Raw Vegan September 2017

mkql12

I'm transitioning to a raw vegan diet and will start 100% on September 1st! I'm looking for others who are up to giving a raw vegan diet a chance for just one month. I'm really looking for some support!

serser28

Hi (enters thread sheepishly),
I saw this thread and thought hmmm, am I up for this challenge, am I ready for this challenge can I give this challenge 100%? If I am honest, I don't have the answers but I am going to give it a go. I don't want to sound defeatist but I may just try a raw vegan diet for as many days as I can every week (hopefully at least 4 days). I am starting so many new things in my life at the moment, I may not be giving myself the best chance to succeed in this but I would like to give it a go. I think transitioning is better than not doing it at all. I have no problem being vegan as I successfully done this for a few months at the beginning of the year but if there's anytime I should try raw then it's now before the cold weather sets in (I do enjoy my roasted veggies). So on that note, I will be with you giving it a go and even on the days that I am not, I will be here to support you.

Are you okay with that?

tiffaninghs

aside from a little hummus im doing raw for the week.. i did raw for a month and i felt great and got down to my lowest weight.. i also was able to do lots of heavy weight lifting..

tiffaninghs

i enjoyed cucmbers that i spiralized to look like spaghetti and raw tomato sauce with garlic and onion powder and topped with avocado. the possibilities are endless.. ooh ple lots of dehyrdated kale chips and plenty of seaweed ooh and raw brazil nuts... can make a creamy sauce from nuts and serve over spiralized zuchini!! add herbs and voila

vegmebuff

@tiffaninghs - just want to congratulate you on your obviously success with your journey to health! You look wonderful! Way to go:)

tiffaninghs

vegmebuff wrote: »

@tiffaninghs - just want to congratulate you on your obviously success with your journey to health! You look wonderful! Way to go:)

despite u being a stranger ive honestly received 99% of my support from ppl i dont know, i say that to say thank u soo much for ur words!!

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

Why?

I get vegan diets but raw vegan scares me a little.

It narrows your food choices even more and cuts down the bio availability of things like lycopene and beta carotene.

tiffaninghs

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

Why?

I get vegan diets but raw vegan scares me a little.

It narrows your food choices even more and cuts down the bio availability of things like lycopene and beta carotene.

eating real food in its natural form scares u?? yikes.. sad, sad sad...

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

tiffaninghs wrote: »

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

Why?

I get vegan diets but raw vegan scares me a little.

It narrows your food choices even more and cuts down the bio availability of things like lycopene and beta carotene.

eating real food in its natural form scares u?? yikes.. sad, sad sad...

Yes because it is so hard to get everything your body needs that way.

mkql12

@serser28 Let's do it! As long as we are challenging ourselves to be better then regardless of how many days per week we end up eating 100% raw vegan, we are headed in the right direction. My journey has brought me to this challenge of a month of clean eating but @RuNaRoUnDaFiEld if that's not your journey, that's ok too! I don't have much support from my family so I'm glad I have you guys. Time to get myself prepared! I'll be traveling for the first few days of this challenge for a family wedding, so it's going to be extremely tough to find food options. Although this won't be easy, it will be worth it!

@tiffaninghs congratulations on your success! You look great and you are an inspiration.

tiffaninghs

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

tiffaninghs wrote: »

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

Why?

I get vegan diets but raw vegan scares me a little.

It narrows your food choices even more and cuts down the bio availability of things like lycopene and beta carotene.

eating real food in its natural form scares u?? yikes.. sad, sad sad...

Yes because it is so hard to get everything your body needs that way.

so animals are nutrition deficient??

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

tiffaninghs wrote: »

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

tiffaninghs wrote: »

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

Why?

I get vegan diets but raw vegan scares me a little.

It narrows your food choices even more and cuts down the bio availability of things like lycopene and beta carotene.

eating real food in its natural form scares u?? yikes.. sad, sad sad...

Yes because it is so hard to get everything your body needs that way.

so animals are nutrition deficient??

I'm not sure what that has to do with a human eating a raw vegan diet?

serser28

@mkql12 I'm definitely with you on this challenge and will be here supporting you. I am going to aim for as many days as possible raw (who knows I may make it for the whole month of September) but if not the other days will be vegan - I am happy with that. How did you do on your first day especially as you were travelling for a family wedding?

