Hey,

I desperately want to loose the 5 kilos (about 10 lbs.) that I put on during the last 2 years, and I also need to improve my skin which is not so nice at the moment (which is partly at least due to hormon fluctuations).

RIght now I eat about 80-90 % raw but even if I am close to 100 % I do not loose weight. So do you think that 3 weeks just fruits, greens and veggies would be useful? I think it is worth a try. I seem to be a weak person because I never really managed more than 4 weeks 100% raw, but now I am so fed up with my excess weight, so NOW I CAN DO IT !!!

I do not want a juice fast or water fast because I fasted twice before for 6 days each and after the fast I could not control myself and ate so much that I put on all weight again quickly.

So I am looking forward to your suggestions about my plan (want to start next monday) and other suggestions how to loose 5 kilos, lets say in 3-5 weeks.

Thanks!

Helen

What's your daily diet like now, can you give us an example?

One thing that really helps the body cleanse (and then lose excess weight) is to not uses spices and condiments. So this means no salt, peppers, spices, garlic, strong herbs, etc. Salt is a big offender, as it keeps on extra water weight.

And eating fats can keep some women from losing weight (men don't seem to have this issue as much on raw).

If your aim is to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you consume in a day... regardless of the type of food it is. You can eat all veggies, greens and fruits, but if you consume 2000 calories, and only burn 1700, there are 300 extra calories there that hang out waiting to be used by your metabolic system. In short, caloric intake is caloric intake regardless of what you eat.

Also, how much do you exercise? This is a factor directly related to weight loss, because it effects how many calories you use in a day, henceforth how many calories you can eat.

That being said, the probability of you getting that many calories from the three food categories you listed is slim (ha ha, no pun intended there). You will probably lose weight because of the simple reality of the calorie content of those foods.

My advice: just do some simple calorie counting to get an idea. It is not something to obsess over because then it becomes an unhealthy preoccupation. But if you have a general idea of how many 'energy units' you are consuming, you will know exactly what your activity level must be.

I have also had this problem on raw, where I am "raw" but I eat WAY too much and plateau! (Hello bag of cashews... I love you dearly!)

Cheers and good luck!

"With life as short as a half taken breath, don't plant anything but love."- Rumi

P.S. If you have an iPhone of iPod touch, there is this program called "Lose it!" that I use, and really like. You don't need to be online to use it.

I personally get overwhelmed with stuff like this, so it helps me keep my head wrapped around calorie content without 1) obsessing, 2) freaking about about where and how I am going to calculate the information, and 3) giving up!

I don't use it all the time, although it is a daily log that calculates the weight loss needs for you based on a formula. I personally use it when I feel like I have strayed a little to far from the reality of the energy content of the food I eat.

"With life as short as a half taken breath, don't plant anything but love."- Rumi






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2009 01:05PM by Nyaz.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

About my usual intake: On a "good" working day I eat fruits and greens in the morning or a "porridge" made from ground spelt, dates, 1 banana, cinnamon. At lunch I have a mixed salad in the canteen without dressing + a banana, in the evening I eat a mixed salad at home with olive oil or, if I will do sports afterwards, I eat a banana with tahini or some non-raw dairy stuff. After sports I do not eat anything anymore until the next morning.

But when I am on a business trip or with my boyfriend, I also eat high raw but in addition basically pieces of "anything" else, inlcuding the real bad cooked stuff. So that is why I need the goal "3 weeks veggies and fruit".

I exercise between 2-4 times a week, I do swimming, running, aerobic classes. But I have done this for 10 years and I do not loose weight from it. I also do not have the time so exercise dayly.

@ Nyaz, you are right that in the end it is all about the calory intake and burning. But I am really not a calory count person. I will just try to stick with my plan for 3 weeks and do a lot of sports, and I will see.

I also have the fear that my metabolism is very slow or adapted to eat not too much, as I do not loose weight easily. Any suggestions for that?

Helen

@ Bryan: Thank you, I will avoid salt and other spices, but I think for example ginger can boost detoxification and the metabolism, so I think it is quite useful.

It sounds like the "non-raw dairy stuff" and "really bad cooked stuff" are the culprits, so your plan of 3 weeks of fruit + greens + veggies is smart. I hope it is going well for you.

I don't like paying attention to calories either. I did it for a while to be sure that my fat intake was around 10%, but rarely check it now. I no longer use olive oil. I still get about 10% fat from other food (mostly from seeds and some occasional avocado). For me, limiting fats has made a big difference in weight loss.

Exercise makes a huge difference as well. I walk/jog every day, but when I was in a situation where I couldn't do it easily, I walked up and down a flight of stairs for 30-45 minutes (while watching TV to make it less boring). When I didn't have stairs, I stepped up and down on a stack of books as "the toll" for having the TV on.

