balancing. See if that doesn't help.

Don't be afraid of fat or nuts. YOu just have to find the right amount in any moment. This is a process. AND, the what it balancing for you now may shift and refine as you go along. Don't try and be some mental concept of perfection in diet or in shape now. Your body will tell you when its ready to leave something out of your diet, IF it is.

Gosia's website is fantastic for this process. I don't know the URL.

HOpe this helps!

Love,

Piano Gal

OMGosh! Thank you so much! That was a beautiful response Piano Gal! Surrender my weight issue? - Well that is a tough one as it plagues me daily! But yes in order to feel better I can. Right now I am super light headed which I would usually fix with grapes - I know that causes the hole cycle to continue but it is immediate! I will take your excellent advice and make that "concotion" as my daughter calls it! I have always had low blood sugar which I feel is why I have extra body fat - I do not eat the typical diet prescribed - high flesh, and therfore cause a cycle of insulin surges. In my head I just can not eat tuna, eggs, etc. I am off to the store to get the ingredients. - Thanks so much! One more concern, - I am going to Calif. in 3 weeks, how will I pull this off with out a blender - or should I pack one in my suitcase? - I will do anything in order to be prepared. Thanks again!
Juicy - thanks for reading this post - I read some of yours today as well!

I used to eat a lot of grapes, pineapples, dried fruits and such - especially grapes. I found that when I decided to delete high glycemic fruits - especially grapes - it made all the difference in the world in my blood sugar. I was eating all the high glycemics - melons, pineapple etc. Blood sugar hell - and craving hell.
Some people do fine on them. Not me. You'll have to experiment.

Now I eat grapefruit (only one in a day), cherries, berries of all kinds, mangos, apples, plums. You could add peaches and apricots to that list if they work for you.

Really made a difference. Grapes are so highly hybridized now so that they are supersweet.

Love,

PG

Fantastic advice!!!!!!!!! Your input is sooooo appreciated as I really want to stick to this!
XOXOXO!!

adding more greens to your diet may help the weight issue as well. Are you keeping in mind that you are weight training and muscle is heavier than fat? Could you be gaining muscle mass and replacing fat? I'd have some one get your body fat percentage before you panic.

Luna you are too kind! I put the fat on by not being able to control myself after I eat that fruit - I do love it! I took your great advice and am enjoying a green salad for lunch instead of my usual fruit binge at my desk - I am soooo grateful for the support from this board - I can't even tell you!

Hello there,

Please don't be afraid to eat fruit. It is our natural food. I think it would be really hard to consumme enough calories from just fruit to put weight on. Have you ever tracked your calorie consumption on a program like fitday. Are you sure you are not any eating overt fats (nuts, seeds, oils, avos)? Nora Lenz has a great list of ideal human foods on her website at www.rawschool.com. You might want to check it out. She also does consulting and could help you sort this out.

Best to you!

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

It's easy to feel your sweet and ardent sunshine behind your words. Oh, lovely you!

Gut instinct tells me you are working with a stressed thyroid. I could have signed my name to you post at one time. You might want to look into that. If your thyroid is low, your adrenals are probably stressed too. I use both an natural adrenal support and now only need 1/2 grain (down from 2.5!!) thyroid daily - only natural. Just something to consider. Other's will tell you that you don't need any supps. You'll have to perceive and know for yourself. I trust your knowing since it's connected with the Source of all Life!

Re travelling: My opinion only - I don't think a blender is necessary. If you have space, or are travelling by car, grand - then take it! If you can't, then when you are able, eat some greens - maybe parseley and romaine if you are eating fruit. I do that when I have to. As well, carry a bag of walnuts in your purse. If you start getting week and spacey, eat a few - lovingly, romatically - just enough to take that spacey edge off. When you go out to eat you can order salad. Throw some of your walnuts on it. Have some fruit around. Ask for olive oil. You don't have to use tons of it.

People will give you wonderful information about food combining. It's all true. My own experience, however, is that the most important thing to do FIRST is to stabilize my bood sugar. That means I sometimes add a few nuts to my fruit if I need to. Try that - see if it helps and if your digestion is OK with . Not alot - just enough.

I know exactly what you mean by the fear of letting go of the grip on the shape of your body. I was put on speed between the ages of 5 and 15 daily because I was chubby (read: low thyroid!). I was locked in the basement, teased, tied to chairs, had pins stick in me - and that's only the beginning. But parents wouldn't protect me. They were happy it happened to me. I deserved it in their minds. They told me if I only lost a few pounds, the torture would stop. It was my fault. I was unworthy of their love and protection. Yikes! So I KNOW what it's like to live in stark terror of blimping!

There came a point where I would rather die as the good year blimp, then have that fear be a god in my life. I surrendered the concern. It is so deep in the cells, that I have to surrender it again and again and again - every time it comes up - just notice the thought and drop it - not let it be the motivator for behavior. I decided that I would learn to feed myself lovingly - as a mother should. I would find out what felt right and what didn't. I would stop depriving and starving the body and discover how much was enough at any one sitting. I realized this was going to take time. I wouldn't know balance overnight. I realized I may never feel as good and strong as everyone else, or look as buff. It was OK. I would make the best of what I've been given.

I became willing to take notes - not to punish my self for inaccurate feeding, but to find out what made me feel good after I ate it and what didn't. I took notes about how long I would stay filled after eating a certain food. Or did I want to fall asleep forty minutes after eating. I still keep a weather eye out. The process of refinement continues.

I approach it as a nurturing scientist trying to discover the truth that will make me a more vibrant and effective servant in this world, rather than as a policeman, trying to make myself attractive to others. lovable, and safe. My focus is no longer on trying to make my body correspond to some ideal I have in my mind about how my puny mind thinks it should look. That's what making "graven images" means - it's about coming up with an idea of how things should be and imposing them on self or others. Poopydoo!

It's becoming now about loving care of my body, and then DISCOVERING what it will look like after I learn to feed it lovingly. I focus on right CAUSE.....and then see what the results are. And hey, my little bod may always be a little doughboyish.

This is not a perfect world. The conditions are not present for perfection - whatever that would be. I accept that. If Creation had needed me to be an athlete, I would have been given an athelte's body. I don't need that for what I'm here to offer the world. I do the best I can with what I have. It's sufficient. All is so well.

What a beautiful being you are. It comes shining through. Nice to connect with you at this intimate level.

Have a GREAT trip! I send my love. I shall be thinking of you in my heart While you travel.

Piano Gal

I am soooo sorry for what you have been through!!!!!!!!!!! I am very sad for you. What you have been through is awful. I have a little girl and I can not stomach the thought of a tear dropping from her eyes! I am so impressed with your courage! If only I was not so @#@@ up and could see past the fat on my belly - it really bugs me(!!) I do love what you have to offer - and you are right your gift comes across in your writings - you do not need a 20 inch waist!! I have been a health educator and personal trainer all of my life so I am caught up in that crazy mind set still - as well as the mind set of drinking protein shakes every time you hic up! I will definately look into adrenals and thyroid - I know my health food store carries each - any recommendations on vegan brands? Thank you so much for everything! This kind of support is worth its weight in gold!

nt