Much love and respect to everyone here. My letter may be disturbing to some but it’s been a long battle for me.

I’m a 38 yo. male. Still struggling with weight loss after 6 months on raw.

I need to confess. I’m probably the most frustrated ‘raw foodest’ out there. I’m going to try and make this really short but this really means a LOT to me and a ton of guts to post this here! Letting go of my “man hood” a bit.

I do research on health 6 hours a day (still do). Because I’m always looking for answers to feel better and lose weight. I’m obsessed with it. This is how I found the raw diet.

I came into the raw diet to have better health, live longer, avoid dieses, and as a bonus I would lose weight and feel great. Just like they all say; Go raw and lose weight. Well I have a different story.

I’ve been trying to eat raw for almost 6 months. The first 2 weeks I was 100%, then I leaned towards more of a 85% diet for 4 months, we had many days during that time going 100% for 3 days in a row. But with the occasional trip down to the vegan restaurant to have falafel's and pita bread once a week. We also had grilled veggies from time to time with spouted grain tortillas with guacamole and salsa, all homemade and organic stuff.

4 Months have past and I’m not losing weight.

Now before you guys blame it on the falafel’s, keep in mind that my diet before this was eating ONE POUND burgers and lots of pizza, burritos, chips, 16 oz steaks, fries, more sausage to feed a small village and just good old fashioned western cookin’. Eating this way allowed me to maintain a 245lb body at 6’ 2” tall. I was hooked on it. But miserable.

So my change in diet was HUGE, I mean HUGE change. Going from all that junk to now drinking daily juice in the morning and having a daily salad. Backed up with bananas, apple snacks and oat cereal with homemade almond milk. My portions and calories now are less then 2000 a day.

Then one day I just told my girlfriend, it must be the eating out thing. She said “Maybe it is”. So we stopped eating out and we never went back to that vegan restaurant again.

1 and a half months go by. Still eating raw. With the occasional grilled veggies.

Still no weight loss yet.

Now I am 250lbs. I have gained weight.

I told my girlfriend I’m going out of my mind. I am the fattest guy at the raw food restaurant here in our city. And for those skinny people out there, it’s not easy being a big guy walking into a raw food cafe. Because it always looks like it’s your first day on the diet.

My mom says “You are more concerned about health then anyone I know, but you are the heaviest person in the family”. Because I have to be.

Over the months my portion sizes have dropped tremendously.

Alright, lets try something else. Then about a few weeks ago. I decided to try a 30 day juice fast. I even posted about it here on the board. I lost 10 lbs in 5 days. But felt like I was going to die and my girlfriend wanted to take me to the hospital. I almost started hallucinating on day 5. The juice fast ended quickly. If it wasn’t for my girlfriend begging me to stop, I would of been dying to be healthy and risking it all to lose weight. I also performed 6 water enemas and 2 coffee enemas during this time. Sorry to get so personal, but it’s just for the record.

I held the 10lbs off for a little while but it slowly creaped up on me and put me back into a miserable state.

For the last week I have completely eliminated myself of grains, since maybe this will help with my carb cravings.

On the brighter side of things, I have a better since of well being, my thinking is clearer and I feel better overall. I have even STOPPED SMOKING CIGARS after 10 years! I almost forgot to mention that! That is HUGE for me. I was smoking two cigars a day for that long. If you want to know how I did it, send me a private message.

My girlfriend says “Honey, it’s ok if you have extra weight, long as you feel healthy”. Love you too baby. but I will not except that.

Ok back to my story...

Now I’m considering the fruitarian diet (I know, I know). The last few days I have been focusing more on simple eating or mono eating and incorporating more fruits. Maybe that’s where I’m lacking right?

Moving forward.

I think I am coming to the conclusion that I’m not active enough. Now I am considering on selling my music studio and computers so I will get out of the house (I know, I’m an extremest). What ever it takes. Because exercises is not my favorite thing. In the past I’ve had to exercises vigorously to lose weight to the point where it hurts. I have even messed up my left knee. I was tired all the time, sore daily. So exercises is not necessarily a high priority.

Some facts:

During the course of 5+ months on the raw diet I have...

1.) Discussed my weight issue with a nutritionist and have taken numerous tests on food allergies. So far I have passed them all with flying colors. She recommended a probiotic at night. She said it might help you loose weight. It doesn’t. Most of these nutritionist have never been fat so they don’t understand. They tell you it could be a vegetable that you are allergic to that keeps you from losing weight. I’m begging for anyone to prove me wrong on this one! I guess it’s easy to say when you are 100lbs.

