Hi Everyone,

I'm on Day 4, 90% raw vegan, formerly on a mostly healthy but still SAD. So far, my mostly raw vegan diet consists of a huge green & superfood smoothie every morning, snacks of fresh fruit and/or 10 - 15 soaked nuts like almonds, cashews and sunflower seeds, and then I have a HUGE mixed salad for dinner, usually with sprouts, a little bit of nuts or seeds, avocado and a drizzle of olive oil. I'm not 100% raw as I'm still having a cup of coffee in the morning (but cut back from 4+ cups per day!), I had lightly cooked portobello mushrooms and barely steamed green beans with dinner on Sunday night and last night I had some cooked brown rice with dinner. I am drinking a lot of water, both plain and mixed with superfood and greens powders - about 128 oz a day.

Other than the nuts and seeds, I consume MASSIVE portions of fruits and veggies. I eat until I'm full but not uncomfortably stuffed. Half an hour to an hour later, I'm starving again!!! It's impractical and a pain in the rear to have to feed my face constantly, especially since my job has me on the phone all day and I can't eat when I am on calls. :-(

Luckily I am not craving animal-based foods with all that hunger. A bowl of hot vegetable soup sounds pretty good sometimes, though.

I would expect that some hunger would be normal to begin with, considering I'm not filling my stomach with animal proteins and fats that take a long time to digest... but does the body adapt, or is everyone on a raw vegan diet hungry all the time like this? Yikes.

Thanks in advance,

Maryl - Vegan (and mostly raw) Newbie

Yes, it's normal to be somewhat hungrier when you first go raw. I find dense liquid meals really helps versus eating fats and other foods on their own-such as soups, puddings, smoothies, nut milks.

Simple Raw Recipes & Health Tips

Hi Maryl,

Welcome!

I'm not sure how to answer your question. Some people here use fitday.com (I think that's it) to keep track of nutrition and calories. Maybe you can sign up and get a better look a what your eating nutritionally, see if the volume is making up for some nutrition deficit.

I find that I am starting to eat less than when I first went raw several months ago, but I still eat about five times a day! My preference is to be heavy on fruits (with lots of leafy greens), but the fruit digests pretty quickly. With experimentation you'll find what works for you. Here are a few things that helped me:

I find bananas and mangoes more filling than other fruits.

Green smoothies are especially satisfying to me and a great way to get a lot of liquid since I don't like drinking much plain water.

I intentionally keep my fat intake low, but I do include seeds (especially tahini) and since fats take longer to digest they are somewhat filling.

Some fibrous vegetables are harder to digest, but if they don't bother you, you may find that you don't want to eat so soon after eating them (e.g., pumpkin, sweet potato).

Congrats on doing so well already. Good luck with Day 5 and beyond!


My favorite raw vegan

Maryl,
That sounds like a lot of water in addition to whats in fruit, and other raw vegan foods. Do you live somewhere extremely hot and or dry? I found that my water consumption goes down when I increase the amount of raw foods. But if you are thirsty I say drink. If its out of habit than I would wonder why so much water.

Sounds like you are eating very healthy things, balanced. Maybe your body is getting ready to rebuild a new you in a hurry. I know that its sometimes not easy being constantly hungry. I was like that yesterday. I just couldn't stop eating. I even had some cooked food. I was like 'what the?'

I am still transitioning. The first attempt at going raw was 100% right away, which lasted for a few weeks, but I think its more realistic for me to transition over months or even years. but that is me.

Hi Everyone, and thanks for your responses.

I'm pretty sure I'm getting plenty of nutrition, simply due to the mass quantities of raw food I'm eating. (LOL)

Mislu, I live in Colorado and it's cold but very dry here. I almost always have a 32 oz water bottle within reach and empty it about every 4 hours or so. I still have some coffee in the morning (down to just one cup now), and I think I drink so much water to compensate for the coffee's diuretic effect. I started adding celery to my green smoothies to ensure I'm getting enough healthy sodium.

Is it possible to eat too many bananas? I put a banana in my green smoothie every morning, and yesterday I ate two more bananas to quell my hunger between meals. As long as it seems to agree with me, I think I'll probably rely on bananas quite a bit to get me through.

Thanks again, everyone!

Maryl

It's certainly possible to eat too many bananas (too much of anything is too much), but three bananas in a day is not close to being a problem for most people. Unless you're having a negative reaction to the bananas, I wouldn't worry. A second banana in your morning smoothie might make it a little more filling! This time of year, apples are another important calorie staple for me.

Raw foods can be pretty deceiving, at first. Because they contain so much water, the mass quantities you're consuming may not be as massive as you think.