@tiffaninghs Well done in all your achievements so far - you look absolutely fantastic! Thanks for the food tips - I am going to try the cucumber and raw tomato sauce with avocado. Sounds delicious. I also love the sound of the zucchini one too. I have just purchased a Nutri-Chef so looking to try out more healthy recipes. Any more vegan recipes would be gratefully appreciated.

Day 1 of 30 - I had a successful day eating raw vegan even though I was not at home all day. I had an apple for breakfast (yes I know I should have had more but I was on the move). I missed lunch but had an early dinner of a very large salad consisting of baby spinach leaves, lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red peppers, sweetcorn, shredded carrots, shredded red cabbage, cashew nuts and raisins. Then later on that night I had 4 Ryvitas with dairy free spread. It only came up to around 400 calories for the day which is not a lot so I need to work out how to get more protein in what I am eating.

I am looking clear to today's meals. Definitely sticking with raw again. Started my day with some very juicy mango fingers!

How are you getting on?

serser28

Day 2 of 30 - My second day of eating raw and I am enjoying it. I am hoping I can go quite a few days before I feel the need for some cooked vegan food. Would be wonderful if I was able to do the whole month but I don't want to put that pressure on myself as I am more likely to fail if I tell myself no cooked food. At the moment because I have said I will do as many days as possible raw I don't feel like it's a must do. Hope that makes sense.

I had fruit and ryvita for breakfast, more fruit (strawberries, plums and red grapes) for lunch and then an Asian chopped salad for dinner which consisted of Savoy cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, celery, cilantro, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, olives, cashews, almonds and sesame seeds.

I was more than satisfied for the day and was never hungry. My only concern is I am not eating enough calories. Only had 678 calories yesterday. What are you eating to up your calorie intake?

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

serser28 wrote: »

Day 2 of 30 - My second day of eating raw and I am enjoying it. I am hoping and I can go quite a few days before I feel the needed for some cooked vegan food. Would be wonderful if I was able to do the whole month but I don't want to put that pressure on myself as I more likely to fail if I tell myself no cooked food. At the moment because I have said I will do as many days as possible raw I don't feel like it's a must do. Hope that makes sense.

I had fruit and ryvita for breakfast, more fruit (strawberries, plums and red grapes) for lunch and then an Asian chopped salad for dinner which consisted of Savoy cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, celery, cilantro, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, olives, cashews, almonds and sesame seeds.

I was more than satisfied for the day and was never hungry. My only concern is I am not eating enough calories. Only had 678 calories yesterday. What are you eating to up your calorie intake?

That is very low calorie, fat and protein.

Could you add in nut butters? Great fat source and the almond version has the highest protein.

What about adding seeds to your salad? Dried apricots are 5% protein.

serser28

@RuNaRoUnDaFiEld - thank you so much for that bit of info, a great idea. I will get some almond butter when I go grocery shopping tomorrow as well as some seeds. I suffer with high cholesterol so I have to be careful with the amount of fat I consume but I am aware that I am currently not having enough with what I have eaten over the past two days. Will definitely give that a try. Thank you. Would appreciate any other tips/advice you may have.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

Your strawberries were a great choice, I'd add in water melon and banana with it. These are going to give you the best protein sources and a fair mix of micros. Like I said snack on dried apricots, dates also.

The salad wasn't too bad but I'd mix in spinach, broccoli. Do you like lemons? Letting the tomatoes rest in lemon juice can help release the lycopene from them?

Add a healthy oil to your salad. I have a thing for walnut oil at the minute. Sprinkle seeds on to your salad and just snack on them, a mix of pumpkin, hemp and chia would be my choice nutritionally speaking.

serser28

Thanks - have taken note and will do all those things. I love lemons so will do that with the tomatoes. I usually make a salad dressing consisting of limes, garlic, black pepper and olive oil. I don't really like watermelon so will give that a miss but will definitely add in bananas. I usually use olive oil but as my meals will be less varied I will try different oils to get different flavours. I love walnuts so will try this. Have you tried avocado oil? I may give that a try also. I had better start doing a grocery list so I know what I am buying tomorrow.

HeliumIsNoble

tiffaninghs wrote: »

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

tiffaninghs wrote: »

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

Why?

I get vegan diets but raw vegan scares me a little.

It narrows your food choices even more and cuts down the bio availability of things like lycopene and beta carotene.

eating real food in its natural form scares u?? yikes.. sad, sad sad...

Yes because it is so hard to get everything your body needs that way.

so animals are nutrition deficient??