2.) I do full body stretches 4 days a week for 45 minutes. Feels great.

3.) I never put food in my mouth until I take enzymes. And if the food is cooked I take a lot more. I’m never constipated or bloated because of this. We take all UDO’s enzymes and probiotics.

4.) We spend $400 a week on raw food at Whole Foods (no joke). Bulk nuts, veggies, fruits, enzymes, coconuts, oils, seasonings, the list goes on and on. But I don’t care. It’s either I spend the money on health or doctor bills.

5.) We have all top of the line juicers, dehydrators, food processors etc etc.

6.) I do research and work from 9pm to 2 am, seems I get the least amount of interruptions and I’m a night owl.

I’ve tried a number of times to contact the “so called pros” in the raw community about the weight issue and know one ever replies. Maybe because they don’t believe me. I’ve seen only a couple people complain about not seeing weight loss on raw. Many of the pros started raw when they were thin anyway, so would they know about weight loss? I dunno...

You can see my frustration. Half story and half rant. Apologies for the rant stuff but it’s been a long journey for me.

So tell me, what is the first solution/thing that pops into your mind after reading this?

Would love to hear from you.

Warmly,

Ok to start dont drop the calories lower than 2000 it isnt healthy for a male your age even if you arent losing weight at that level of calories.

Your metabolism sounds slow, are you taking in sufficient iodine, most fruit and vegetables contain no iodine due to being grown in iodine deficient soil. Seaweeds are the best source of iodine, not only that they contain researched compounds which help you lose weight. On-top of that they will stimulate your metabolism.

Add in some exercise, it doesnt need to be grueling to the point of injury, try and find a form of exercise that you enjoy. Resistance training is a good idea or HIIT(high intensity interval training) which has been shown to stimulate the resting metabolism.

Hopefully that gives you a few ideas.

I am far from an expert on the subject, I assume considering how diligent you seem, that you have been using something like fitday to track your nutritional intake?

I had gained a considerable amount of weight (I was at 230) for awhile there till I learned about the raw diet, which I seemed to have been on a better than 50% version of most of my life anyway (some points closer to 90) I have lost over 30 pounds on raw, probably more as im 205 now, yet im down 3 pants sizes, and have much bigger muscles, although not nearly as big as I had when I was younger and practically working myself to death... im still rather chubby, So I get your frustration, although my issues arent nearly as bad as yours seem, as you seem to be doing everything right (I haven't been) and aren't getting even as good of results as i have with basically juicing being my only major nutritional change... Im really sorry your having to deal with all of this frustration...

The first thing that i think of suggesting after reading this rant, is maybe you need to slow down? stress can cause so much issues for a person... For me, Ive found Zazen meditation extremely beneficial for de-stressing and emotional centering (I do not sit in full lotus however, I have a bad knee as well, so I sit in half lotus, but whatever is most comfortable for you is best, you can even sit upright in a chair if thats what you need, but i find it works best for me if I have no back support...that way I cant fall asleep), many people enjoy yoga, but if your anything like me, even the "easy" positions are rather hard to pull off, even with practice,lol... But im fairly certain that ive read in a number of places that reducing stress can help with weight loss goals, since you have been injured in the past, id also suggest low impact cardio exercise, maybe a nice exercise bike, seems like you can probably afford a pretty good one! you can even set it up so you can work on music or do stuff on your computers while exercising, but id suggest checking out a cheap gym first, just to try out the different bikes and see if your knee can take it...

On another note, you list allot of fats in your foods, although natural vegan fats are great for you, if weight loss is your goal,eating much of any of them will make it difficult to lose weight, shorter juice fasts, of 3 days once a month starting out might be good for you too, when I did mine I used primarily carrot and kale...and I feel far more amazing now just doing short 3 day ones than I did when I attempted longer...

Allot of my difficulties with getting back down to the weight I used to be at I have noticed where emotional, the stress, the battles with depression and frustrations with not getting the results I wanted, and at least for me, it was only after eliminating much of these issues that I was able to make any real healthy progress... And honestly, your obsession with losing this weight, although understandable, seems to go a bit far (I used to be the same, so no judgements, just loving and empathetic observations) , so maybe the emotional aspect is something that might be as big of a hurdle for you as it has been for me... I hope at least something ive said here will be able to help you, good luck, and Merry almost Christmas

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

go low fat ie, 80 10 10.

