hello, im new to these forums and to raw food as well. ive been vegan for 6 months or so and vegetarian for maybe 2 years prior to that. i recently discovered the raw food diet and thought that it was perfect for me. my only concern is would i lose weight and is it possible to lose weight? the reason i ask this is because alot of the meals call for nuts to be used and i LOVE avocados so i eat them like crazy. i always said that since these are all good fats and since im eating raw there is no way to gain weight but conversations with people lately make me think otherwise. everyone is still preoccupied with calories. i was wondering if you guys can help clear this up for me and tell me how it all works/ worked for you. thanks alot!

I want to know, too. Will avocado consumption inhibit weight loss?

I, unlike many others, did not lose weight when I first made the transition to raw foods...perhaps because I was busy preparing recipies that called for a lot of avocados, nuts, seeds, and beans...now I save the high calorie avocado, nut, seed, and/or bean meal for one decadent mid-week meal...although I do make sure that I am consuming a high quality oil at least once per day as I do not want to create any hormonal imbalances...oils are very important not to neglect especially for women...I'm more concerned with the healthy aspects of consuming raw foods than the weight loss although I would like to lose 5 pounds...Weight loss for me will always require the reduction of calories and increasing the duration of my work outs.

coppola Wrote:
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my only concern is
> would i lose weight and is it possible to lose
> weight?

a proper diet will move your body to a proper weight for you, yes.
some raw diets are good and some are not, depends on the information that you're looking at.

> the reason i ask this is because alot of
> the meals call for nuts to be used and i LOVE
> avocados so i eat them like crazy.

i would suggest that you minimize recipes and meals and instead just increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet.

this discussion board promotes a raw diet.
unfortunately Raw is an unfortunate choice as a banner for this diet.
Fresh would be a better one, as it would eliminate this thought that people have that dehydrated foods like most nuts and meals and recipes are good just because they are raw. when in fact they are not.

some people will say we can eat a lot of fat with no problems.
others will say that fat should be limited whether raw or not.
i lean towards the latter myself.

not sure if that helps or not ?

i personally just find that the calories are the defining point for my weight loss/gain...

no matter what i eat.. if i am eating too many calories i gain wweight.

I loose weigth VERY fast on 100 raw and under 1500 kcals...

i loose weight VERY SLOWLY on 80 percent raw under 1500 because the cooked SAD parts really inhibit health...

this is my opinion..... i find that i get to my Kcal max for the day too fast with nuts (but not avos) so i am left hungry and unsatisfied. nutss also open up cravings for me...

just my opinion like i said, but ultimately it just takes time and trial and error.......... hope it helps some..

Love and Light

Tiffntwins

`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸.´¯`•...¸><((((º>

SWIM FREE FISHES!

diana Wrote:
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..although I do make sure that I am consuming
> a high quality oil at least once per day as I do
> not want to create any hormonal imbalances...oils
> are very important not to neglect especially for
> women...

diana,

i'd be interested to hear where you heard the above and/or
what the logic is...

i never heard a connection between oils and hormones.

thanks

Do a search for Carlene Jones. She lost 136 pounds in 9 months with raw foods.

Mike

Hi.

I was just talking about this in my journal. I am newly raw again (RE-freshing!!) and losing weight fast. (I need to, about 40 or so lbs overweight)

The first time I went raw I was obese. I went 100% raw and lost weight extremely fast---not trying to lose that fast, but it was just happening. I ate fairly simply (no recipes)---fruit, salads, avocados (sometimes 2 daily), tahini dressing, dates, olives. Since I was a new 'rawbie' I often went through periods of eating all the mentioned high fat foods-generously!-in a single day, everyday. I was losing weight fast, sometimes a pound or more in a day.

I am again losing fairly quickly, eating the same way. Eating what I want, but 100% organic raw. When my body is in the mode of discarding this excess fat, it doesn't seem to matter how much raw fat I eat...eating avocados and tahini and olives doesn't seem to obstruct my body's cleansing mode. It is simply on a mission. I think it is the 100% factor. Only cooked food would slow it down.