What are you actually putting in your smoothies? How big are your massive salads?

For the sake of comparison, here's what I've been putting in my smoothies lately:
3-4 apples
1-2 bananas
1/2-3/4 lb greens (various)
2-3 cups water
1-2 T flax seeds
1 brazil nut
sometimes some lemon juice
yield: 1.5 or 2 quarts

I just started raw ( 80-90%) and I was very hungry first week. I use to eat 3 avocados a day, but I need to lose some weight , so I had to stop..But after 10 days, something changed- I do not need that much food anymore. I am losing weight slowly , but at least it drops! Also, kelp noodles helped a lot ..They are so low in calories and yummy if you add good sauce ( lemon, olive oil, spicies, etc). And i add pine nuts to my salads, seeds...
Hope it helps!

Hi Frances,

Ok, my smoothies are not as big as yours - I don't think my blender could hold that much! Usually I throw in one banana, some coconut milk or young coconut flesh (with coconut water), a cup of aloe vera juice (whole leaf & raw), 6 or 7 frozen strawberries, a handful of fresh blueberries or other berry, an apple, a scoop of hemp protein powder, a fistful of spinach, a leaf of red chard, and a celery stalk or two. I'll add water if it's too thick. I find if I add any greens to my smoothie, I MUST have an apple in there too, or it doesn't taste very good! LOL

I should probably stock up on some flax seed, soak it, and add in my smoothies too... That just occurred to me.

I have a big stainless steel mixing bowl that I fill up with salad. It's probably the equivalent of two or three bags of pre-washed salad mix like you'd find in a standard grocery store.

Egliux, your post reminded me that I once read somewhere that pine nuts have a naturally occurring chemical in them that helps to reduce appetite. I almost bought some at the market on Saturday, but they were $22 a pound and I was on a budget. After this next paycheck, I'll grab some. I do love pine nuts anyway. Yum!

Where do you get kelp noodles?

One item you might add to your smoothies are chia seeds. They add bulk and thicken as they absorb the liquid. They are also a great source of protein as well as omega 3's. I add approx. 1 or 2 tbsp.-- that should help with some hunger pains at least a bit!

Also, I add some sprouts (either mung beans or lentil) to sprinkle on top of my smoothie for some crunch-- and they also can be filling...

Maryl: I am sure part of this is due to the changes you have made to your diet. What I am thinking, though, is that the coffee may be creating a blood sugar roller coaster in the same way that sugar and refined carbs. I know that when I have quit caffeine (and therefore most of my sugar intake), my blood sugar remained on an even keel. When I drink coffee, I can sometimes go hours without eating but then I crash and feel hypoglycemic.

Just food for thought...

Hi BW,

Yes, I have given the blood sugar issue some thought. I am not fond of the idea of giving up coffee, but eventually that's probably what will happen. Since I started on raw foods, I'm finding that I just have no desire to drink as much as I used to.

I had bad problems with insulin-reactive hypoglycemia, especially after the first meal of the day. I could not eat carbs (except bananas) for breakfast or I'd crash hard. Before going raw & vegan, I always had a fruit smoothie with some coconut milk and hemp powder to slow down the digestion and absorption of the fruit sugars. That has always worked really well for me.

I'm all too familiar with the signs of a hypoglycemic attack - for me it usually begins with an all-over feeling of weakness and believe it or not, a tingling sensation in my mouth. Once the cold sweats started, I had to get food in my mouth fast or I'd be in big trouble. I haven't had any crashes since starting on raw foods. I feel perfectly fine, except for the rumbling and gnawing in my gut. LOL :-D

Food for thought... Hmmm... sounds delicious.

Maryl

Maryl: I quit coffee last week and went back on after 3 days. I gravitate towards sweets and also have experienced that chronic hunger thing (with a regular natural vegetarian diet, I should add). I ordered a juicer and plan to switch from caffeinated beverages to fresh juice and smoothies in the morn. One thing I have done before is to have a salad for breakfast! Have you ever done that? It's great because it's light yet filling. There are no sugars, so I will have a banana afterwards (I have found that bananas do not clash with veggies because they take about an hour to digest and therefore seem to be tolerated... at least for me.).

It is definitely not easy to quit coffee if you are working and have consumed lots of it in the past. It took me three days to detox. I am not working right now, so I could take a nap if I needed to. However, I went back to caffeine because I enjoy mornings at the coffee house while I am unemployed. However, I am quitting pretty soon! Good luck with your raw adventure. I am impressed.

