Hey everyone. I am new to this forum. I am five feet nine inches tall and weighed 250 pounds about a year ago. I am not down to 185. My stomach hangs down and my chest feels deflated. My boobs just droop. Sorry to be so graphic. It's really been plaguing me lately since I've been reading a ton of crap saying there is nothing short of surgery that can fix this. I'm not even at my goal weight so it really scars me. Is it going to get worse or what? I haven't done any weight training so I feel like that may help.

Anyway, I cam across something that says that a raw food diet can help with this. How true is this? I have been a vegan for over ten years but not a healthy vegan. I've eaten a lot of bad carbs, fried foods,sweet, etc. ,etc. and that's what's led me to be in this shape. I've been doing a lot better, hence the weight loss but I'm so frustrated that I may not be able to get myself to firm up.

Is raw food eating my answer? If so, how expensive is it to do it properly? I don't have a lot of funds to spend on food.

Thank you in advance for your responses.
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randomchick

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Is raw food eating my answer?

Its been my answer. When I went all raw Aug 1, 07 I was over 60 ponds heavier. Since then I have returned to a body condition I thought I had left behind over a decade ago. I am very surprised and pleased at the way is feel - its a lean and trim feel. I don't have excess "hang", even on my chin. All I can figure is there must be some adaption the body makes as the flab melts away while eating fresh raw foods that dosn't happen while eating cooked food. That has been my own personal experience. Good luck and happy trails.

check out Angela Stokes' ebook on weightloss issues:
[store.rawreform.com]

SHe talk about sagging skin issues. I believe she used MSM lotion to remedy

cocoa_nibs

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I believe she used MSM lotion to remedy

Thats interesting because I eat some raw garlic daily to "jazz" up some of my meals. I think some, most, or maybe all MSM is derived from garlic ? If that is so then maybe that helps to explain why I have no sagging skin ?

As a result of this thread I have gotten interested in what MSM is made from. If anyone has any info on the source of MSM please post it here. Maybe someone has the supplement ? If so could you look on the label and see what the source of the MSM is ? what is it made from ? Thanks, I am researching this right now and if I find anything I will post it here.

The MSM source is going to be more difficult then I thought. There is a controversy in the MSM manufacturing industry about if MSM is a "natural" or "synthetic" product. If anyone has any info I would be interested in it.

It's made by reacting dimethyl sulfoxide (or DMSO, deived from wood pulp) and hydrogen peroxide (manufactured by a variety of different processes, don't know which one is the most popular).

I'm not convinced that it does anything appreciable. It's cheap, I've tried it, and decided it was a waste of money.

I have a friend who had one of those horrible stomach surgeries and had a similar issue. He lost over a hundred pounds over the course of a year. He spoke to a plastic surgeon about it who said that it depends on how old you are (younger = better chance of eventual tightening up of skin naturally), also, genetics matter, and he also said that he would not consider doing surgery on anyone who hadn't been stabilized at their goal weight for a year.

My friend ended up with enough natural "recovery" from the sagging over the course of a couple of years where he decided to let it go. He still has some, but not to the same degree as when he reached his goal weight.

I'd recommend plenty of exercise to keep your circulation active and dry skin brushing, as well as, of course, a diet of primarily raw plant foods. And avoid People Magazine.


[www.dhamma.org]

Loose skin issues are really a sign that the body still has a coniderable amount of fat that needs to be lost. there are fat deposits laying within the folds of the sagging or hanging skin,and when that goes,the skin will retain it's normal tone. Of course resistance exercise will help build muscle....Most obese or morbidly obese folks lose alot of weight,but truly need to lose a lot more,but are not willing to go the extra mile.....a fine example was Dick Gregory who weighed 300 lbs at five feet ten. He fasted for 40 days and lost about 100 lbs with no loose skin as a result. I also think losing weight through raw eating would make the difference too.

It seems most raw food eaters who have a lot of weight to lose don't have the loose skin issue
Take a look at chets story [www.greensmoothierevolution.com]

read philips story here [www.lovingraw.com]

Here are a list of before and after picks on rio's page [www.rawfoodinfo.com]

I have a lot to lose as well and notice when I lose the weight goes off at places differently than when I eat cooked foods and try to diet. For example the breast area stays breasty looking when eating raw foods to lose weight but in the past when I would diet my breasts would look terrible I would also loose on the top side of my body but the bottom would stay large no matter what I did. When eating raw foods and loseing weight the whole body reduces in the proper way.

pampam -- Thanks for the great links. Those are very motivational.

The above suggestions are great. One of the primary benefits (in my opinion) of an all-raw diet is the ability to promote elimination and to clean one out internally of oils and other deposits. A diet high in fruits & vegetables.....and then later rational fasting....along with light exercise....will greatly facilitate the elimination of excess skin and other material. I mean...heck...what MORE you gonna do?

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Berries help with collagen production and collagen contributes to elasticity. I add berries to all my smoothies, I do skin brushing, and I do strength training 3 times a week. My arms and legs have tightened up back to normal. My tummy has improved and I think will continue to improve as long as I keep lowering my fat percentage.

i read something a while back
i recall it saying something about cabbage juice containing a lot of sulfur
so for the person who was wondering if garlic was the only source of sulfur

other stuff has sulfur too
but u probably already knew that



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2009 07:39AM by la_veronique.