I am fascinated by that. Eating "fat" --but, it was as if my bod said Thanks for the nutrients and presto chango I would be down another pound or two!

Myself, I don't concern myself with calories at all, or even --at this stage-- am I at all concerned about limiting my fresh fat intake. I am trying to combine properly and that's about it. I am losing weight.

My primary goal is Health. I am thoroughly enjoying my fresh beautiful real food, and I know that from there, my body will know what to do at whatever pace it wants. (but that will mean loss of all this toxic fat, which I am glad about!!!)

oooops, another longish post....I swear this will get better as I detox, LOL!
Elakti

That's just my experience with condition of excess fat and simplish 100% rawfood.

I've been a vegan for 7 years (whole foods--no processed foods, low fat, high copmplex carbs) and had a weight problem the whole time. I'm kind of a fat-phobe when it comes to foods, but since I've been mostly raw (almost a month) I find myself craving fats.

Each day I eat at least 1 avocado, also raw nuts, dates and other dried fruits, coconut, tahini, etc, but I balance it with a head or two of romaine or leaf lettuce a day, along with lots of other fruits and veggies. I still have relatively low caloric intake, but I'm exclusively breastfeeding a 7.5 month old baby so I'm not really trying to eat low calorie.

I've lost over 15 lbs eating this way, high fats and all. But I have weight to lose, so I'm happy about it.

Hello Fresh... yes fats are important for the proper functioning of the human body...

Hormones are chemical substances, secreted by cells into the extracellular fluids, that regulate the metabolic function of other cells in the body. Most hormones are amino acid based yet some are steroids. The steroids are synthesized from cholesterol. Of the hormones produced by the major endocrine organs, only gonadal and adrenocortical hormones are steroids. Then there are the eicosanoids, that are paracrines and autocrines, which include leukotrienes and prostaglandins. These biologically active lipids, made from arachodonic acid, are released by nearly all cell membranes. Leukotrienes are signaling chemicals thet mediate inflamation and some allergic reactions. Prostagladins have multiple targets and effects, ranging from raising blood pressure and increasing the expulsive uterine contractions of birth to enhancing blood clotting, pain. and inflamation...usually reactions due to trauma...

That is just the start...Hormones are explained in greater detail in any good A&P text under the heading of "The Endocrine System"...
Also...the human body has MANY processes...it isn't as simple as...ingested fat goes right to arteries...all fats are different in chemical composition not to mention everyone is genetically different...yet one thing we all have in common is that we need fats in our bodies to keep them functioning properly...not to mention just holding the cells together...just think about it...without a phospholipid bi-layer surrounding our cells we would be water-logged...I wish I had more time to discuss this topic but please read about the endocrine system...Have a great day...Diana

diana Wrote:
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> Hello Fresh... yes fats are important for the
> proper functioning of the human body...

thanks very much for that diana. that was an interesting summary of fats.

However, that was not what i was asking.

you said that you ingest Oils and that it was necessary to do so.

by that i assume you meant, well, oils, expressed from plant parts.

so my question is not about fats and hormones, or general health, but oils.

what i'm asking for then is do you think that it is not possible to get proper amounts of fats using whole foods?

have you studied how much you need and how much is available in edible plants, and found it lacking?

do you feel that there are no negative aspects to consuming oils?

i hope i've clarified my question and thanks for your time.

i'm interested to see that others have also lost weight eating 100% raw but still eating a significant amount of fat.