Hi clank72
Thanks for sharing your story.
The prescription is very simple, stop eating.
Join a fasting group or forum such as [www.fastingconnection.com]
400 dollars on raw food per week is too much. It is not the food we eat that is important it is the food we assimilate. Give your body a break. Look into liquidarianism and intermittent fasting

Relax! Seriously... you need some lifestyle changes if you are going to be successful. As someone who has lost a lot of weight and has struggled with weight in the past, I am SHOCKED that you aren't losing weight on your new diet. Which is why I am leaning toward a lifestyle issue preventing the weight loss.

First... early to bed, early to rise. Staying awake late into the night messes with your hormones -- and that messes with your metabolism and health. Chronic fatigue can be the reason you are not losing weight. Get to bed as early as possible after the sun goes down (within reason, of course). Sleep as much as possible.

Drink lots and lots of filtered water.

Don't over-do the fats but you must eat healthy fats to lose stored fat. So don't avoid the healthy fats such as an avocado or some coconut plus a handful or two of nuts/seeds is usually enough.

Have your thyroid checked. Be sure to check t3, t4 and reverse t-3 also.

No more fasts!!! What are you trying to do to your body? Shock it over and over again? Stick with a healthy eating plan and let your body adjust. It may take 6 months to a year.

Eat big portion sizes of fresh veggies and fruits. Huge portions. Gigantic portions. You're a big ape and you need to feed your body. Eat mostly veggies first, fruits second, fats third.

I hate to think it... but you should be tested for diabetes, specifically insulin resistence. When hormones are running amuck the body simply can't process fat out of the cells easily.

From reading your post I think it is probably safe to assume that you have a good idea of how to eat raw foods in a healthful manner. So eat healthfully and don't beat yourself up if you aren't 100% raw or eat a pita pocket once or twice a week. You seem to be applying SAD eating principles to the raw food diet... smaller portions, reduced calories, less is more, etc. STOP IT!! More is more. Food is love. Feed yourself lots and lost of fresh love.

I forgot exercise...

Yes, you have to do it. Weight bearing for strong bones and muscle tone, cardio for a healthy heart. But you don't have to be an extremeist and injure yourself again or give up your hobby. Can you go swimming a few days a week at the local Y?

You simply MUST walk every day. Take your girlfriend for a long stroll each day. If you have the time and compassion, adopt a dog... because a dog is the very best walking buddy. On those days when you simply want to sit on your butt surfing the web or spinning tunes in your studio your best buddy will remind you it is time for a walk. And nag you until you get off your butt and take it for a walk. (At least mine does... and I love her for it.)

Take up more active hobbies. But don't sell your equipment and go extreme when you can ADD activities to your day and still enjoy your passions.

clank72,
Maybe you are trying TOO hard, that is what comes to mind. On a neo-pagan webpage they have a spell for healthy weight loss. You say the chant with beads two times a day, and then you must NOT think about it after that, and let the spell do its work. If you are researching health 6 hours a day, that just seems like you are thinking about food too much. Even if the spell doesn't work, at least you could take a break from the constant thinking about food.

Maybe picking up a hobby that doesn't involve food directly or indirectly might be something to think about. Volunteering your time could help you take your mind off your problems. I have heard that most libraries are looking for someone to read a story to children during story time. What could be better than reading Dr. Seuss to a dozen children? If your not a children person, I am sure there are community projects just waiting for your talent and input.

reading between an betwixt your lines i see a very stressed out individual .. stress causes the hormone cortisol to store fat in your mid section .. couple that with yo-yo dieting and your body is going into flight/fight/starvation mode so it will be very hard to lose weight

review allthe suggestions above (except the stop eating one ..i dont think long term fasting at this stage is a good idea for you infact i think it would be very damaging and counter productive at this point as you have alrady experienced )

short intense (not harmful) bursts of exercise throughout the day can be far more benefical then long drawn out sessions .. mix things up oftten , your body gets used to things quite quickly and stops showing results

jog like crazy one week, swim like a salmon going up river the next , hop on a bike after that, and dance around the house with yer gal like nobody is watching .. make it fun

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Agree with everyone else saying, "take it easy." You are focusing too much on a specific goal, and not enough on the day by day joy of living in a way that will heal you. Apart from the staying up until 2 a.m. and willy nilly shifting from one raw regimen to another, you are depleting your adrenal glands of stress hormone all by yourself, buddy! This will keep you fat but also give you heart failure!