Hey,

You can get kelp noodles on line [www.kelpnoodles.com] or some other healthy stores might have it.. I got a case for 33$ and I think it will last me a year..
I bought some pine nuts ( raw) in Trader Jones and they were about 6$- not a pound, but a good size snack bag. I am sure it will last me for the while..

Good luck!

Maryl_E Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Everyone, and thanks for your responses.
>
> I'm pretty sure I'm getting plenty of nutrition,
> simply due to the mass quantities of raw food I'm
> eating. (LOL)
>
> Mislu, I live in Colorado and it's cold but very
> dry here. I almost always have a 32 oz water
> bottle within reach and empty it about every 4
> hours or so. I still have some coffee in the
> morning (down to just one cup now), and I think I
> drink so much water to compensate for the coffee's
> diuretic effect. I started adding celery to my
> green smoothies to ensure I'm getting enough
> healthy sodium.
>
> Is it possible to eat too many bananas? I put a
> banana in my green smoothie every morning, and
> yesterday I ate two more bananas to quell my
> hunger between meals. As long as it seems to
> agree with me, I think I'll probably rely on
> bananas quite a bit to get me through.
>
> Thanks again, everyone!
>
> Maryl

Maryl,

The short answer is yes, it's possible to eat too many bananas which are a hybridized high sugar fruit. Overconsumption of bananas can lead to an imbalance of electrolytes (high potassium or hyperkalemia) and excessive dopamine consumption. [www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]. Bananas are a high sugar low nutrient fruit which in addition is hybridized ergo not natural. Many fruits are better choices including low sugar high nutrient fruits including citrus, berries, and melons. To your health.

Paul

Hi Everyone!

It seems that adding some soaked almonds and pecans to my smoothies has really helped a lot. Last night I made a smoothie out of banana, mango, young coconut, and some soaked almonds and pecans that was very satisfying. BTW, it was a happy accident that this smoothie tasted A LOT like cheesecake! I posted it over on the Recipes forum. It was incredibly delicious and very filling! I also added 5 almonds and pecans and a scoop of flax meal to this morning's smoothie and that definitely helped a lot too.

I'm still going to pick up some chia seeds and pine nuts this weekend, though. Variety is a good thing!

I also just wanted to say thanks to everyone for responding! I am really delighted with how helpful everyone here is. What a great forum!

Namaste,
Maryl

Wow Maryl:
I am really interested in your journey. I am going to start raw foods in February. I am waiting for my taxes to come in so I can afford a good quality blender. (VitaMix or Blendtec) I have diabetes, hypertention, bouts with depression, you name it, I have it. My father, uncles, and brother all died with complications due to diabetes, heart disease, or unhealthy eating. I have a sister that has dialysis treatments 4 days a week and she refuses to even consider changing her eating habits. I also believe my marriage failed partly due to my weight because at one point I was 300 pounds. I then had one of the first weight loss surgeries after the very invasive stomach stapling, I had an esophical ring put in and I lost 50 pounds, but after that I could not lose any more weight. The esophical rings were predecessors to lap band surgeries but are more permanent. I have sense had a hard time eating, and digesting meat, I throw up frequently and it is difficult to eat and keep down anything with any nutritional value. I think whole foods and blending or juicing is the only way to heal myself. I am a little nervous because I have absolutely no support in my household to succeed and even my sisters will sabatoge me if they have the chance, so I am seaching for anyone with a success story to help me stay encouraged.

Thank you for your posts.
Jasmine

Jasmine,

It sounds like you've been through hell and back with food and health issues. I'm very fortunate that I've never been more than 15 pounds overweight. I've always been very active and fit up until the last few years when I got hit with FMS and CFS. The fatigue is so bad now that it's time for "drastic" measures.

I am a mom among many things, and although I am not going to buy meat or dairy anymore and I will enforce that they eat plenty of raw foods, I am not expecting my kids to go raw vegan. I will still cook for them, and I feel pretty confident that I won't feel bad about not eating the cooked foods. My health is far too important to me. My 21 year-old former foster daughter also lives with me, and she cooks and eats all her own food. Surprisingly, I am not tempted by the smells when she cooks.

Don't let lack of family support hold you back. No one can make this choice but you. If they think you are nuts for trying it or razz you, that's about THEM, it's NOT about you.

I watched the documentary "Eating" on PBS and that was the final clincher for me in my decision to go vegan. I highly recommend it. You can order the DVD online - go to www.ravediet.com. You can ask your family and friends to watch it -- if they don't agree with it and don't choose to change their lifestyles, that's their business, but at least maybe they will understand why you are choosing it.

