Gaining Weight on raw till 4

sxaidi

Hi guys
I am on raw till 4 due to health reasons and I have been on this lifestyle for 6 months now. Initially I lost weight but I gained it all back and not just the lost weight but 25 pounds more. I feel horrible. I have been doing everything right eating 2000 or more calories.
I must say that it has helped me with my health and energy levels. I am happier but its so hard to follow this lifestyle when everyone keeps telling me you are fat and you are eating so much.
Please help any support motivation and success story will help me stick to it otherwise I am losing all faith in this diet.

annette_15

CICO, you're eating too much

sxaidi

I know but this is the recommended amount on raw till 4 they say if you are eating less then you gain weight

flabassmcgee

The program isn't taking into account your personal stats. You lose weight in a calorie deficit. Clearly you've been eating at a surplus.

What is your height, weight, age and body fat%? What do you do for a living? What is your exercise level like?

allieallieoxenfree

Unfortunately, it sounds like that advice is not really backed by medical science. Since you are on the diet for health reasons, why don't you try slowly dialing back on the calories until you start seeing some small losses?

TR0berts

sxaidi wrote: »

I know but this is the recommended amount on raw till 4 they say if you are eating less then you gain weight

What? Do I understand this correctly? According to them, if you eat less you gain weight?

If that's what they're stating, then get off the plan ASAP, because they are fundamentally so far off base, it's scary. If you mistyped what they state, then please correct it.

sxaidi

I am 31 I now weigh 175 and I have always been n calorie restricted diet not more than 1200. I am an artist and I also teach at an art school. So I am normally up on my feet. And I workout as well at least 3 days a week

TR0berts

OK. I just looked at the rawtill4diet website.

Yeah, it's completely moronic and wrong. Do yourself a favor and stop now. Not tomorrow, not next week - now.

Use MFP the way it is designed. You can eat whichever foods you want, but stay within your Calorie budget that MFP gives you.

flabassmcgee

sxaidi wrote: »

I am 31 I now weigh 175 and I have always been n calorie restricted diet not more than 1200. I am an artist and I also teach at an art school. So I am normally up on my feet. And I workout as well at least 3 days a week

Height & body fat% please? What do your workouts consist of? How long is each session?

I thought you said you ate 2000 not 1200..?

sxaidi

[quTR0berts;30614737"]

What? Do I understand this correctly? According to them, if you eat less you gain weight?

If that's what they're stating, then get off the plan ASAP, because they are fundamentally so far off base, it's scary. If you mistyped what they state, then please correct it.


Yes you did. Its high carb low fat raw till 4 vegan diet and the recommended amount is 2000 or more it can even go to 2500 to 3000. And they say to increase metabolism its important to eat more and everybody following that lifestyle is thin. So they tell me to stick to it long term to see results as my body is healing.

sxaidi

furioushummingbird wrote: »

sxaidi wrote: »

I am 31 I now weigh 175 and I have always been n calorie restricted diet not more than 1200. I am an artist and I also teach at an art school. So I am normally up on my feet. And I workout as well at least 3 days a week

Height & body fat% please? What do your workouts consist of? How long is each session?

I thought you said you ate 2000 not 1200..?

I am 5' 5 I dont know my body fat. I meant to say before this lifestyle I ate 1200 cal and my workouts are combination of strength training and cardio. You may know about the shred program, I am on level 1.

MarziPanda95

This plan is total bull. Stop following it now and just eat in a deficit.

JazzFischer1989

sxaidi wrote: »

I know but this is the recommended amount on raw till 4 they say if you are eating less then you gain weight

Well this doesn't make sense. If you eat more than what your body requires to maintain your weight, you gain. Do you have a food scale? And how active are you?

sxaidi

http://thebananagirl.com/raw-till-4-faqs.php
please check this and there are people on this lifestyle who claim to have successfully transformed and reversed their medical conditions.

flabassmcgee

Yes you did. Its high carb low fat raw till 4 vegan diet and the recommended amount is 2000 or more it can even go to 2500 to 3000. And they say to increase metabolism its important to eat more and everybody following that lifestyle is thin. So they tell me to stick to it long term to see results as my body is healing.

That sounds kind of horrible, to be honest. And highly inaccurate... Yes, you eat more to lose weight but it differs from person to person.

Using the stats you gave me, Harris-Benedict puts your BMR at 1577 calories. That is the amount of calories you would eat if you were basically comatose and keeping your vital organs functioning properly. You're doing 30 Day Shred (assuming that's the Shred you're talking about) for thirty minutes three days a week plus a teaching job. I would put your activity level as Lightly to Moderately Active. Between those two, the max total of calories to eat MINUS a 20% deficit (to keep it moderate) would be 1735-1956 calories.