I would suggest focusing instead on the whole picture. Don't think about being thin. Think about what you would like your life to be like on raw. This way, every intermittent gian in health--five pounds less of weight, a few minutes more stamina when working out--will be a great confidence-restoring victory! If you make a note of each positive change and pat yourself on the back about it, and reassure yourself that you are on the right track, your difficulties will easily fall away. Your problems with this, which apart from the nabobs of negativity pointing your fatness out to you(thanks, Mom), are mostly in your own head. Take charge of what's in that noggin. It shouldn't be your worst enemy. I saw a documentary on The Buddha on PBS the other day. My mother told me when I was a girl about how Siddhartha Gautama sat beneath a bodhi tree until he felt nirvanic joy. This was his exiting the chrysalis stage of his life into that of the Enlightened One we all have heard of. What I didn't know was that this was preceded by years of acesticism--starvation, sleeping in the rain and wind in nakedness, crippling journeys and fruitless meditation, scourging. After which there was nothing. And I thought, dude! Did you really think slowly killing yourself would bring you to your Truth?


Take a breather. Start anew. No fasting, no enemas, no superfoods. Eat some cooked vegan food, but have a huge chopped salad beforehand. A few days a week, have a large serving of fruit, stretched over several hours, or maybe a big green smoothie, for breakfast. Go slowly. Savor flavors. Enjoy sensations. Revel in good people's company; your girl sounds like a peach--be grateful! Really taste what you are putting in your mouth. Try new raw fruits and veggies. Drink clear water. Take pleasant walks. Sleep a lot. Succeed.

Good luck. You can do this

I am also thinking that you could still be on track with everything without knowing it! The scale doesn't tell you the complete picture. A good physical with blood work might tell you something about if you are making progress. Percent of body fat is also helpful to know, sometimes people actually gain weight if they put on more lean tissue, like bone and muscle.

I am also thinking that if you have consumed a lot of trans fat before going raw, perhaps that is more difficult to metabolize. Maybe your body is working to get rid of that, and once that happens the pounds will just melt away, maybe/

clank72,

For healing and weight loss to occur on the raw diet, it has to be more of a permanent lifestyle change rather than a short term "diet" to take off unwanted weight. So I guess what I am saying is that it is still too early to say that raw foods isn't working yet, as you are still in your transitional state.

The other advice on this thread has been great. The common theme is that health is more than just diet. Reducing stress, exercise, being in the sun, finding peace and stillness, are all great things to incorporate into your life to increase your health, at which point you should see a reduction of the excess weight.

400 dollars a week seems high to me. Myself, I spend about that much a month. But I buy my fruit in bulk, buying cases of clementines, mangos, valencias, and deglet noor dates. Also I don't take any supplements or superfoods, which saves me a lot of money.

Are you using salt? Removing salt from your diet, including the celtic and himalayan salts, and condiments/foods that contain salt like miso, nama shoyu, braggs liquid aminos, seaweeds, etc, will allow your body to release excess water weight. To get sodium, eat high sodium vegetables like celery or spinach.

Sorry, to add to your stress by putting on pressure, but I advise -

Go 100% raw overnight and stay that way for a month at least. Also, no salt with the raw food diet, because I think salt causes cravings.

Let me know what happens.

I agree with what prana says just not ditching the seaweeds, there very important addition to a raw lifestyle especially when most fruit and vegetables are void of iodine content.

Not only that they have documented weight loss benefits through compounds they contain.

I'm not a fan of seaweeds but agree that we should make a conscious effort to get iodine in the diet, so I thought I would add...

About 1/3 teaspoon powdered kelp or iodized salt provides the DAILY requirement for iodine. If a high iodine kelp is used then even less is needed.

A little powdered kelp in smoothies or salad 'dressing' is a good way to get it in the diet and you won't even notice the flavor.

When I keep fats low (limit nuts to a tablespoon or less a day, small amount of olive oil if any, an avocado only as an occasional treat), my weight is fine. I eat all the fruit and salad I want and don't measure or weigh anything or count calories. It's very liberating.

When I up the amount of fat, my weight goes up.


My favorite raw vegan

I've added MORE pure, raw, natural fats to my diet and my body seems to just lean out even more. I am talking, one half an avocado in my morning green smoothie, along with coconut oil; a few handfuls of Brazil nuts, eaten with celery and some dulse (seaweed) as a snack; and some- at times-(non-vegan) food with non-processed fats later in the day (red palm oil).

