Ok, I hate information overload and get this this that that and a zillion other things! I'm really looking to just fix my intestinal health as being constipated drives me up a tree and I feel like ripping heads off, worst of the worst is sitting on the pot for hours and nothing happening and having to go to bed like such!

About 3-4 weeks ago give or take I decided to go on a raw foods diet as well as some clean meats. On an average day I'd wake up, eat some whole grain organic mix of oats, wheats, etc, a couple eggs a banana and maybe a bowl of wheat bran cereal and then afterwards later on perhaps a huge handful of raw spinach then around lunch I'd juice something like 4 sticks of celery, 4 carrots, a head of brocoli, and an apple, then back to a few more eggs and/or some lentils, rice, etc. then around dinner I'd have a nice big salad with tomatoes, avocados, onion, and so on with either salmon or chicken or something of that nature. and then I exercise later in the earlier part of the night which I consume a whey protein drink afterwards and then before bed I will eat another meal which usually is another handful of spinach and then a banana and perhaps some more whole wheat cereal.

I also started supplementing with probiotics...

And my issue is... I kept loosing weight so about 3 days ago looking at how quickly skinny I was getting (I dropped about 11 pounds so far!!!) and I was feeling mega lethargic and lack of strength in exercising I said I can't let myself slither away so I started using extra olive oil and when I'd go out to eat no more poking around the menu I just went all out and still will eat what I consider to be clean meats according to the bible though of course resteraunts you can't win they're not going to be the good stuff I like to buy without the steroids and antibiotics! Anywho, I'm plugged up like you wouldn't believe. I'd like to eat raw and just raw alone, but I'm really needing some pointers on what to do! I don't want to turn into a string-bean and it seems like that is what was happening to me!

I came across some youtube video's of raw/organic bodybuilders (I don't care about bodybuilding but I do follow their diets as I like to stay on the bigger side even though I'm naturally lean) and this one guy said for his first year he kept loosing weight till he couldn't barely stand looking at himself in the mirror because he got so skinny yet he kept at it and then started to progressively put weight back on and now is a pretty big guy!

so bottom line is.....

-I want to have healthy working intestines again (I can't stand being stopped up plus I had my appendix rupture back in Oct of 2010!)

-I don't mind my size at all but if I keep shrinking and shrinking that is not cool at all with me plus I do not like the lethargic feel to my body I feel I have lost a lot of strength!

and a quick ps, I've had issues with intestinal parasites as well in the past!

Any help would be greatly appreciated and yes I am more than a little upset about my health!

Also, thought I might add even though I don't do 100% raw, switching over to where I'm at now from a lifestyle of lots of fast foods, processed foods, and junk in the past I'm quite proud of where I'm at right now, but still need to go all the way!

Hi CTagliati, I'm sorry for your troubles, and perhaps your digestive system would benefit if you gave up eating meat. Actually, I know it would, and this is a raw VEGAN forum in case you didn't know, and which does not support the eating of animal products. All the best in your journey.

Cheers, geo

CT,

Also sorry this is happening. A glance at your diet indicates it's all over the map water and fiber-wise. Animal products are inherently constipating, and when cooked, devoid of water, and if eaten raw, carriers of parasites, so that would be the first thing I'd discard if I were you. Your consumption of vegetables is admirable, but where is the soluble fiber? The grains you are eating for breakfast have some, but, again, are dried and perhaps otherwise processed, and if consumed with dairy, constipating. In addition, your meals, combining animal protein, grains, raw vegetables and some banana, could be too great a variety of textures and macronutrients in one meal for your digestion to manage easily. How do you feel after breakfast, say? Light and energized? That's how you should feel!

It is difficult to tell if you are eating sufficient calories to maintain mass. There is almost no calorific fruit in your diet, so the bulk of your calories is coming from animal proteins devoid of fiber. Likewise, are you consuming enough water? I have found that ripe raw fruits--eaten individually on an empty stomach; not with other foods--really help keep things moving in my digestive tract partly because they are juicy.

I suspect the weight loss may be a combination of insufficient calories and digestive distress. Please consider simplifying and eating more water rich plant foods and healthy plant fats: avocadoes are high in fat but also fiber, unlike animal fat, for example. Good luck to you

For constipation, start your day by drinking around 750ml to 1litre of distilled water cold or at room temperature. Continue with eating fruits and vegetables and drinking their (vegetbles) juices during the day.