i've been 100% for only about a week, but i have been 75%+ raw for almost a month now. i lost a few pounds on 75%+ even though i started at a normal weight- 5'3 and about 110-112 pounds. then i stalled, but when i went 100% i really saw a drop in body fat. i'm down to about 104 last time i checked, may be less by now, and i'm fitting into pants i never thought i'd fit into again. i'm actually a little worried about getting too thin at this point, since by BMI, under 104 is underweight for my height, but i'm trying to think more about health and i look and feel healthier than ever. and besides, BMI is for people who eat normal SAD diets, and that doesn't really count for us, does it? i've still been eating a lot more fat than most people on these boards- usually a lara bar, some raw hummus made w/ tahini and a little olive oil, and a salad w/ either half or a third of an avo and/or some olive oil in the dressing that i make. i was surprised to lose weight since i'd been at the same weight for so long, and i also cut down on workouts since going raw. but they say toxins are stored in body fat, and when the body releases the toxins it releases the fat as well i guess.

congrats and good job to all of you who have lost so much weight and become so much healthier on raw! that is a huge accomplishment.

wow this is very inspiring! it sounds like you eat similar to how i eat but i might eat a little more fat then that but i did just start the raw diet so i think im trying to adjust. thanks alot to everyone for your replies. im so excited in continuing my path of raw food eating. i dont know if i could go 100% just yet because my dad is reluctant enough as it is to buy me raw organic food so sometimes im forced to have something that isnt raw but i love it. i love avocados and almonds and making nut pates and other nut dishes so it would be hard for me to eliminate that. i eat at least one meal like that a day not counting the avocado because i put that in my salads. thanks agian to everyone for replying, im really excited to be part of this community! cheers

Dear Fresh...When I mentioned that I try to consume a fat in my daily diet...I was talking about flax seed oil, cold pressed olive oil, ect...if I am preparing a recipe, which mine I keep really simple, the oil will come from seeds or nuts...as I am getting older (45 years) I have noticed that my body operates better with the addition of good fats...I've been watching my fat intake for years...my father had a heart attack when he was 47...he was active, watched his weight, and was slim...but his body produced too much cholesteral...there is a genetic pre-disposition in my family for high cholesteral levels...to prevent this from happening to me my diet for many years was virtually fat free...anyway the long and short of it all is...that we do need fats in our diets...that amount is based upon how healthy a persons body is...I would think a person who has been eating raw for many years would need less because their body has better digestive abilities than some one who is somewhat new to this...their intestines are still detoxing therfore their ability to assimilate at a better rate is still somewhat compromised...WOW...I have to get going...Diana...

PS...my father is still down-hill skiing...he is now 77 yrs old...

OH...Fresh...one more thing...I think that the fats that are found in fresh foods, fruits and veggies are ample, but the average person from consuming cooked and processed foods can't assimilate what the fresh foods provide...perhaps eventually after detoxing...I feel better about adding this explanation to the last one...Diana

diana Wrote:
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> OH...Fresh...one more thing...I think that the
> fats that are found in fresh foods, fruits and
> veggies are ample, but the average person from
> consuming cooked and processed foods can't
> assimilate what the fresh foods provide...perhaps
> eventually after detoxing...I feel better about
> adding this explanation to the last one...Diana


thanks for the explanation. i'm always concerned about people ingesting oils. i feel it can be dangerous. for example, i don't know what exactly g malkmus' diet consisted of, but i know he did quite a bit of oils and had a stroke. i surmised there might be a connection there, but it could have very well been something else, hard to say, although the rest of his diet was quite good as i recall.

Dear Fresh...I wouldn't even consider using an oil that was not "The Living and Raw Foods Site" approved...LOL...Have a great day...OH...The Perricone Prescription does give a very good explanation of why certain fats are necessary in the diet...BUT BEWARE...The book does contain recipes that involve flesh, mostly salmon. His diet is a good stepping stone for people transitioning to vegan then raw...

I LOVELOVELOVE avacados but don't eat them because of the fat content. I am very very new to raw food eating. Today I had an avacado (without salt which was a killer) and I was in heaven. I need to lose at least 25# and my husband wants to lost about 50# so I really need solid advice on what to do! THX -J-

Joan

From what I understand many people will allow themselves to eat what they want when they want provided that it is raw...the weight usually falls off because what may seem like a lot of food is fiber packed, wholesome, and much easier to digest...somewhat like volumetrics...Diana