Hi,

Another topic by me about me starting to live on this diet. As I am a lot on the go every day I asked myself how to take all that food with me all the day. I read about raw food athletes eating about 40 banana's a day. This got me thinking... maybe you know the answer. I have calculated my daily needs of calories with my current metabolism to be over the 3000 calories. I know on the raw food diet you need less calories as your digestive system needs less energy to function. Also it is possible to change your metabolic rate to a lower rate and still function great.

But my question is how to reach this gigantic amount of calories on a raw food diet? What food is the most concentrated in carbohydrates so I can take it easily with me while traveling? I guess this would be dried dates on the fruit-list and carrots on the vegetables-list... what do you suggest I should live primarly on? And how to determine if I get enough?

Another topic is the amount of minerals needed. I have learnt that the amount of calcium needed is less when raw. But how much do I need then? I did get an average amount of 416 mg a day... is this enough?

Also a question from me to you is... do you guys do sports also? How do you experience these activities on the diet?

Thanks for all your help!

-Mark

Hi, Mark,

Have you tried entering the food that you're eating in one day on www.nutridiary.com www.nutritiondata.com, or on www.fitday.com? That'll let you analyze your calories, vitamins, minerals, and more. The resulting graphs show where you may be low and want to add foods higher in those nutrients. I did it for a while, but now feel confident about my diet and rarely do it now. (The nutritiondata site lets you look up food by nutrient easily.)

I hike up hills at least an hour everyday, but am not in any organized sport. I get most of my calories from fruits. I eat fruit for calories (as well as vitamins), but also include vegetables and seeds for minerals. High fat in nuts bothers me. Oh, and I eat a LOT of leafy greens. I just go for an average of nutrients over time and may not get any of some on some days.

Hope you enjoy great results on your new diet.


My favorite raw vegan

I do very well on a diet that consists of 4 ounces of FRESH made Wheat Grass juice for breakfast and the rest of my day I graze on mono meals of FRESH fruit. The WG juice provides a good profile of minerals & nutrients and the fruit provides fuel to burn. I ride a bicycle many miles per week as my preferred method of transportation. Good luck,

IMO, the key to getting the raw diet to work optimally is eating clean burning, easy digesting, fresh, low fat raw foods.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/2009 12:09AM by EZ rider.

Hi mark4sen,

If you need to consume 3000 calories a day, I think it's very possible that 416 mg of calcium is not enough.

It's true that vegans (on both raw and cooked food diets) have less calcium loss because their bodies maintain a more alkaline pH (American Dietetic Association Position Paper on vegetarian diets).

But there's such a thing as too low, even for raw food vegans.

The usual recommendation for (meateating) athletes is around 800 - 1500 mg calcium. If you require 3000 calories/day, I would aim for at least the lower number of 800 mg., especially if you ever experience the typical signs of calcium deficiency: leg and/or toe cramping.

It's easy to get enough calcium on a raw food diet - even with 3000 calories - if you include a moderate amount of nuts and seeds in your diet, as well as dark leafy cruciferous greens (such as kale, collards, bok choy), and citrus.

Whole sesame seeds (the brown sesame seeds) probably provide the most concentrated source of calcium of any food on the planet. Just 1/4 cup of whole brown sesame seeds provides about 200 calories and about 350 mg calcium. That's more calcium than you'd get in a whole cup of milk.

Sorry, too late to edit.

suncloud Wrote:

>... Whole sesame seeds (the brown sesame seeds)
> probably provide the most concentrated source of
> calcium of any food on the planet...

"Concentrated" by weight, as in amount of calcium per gram of food.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2009 09:18PM by suncloud.

Mark, aside from bananas the most concentrated carbohydrate sources are probably dried fruits. But I think fresh fruits are better. Regarding calcium, it's net calcium that is important rather than intake. Experts set the bar high in the recommendations because most diets are so junky and there are generally high losses. But I doubt 416 mg is enough on a 3000 kcal diet. You need to eat some greens. Well, a lot of them to be on the safe side. I'd still aim for a g per day if I were you. Break out the kale!

Hi Mark, heres a couple ideas/questions I can think of:

1)Try using the nutrition data website. I doubt it is even possible to eat 3000 cal worth of fruits and vegetables and only get 416mg of calcium.

2)How did you calculate the calories you need?

3)If you are getting regular exercise it will be easy to pack away the fresh fruit! Dont eat dried fruit(or any food) it is dehydrating. (dehydrated food is life robbing IMO)

4)You need to eat a truckload of fresh fruits and vegetables and little of other foods. Try juicing vegetables like celery and greens to get in more minerals.


Also I was reading you other thread, and I just want to say that you need to transition slowly if you dont want to put your self into a strong detox reaction. I am also an athlete in the process of switching to all raw. So PM me if you want to discuss this more.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/30/2009 02:48PM by WorkoutMan.

WATERMELON

Mark

I have just begun taking 1tsp of sea minerals every day. I definitely feel a difference and I have not caught a cold since. I am learning we are very mineral deficient in the country because are soil is so nutrient void. But that's what I recommend.

IMO, minerals are best gotten from natural food sources like greens.

EZ rider Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I do very well on a diet that consists of 4 ounces
> of FRESH made Wheat Grass juice for breakfast
That's great EZ. I'm gearing up to do the same.
It means planting everyday. A lot of work, but how one feels
about Self is more important. Tell me a little bit about your
growing schedule. Do you fertilize your Grass, or grow in
shallow trays?.....WY

EZ rider,
I was just going to ask about minerals. One natural hygiene webpage states that inorganic sodium is toxic, and is not used by the body. Other inorganic salts are equally unavailable, poorly absorbed, and I am assuming toxic also. I stopped consuming my trace minerals because of this. Instead now, I periodically consume seaweed for trace minerals, and spirulina. And I started consuming alfalfa sprouts, kale etc. for their mineral content. Is this why you say minerals are best if contained in plant matter?

The webpage even cautioned against drinking mineral water, especially if the mineral content is high. That seemed counter intuitive to me, as I find mineral waters refreshing. But its logical, as the minerals they contain are likely to be in carbonate, bicarbonate, oxide, and sulfate forms. I really blew it by sharing that idea with my partner. He now thinks that N.H. and raw foodists have too much time to think about stuff, take things too far, and are out to remove all pleasure in anything. He absolutely loves sparkling mineral water, as so do I. I try to place more limit what I drink now, however.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2010 03:19AM by Mislu.

Mislu -- I believe that nutrients need to become a part of a plant as a go between from the ground to the animal in order for the body to be able to recognize, absorb and utilize the nutrient. If it weren't that way we could eat dirt as our food.

Wheatgrass Yogi -- I start new seeds and harvest greens daily from shallow trays with about one inch of dirt as a growing medium. I fertilize by adding a pinch of sea salt (lots of minerals) to the water I give the plants twice a day.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2010 08:18AM by EZ rider.