Hi all…I was so excited for the first 2 weeks of going raw…of course i have been trying to transition…but i have noticed…that I constantly eat fruit, and want more and more nuts. I have gained around 5-8 pounds since I have started, and to be truthful, i want to lose weight, around 15 pounds, since I have gained it in this last year!... I made a lasagna last night, and it came out horrible. SO i resorted to the take out pizza that my sisters ordered..It smelled so much better and tasted so much better than the lasagna i had. i was so frustrated, i thought to myself, I am going to give up.
do i keep going..does your weight go back down? am i eating too much fruit that is causing me to gain weight..along with the nuts? Everyone says they can eat as much dessert, fruit,veggies, etc…but i just can’t do it..i feel like i am back on my same eating patterns as on a regular SAD diet, but with healthier foods packed with nuts! am i losing it? do i stick to it? is RAW meant for me?? lost
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it takes a little time, but the weight will come off. I would minimize the amount of nuts and avocados to about 1-2 oz per day.
I would also look for a raw cookbook that has menu’s in it. This might help too.
i bought 4 books…Ani Phyo’s book, Raw food By Sarma and Matt, and both of the books from Natalie Rose…they have menus…but some of the dishes i don’t really care for. any good thoughts on dishes to eat for lunch and dinner that are simple. I have a blender and a Food processor, but no dehydrator. I need things that are tasty, sometimes, the salads just don’t do it for me. Thanks for the suggestion…i am still lost..
do you like salad? i would try to just eat a huge salad with your meals, before you eat anything else. then, if you want a slice of pizza, have it, and don’t eat yourself up. it’s about persistence, not perfection.
the dried fruit anad nuts tend to be the foods that cause weight gain. if you’re eating more than one large or two small handfuls of nuts a day that’s probably too much. i love nuts, and i eat them often, but not too many at a time.
you will lose weight if you stick with it. i would recomment eating fruits with lots of water and fiber in them, like melons, apples and oranges, and bananas if you’re very hungry. when i first went raw, i would find that no matter what i was craving, i craved it less after i ate a banana… or two… or four…
avocados are also great. yes, they are high fat, but less so than most nuts. also as far as nuts go, almonds are a good choice because they are high in protein and fiber. if you buy “raw” nuts in the store they are pasteurized, but you can order them raw online, or if you live in CA you can buy them at a farmer’s market, which is what i do. you can also just eat the pasteurized ones… they don’t have the enzymes, but they’re still good for you!
i hope all that helps, be kind to yourself, you don’t need luck, you just need the strength that you already have within you!
as far as other raw recipes… i would make or buy crackers (flax or almond) and make pate in your food processor. sarma has an amazing ravioli recipe. you can add lots of greens to the filling.
the most important thing you can do is get your greens in. try making gazpacho, green smoothies with spinach and or spirulina, tacos, or nori rolls. those things are all prety easy to make, satisfying and delicious.
I’ve been finding it easier if I prep or make meals a day or two before I work. I know the days I work, I don’t want to do ANYTHING when I get home! So I’ll make a salad, some nut spread or pate, and some soup. I’ve lost a few pounds, which wasn’t really my main goal. I am trying to cut back on the nuts, I start to feel gross if I eat too many. The wraps using collards and giant lettuce leaves are so good too!
Don’t worry if you eat the occasional pizza, just start over the next mealtime.
thanks for all of your help… will keep it up, i do have a portion of the lasagna for lunch…but just looking at it makes me grossed out. I will get some salad and lower my intake in nuts…and get those books :) I have been trying to eat more green smoothies in the morning. Its funny, but mine end up having a brown color becuase i use strawberries and greens…so everyone thinks it looks disgusting.
Yeah i feel stupid because here i am thinking…nuts..i can eat as much as i want, and then a friend of mine from maui sends a box of macadamia nuts, of course not raw…but to me they are nuts, and i scarf down a couple of tins! do you think cooking classes would help? I love the recipes on this site, and i never know which one to start with.
snoopy 99, if the lasanga grosses you out, don’t eat it! the same thing happened to me when i made lasagna. depending on where you live and your budget, you may want to pick up some raw breads and crackers so you can make sanwiches and stuff. if you have access to a dehydrator, or you can just use your oven at a very low setting, you can make kandace’s onion bread, which is a great staple recipe.
if you’re wondering what to try next, i would do a search on this site for the following entries:
wrap nori quick taco sandwich
angie is very smart. whe i first went raw, i was constantly making gourmet stuff. i still love to do that, but just as often i’ll eat a cucumber, an aovcado and an orange at the kitchen counter, and that’s my meal.
it’s about finding what’s right for your body, not your head. it’s work, and it’s hard. if you can’t deal with green smoothies, make fruit smoothies! everybody likes fruit smoothies! then eat your veggies later!
thanks for the recipe..sounds good.
one question about food combinations. Should I be more strict on food combinations when going raw?
true hippie chick…after i ate pizza and after eating a ton of nuts i do feel like my heart is getting clogged…this might sound gross too, but i feel like everyone is on the same level, but my poo has definitely changed when eating more fatty foods or i guess SAD foods. And I am easily constipated..especially when traveling…so i guess so far its been going alright.
one other thing… i lost ten pounds in the first month raw, and now i’m stalled again. the big difference seems to be when i EXERCISE. i don’t really like exercise (i’m getting to like it more) but it makes a huge difference when i do it! like, one week, i won’t exercise and my weight stays the same, the next, i do, and i lose 3-4 pounds! big difference.
also, if i’m around the house alot, i graze on nuts & dried fruit, and i don’t lose. if i’m at work/busy out of the house, i eat 3 times a day, and lose much more!