Hello,

I've been on a raw food diet for over two weeks with the intention of keeping a long term healthy lifestyle. However, one of the benefits that really intrigues me is the lesser amount of sleep needed--several people claim that they can cut their sleep time to four hours. However, i've been feeling very fatigued on this diet--moreso then when I was on a cooked one before. I've been following Natalia Rose's Raw food detox diet book and after experimenting a bit, jumped straight to level 1 because it's easier for me cold turkey. (I had a pretty healthy cooked diet beforehand)

Here is my daily schedule:

9AM: Green lemonade (1 head romaine lettuce, 6 stalks kale, 1 apple, 1 whole lemon)

10AM - 3PM fresh fruit as desired (apples, oranges, bananas, mangoes, strawberries)

3:30 or 4PM Green Lemonade

5PM to 6PM some more fresh fruit

7PM some steamed vegetables and 3 large cooked scallops. (vitamin B12)

9PM 3 squares of 80% organic dark chocolate


again, i'm new and i think i might be missing some things, like essential fats (raw nuts?) where can i fit that in? Can I eat whole wheat grains, breads or crackers as well?

I think i might not be eating enough fruit, which is why i'm feeling fatigued. I just eat when i'm hungry though. Is that what i'm supposed to do?


Thanks!

oh yes, and i should add - i don't like salads. they are too time consuming to eat. I prefer very simple meals which is why this lifestyle really appeals to me.

i would like to know more about sprouting grains though (what it is, and how I can benefit from adding it to my diet)

I have found that instead of salad raw veggies and a nut/seed dip or guacamole work well for me. I prefer this to salads as I can taste the veggies better without salad dressing or isolated oils

There is an amazing Ginger Almond dressing in Natalia's book that I love and also a carrot ginger dressing that I dip raw veggies in (romaine, broccoli, peppers, cukes, cauliflower, celery).

thank you, i will look further into that.

does anyone have suggestions for my original inquiries?

Hi, pokey!

My suggestion is that you may not be getting enough calories; how much fruit do you eat exactly and do you eat to satiation?

Also, are you sure that chocolate agrees with you? If you are eating a lot of fructose, which is good, and then top it off with chocolate, which is high in fat and slows down metabolization of sugars, this could possibly result in fatigue. I take chocolate a few times a year as a treat,and only raw. Everyone is different, of course. Some people binge on raw cacao. But it isn't for everyone's chemistry.

Lastly, is the sole purpose of the seafood to obtain B12? This isn't necessarily the most efficient method for everyone. Please do a search of the many laborious threads on B12 supplementation/deficiency on these forums. If you are eating seafood because you're a pescatarian, OK. But bear in mind, cooked food is generally more acidifying and difficult to process than raw food. As long as you are eating cooked foods, your body will continue to have to devote metabolic energy to digestion rather than to metabolic repairs during waking hours. This repair work will have to be done while you are sleeping, which will likely require more sleep.

Good luck on your journey!

pokey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> steamed vegetables
> and 3 large cooked scallops
> 3 squares of 80% organic dark chocolate


- you're likely not missing raw fats and nuts are not the best source

- good job so far, but aside from still being in transition which will result in fatigue, all of the above that you listed will cause fatigue

good luck..

thank you all for the suggestions. I'm going to stop eating scallops and look into doing blood tests from my doctor to see if i am missing anything (b12, but most likely not) and i'll supplement from there. I am also starting to eat to satiation--now I realize that may be the problem.

does even a few portions of cooked food during dinner slow my system down for hours? For example, I had organic tomato sauce on whole wheat pasta with very little goat cheese. I suppose even that will screw up my transitioning?

and finally, how raw do you have to be to achieve 4 hours of sleep or close to it? how can i go about changing my current diet to achieve that?

YOU MAY BE EXPERIENCING A DROP IN ENERGY FROM THE EFFECTS OF THE DARK CHOC..............I LOVE THE LEMONADE...........

the after effects of chocolate are fatigue and depression

unfortunately.

TRY ADDING A GREEN SMOOTHY AT 7PM...................KALE ..BANANAS........APPLE.........2 CUPS OF WATER....................

will that smoothie keep my energy up for hours?