Question for raw foodists and healthy eating fanatics

[andersonx]

Hi,

I have a largely raw diet mainly consisting of salads, fruits, green smoothies, occassionally fruit smoothies and the odd raw food bar.

I also will eat some meat and fish, when I feel it's right for my body.

I feel great on this diet and want to maintain it. However I exercise 6 times a week, and combined with the fact that I've got an incredibly high metabolism naturally, I find myself getting really skinny.

I will not eat any refined carbs (pasta, bread etc.) or anything containing gluten. Obviously will not touch chocolate or sugary foods.

I need to put on weight, but won't compromise my diet (which involves no refined sugars, no refined carbs, no processed foods etc.)

What foods do you reccomend?

I generally use nuts and red meat as my source of high calories.

[andrew112]

If you find that you are getting too thin, you are probably not eating enough nuts or foods high in omega 6 fatty acids. Other foods high in omega-6's are raw oat bran (with some water added), walnuts and olive oil.

[Fullcrum]

What type of exercise do you do daily? That may be keeping the weight off, too.

[andersonx]

thanks for the tip.

cardio - I know that is keeping the weight off, but I'm unwilling to sacrifice my fitness. I run for about 20-30 minutes.

[Gabo]

I find on a raw food diet many people lose weight since they are simply not eating enough. When you eat, make sure to really eat until you are absolutely full. I personally would recommend against eating large amounts of nuts and avocado, since I like to keep my fat calories around 10%, but that is a quick way to get more calories if you are desperate.

[agnostic]

Eat more fruit, more high-carb vegetables always combined with fat. That should do the trick. Basically, increase calories and carbs. Lack of either of these causes weight loss.

[Rose of Cairo]

I just discovered another explanation for this getting skinny on a raw diet in an eBook called "Revealing the physical changes" by Angela Stokes (www.rawreform.com).

She says that raw fooders get very skinny at first because their body clears all the crap out. She says there is no reason to get scared of it, it's just detox. The body throws everything out, basically. Then, after this "skinny phase", you will naturally gain weight again according to your body structure.

Based on this, maybe it is normal that you are getting skinny now and just means that you are getting cleaner.

I don't know from my own experience if Angela's theory is right or not. I'm still losing weight and haven't reached the skinny phase yet, so I don't know what happens after that. But I find it definitely worth examining.

Our body is a wonderful system. I would not be surprised if things were more complicated than just "not enough calories".

[MasterD]

Originally Posted by andersonx

I need to put on weight, but won't compromise my diet (which involves no refined sugars, no refined carbs, no processed foods etc.)

It depends on what type of weight you want to put on.

If you want fat, eat lots of calories and lots of unhealthy food.

If you want water, eat lots of spices, salt and other substances that help you retain water. This is far from healthy, however.

If you want muscle, which is the best way to put on weight if you are otherwise healthy, you will have to do resistance training and subsequently eat enough and rest enough in order to let your body build the muscle. It's completely natural when you start to eat healthier and get more in tune with your bodies needs that your body gets rid of excess fat and water.

[ginkgo]

Fanatic-- A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause. This is a derogatory [Disparaging; belittling] word.

I read a book about being raw for many years. Most of them went through a state of being emaciated [To make or become extremely thin]. The above theory sounds good but this happens with most people.

[andersonx]

Gingko - Fanatic is not neccessarily a derogative term. In fact it's a term commonly used by people in the health and fitness community to express their very high degree of enthusiasm for health. They are not deliberately belittling themselves, just expressing enthusiasm with a shade of irony.

Rose of Cairo - Thanks that is really interesting.

I've basically been about 60% raw for the past 3 years, with the remaining 40% being just generally very healthy foods with occasional phases (weeks or months) of being 90 - 100% raw.

I think basically I need to be really efficient about working out my calorie intake with each meal.

Hence, Gabo - you're probably quite right. I simply just need to eat a hell of a lot more with each meal when I'm going raw.

[Gabo]

Originally Posted by andersonx

Hence, Gabo - you're probably quite right. I simply just need to eat a hell of a lot more with each meal when I'm going raw.

That's what happened to me when I went raw.
The first few days I wasn't eating nearly enough fruit, and ended up stuffing my face with tons of nuts and seeds to fill myself. I ended up not feeling that great.
After that experience, I went to the market and bought tons of fruit, and when I sat down to eat I made sure I was absolutely stuffed before I finished.

[JulieK]

Originally Posted by andersonx

Hi,

I have a largely raw diet mainly consisting of salads, fruits, green smoothies, occassionally fruit smoothies and the odd raw food bar.

I also will eat some meat and fish, when I feel it's right for my body.

I feel great on this diet and want to maintain it. However I exercise 6 times a week, and combined with the fact that I've got an incredibly high metabolism naturally, I find myself getting really skinny.

I will not eat any refined carbs (pasta, bread etc.) or anything containing gluten. Obviously will not touch chocolate or sugary foods.

I need to put on weight, but won't compromise my diet (which involves no refined sugars, no refined carbs, no processed foods etc.)

What foods do you reccomend?

I generally use nuts and red meat as my source of high calories.

I have been 80% + raw for over two years now and I'm in the best health of my life. A raw food diet is supposed to create your optimal weight, whether you are overweight or underweight.

It sounds to me like you are possibly off balance, and haven't found your "formula" if you will. For some people this takes some time. It took me about 1 1/2 years to get into a good groove that my body agreed with, and you do have to be willing to make the necessary changes and adjustments even if this means within your exercise. It needn't be looked at as a negative thing, or that making modifications will compromise the good you're doing. You just have to listen to your body.

You mentioned that you foundationally have a high metabolism. I do too, so I limit my cardio to 3 to 4 times a week for 30 minutes. I don't know if you do any resistance training as well, but it's a very important component in keeping balance. I do resistance training that raises my heart rate into a cardio zone, so I'm still getting cardiovascular benefits.

Also, what about the portion sizes/frequencies of your meals? It's not just about what you are eating, but are you eating adequately for your body's demands? If you are losing weight, then there's possibly a deficit in your intake of calories and fat, especially when you're burning it off on a nearly daily basis.

I'd suggest taking a look at all of these factors in, and kind of do a "re-inventory"