You're overeating by A LOT.

flabassmcgee

Woops, meant to add: THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE EXERCISE CALORIES. Your daily activity plus exercise calories are included in those numbers.

MarziPanda95

sxaidi wrote: »

http://thebananagirl.com/raw-till-4-faqs.php
please check this and there are people on this lifestyle who claim to have successfully transformed and reversed their medical conditions.

Oh dear. Mentioning the banana girl on here will only bring you trouble, you know. She's already been debunked. Nobody, not even her, can defy the science of CICO. She burns more than she eats with exercise. Ergo, she maintains her weight.

flabassmcgee

MarziPanda95 wrote: »

sxaidi wrote: »

http://thebananagirl.com/raw-till-4-faqs.php
please check this and there are people on this lifestyle who claim to have successfully transformed and reversed their medical conditions.

Oh dear. Mentioning the banana girl on here will only bring you trouble, you know. She's already been debunked. Nobody, not even her, can defy the science of CICO. She burns more than she eats with exercise. Ergo, she maintains her weight.

Just reading the bits about "healthy, clean calories" made my head hurt.

MakePeasNotWar

If there is no way to do this diet without setting your calories low enough to create a caloric deficit, there is literally no way this diet can work.

Are you sure they want you to eat more overall calories? Some programs encourage you to eat as much very low calorie density food as possible, so that your stomach will be full before you start eating higher calorie stuff, and you'll eat less. For example, if you eat a giant bowl of spinach before you eat carbonara, you will probably eat less carbonara, and the more spinach you eat, the less carbonara you'll want, and the fewer calories you will eat overall. That would make sense, (if you like spinach) but just eating more calories truly does not.

Could there be an exercise component that you are missing?

If you are feeling so much better, it might be worth a second read of the program to see if you are doing it right. If you are, and these are the results you are getting, it's time to try something else. Good luck with it.

Edited to add: I just checked out the website. It's ridiculous. Drop it like a hot potato (or 20 hot bananas)

RodaRose

If you want to stay "raw" cut out all the fruits you are eating in the day and switch to Romaine, Spinach, Collards, Kale.

flabassmcgee

RodaRose wrote: »

If you want to stay "raw" cut out all the fruits you are eating in the day and switch to Romaine, Spinach, Collards, Kale.

You can eat anything on a calorie deficit.

OP, is this a doctor ordered/monitored choice to manage your health problems?

sweetdixie92

Men need at least 3000 calories on this program. Women need 2500 calories.

Many people fail when they try the Raw Till 4 Diet because they simply don’t have the drive and determination that you do. They complain about being full or constipated because they are ingesting way more calories per day, but they fail to keep pushing through til the body rebalances itself.

^^Above quoted from website. Biggest load of BS I've seen.

Women do NOT need to eat 2500 calories in general. Some do, most don't. You WILL gain weight if you eat too many calories, it doesn't matter how healthy they are.

I think the diet itself could be reasonable if they didn't insist that you HAVE to eat that many calories. Maybe try it with a reduced calorie intake - say 1500. I'm a believer in eating healthy foods and reducing highly processed food for a truly healthy diet, but I'm by no means a vegan. I'll take my chicken and beef, thank you.

pineapple_jojo

Sorry no, this diet is nonsense. If you have a health condition then go an see a medical professional. If you want to eat raw vegan then fine, but don't expect it to be a miracle cure for anything. Also how does not heating up food till after 4pm make a difference? Please see a doctor and if you want to lose weight then eat at a deficit.

MakePeasNotWar

I find that I feel really good on a whole foods plant based diet, but I don't think it's necessary to eat that much fruit. It's certainly not helping your weight. And I would be worried about getting enough protein and fat on that plan.

What if you continued to prioritize fresh fruits and vegetables, but lowered your calorie intake and made sure to meet your protein, fat and micronutrient targets? If you prefer to remain vegetarian, you can add beans and whole grains and possibly some soy foods for protein. Nuts and avocados are good sources of dietary fat and are delicious Keep an eye on your Iron and B12 levels; a lot of vegetarians need to supplement.

Lastly, make sure what you are doing is really sustainable for you. Some people do better with some "treats" worked in. You may not want to, given how good you are feeling without them, but if you start to get frustrated or feel deprived, it might be good for your long term adherence to loosen up a bit.