That being said, every body IS different. I agree that you may be working too much towards your goal; ramping up cortisol levels would run any well-planned diet plan into the ditch.

It may take trial and error to figure out what path works best for you. I don't do well with sweets-- in fact have practically lost my sweet tooth, so it's not even an issue. Greens, greens, greens... plus some low-sweet fruits and raw natural plant fats = a happy body and mind... for me.

Don't give up!

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful responses. Writing that post late at night was probably the reason I was so emotional and why I probably threw one too many words away.

I didn’t want to leave this experience like I did. So before tomorrow, which is a busy day, I wanted to leave this with a happy ending.

I have YouTube on my TV set, and I watch it when I was trying to fall asleep last night (After I wrote this post). Just out of randomness I stumble upon a video from Dr. Clement, which is just an audio recording explaining why Raw Vegetarians look so bad. The title seemed interesting so I clicked on it. I watched and listen to the video and I thought it was a total coincidence to my issue and the possible answer to my problem. Just out of luck I found it, out of the blue. This video really hit me hard and everything he said was true. If you want to see the video, you can here: [www.youtube.com]

I woke up, then read all the replies to this post. I then pulled the girlfriend aside, and said "I need to talk to you about something". At first she thought she did something wrong and she felt weight on her chest. But don't worry, she's only 125lbs. I explained to her how I posted a message on the raw food board last night. And, that It was an unexpected large response from other raw vegans. Most of which all mentioned close to the same thing -- “Relax and get out”. I told her they are right. I have been cooped up in my studio, going some days with no sunlight, not enjoying life, being obsessed with information. I told her I’m just not living and I need to change my lifestyle.

One of the plans is to walk everyday. And yes, I have a dog. He is a 11lb Silky Terrier. He is 1lb overweight because he doesn’t get enough exercise (we used to go for walks a year ago). So I grabbed him this morning and we walked almost a mile this morning down the street. It was a good walk. My feet were sore when I got back. Felt great, the sun was shinning hot.

Along with the walking I explained to her about possibly some food changes. Like reducing the amount of nuts on my salad and cutting back on the salt. Because yes, we were using himalayan salt in almost everything; guacamole, salsa, cereal etc etc. So we need to reduce, or even cut it out completely from most meals.

More sunshine, walking, cutting down and fats, watching more closely. I do have some detoxifying iodine. Will this be ok? If not I will have to order the other preferred iodine mentioned from a few posters here.

We are also moving out of Vegas to Oregon. To get closer to nature. But this has been planned already for the last 6y months. We are on the right track.

Merry Christmas.

...and a HAPPY NEW YEAR ! ! ! ! !


My favorite raw vegan

*GIANT BEAR HUGS!* Im so happy to hear your feeling better now and have developed some more clarity and peace, I wish you all the best, please feel free to come to us at anytime in the future that you need more advice, or just friendship and a hug! Im personally really looking forward to hearing how things turn out for you...Also, I hope you enjoy oregon! its lovely up there!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

If health is your number one priority then I recommend staying south of Oregon due to the rain in the NW states. I live in the Seattle area and used to live in Portland and although it is beautiful here and there are many great outdoorsy places to go... the rain can be a true pain to anyone wanting to walk outdoors daily. It rains about 9 months out of the year. Not always hard rain or a lot, but enough to keep the trails muddy and the clothes wet.

I am moving FROM the NW next year to a drier climate. I need to be able to walk every day and have as much clear skies as possible. I don't like that for half the year my activities are governed by the icky weather.

So... if you have to pick a place to move to... pick one that doesn't rain as much and has clearer skies. Check out this website: [www.wrcc.dri.edu] .... it shows 73 cloudy days per year in Las Vegas vs 222 in Portland. Choose wisely!

happy to see you have had some clarity on your issues and im sure your little dog will really appreciate the extra time you spend with him

good for you !

i hope you keep on posting here

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Dont be too afraid of fat in my opinion i.e nuts, avocado, coconut etc, as long as your nothing using these elements to excess its really no problem same goes for the himalayan salt, healthy in moderation but not really in excess.

Some may try to convince you that fat is the enemy and that you should take little to no fat daily this again isnt a healthy act much the same as low to no protein, low carb etc. A moderate amount of everything has been shown to be healthy just not excess in most cases.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2010 09:20PM by powerlifer.

