When I'm eating rye and quiona cooked I notice how it feels like I've really eated a meal and I feel quite full and satisfied. When I sprout the same food I notice that I feel like I want more and more after I've eated the same quantity by dry weight - like I never eat enough. Why is that?

Sometimes it feels like I haven't eaten a meal at all when I eat raw and it feels like I starve myself...

I am not sure that equal starting dry weights would have equal energy (kcal, or calories, colloquially) content after cooking or sprouting.

I am guessing that with sprouting, the longer the sprout, the lower will be the edible energy content and the higher the water and fiber content of the food. Higher fiber means less net utilizable energy. But the USDA nutrient database is woefully neglect in sprout data so it's just a guess.

Worse yet, if you perform the same comparison for other foods, such as cooked vs uncooked sweet potato, you may get a nonsense answer. This is probable because they use fudge factors ("nutrient retension" factors) to estimate the nutrient and energy contents in many cooked foods based on the actually measured contents of raw foods.

Souci et al. (Food composition and nutrient tables) probably provides better nutrient data but you'd have to go to a library to find it. Or if you have a friend with a bomb calorimieter that would be good, too.

You will have more of a feeling of fullness if you increase your fat intake. Nuts, seeds, avocacoes, and extra virgin olive oil. Or you could find the smallest quantity of cooked foods that you can incorporate to have a more satisfied feeling. It might be as little as 2 tbsp of cooked legumes or grains per meal. I don't see anything wrong with that, and if it helps you to stick with a very high percentage of raw foods in your diet rather than abandoning it because it's too hard, it will be a good thing.

I discovered "milk and cookies" last night. Almond milk sweetened with a little "Stevia with FOS" and raw nut/seed bars. It only took a very little bit to be satisfied. The nut/seed bars were found in the refrigerated section of my local Vitamin Cottage.

You may just be digesting faster and more efficiently than you are used to.
Eat larger amounts, or just eat more often.
Drinking kombucha tea will also decrease appetite.

This is exactly what led me to over eating on fruit. I was always hungry, then the sugar from the fruits made me even hungrier. Terrible feeling. I don't think that it would hurt to add some steamed potatoes (not boiled) along with the raw food diet to get some extra fullness and energy. Drinking the broth from the potatoes helps, too. I have, and I feel better.

I want to say that I will not try potatoes or anything associated with them. Thank you for your advise however.

What if it is a process of physically and mentally learning yourself to eat in this relatively new way? You know when you're about to have lunch and you're hungry and then you wait a couple of hours and you're not hungry anymore?

Increasing the raw amount gradually should eliminate all inconvinience, but that's an experiment that has to be tested.

I am with you, argula, in the theories of the nutritional content in sprouted versus unsprouted seeds and grains. What could be the solution for this is what mallow wrote: eat larger amounts or eat more often.

Oh, no problem. I was just trying to help and make suggestions like everyone else. Do what works for you!

Feeling satisfied on raw is totally different from the cooked experience. After being raw for some time, I discovered that full tummy, like I was used to experience after a cooked meal, was actually the sign of upcoming constipation. Feeling satisifed on raw is felt differently. When I am satisifed after a meal of say mangoes, my tummy does not feel full and heavy at all. Rather, I lose the desire for eating anymore, mangoes lose the appeal to me and so I stop eating. I feel light and energetic.

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Update: I put in a bit of grated carrot in my lunch and dinner and it seems like that did the trick!

I started to feel the same way. Everything was fine during the summer months - I was deleriously in love with my food - beautiful summer food! But then the colder weather came and I found myself not as satisfied. I make soups more often and warm them up to 105 degrees (got to be on your toes to not go over) and then I've been adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sprouted spelt, or lentils to them.

It kind of takes the place of rice or beans. I like it and I feel plenty satisfied. Works for me


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