This year I have discovered sprouts and I have been trying to eat a lot more protein as I have had problems with energy and also my hair falling out etc.

I tend to fast during the day, with some juice and a smoothie and then at night I will eat:

-at least one large handful of walnuts, maybe two
-two large tablespoons of raw tahini mixed with miso
-1-2 large handfuls of sprouted peas, red lentils and garbanzos
-maybe some greens and a bit of carrot if I feel like it
-2-4 tablespoons of coconut oil
-chilli powder

That sounds like a lot of protein and fat and my mind tells me that it is a lot but I really feel that is what my body is asking for and craves. I like to think that I am pretty intuitive with what I eat and I have been trying to do that warrior thing where you fast during the day and eat as much as you like at dinner. This seems to work well for me but sometimes I find that I eat a whole plate of sprouts, heaps of tahini and loads of walnuts and sometimes go in for more...is this just my taste buds going to town or is my body craving all this fat and protein? I also fast about 2 days a week. I'm torn between my body and my mind.

doesn't sound too bad. If it were six or seven large handfuls of walnuts and half a jar of tahini (as I used to) I'd be concerned but as it stands it sounds fine. Go with your body.

I think it's damn near impossible to get "too much protein" on a raw vegan diet. Plenty of guys my age who work out get as much as 200g's a day. Anything between 40-100g should be fine.

As for fat, I wouldn't worry about it. In the next hours people are inevitably going to post that you should shoot for 10-20% and the reason many Americans are so unhealthy is because of the percentage of fat they eat (as if hydrogenated soybean oil is the same as walnut or coconut fat). I wouldn't worry too much, just fine tune your diet (allowing for variety also) and see what works.

All the Best to you!

It would serve you to enter your daily menu into a nutritional calculator like fitday or nutridiary to see what the mix of carbs/protein/fat is in your diet. From your description of your dinner, it looks to me like your fat intake could be as high as 60% fat. The Standard American Diet, which is considered to be a very very high fat diet, is 40% fat.

As for protein, humans don't need any more that 10% of the calories coming from protein. Any excess protein will make your body acidic, and this can lead to osteoporosis.

As for a transitional diet, your body will like the same levels of fat & protein it had in your cooked diet. You can take the nutritional calculator, and calculate the mix of carb/protein/fat in your cooked diet, and make a raw diet to start with as a transitional diet. Over time (and this may take years), you want to get away from the fat intakes in the 30's and 40's and get to a fat intake in the 20's or less (percentage of calories).

Thank you for your advice, I guess I just need to listen to my body and trust my instincts!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/2006 03:24AM by Tashi.

Thank you for your advice, I guess I just need to listen to my body and trust my instincts!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/2006 03:24AM by Tashi.