I, too, think half an avocado or 1/8 cup of nuts (or 1/4 cup of nuts depending on your total caloric intake) is fine. And getting active, being outside. I'm glad your girlfriend is supportive and you are keeping open communication with her. Don't hesitate to ask. There are lots of peopel who have been vegans for a very long time (decades and more); there are a couple outspoken people who think deer antlers and bee pollen are necessary to eat for human nutrition.....go with what makes common sense to you.....and eat as simple as possible. I doubt you'll hear a grunt from most people on this board about going fruitarian, considering some of us longtermers eat more calories from sweet fruit than anything, plus leafy green vegetables and nonsweet fruits (cucumber, tomato, avocado, etc.). The key is to eat leafy green vegetables as well regardless if you're eating higher fruit or higher fat or an in between.

And I think it may be best to err on the side of caution with regard to iodine. 1 tsp. of a seaweed mix per day is fine.

Don't forget a sublingual B12, too.

I would also say to you get your thyroid checked out properly if its so hard to lose weight and did you get your blood sugar checked and any other tests a doctor may recommend?? are you taking any allopathic meds that could have weight gain as a side effect?
I think a longer fast can help but if you're thinking about 30 days you should do it in a centre when they can help you through a fasting crisis and make the program best for you as an individual.... if you are overweight than 5 days isn't a long fast unless you have some other undiagnosed health issues so you would probably have come through it but it's scary to do it alone...
you could try fasting one day every two weeks for example....
also I agree not to obsess over health - it is so easy to sit for hours at internet looking up things about health - I have also done it but I don't think it's healthy because if you're spending 6 hours than you dont have much time left for actually doing healthy activities and really enjoying life... -I would say make a limit to the amount of time per day....EFT is also good for this type of issue...
all the best!!!

Thyroid blood tests are notoriously inaccurate, the best way to test how your thyroid is functioning, is with testing your basal body temperature first thing in the morning, aswell as symptoms of course.

No one is saying to overdose on iodine or that bee pollen is essential, its a supplement to an already good lifestyle(well not the iodine of course).

Go with the high high fruit! Try it, try it! Use that $400 to buy tons of the most delicious fruit- find that it's the most delicious thing in the world. I'm an ecstatic convert to fruitarianism. Give it a month or whatever. Try not eating tons of fat... maybe an avocado here or there, if you want it. Try tropical fruit, especially- whatever you really *like.* Mangoes? Papaya? Kiwis? etc. I guarantee...

clank, I agree with what most everyone advises above. Realize that raw vegan is about food choices and optimal health and it is a discovery process. Find out what others suggest, test, and find out if it works for you.

When I first went into raw veganism, I went 100% and found my health deteriorating very quickly. I wasn't getting the nutrients needed to sustain my body. Sure I had lost weight but I was also losing massive hair and my teeth were getting super soft. I realized that I had to supplement with vitamins and minerals even though someone else was advising me that I didn't need it. I like the theory of 80/10/10 but it doesn't always work for everyone. I tried it and it didn't work for me. However, I don't go overboard on nuts, seeds, or oils, either now. Also, it doesn't meant that 80/10/10 won't work for me in the future.

I had to proceed into higher levels of raw vegan over time, years. I'm still not at 100% raw vegan although I have been 100% raw vegan in spurts. I'm still finding what is optimal for me. Don't give up your music or your healthy passions in becoming raw vegan. Be a better version of yourself. Good luck in your journey. Therese

fasting is ok actually... at least for me.. intermittent fasting of a period of 24 hrs once a week (or one more day if it's fine with u). Timing it so u stop eating for example at a certain time and then eating the next day at the same time. It can be more or less the same. Some people say 15 hrs is good. I like more tho cos that way the effects are a bit more dramatic but u can start there. Start after u go to sleep, have a 5-7 hr sleep, then resume eating about 8 hrs after u wake up. Have lots of water.

The book Eat Stop Eat really turned me on to it. It was one of the best ways I could lose weight.

Some people also recommend dry fasts but I dont know how that seems to you. I dry fasted for 7 days without dying but that's not recommended at all.

Fasting is only ok pending you dont have conditions such as hypoglycemia which often comes with adrenal gland dysfunction and in turn chronic fatigue syndrome. Which is why it angers me when raw "gurus" just prescribe fasting for these conditions, not only is it very dangerous it can result in death, most end up complaining of symptoms only to be told the headaches detox etc when actually its hypoglycemia symptoms.