Hey All,

Currently I am 100% vegetarian and naturally eat 50%+ raw, but I want to go vegan again and detox. Going raw seems like a great step in the right direction..Lately I'll made a veggie juice in the morning, fruit smoothie, or have plain fruit, lunch and dinner is fruit again, catchew butter&banana whole wheat sandwich, maybe a protein bar, or veggie burger/beans/or/tofu with salad/or/cooked veggies and maybe a grain..I get the midnight-munchies and usually eat something unhealthy/unraw then too, and I know the only reason I give in is because feel like I am eating so little during the day..

It seems like if I take out the cooked food (and midnite snack) I'd be eating near nothing. For example today I had about 2.5cups of watermelon and a veggie juice. By 2-3pm I'll stop eating for my daily yoga class (need an empty stomach)..And will eat after the class around 7-8pm..With a big chuck of my day not being able to eat, should I be eating more even when I am not hungry during the times I can? Any suggests?

Thanks!
Mary

this is a really good post. this is my third time going raw. i remember my first time i was really good for like the first week without cheating and then i just started eating unraw foods because i was thinking i wasnt eating enough. thats what got me off the first time. but people have been so helpful by saying eat what your body needs and asks for. its alot easier this time when i am just listening to my body rather than leaving it to the flip of a coin. like today, i ate strawberries, grapes, other fruits and veggies and was fine. i think the reason you and i want to eat is because we are used to being stuffed and its weird to feel just right the way your stomach is suppose to feel when you ate just enough. my downslide is snacking in the evening too. for some reason, i dont get hungry till 11 or 12 which is weird because i used to always just eat breakfast. but when i listen to my body, i just dont get hungry until then. im sure its because my body is eating off the extra fat rather than consuming more. i bet when i become healthier that i will begin to get hungry for breakfast again. just go with what your body tells you to do, thats the best advice i received. good luck and best wishes

One of the things that make this lifestyle work for me is being very attentive to picking up and responding to my fist hunger signals. If you tune in to your inner coach you will notice that the first signal is very small and weak and if your not listening for it it is quite easy to miss. The next signal is just a wee bit stronger but also easy to miss. From there the signals get stronger and louder until they are very noticeable. You want to catch the earliest signal that you can and respond appropriately. The hunger signal is there to let you know that your body is ready, willing, and able to receive more delicious raw food.

I find that raw food, particularly fruit sustains me in a way that cooked food doesn't. So, for instance, I can run for 2 hrs on just 2 bananas for breakfast - or - i go gardening for the whole morning and eat about 5 bananas. Then i eat plenty more fruit and salad stuff.

I have discovered by many a trial and error that if i eat lovely homemade brown bread I quickly want more food and i over eat and feel dreadful. I have had to repeat this so many times to finally learn this lesson

When i first went raw (from being a cooked vegan) I couldn't imagine how i would get through the day on so little, or on food that felt so 'light' i.e. fruit. But now it feels like second nature - I know that i am not going to collapse or feel faint or anything. In fact when i am 100% raw i have loads more energy and i get far more achieved than i ever did before - put bread (probably other things too but this is the one that is very obvious to me at the moment) into the mix and it all goes downhill. Food cravings re-appear, i over eat, this makes me tired and fed up so i eat something else - you get the picture.

Really it is trial and error - if you perservere you will discover what works for you. I think you will be amazed how fruit will fuel you. Also re the yoga - I can eat bananas right before a run and be absolutely fine - no stitch or stomach cramps. If you eat fruit on an empty stomach it will be digested very quickly and give you lots of lovely energy.

Sorry long post - hope it's helpful

hey flipperjan,

what you said about the bread vs raw fruits veggies reminded me of when i watched this debate on u tube of the best diet from well educated people. i get the same way, i could eat a bundle of spaghetti since its still vegan and keep eating because i dont feel psycholoicaly full but with raw foods i seem to listen to my body more and my hunger stays away longer. anyways, the debate from one man's point of view said that eating a diet of mainly fruits, veggies and nuts was best as apposed to adding rice or whole milled bread. he said that when you eat only fruits veggies some nuts that you body is getting all of the nutrients and may not need 2000 cals. he said that all we need to get through the day is to eat all the vit, minerals, nutrients we need rather than meeting a cal number. this made sense to me.

Hi Everyone,

I agree.. the sooner one feeds that 'inner coach' the better. I know that if I go more than 5hrs without eating, my body calls louder & louder until I satisfy that message. When I eat raw foods, I am satisfied with 2 pears or apples or some zuchinni pasta. However... When I eat cooked food.... especially stegionne pizza..... my 'inner coach's full signal' gets very muffled...almost silent. I end up eating the whole 9inch pie myself because I DON'T FEEL FULL!!. Then of course after an hour or so I can feel the burden & the excess energy my body is using to process the artichokes,peppers,spinach,brocolli,onions,garlic & olive oil. I usually also need to use my rescue inhaler because of the cheese factor even though I NEVER need it eating raw foods even after shoveling snow or walking.

