My husband works at a very physically demanding factory job and though he has been eating vegetarian for a while now he won’t go raw because he’s worried how it will affect him on the job. He said he needs something to keep him full and give him the energy to work, so my question is, when someone works at a job like this is raw a bad idea or is there any certain foods anyone could recommend for him to have for breakfast and lunch?

Thanks, Janna

hey janna

make him wear a t shirt that says ( in bold green letters)

LUVMYRAWVEGGIES ( on the front)

and on the back of the t shirt, have it say

I GET NUTTY FOR NUTS

that might give him a boost and its a good reminder of what will give him that "full" feeling..

For me cooked vegan or vegetarian was REALLY unhealthy - I would never do that again. I HAD to eat meat when I ate cooked foods and it was the ONE thing I needed for strength - that's me, maybe not other vegs.

Going raw gave me many times the nutrition and strength - I'm not saying it gave me nutrition because someone told me it did, I'm saying that because FINALLY my blood iron is back to normal (I look glowing and healthy again) and the raw food I've been eating has done that, which all the finest red meat and expensive,high-quality iron supplements didn't in all the years I used them.

I'm guessing your husband would feel much stronger on a good raw diet, than on vegetarian, but it's one of those things you can only prove to yourself.

Best to both of you.

when you are physically demanded what do you need ..yyou need energy .. carbs for energy and protein to build muscle .. a high fruit diet will give him the carbs .. leafy greens will give the protein

if he wont go wrong thats his choice .. its still vegan or vegetarian

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Hi luvmyveggies,

My job is very physical. I'm up at 4:30 am and I've found it worthwhile to prepare nice food for work on the night before.

I have three breaks in my workday so it's fruit for two breaks. A large container of cut up strawberries or watermelon spoon slices or orange slices etc. I want it ready to eat since breaks are all too short. Not lots of time to peel citrus for instance. And while I love bananas they usually are roughed up in travel.

Then one break is salad. I often layer cooked rice (I know this is a raw food site but this is a transition aid only!) on the bottom w/ a little dressing.

On top I put some greens & veggies of choice. What I find especially helpful are chunky slices of celery, olives(I like black) and sunflower seeds that are soaked from a couple hours to a couple days. If he wants something to seem substantial he can chop olives & mix directly w/ SF seeds.

It can be pleasing to spiral slice something for effect. I am fond of eating from a particular rectangle container w/ a colorful top. Also my watermelon seems more delightful in the container that is watermelon colored.

All I ever do is work so I must get my kicks somehow!

I used to bring store bought crackers to help w/ the want for bread but have weaned off them. I still occasionally bring dehydrated flax crackers. I'm needing less rice but still want some.

If I get to thinking preparing lunches is an annoying chore I ask "What's your health worth?" It's worth it. If he ever gets where he can just eat whole fruit he'll barely have to prepare a thing. I'm not there yet.

I'm learning as I go and hope this is of some help to you and your husband. Eating this way helps w/ my physical work maybe because the body can exert less energy digesting. I'm not suffering for the lack of other foods.

Much Luck, Kit

Hey!

I am a postman, and my job is only running up stairs or lifting packages. I can't think of a much more demanding job, as it is all constant motion and heavy lifting, and I also work out afterwards (strength training and stretching)...

My energy comes from oranges and pineapples I think. I eat lots of salads at work, and carry around a bag of washed greens to nibble on, but I find the best energy kick comes from citrus fruit. Maybe the greens help to prolong the release of sugar. I always have oranges on hand in case I am getting tired. At first, I thought nuts gave me the energy I needed, but as an experiment (the 80-10-10 trial), I stopped eating them and I found my energy actually increased.

Oranges oranges oranges.

hope that helps,
xxpeisi

I think Kits plan is GREAT model

the lighter/simpler more-raw one is doing the more this will bring on detox and 'affect' them. so your husband is intuitively right...its not that the foods are low energy (no foods can give energy other then stimulants) but the energy will be diverted.

best to keep some simple cooked foods/dense foods in the diet while experimenting with some lighter fruit based meals for energy/calories while conserving digestive rest as kit says.

kit says:

<<It can be pleasing to spiral slice something for effect. I am fond of eating from a particular rectangle container w/ a colorful top. Also my watermelon seems more delightful in the container that is watermelon colored.

All I ever do is work so I must get my kicks somehow!>>

LOL i think that's cute

Thank you all so much for the suggestions. I'm going to let my husband read your replies so that he can see that there are others that eat raw and work demanding jobs!

Right now he usually eats a few bananas for breakfast, for lunch veggie soup, pinto beans or baked potato then for his afternoon break he will eat an apple or another banana or two. Sometimes he will buy a vegetarian pizza. I keep telling him if he will go raw he will feel better but he keeps insisting he will get weak, not keep up on the job and loose weight (which he doesn't want to do cause he's already very skinny)

Anyway, thanks again!
Janna

It's not an 'all-or-nothing' thing! ha! ha! No matter what your brain....or some guru tells you....or maybe what you heard. ANYONE can benefit from eating a little more fresh fruits and vegetables than they do now.....and setting goals that are right for YOU....and meeting them.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com