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Thread: Going off raw food diet. Advice?

  1. #1

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    Question Going off raw food diet. Advice?

    Hey there! I've been 100% raw vegan for the last 9 months of my life. I am ditching it. I have complete faith in the diet but have lost 35 pounds since I started and I can't gain it back! I am 6'6" and weigh 150lbs.. I fully understand everything about slowing down your metabolism and other ways to gain weight and muscle but honestly, my heart isn't in it any more. I have made too many social sacrifices for this diet. Any tips or advice for when I'm adding cooked foods back to my diet?

  2. #2
    Abe Froman Risker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going OFF Raw food Diet. Advice?

    Not sure what exactly you want advice on?

    Tomatoes are better for you cooked than raw anyway and tomato based sauces are incredibly versatile so think of things you can do with that?

  3. #3
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going OFF Raw food Diet. Advice?

    Maybe you could just eat enough cooked food to regain the weight and get over the social problems and still have a proportion of raw food? Quite a lot of vegans eat a fair amount of raw fruit, salad and so on even if we're not raw-fooders and I can guarantee it's possible to put on weight that way

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    Fervent vegan DiaShel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going OFF Raw food Diet. Advice?

    I'd recommend slowly adding cooked foods so it's not such a shock to your system. Start with basic things, just steamed veggies or pureed veg for soups and then work your way back to eating normally (vegan). I'm sure you'll be gaining weight in no time once you've added in certain foods. Good luck.
    "To reduce suffering means to reduce the amount of ignorance, the basic affliction with us." -Thich Nhat Hanh

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    Abe Froman Risker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going OFF Raw food Diet. Advice?

    ^Would it be a shock to the system? Surely cooked food is more easily digestible than raw

  6. #6
    Fervent vegan DiaShel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going OFF Raw food Diet. Advice?

    Well it's quite a big change to go from eating 100% raw for so long one day and the next to getting lots of heavy cooked and maybe even processed foods the next. I'd assume a bit of indigestion at least could be expected.
    "To reduce suffering means to reduce the amount of ignorance, the basic affliction with us." -Thich Nhat Hanh

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    Default Re: Going OFF Raw food Diet. Advice?

    TLL,

    to me your question seems to have many facets to it. On one side you cite health reasons (having lost 35 lb and not being able to get it back), on the other hand you mention social sacrifices. What are these exactly?

    If your heart is no longer in it, well, look at what exactly you are missing and consider adding that.

    If there are some foods or some occasions to be with friends that you miss, then add those to your diet. E.g. if you always hated that you could not go out for a pizza with your friends, well, there's nothing against going to a nice pizza place and having a pizza as long as you ask them to hold the cheese or go with some pasta. I hope that you do not feel tempted to add any animal products to your diet.

    Regarding having lost weight - most people would see this as a good thing. Whatever you do, I'd suggest you to not add high-fat items to your diet again, because this will not help you build muscle, but just lead to some fat being added to your body.

    Joel Fuhrman mentions in his book 'Eat to live' (which I consider to be a great book) that he sometimes sees people in his practice that have low weight, but too much fat (which sounds hard to believe). So whatever you want to add to your diet, make sure that it is healthy.
    If I were you, I would keep the healthy parts of your diet (e.g. salads) and add some healthy sooked food to it, e.g. pulses (legumes), vegetables and other unprocessed foods. Do NOT add lots of white pasta or white rice, but try to add some food that is nutrient dense. I find the following article helpful: http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/article17.aspx

    Best regards,
    Andy

  8. #8

    Default Re: Going OFF Raw food Diet. Advice?

    I was on a raw food diet for about 2 years, I had the opposite problem but I am under 5 feet tall and with all the nuts, seeds and oils I ate I gained weight rapidly. I still love having green smoothies in the summer and I eat a lot of salads but I do a lot better with the addition of whole grains and beans.