Joe

Love is patient, love is kind, it is not self-seeking, love ALWAYS protects,always endures. (1corinthians 13)

God IS love!! (1john4)
Jesus Christ...... The ONLY way to Heaven.
I am the Way, the Truth & the Life..(John 14:6)

Thanks everyone for the posts!!

It all make alot of senses. I guess I just have to start listening to myself...I always feel better days I eat raw..But its just so hard to think of yummy cooked food and that I cannot have it and then thinking I hardly eat all day its so easy for me to slip up...My friends all think its crazy which does not help, nor does being on campus most of the day, and my family complains I am not eatting enough as it is since I eat mostly fruit and veggie; so support is lacking too..I'll have to test out the yoga/fruit theory, hope it works! I just need the right kick to get started I guess, there should be a newbie challenge

Mary

drink orange juice. there are lots of calories in orange juice.

sublimescorpio

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I hardly eat all day its so easy for me to slip up...

Keep eating because when you get to the stronger hunger signals it gets harder to control the urge to binge, especially on junk food. Ignoring the first hunger signals and then yielding to a stronger hunger signal followed by a binge is how some people develop an Eating Disorder. Its a cycle that can easily be avoided by listening to your inner coach.

i hear you on the support. my bf doesnt like how im transitioning go raw as well and hear him complain. my mom and other family members also say that i need some cooked food so i am eating enough. i feel your pain. even when i explain it to them that i am eating so many healthy foods rather than empty foods with an over abundance of calories, they still dont want to listen. i think it is hard for others to be convinced of new ideas from others rather than first person experience. i always tell my mom, you should really try going raw and see how much better you feel. she always answers with, there is no way anyone can survive eating only raw foods. i wish i could convince her. who knows, maybe she will see how great im doing and wonder---hmmm, maybe she was right. i really hope so, my mom eats terrible just as i did and is very sedentary. i would love to see her get healthy...i want her to live to an old age.

volcomchick8797

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they still don't want to listen. i think it is hard for others to be convinced of new ideas

I think there are two factors behind that closed mindedness: 1) If raw food is the right fuel for the body then what their eating is wrong and they don't want to accept that. 2) If raw foods are a better way to eat then they need to change their eating habits or accept the poorer health that results from eating altered foods and its natural for people to resist changing.

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she always answers with, there is no way anyone can survive eating only raw foods.

Lots of people eat an all raw diet. Many of them including myself are right here on this forum. There are local area meet ups in some areas that you could take her to and introduce her to some fresh garden produce food eaters.

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my mom eats terrible just as i did and is very sedentary. i would love to see her get healthy...i want her to live to an old age.

I want my Mom to live long and healthy too. Unfortunately my Mom is not making course corrections toward a healthy lifestyle. All we can do is provide an example of someone who is working toward healthy changes and hope for the best.

..Yesterday I had paperwork to do, so I had a chance to focus on what I ate and listening to my 'inner coach' I think I did pretty good (not 100% cause I had soy milk and cashew butter). I felt really great all day and ate an hour before yoga with no problems..Of course the family complained and they loved the look of the green smoothie I am going out for lunch (family) and dinner (a party, at hooters no less, yea for celery sticks!)..maybe I'll bring my own food like a real nut..hehe at least you have a bf volcom its sooo hard dating and being even a vegetarian especially because, well I want to date another vegetarian. Even with living in nyc I do not know any my age (22 by the way)..

...I am not sure what kind of lunchs I can pack for days I am on campus, but for being at home it worked..I think I ate plenty too, really now that I think about it more than I normally eat, not sure I'll need extra calories now, so heres the list:


10am
3cups watermelon
1.5cup papya
orange

11am beet, carrot, celery, apple, ginger juice

12am
4tablespoon hemp powder
1.5cups of soy milk
2tablespoon cashew butter
little handful of pumpkin seeds
banana
2cups mango
1cup mix berries
3tablespoon raw coco powder (no sugar added)

4pm gt kombucha

5pm orange and 3 tablespoon pumpkin seeds (before yoga)

9pm
huge green smoothie (My first one ever!! It was yummy..i want to try added olives next time, it needed salt)
swiss chard
pinapple
strawberries
little handful pumpkin seeds
natural cran-apple juice to blend
mint
argula

I was hoping I would not eat pass 9...

At 10pm
grapes

At 11 I made a small 'salad':
avocdo
garlic
tomato
scallions

And at 12pm I had a glass of soymilk

Wow..what a weird pattern for the times I want to eat, and omg I ate so much more than normal!! 0_o

This morning I had
papya
banana
strawberries
raw oats
bee pollen
soy milk (is there raw soy milk? hmm)
hemp powder

Follow your bliss,
Mary

sublimescorpio --

That looks just right because you were listening to your body signals and you can be sure that your inner coach is right and puts your healthy best interests first. Possibly some fresh whole fruit for snacks away from home would work for you, it works for me.