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How to balance the raw diet

I have been off and on trying the raw diet and I am back on again after coming down with mono (I had it a year ago as well) and struggling with chronic fatigue. I can’t blame all my problems on food- I do have a crazy life being the mother of 4 under the age of 6 and running a full time business….so my life is constantly going 100mph. But, I am so frustrated at why I can’t seem to stay healthy. I have been eating organic “healthy” foods for three years now….processed foods only on a rare occasion…what I eat has been important for quite some time, but now I really need to see if I need to revamp it some more to really get my body to heal and have more energy.

I am just so frustrated in trying to find a balance with my diet now…how do you know how much of certain things you should eat? I really need to loose about 20 pounds of baby weight that just aren’t coming off (my baby is now 9 weeks old and I’ve only lost about 5 pounds! :( ) How do you know how much protein or fats you should be getting and from what source? There are so many options in getting your protein, but how do you know if you are doing too much of something (such as nuts & fruits) or need to increase something else (like greens).

I’d love to hear ya’lls thoughts on this!!!

Comments

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    Personally I eat intuitively. This means that I eat whatever my body wants. This varies from day to day. Some days I will eat a lot of fat, some days none at all, just juice. I am 100% raw and I don’t eat nuts any more. But it takes time to get to this place, I found that the more raw I became the easier everything got which is why I am 100% raw, it is simply the easiest way for me to do this.

    Most nuts aren’t raw, most dried fruits aren’t raw, check out The Dead Food List to see other foods that are commonly thought to be raw but aren’t.

    Protein is found in every vegetable and fruit and nut. This is not something to worry about. You could eat just potatoes and get enough protein, it is a myth that we need lots of protein. You’ll get plenty just be eating normally, especially when you eat things like broccoli, spinach and kale. Read the book The China Study, this goes in depth into de bunking the protein myth.

    Just eating a balance of fats (from avocados, nuts, seeds and oils), Leafy greens, sweet fruit and non sweet fruit is all you need. Your body will tell you what it wants and it is usually a balance of these things.

    A great book to read about all of this is Sunfood Success Systems by David Wolfe. I highly recommend it.

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    gordienali-Zoe makes a great point about protein. It is in everything and you don’t need meat or nuts to get enough. I just include greens in at least something each day whether it’s a handful of spinach in a smoothie or a salad.

    When I started raw I lost twenty pounds in a month and a half. I went to my ideal weight very quickly because on raw all the functions in your body just work so well. The main thing I did do was drink alot of water and it helped flush my system and eased the detox.

    Just eat exactly what you crave(all in the raw family of course). Your body will tell you what it needs and you’ll be able to listen to it far better when you eat only raw food.

  • thecavsmanthecavsman Raw Newbie

    I’ll third the intuition comments. Every day I just pack enough raw food to let me graze during the day at work – whenever I want to eat and whatever I want to eat, I do. Sometimes if I have a nut craving and I didn’t bring any nuts, I go to the store to get a Larabar. It is just eating what you body feels like it wants – as long as it is raw, of course. Eventually, you will only want raw. Some people I’ve known, before I told them, never knew that you could fill up on just fruit and have fruit as a meal – it’s like a foreign concept and I think that is one of the hardest things about transitioning.

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    That’s so true thecaveman! I totally enjoy just fruit as meals during work. I actually don’t even call them meals because it’s whenever I’m hungry and so not extremely structured. Occasionally I’ll want something else but I just give myself the variety I may need.

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    Same here! I eat fruit all day at work. It’s so incredible. Mono meals of coconut, pineapple, peaches, grapes, kiwi, cherries, blueberries, melons, etc. I typically bring 3 types of fruit and enjoy them throughout the day.

  • Thank you so much for your responses!!! I have just been so nervous about chowing on too much of one thing!

    So do you all feel that it is the most important to get greens- like really making it a conscious effort to include it? Or is it something that is all intuition? Because I feel like I prefer fruits and nuts but struggle to want any form of greens right now….

  • thecavsmanthecavsman Raw Newbie

    I have been raw since mid April and I have just begun to really try to incorporate a decent amount of greens into my diet. In May I went into this salad crave one week (not by intention but my body was asking for it) then I fell off that – now my body is craving salads again, coincidentally right when I wanted to start eating a lot more greens. It’s definitely partly intuition and partly what I want in my diet. So, I guess my point is that, for me, it’s a combination of the two – but I could be all wrong and maybe I need a lot more greens in my diet. I would like to hear what some green advocates have to say.