    I found that initially when I ate beans and whole grains I had a hard time digesting them, I had some heart burn and felt full for a long time after eating. It took some time to get used to but I'm glad I am no longer raw. My suggestion would be to just recognize that your digestion may be a little sluggish at first so you may have constipation or heart burn etc... It takes time to get used to so take it slow, add some beans to a salad or brown rice. Some people can just go back to eating a healthy whole food vegan diet from a raw foods diet and not have a problem, others struggle with digestion for awhile. I had a woman I was helping who struggled with digestive issues for about a year after switching back to cooked food.

    I think you will be able to gain some weight by adding in grains and legumes, they are more calorie dense than fruits and vegetables.
    thepeacefulkitchen.blogspot.com

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    fortified twinkle's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going OFF Raw food Diet. Advice?

    Quote Andy_T View Post
    ... Regarding having lost weight - most people would see this as a good thing...
    I don't think they would if they realised that 6'6" and a weight of 150lb is a body mass index of around 17.3, which, although we don't know the physique of the original poster, is generally considered to be underweight.
    "If you don't have a song to sing you're okay, you know how to get along humming" Waltz (better than fine) - Fiona Apple

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    Default Re: Going off raw food diet. Advice?

    Twinkle - I guess so.

    They maybe would simply hope that at some point in time you would adopt an easy-to-understand system of weights (ok, lbs I can handle) and lengths that does not use units like furlongs, stones, knobkerries and whatever else

    Best regards,
    Andy

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    Default Re: Going OFF Raw food Diet. Advice?

    Quote twinkle View Post
    I don't think they would if they realised that 6'6" and a weight of 150lb is a body mass index of around 17.3, which, although we don't know the physique of the original poster, is generally considered to be underweight.
    This is correct. I am extremely skinny. Not healthy-skinny, but holocaust-skinny.So much great advice from everybody!!I didn't transition back as slowly as I wish I had, it was kind of full-leap. But I honestly felt no repercussions! My digestion is fine (better in fact!). I have been working out (lifting weights) every day for the last couple months and even in these last few days you can actually SEE muscle on my body and ive gained almost 10 pounds already!Both of my roommates are 100% raw so what I plan to do is be completely raw at home and just not be so restrictive I social events like going out to dinner and spending the night at other people's places.Thank you all so much! I'd still love to hear more if anybody has anything else to add!

  12. #12
    fortified twinkle's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going off raw food diet. Advice?

    I don't have anything useful to add but I'm glad you're feeling better!
    "If you don't have a song to sing you're okay, you know how to get along humming" Waltz (better than fine) - Fiona Apple

  13. #13
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going off raw food diet. Advice?

    That's good, TectonicLacklustre. Sounds as if you're finding a good balance.

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    Default Re: Going off raw food diet. Advice?

    Here is my advice and experience, hope it helps:

    Im a 6'2" male teenager and attempted raw veganism in January 2010, I went the route of raw gourmet and followed the advice of 'gurus' saying to eat lots of greens and nuts/seeds and limited fruits while not worry about calories. I managed to survive on that kind of diet for about four months and became deathly skinny looking majorly anorexic and many people started worrying about me. I finally fell to cravings for things like tortilla chips, bread, pasta, pizza, etc. Why? Because I wasnt eating enough calories or carbohydrates for my body to properly run! So after I failed I tried to remain high raw and ate lots of the above mentioned foods on the side, which resulted in me gaining weight and looking healthier. Then in February of this year I came across the 80/10/10 book by Doug Graham and it just instantly clicked in my head. Ive now been fully raw since March and have never once had a cooked food craving or even lost weight, surprisingly Ive gained weight and started to build muscle for once(with only moderate exercise). I just make sure to eat at least 3,000 calories a day from fruit, then however much dark leafy greens or vegetables I may care for. I eat some raw fats like avocado, almonds, walnuts, etc occasionally but not much. I *highly* reccomend Doug Grahams book and to check out the forum 30bananasaday.com as its the most popular raw food website on the internet and there is great advice there.

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