Hi guys, my name is Chris and I feel oh so ever privileged to be here! I have to thank God for such love and caring friends! My whole life I've eaten crap! Back in 2010 I had my appendix rupture and have had bowel/intestinal problems ever since I did anabolic steroids years and years ago. Very recently I came tO a dramatic revelation on my diet and have been turned onto raw veggies and how powerful such can be for rejuvenating our bodies! Only having began to learn last Sunday I immediately went out to the nearby wholefoods and bought a bunch of veggies and have been eating them non-stop for the past 5 days and can already notice a dramatic change in my body! I've got much to learn and am also very interested in juicing/juicers too! One question is, if I go 100% veggy and cut out chicken, fish, eggs, whey protein, etc. How will my body hold up? I mean don't we need protein afterall? Anywho, health is worth more to me than muscle and I'm glad to be here!

Chris.

Chris.
Welcome!
I can relate to alot of what you said.
Sounds like you were into bodybuilding?
If so,I went the route of all the protein powders and pills,and I will say I feel/look better now,on raw foods,than anytime I was into all that.
Rest assured you will hold up well without all the "protein" foods.In fact,you will probably do better getting all your amino acids from raw fresh foods.
Juicing is a great way to go.I do it daily.Eventually,you will picture a big glass of kale juice as your "protein shake"
Keep on learning!

Vinny

Welcome, and I wish you continued improving health!

Only your body knows how it will do without "protein." Please keep in mind that flesh is not protein, amino acids are; this is an idea that many of us have found difficult to grasp after decades of being taught the opposite. As Vinny mentions, raw amino acids are efficiently used by the body to construct whatever it may need, with minimal toxicity and waste, as compared to animal foods, so that may be why you are already noticing benefits.

The best you can do, CT, is to eat what raw foods your body seems to like, in the amounts it seems to like, and to get rest and excercise, and see how you do. Good luck!

you can have health and muscle !

there are many raw and vegan bodybuilders out there


protein:
[foodnsport.com]

Where will I get my protein from, and is 10% enough?

There is more than enough protein in the raw diet to satisfy your body's needs in sweet fruit, which averages 4 to 8% of calories from protein, and vegetables and leafy greens, which average 15 to 20% of calories from protein. This is a surprise to most people, who have been taught incorrectly, that they need large amounts of protein to be healthy. Actually, the reverse is true: most people suffer from an overdose of protein each day, and this accounts for a great deal of ill health, such as constipation, leading to toxemia and eventually, cancer. While excess protein consumption is linked to many acidic conditions in the body and resultant diminishing health, there is not even a medical name for the condition of underproteinization. The acidity caused by excess protein consumption must be counterbalanced by the body. It is done by taking the precious alkaline mineral, calcium, from the bloodstream and bones, setting the stage for osteoporosis and tooth decay. It is no coincidence that fruits and vegetables contain just the right amounts of protein to build and maintain the human body.

Thank you guys for the advise/info, I greatly appreciate it! One other concern is I feel just eating raw veggies would just make my weight plummet. I've always been consumed by counting calories and carbs and making sure I atleast maintain my weight. In the past week I've already dropped 4-5 pounds. Of course I don't mind loosing a little weight so long as it's not a drastic change! Then again, there's some mighty big animals out here who are vegetarians, I assume they have different digestive systems though! Otherwise so far I'm enjoying eating raw veggies so far, I've also been having some lentil's and brown rice as well!

Don't forget to include fresh ripe fruit in your new raw diet!

I wouldn't worry about the protein. If you are active, and you eat enough foods to provide the calories you need to supply the energy needs of your activity, you will get enough protein.

As for losing weight, the weight that comes off when going raw is typically water and fat weight at first. If you are keeping up with physical activity, you should see no degradation of strength and endurance.

The issue will raw foods is that they fill up your stomach without giving you that many calories. When I first went raw, I needed to eat 6 to 8 meals a day to meet my energy needs. Over time, as I was able to eat more raw foods in a single meal, I could get by with just 2 meals a day.

That's wome good info above keep researching. One thing bothered me, you said
"just vegies" you need fat also, and like Prana said you will get plenty of protien if you eat enough calories. Nuts and seeds should be soaked in water over night so you can utilize the protien much better along with other nutrients. Sprouted grains are great for building muscle if you are still into that type of thing and provide lots of carbs wich is a good thing when raw. Carbs take on a different meaning when talking raw, infact most of your diet should be carbs. If you don't use nuts or seeds you can use some flax or hemp oil amoung others.

I've been doing a lot more reading and one area that is my primary concern right now is my intestines/digestive system. I know from my bodies energy that I have parasites (I've had them most of my life, I've gotten rid of them in the past but never thought of them coming from my poor eating habits so they'd always come back!) Is there perhaps certain foods I should eat, go on a cleanse/detox or maybe even consider a colonic? I wouldn't be too fond of the last idea but nonetheless I'd do whatever to get my body back on track! Since starting this lifestyle change almost A week ago now (today is day 6) I have noticed a lot of improvements! I used to spit like a chewer 24/7 only it was my over the top mucous production, that has decreased dramatically. I feel more in tune with my body and feel more energetic however my intestines have seen some improvement but I still can feel clogged and constipated. Thanks for any advice and hope I haven't disgusted anyone too much!

Ps. This problem goes back to years and years ago when I first did steroids, I know it's from such and know it can be reversed! That also knocked out my endocrine system big-time but of course being younger and naive I wasn't thinking about such repracussions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2012 03:25AM by CTagliati.