Also, to keep motivated, keep reading those raw food diet testimonials. I find the stories I've read about other people's raw food journeys and the "miraculous" healing they've experienced very inspiring. I find one to read whenever I'm craving a Red Robin hamburger. It DOES help.

Blessings, Love and Light to you Jasmine! YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!! Life is ours for the taking -- we are what we eat, so eat life!

Maryl

Gosh, Jasmine, you certainly have a lot to deal with, but the fact that you are here shows that you want to find a way to heal. Good on you! Let me say I admire you going for health - especially since you are doing it without support and even with others possibly working against you. I didn't know anyone who ate a raw diet before I began (and still haven't met anyone personally), but I was fortunate to have support at home. However, you have support here. Good luck and best wishes! You go, girl!!!


My favorite raw vegan

P.S. I have a cr@ppy dime store blender, nor do I have a food dehydrator or juicer. I will have to buy those cool tools one at a time, when I can afford to. But I decided to GO FOR IT NOW anyhow. Why wait? Fresh delicious raw food is already available at the grocery store just waiting for me to take it home and gobble it up. And gobble some more. And more.

Jasmine,
My heart goes out to you. I hope that everything will work for you. My sister is about 100lbs overweight, she is dieting now and has lost about 5lbs. She mentioned thinking about getting stomach stapling. I told her no! please don't! It might be easy for me to say because I haven't had to face some of the health problems she has, and the weight.

She has asked me about acupuncture and weight loss, because I had gotten treatments for other things. I told her it probably could help, but I advised her to wait until she finished breastfeeding her child to attempt any weight loss. I don't know if that was the best thing to say. I'm concerned for her of course, and my other two sisters who are also overweight. Its such a difficult thing, as they have some uncomfortable emotions around it, and some habits which are not great for maintaining or loosing weight. So, sometimes I try not to say things at certain times, because I know they are doing their best. Any advice about what to say, what to not say, or what not to do? Anything in particular that is annoying or not helpful?

Hi Maryl_E:

You may find this very interesting, Steve Pavlina did a 30 day raw food diet, and he kept a fantastic journal - tons of information (pictures, calorie totals, personal weight changes and so on) - you can read everything he ate from the first to the 30th day, and all sorts of other information. It might give you some good ideas about how much fruit and so on it is ok to eat - here is the link to

Overview: [www.stevepavlina.com]


Day 1: [www.stevepavlina.com]



HAPPY READING!!

Sapphire

Hello Everyone:
Thank you very much for all the encouragement. I will be posting from time to time to let you know how I am doing. I just didn't know how much I needed the help from you all until I read your wonderful posts. I am so afraid of failure because that is what I am used to but I will keep on pushing through until I see success and I feel better. I know it will take several years to heal because it took several years to get here. I also have a daughter with cerebral palsy and autism that takes up a lot of my time. I am thinking of making her diet 50% raw because even thought she is not considered obese, she could stand to lose about 25-35 pounds. She is not very mobile and she has high cholesterol already. I am gearing up for the long haul. Keep me in your prayers.

Jasmine,

Sending my sincerest wishes for your full healing journey to result in success. Stay positive, have faith that you are doing exactly what is right for your body and that your body and soul will thank you, and keep us posted--we will gladly buoy you up whenever you feel yourself sinking, dear.

Jkysel,

I believe the oxygen rich foods (raw) are good for CP. So is massage.

Hi Everyone:
Tomorrow is the first day~ Although I am not blending or going raw yet, I have started meatless meals. What ever I eat I am just trying to stop the meat madness. I have found that my blood pressure goes up everytime I eat meat because my heart is trying so hard to process it. I bought some chia seeds and I put that into a cup of juice and then I eat other meals, nothing fatty or greasy. I think this transition is good for me so when I go 80-90% raw my body won't go into shock. I was afraid to do this before, afraid of failure, but I have come to learn that you are only afraid of what you do not know. Eating raw foods is new to me because I did not have a lot of information, but after researching it, the fear seems to diminish to just a 'healthy' fear of the unknown, of which I think is good. A friend told me that FEAR is: False Evidence Appearing Real. When I get true information, it can take the fear away. I am going to take my before pictures this week and get my affairs in order because I really need to concentrate on the first week. This will be official the second week in February. I am so nervous and excited, I feel like I am giving birth again...

Congratulations on taking the plunge and overcoming your fears. Good luck on your journey.

Wow! I feel excited for you. Somehow your excitement and anticipation is infectious. I'm curious about how it will go for you. Will you stay excited and energized or become calm and easy-going about it all or something else? I look forward to hearing how it goes for you.


My favorite raw vegan