  • evergreenevergreen Raw Master

    hi, you may want to check out the raw food pyramid…it is at www.rawfoodmedia.com...just click on the latest article called simple steps to upping your raw intake…i’m sorry ,i don’t know how to make that page appear:) there is a poster of it for sale here

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    I definitely think that greens are incredibly important since they contain the highest levels of zinc, calcium, potassium and magnesium of any raw foods. It’s easy to incorporate them into things like smoothies where you can’t really taste them(in case you don’t care for the taste) or on a sandwich (check out onion bread at goneraw recipes) with tomatoes and avocados with a queeze of lemon juice.

    I very much agree with thecavesman on this one. You body will tell you when you need it but if you aren’t in tune with you body yet it’s definitely a combination of training and listening. Don’t skimp on greens!

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    The greens thing is pretty amazing! For me, after I had been raw for a while I just started craving greens, and from then on, I really can’t get enough of them. I make huge salads and spinach curry, green smoothies etc. It is the same for most people I talk to. I never ate greens before I was raw! They are now my favourite ;)

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    I was high raw for 2 1/2 years, only eating greens once or twice a week. Once I finally started eating a lot of greens, I realized that a lot of my cravings before that were really my body’s way of asking for greens, but I thought that greens were too expensive for the amount of calories they contained (I was on a tight budget & I eat A LOT of food). What I realize now, is that greens give me so much of what I need, that I can’t afford NOT to have them, and now I eat several cups a day, most days!

  • ambiguousambiguous Raw Newbie

    I agree with most others: follow your instinct.

    Greens are fantastics and they’re a big part of my diet. However, please note that if you have existing hypothyroidism, cruciferous greens (cabbage, collards, kale, mustard, arugula. etc.) can further harm you because they contain compounds (goitrogens) that can inhibit thyroid function. If you think this might be the case for you, try sticking with chard, beet greens, and lettuces for your greens for a while. I had some health problems earlier this year, and found that I felt better when staying away from cruciferous vegetables, though still having plenty of non-cruciferous green veggies. Now I’m in good shape and enjoying my kale again :)

    I would also suggest not being afraid of nuts and/or fats. Your body needs fat and protein, and yes, it is possible to be protein deficient on a raw vegan diet. Don’t obsess, but it seems like fruit and lettuce just can’t provide you with enough protein—it may for some, but there are lots of hidden stories of deficiencies on the raw food diet. Please look at Hannah Botham’s post here: http://www.rawfoodinfo.com/hotline/May06_hotlin… – she went back to some cooked foods, which I don’t necessarily advocate, but I think we should all learn from others’ mistakes when we can.

    I really really don’t want to scare anyone, but I hate seeing people hurt themselves in the name of being “pure.” Take care of yourself in whatever way you feel is best.

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    I agree with ambiguous. If you can’t get enough things like zinc eating raw only include something that will help or take supplements. The point of going raw is to be the healthiest you can be(at least for me) and if you’re hurting yourself it’s pointless. SO take care of yourself and research

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    gordienali, that sounds like me a few months ago! I had reactived mono too, 20 pounds extra baby weight, wait, nope mine was not from a baby and it was a little more than 20. i have to blame the kids that I taught not my own.

    anyhow, i did see a naturopath to help me with some treatments to keep me going and give me energy. but for the diet part, i found that the things that helped me the most were green smoothies (1-2 a day), and juices once a day at first now I have it down to once a week or wheatgrass shots.

    anyhow if you want to know how i am now, i am much better with the energy, i haven’t had my antibodies checked yet but i will in a few months. I have lost 20 pounds and I am happier and less stressed out (ok, summer vacation helps too).

    Take care of yourself!

  • Thank you so much for taking the time to answer everyone! I REALLY appreicate it and feel a lot less worried about balancing everything.

    Awesome awesome information! THANK YOU- must soak it all in….

    now just to start craving greens….lol

    Evergreen- thanks for the link! Checking that out!

    Ambiguious- thanks for that information- I better read some more on that topic!

    Congrats on the weight loss Bitt- I hope mine starts shedding soon!!! Gotta love summer for less stress, huh?

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