I'm new to this raw thing, I guess I started 6 weeks or so ago with 80-100% raw every day, but it was easy to eat a bunch of salads and stuff because to be honest, it felt temporary. But the better I felt, and the more weight I lost (15 lbs the first 5 weeks), the more I felt like I wasn't going to be able to go back to eating cooked vegan (I've been one for almost 7 years). Which was fine in theory, but I went into panic mode, the whole "I'll never be able to eat all these cooked things again!" thing. Now I'm taking it one day at a time, and if it lasts forever that's okay.

But, now that it feels not-so-temporary, it's like I have to prove to myself that I can still have rich, delicious foods. Things like tahini cheese, date-nut candy, dried wakame (great for my salty cravings) and other fat or salt foods. I make a fruit pie (date-nut crust with blended fruit topping) for me and my kids to share for dinner every night. I could easily eat 1/3 jar of homemade tahini cheese every day (which I eat with huge plates of carrots, celery, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, etc). I'm definitely still eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies, but not as much as I was when I first started on raw foods.

These foods are the only thing keeping me 100%, which I desperately need to be right now for health reasons (and really, every time I eat something, even a tiny bite, of something cooked, I just feel really sad, like I let my body down). I keep thinking that eventually, as I begin to get over the cravings, I'll eat a more balanced diet. Plus, since I'm breastfeeding an 8 month old who isn't on solids yet, perhaps I need the fat to pass on to the baby.

My concern is that I have about 30 more lbs to lose and having lost 40 lbs since December (baby weight) I'm really scared to gain. I haven't gained yet, but I'm not losing like I was before. I have the feeling that my body is stopping to assess the situation or something, lol! I suppose if I gained a few lbs while my body was adjusting, I wouldn't mind so much as long as ultimately I reached a healthy weight.

I guess my question is: is it normal to crave fats and salts at first? Do these cravings go away or at least lessen, or should I try to reign it in a bit?

Thanks!
Shayla

I would say don't worry so much about your weight right now. If you stay raw, you most likely won't gain a lot of weight (especially if you're getting enough exercise). And if you don't lose weight right away, you can worry about losing it later when you're more adjusted to your raw food diet.

Nuts and seeds contain a lot of minerals - especially iron and calcium - that are very important nutrition for you and for your baby. If you crave them, that's not unnatural. If you overeat them though, that may partly be because as a nonraw person, your body was accustomed to getting more fat. Aim towards eating the highest quality of fat (ie, the most nutritious and the most easily digestable fat) as much as possible, so that you'll crave less of it. If you love tahini, try to get only the tahini made from unhulled sesame seeds, because much of the iron and calcium is in the hulls.

If you're craving salt, IMO you're probably on the right track with the wakame. If it feels like too much salt, you could try soaking and rinsing it for a mellower salty flavor. I think seaweed's good in salads, and it has lots of iodine.

By the way, as a 7 - year vegan and a new mom, if you're not yet taking a B12 supplement, it's something you should probably look into. You might check the current thread on B12, and read The Vegan Society's article on B12 located at www.vegansociety.com.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2007 06:45AM by suncloud.

Fat and salt are the tastes we are used to and they do give foods flavor. Too much of either is not a good thing but it's up to you to know when to cut back which you will eventually..but that takes time..years sometimes. So, in the meantime eating as healthy as you can is the best thing you can do for now.

You might try juicing or eating celery with a bit of almond butter or other raw spread. Celery has a lot of natural salt in it. I was craving popcorn yesterday which I put celtic sea salt on, but I juiced greens and used a lot of celery (it had to get used up) and I didn't think of popcorn again until I read your post above.

Love,
Prism

I went thorough the same thing-minus the baby. I didn't gain and I find that I am stabilizing more. I allowed myself to eat whatever fat I craved and then one day I said-enough- and it was easy to lower the amount of fat. But first, I just let myself get it out of my system.


www.inaia.com

Thanks a lot for the advice. I've found that after a few days of craving tahini cheese, I've moved on to something new (nori rolls with avocadoes, hot peppers, and shredded carrots) so maybe it's a matter of getting my fill.

As a whole foods vegan, I never ate a lot of fat or salt. I rarely craved those things, so they were almost never added to my food. That's why I'm so nervous now about eating so much fat and salt. But I think I'm going to go with it. I've always trusted my body before, so I'll follow its lead now.

In reply to the comment about celery, I crave it too! I've been eating about a head a day lately. I haven't been bloating or anything so maybe the naturally-occurring salts don't have the same effect as table salt.

When you were a whole food vegan, and not craving fat and salt, you must have been getting that stuff covertly from some of the foods..do you think? I'm wondering because what would be the reason to crave them now on on raw foods?

I can understand if like me you were used to eating high fatty salty foods (not so much now since I'm doing much better), and cutting back or out which then would set up the cravings.

Love,
Prism

Oh, I'm sure I got the fat and salt naturally occuring in foods. But I never ate any "fatty" foods like nuts/seeds (except flaxseed for the omegas) or oils. I haven't eaten fried anything for years and years, and even when I'd splurge on some vegan chocolate, it was never more than one bar over the course of 2 or more weeks. I was pretty much eating McDougall-style, and besides that, eating fat and salt made me feel bloated and gross and miserable.

Perhaps I'm craving those foods now because they seem to be more satisfying, especially the fats, since they're "heavy" in the way grains and beans are. Or maybe I don't need the fat and salt, but I need stuff that's *in* the fat and salt foods. I feel great, though, so maybe that's a sign that it's all good for now.