If this doesnt help then you should try colonics and start over again by building your intestinal microflora. That would solve your constipation problem 100% guaranteed.

Try that and let me know how it works.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2012 05:25PM by Duke.

And when you're done drinking the water, scrape your tongue. After that, sit on the throne like you're going to go numero dos. Don't try and force anything out. Just sit there for a while. After a few days (if not sooner) you should produce something. Continue doing that for the rest of your life. The result will be that you train your system to let the nuggets fly at a specific point in the day. Like German Shepherds, the average human digestion loves routine.

Geo- Exactly!

CTagliati-

The meats, even "clean"can take up to 3-5 days to process in the body, not only adding more acidity to the body which can be harmful, but clogging you up as well. Once I went completely vegan-raw, - I stopped eating grain and even sprouted seed breads (they also have gluten which causes bloating) and dairy (a biiiig one in causing constipation) and kept it strictly raw without even steaming the food, my system always feels clear and normal. I am no nutritionist but this is just from experience. I am not sure what to tell you about your consistent weight loss, but you just have to do what your body tells you.

P.S.- There is nothing wrong with long posts because we are able to get more information and therefore be more helpful when giving advice.

Good luck,
Malena

you gotta go 100% ! read Gabriel cousens "rainbow green life food cuisine".......you must quit the meat. drink green smoothies and eat salads for a while. you'll be @#$%& 5 times a day! The intestinal parasites will balance itself out if you follow the rainbow green methos of no sugar for a while as your body heals. then you can slowly reincorporate sugar. meat slows digestion down and rots in the body. Animal protein leads to cancer and degeneration.

When asking these types of questions you should probably tell your age and sex. If you don't feel comfortabel then don't. Your body is a mess, you are combining all the wrong foods, look for a food combining chart from a vegetarian or vegan source. You should also tell us what kind of parasites you had and probably still have. You don't need to go raw all at once but combine a fully raw food meal at least once a day and move forward from there. Poor digestine, lack of fiber and an imbalance of intestinal flora is the first thing to fix. Lack of magnesium and calcium is also a problem for almost all people. Take the recomended dosage of probiotics three times a day or to bowel tolorence. Also take two hundred mg. of magnesium three times a day with meals also to bowel tolerance, you can take up to one thousand mg a day but start out slowly. Stop eating fruit for a while because you almost certianly have to much yeast in your gut along with parasites and bacteria. It is a none fact that an imbalance of pathogens will clog you up. You can also add Psyllium fiber to your diet it's cheap. Good Luck!

the best solution is simply manuka honey and coconut oil every morning. not only Will your intestinal health improve, u Will also have better skin. but bear in mind it has to be manuka honey. and coconut oil has to be extra virgin cold pressed pressed coconut oil.

HeavenHands Wrote:
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The result will be that you train your
> system to let the nuggets fly at a specific point
> in the day.

this has got to be the best description of defecating ive ever read ..like ever

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Been there. Biological water in raw foods helps so much, mono meals, lots of warm water and lime in the morning, and soil bacteria probiotics too.

I wish I could lose five pounds, I would feel much more energetic.

Interesting how we have the opposite problem.

Wow so much information.... I think I am confused!!

At my age (58) I can't lose weight by eating and getting my colon moving fast. Unfortunately I feel like I am starving, and I get a start of a sore throat.

Maybe you are just starting peri-menopause. It is a journey let me tell you ... figuring out what to eat.

If you know your blood type, it may help to know that O's and B's are more carnivore than the other blood types. The question is which protein source is best for you?
Me as a blood type A (allele type AO-my mother is A my father is O) I found I am a low carb eater, and I must eat unsaturated fats to feel well, and to have good colon health.

Too many raw foods, were a problem for me. I had to cut back and limit it to a fruit in the morning with my quinoa Oat cereal recipe. Maybe eggs 2-4 hours later.

I always only combine proteins and veggies. Lunch is a protein turkey or fish on a salad with beans... Beans are a good sourse of soluble and insoluble fiber, and alot of other minerals.

Dinner is protein and veggies, again no beef or pork for me. "The unsaturated proteins only"... The percentage of 30% protein to 40% carbs varies with the type of genetics you have low carb, low fat, mediterannean, or balanced. I played with this for 10 years before finding what I can eat every day to feel good, and what supplements I need for energy.