Keep experimenting and you'll find out what's right for you. Good luck!

I am starting to use less spice, but am not progressed to where I want to give it up just yet. Ginger is one of my major food groups. I don't know anything about metabolism, but doing the things I mentioned above, I eat as much as I want and am still losing weight.


My favorite raw vegan

Trive-

I love how you make working out a 'toll' for when watching tv!!! Thats awesome, I should do something like that myself. Thanks for the great idea!

Helen-

Good luck with the extra 10lb and staying lowfat raw!!

nomnomnomnom...!

Quote

you have to burn more calories than you consume in a day... regardless of the type of food it is.

I'm not so sure this is correct ? Maybe its old school thinking like when Columbus thought the world was flat ? When I first went raw I ate lots of calories in the form of avocados and other fats. Some days I would eat up to 6 avos in a day. I transitioned out of that and now I do the 80-10-10. At the time I was eating all that plant fat I was losing weight steadily. Ever since then I have questioned the old ideas about calories in/out and I wonder if plant fat may not be stored as flab on the body. I would be interested in hearing anyone else's ideas about the raw vegan diet and flab retention.

EZ rider - maybe you were still having less calories even with your 6 avos a day than your previous diet. What was your previous diet like?

But you raise an interesting point.

I would do it or I wold continue what your doing and up your calorie burn. Obviously you are consuming more than ur body is burning. In addition if you are working out mix it up all the time.

Quote

EZ rider - maybe you were still having less calories even with your 6 avos a day than your previous diet. What was your previous diet like?

Thats possible as I didn't count calories and still don't.
My previous diet was similar to my present diet in that they are both mostly fruit (avocado is a fruit) except that my previous diet was a much higher fat diet and also it didn't have daily WG juice like my present diet does and I eat more low fat fruits now.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2009 09:41PM by EZ rider.

Trive please be careful with the books as steps a friend of mine was doing just that very thing , and got a bit exuberant at some point , the books slid away and she busted her ankle.

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Yep, could be dangerous. Thanks.


My favorite raw vegan

EZ rider Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I'm not so sure this is correct ? Maybe its old
> school thinking like when Columbus thought the
> world was flat ?

LOL! Very cute! But, no. There is actual science behind this one ;-)

I definitely know that calorie counting is not a realistic or healthy thing to do all the time, but it's functionally exactly the same as knowing how many gallons (or liters) your gas tank can hold in your car, and knowing how many times you need to fill your car up between New York and Los Angeles. That's all.

Here is a super interesting and well written article about it for anyone interested:
[health.howstuffworks.com]

As for the 6 avos. and not gaining weight... that probably has something to do with the "thermic effect of food." Specifically, the energy your body needs to burn the calories. PLUS, 6 avos. are only 1656 calories total, which is WAY fewer calories than the average SAD diet.

Anyway, however you want to do it, we are all supporting you!!!

"With life as short as a half taken breath, don't plant anything but love."- Rumi

About condiments: my mind and body are so incredibly clear when I keep them out. (It is a challenge, though. ^.~)

About calories: During my first month of raw, I dropped 20 pounds.

I also probably ate 3000-4000 calories, mostly in nuts, per day (most days). It was ungodly, but it was what I had to do to feel full and it worked. (My exercise included: finally being able to get out of bed and walk around without being tired, THANK YOU RAW FOOD!)

That was the "transition."

I have a friend who dropped 80 lbs. in 6 months with a considerable amount of gourmet (and he boasts going to the gym a total of 4 times).

Now, I can't physically eat that many nuts!! The body goes through a tremendous amount of changes. And there is MUCH to be said about the benefits of even moderate intensity exercise for 20 minutes on most days. ^.~

But... there is also more to be said about the way calories work.

I don't count any higher than one. I have faith in that what I am eating is whole (1). Stress can also destroy the body, so, that is the amount of counting that keeps me healthy. If you can count higher and it works, by all means, do it!

Are there any other interesting units of measure besides the calorie? O.o

I did the same thing when I first went raw. I ate 2 cups of nuts some days. I knew this wasn't sustainable, but I felt like I "needed" it at the time. I did not gain weight, didn't really have any weight to lose, either.

I have a perfect salad that I use when I want to lose weight quickly. It's on my raw blog (i call it an 8 layer salad). It's huge but you eat it all day. It's full of good veggies, fruit and healthy fats, it's filling but delicious! Just cut the recipe down to 1 avocado instead of using 2 if you want to lose weight. But keep the nuts and everything else the same. And if you want some type of dressing use something low in fat no olive oil!

www.rawkstar-diaries.blogspot.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2009 06:28PM by Rawkstar.

Helen,
Have you tried oil pulling? It has done wonders for my very sensitive and hard to manage skin. Within a few days my skin looked porcelain white. I couldn't believe it.