Heya all, I'm Joe, and I'm an extremely unhealthy 15-going-on-16 year-old boy.

I'm about 6'1", and only weigh 120ish pounds, which is extremely underweight, as I understand it. I pretty much live off of Ramen noodles and Chef Boyardee, and drink insane amounts of soda each day.

I'm unhappy with my ridiculous weight, and also my oily, slightly pimpley face. I don't know much about raw foodism, but the idea of eating naturally, the way humans were built to eat, intrigues me.

Going the whole 9 yards right from the start and eating 100% raw foods is a little to extreme for me now, as my food is pretty much provided by my parents; but is there any other sorts of diets you can suggest I go on to get up to a healthier body weight, and just overall feel healthier? Bear in mind I'm not even 16 yet, so I'm not sure if that means that certain diets are unhealthy, or whatever.

I really look up to and admire your lifestyles, and hope to maybe get some more discipline for myself to get up to that level someday! But for now, any help about starting to get myself healthier would be awesome, thanks!

Edit: Oh oh oh, and what are the benefits and downsides of not using shampoo? Once again, I'm pubescent...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/2007 01:40AM by JoeMcKay.

Hey Hi Joe welcome to the forum here .. its nice to see you are exploring outside the box at your age very cool !

Ask your parents to start off by buying you raw fruits and veggies .. there is nothing wrong or weird aobut produce ... if they have any sense they will be thrilled you are eating fresh fruit and vegetables. dont worry about diving in 100% just start adding raw stuff to what you eat already and before you know it the chef and ramen will be on the shelf and you will be well on your way ! about the pop .. if you drink say 12 cans a day .. drink 1 less tommorrow .. and so on an so on .. replace it with something better ..learn to make smoothies and juices and nutmilks

about the shampoo ... i know one of the best benefits to not using most commercial shampoos is you are not subjecting your health to a bunch of hazardous chemicals absorbing into your scalp and bloodstream.. try and find something more natural if you can just to clean your hair.. if you tend to have oilyness that hair around your face might mess with your skin, or keep it tied back if its long, you probably want to clean it a couple of times a week or once a week anyways some people here jjust use water some just use a natural soap and water ... i use plain vegetable qylcerine and water once a week and i have fairly long hair and it seems much healthier hten when i was washing it daily with crap

anyhoo welcome

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/2007 02:34AM by Jgunn.

haha, Hi Joe, funny intro!

and I have to say, I've never heard anyone actually refer to themselves as "pubescent" lol, that cracks me up.

I would recommend the book "Sugar Blues" - it's a fascinating read, as it's mostly a history book and not your usual nutrition guide type of inane read. Also the author had acne when he was a teenager, so he goes into that. He never gets boring and annoying with telling you what to eat - lists of foods, etc. - it's not that kind of book - but nevertheles by the end you will have a really good idea of how you want to eat!

It's one of my favorite books I've ever read, and you can easily transition to raw down the road when you're better able to.

As for shampoo - it may only matter if you have long hair. Most shampoos contain sodium laureth sulfate, which strips the hair, leaving it dry at the ends but greasier on the scalp as the scalp tries to combat the drying effects of the shampoo by producing more oil. You can shampoo with a light conditioner (the Suave ones are especially good for this) - use ALOT of it (more than you may think), and thoroughly massage into scalp, then leave on while you do other stuff in the shower, then rinse at the end. I believe it works on all hair types, because I have fine hair and my roommate has thick curly hair and we both love it.

Good luck!

I agree with Jodi and sunshine. Ask you folks to buy you produce. Try eating some fruit with your breakfast and salads with your supper, along with your ramen and chef boyardee at first. And cut back gradually on the pop, drink lots of water instead.

Maybe you can eventually replace the ramen and chef boyardee with some sprouted bread (Ezekial 4:9 bread) and raw almond butter or some other less processed substitute. But at first, focus on what you add to your diet instead of what you take away.

Have you checked out www.rawfoodteens.com also? They might have some great suggestions for you. Good luck and I admire you for exploring eating a more raw diet.

Woah, thanks for the responses.

I've got this super-thick curly black hair, and when I DON'T use shampoo, it seems all greasy and nasty, and on my forehead (which is generally completely covered by hair), there's a lot of nasty pimples and whatnot... is using just conditioner really a good idea to combat stuff like that?

Oh and, to keep the questions coming, I'm in the marching band at my school, right? And it's a lot more grueling than you'd think; we just recently did a 3.5 mile parade in New York City, and our band does REAL marching, with our thighs parallel to the ground on each step. I always find myself exhausted with this stuff, and practically about to faint (I actually DID faint last year). Is there something I can adjust in my diet to give me more stamina?

I would add raw greens, especially parsley. Maybe you're low on iron or maybe you're sensitive to your current diet or maybe you have low blood sugar.
If you can make smoothies with greens, you'll get lots of nutrition that way, especially if you drink them slowly and on an empty stomach, so they're not competing with other food.