Snack at night is a almond, walnut, dried cherry (no sulfites) and dried blueberry trail mix. or a black cherry almond clif bar.

I seem to get constipated too, and scared if It is more than a day. I have been working on not too fast, and not too slow.

I found that I am a low carb eater with a hunger gene. Hence the snacks. Some people don't need as many snacks as I do.

I added the test I found helpful, to the website, with the same name.

Maybe, slow down with all the raw foods, keep the ones you like best, and temper with some cooked food. I have hip pain, when my colon runs too fast.

Maybe younger people can eat vegan, I saw a website once that said as we get older we need more protein. As an older... I agree.

Hope this helps.

I sometimes wonder why (some) people struggle so much to find a way of eating that'll keep them feeling great - as if your diet is all that should matter. If you have to watch every molecule you stick into your mouth, something is wrong somewhere. We were designed to be more flexible than that, we should be able to depart a bit from perfection in daily life, without collapsing into symptoms of illness.

The older we get, the more we have to rely on medicines, etc., not to mention daily lifestyle, to be well. I think maybe that this is why every culture everywhere developed herbal medicine - to compensate for the inability to find that "perfect" diet.

This is exactly what frustrates me. I do not want to spend my everyminute thinking about food or what to eat. I like that someone else can see we were not made to be so structured and if we have one little thing "off the plan" than we are doomed.

However, I am a celiac, so if I have gluten, I kind of am doomed

Anyhow, I just wanted to lighten up and let nature take its course.

Horsea Wrote:
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> I sometimes wonder why (some) people struggle so
> much to find a way of eating that'll keep them
> feeling great - as if your diet is all that should
> matter. If you have to watch every molecule you
> stick into your mouth, something is wrong
> somewhere. We were designed to be more flexible
> than that, we should be able to depart a bit from
> perfection in daily life, without collapsing into
> symptoms of illness.
>
> The older we get, the more we have to rely on
> medicines, etc., not to mention daily lifestyle,
> to be well. I think maybe that this is why every
> culture everywhere developed herbal medicine - to
> compensate for the inability to find that
> "perfect" diet.

To: michelemm:

Dr. Weil says, "Following a gluten-free diet will usually greatly improve and may even completely resolve symptoms, heal existing intestinal damage, and prevent further problems. Improvements can begin within days of starting the diet. Healing completely involves a restoration of the intestinal villi that can absorb nutrients from food into the bloodstream as well as keep the gut from leaking. This usually takes place faster in children than in adults – kids having resolution in as little as 3 to 6 months while older adults may need as much as 2 years."

And Dr. Weil is pretty mainstream. I've heard him be quite contemptuous in general of people looking for "natural" or "alternative" cures, though he does flog his brand of vitamins.

You never asked for my advice but I don't charge, so:

If you aren't already doing so, look into predigested Vitamin B-6. Also known as P-5-P.

Hey there

Thanks for the free advice However, I was diagnosed 7 years ago so my gut is healed or at least on its way- for sure.

I do think that I still need to go back to basics with adding more fruit in my plan, but for now, low carb and a little fish seems to keep my blood sugar levels steady for the most part.

I think I have more body distortion than anything else, all of my friends tell me Icould use about 10 pounds, but I feel like losing 5 would take the middle puffiness out. I just cant do well on alot of carbs... I think it is who I am and I need to roll with it.

Make sense?

and.... I have Dr.Weil book, I like him.

Horsea Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To: michelemm:
>
> Dr. Weil says, "Following a gluten-free diet will
> usually greatly improve and may even completely
> resolve symptoms, heal existing intestinal damage,
> and prevent further problems. Improvements can
> begin within days of starting the diet. Healing
> completely involves a restoration of the
> intestinal villi that can absorb nutrients from
> food into the bloodstream as well as keep the gut
> from leaking. This usually takes place faster in
> children than in adults – kids having resolution
> in as little as 3 to 6 months while older adults
> may need as much as 2 years."
>
> And Dr. Weil is pretty mainstream. I've heard him
> be quite contemptuous in general of people looking
> for "natural" or "alternative" cures, though he
> does flog his brand of vitamins.
>
> You never asked for my advice but I don't charge,
> so:
>
> If you aren't already doing so, look into
> predigested Vitamin B-6. Also known as P-5-P.