Humans have higher calorie needs than other non-human animals, including our closest relatives, the great apes. The brain is an organ, and having brains capable of mastering multiple complex languages at a time, philosophical thought, and keeping up with the Kardashians following international politics pushes up our energy needs significantly. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/05/humans-are-highest-energy-apes-making-us-smarter-also-fatter


There has been connected research to suggest that cooking increases the nutritional availability of foods, and that cooking may have been an integral stage of human evolution from our common ancestor.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2011/12/08/why-calorie-counts-are-wrong-cooked-food-provides-a-lot-more-energy/#.Wau5R9ZwbqA

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/11/why-cooking-counts/


For ethical reasons, my diet is almost entirely vegan, but eating real food in its natural form, or doing anything natural for that matter, does not excite me. I like to wash my veg and I love my cooked root vegetables, and you will only take my soya ice-cream away from my cold, dead hands. I also feel deep enthusiasm about such natural phenomena as computer games, and the invention of the printing press.

serser28

Day 3 of 30 - managed to stick with raw again today. It's kind of nice not having to cook!! Increased my calories by a lot yesterday and managed over 1,000 so that's a great improvement. Off grocery shopping now with my list of veggies and seeds. It will be a major achievement if I manage to do a full week of raw food. Thought I would be missing my roasted veggies and stir fry veg but so far so good!

serser28

@mkql12 how have you been getting on whilst travelling for family wedding?

livingleanlivingclean

serser28 wrote: »

Day 2 of 30 - My second day of eating raw and I am enjoying it. I am hoping I can go quite a few days before I feel the need for some cooked vegan food. Would be wonderful if I was able to do the whole month but I don't want to put that pressure on myself as I am more likely to fail if I tell myself no cooked food. At the moment because I have said I will do as many days as possible raw I don't feel like it's a must do. Hope that makes sense.

I had fruit and ryvita for breakfast, more fruit (strawberries, plums and red grapes) for lunch and then an Asian chopped salad for dinner which consisted of Savoy cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, celery, cilantro, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, olives, cashews, almonds and sesame seeds.

I was more than satisfied for the day and was never hungry. My only concern is I am not eating enough calories. Only had 678 calories yesterday. What are you eating to up your calorie intake?

Ryvita crackers aren't raw.

It is difficult enough to have a nutritionally balanced vegan diet, let alone a raw vegan one. I would seriously consider adding a protein powder to your intake. Look in to sprouting grains/seeds/legumes etc - some people consume these raw, although they can cause digestive issues without cooking.

You'll need calorie dense foods to bump up your cals - fats and calorie dense fruits (like dates) will help.

serser28

@livingleanlivingclean - After I had eaten them I thought about that as I thought they are baked. I am not going to feel guilty about it as long as I don't cook anything. I am trying to do as raw as possible and I know I will struggle. Will still stick with vegan for the month.

Thanks for the advice on the protein powder and more calorie dense foods. I will look into this. Thank you.

livingleanlivingclean

serser28 wrote: »

@livingleanlivingclean - After I had eaten them I thought about that as I thought they are baked. I am not going to feel guilty about it as long as I don't cook anything. I am trying to do as raw as possible and I know I will struggle. Will still stick with vegan for the month.

Thanks for the advice on the protein powder and more calorie dense foods. I will look into this. Thank you.

I don't think you should feel guilty for eating a ryvita. I do think you should perhaps realise that putting such restrictions on yourself makes life unnecessarily difficult, for no real benefit (if any at all).

aiming to perhaps have a goal to add more healthy, nutritious foods is more sustainable, enjoyable and something your can succeed at - there is a few vegie/fruit challenge groups you might want to look in to.

serser28

Thanks for the wise words. I agree with you about the restrictions as I want to have a healthy lifestyle that I can be consistent with not just a diet I do when I want to lose a bit of weight.

I do eat lots of fruit and veggies on a daily basis outside of this challenge and never struggle with that. My main issues have been the naughty snacks I eat so I thought doing a challenge like this one would keep me disciplined and steer me away from that for a month.

estherdragonbat

Where are you getting your fats and protein from? How about micronutrients like iron? Yes, 2 cups of watermelon will give you 4% iron, but...

(From https://www.livescience.com/46019-watermelon-nutrition.html)

Health risks

If eaten in reasonable amounts, watermelons should produce no serious side effects. If you eat an abundance of the fruit daily, however, you may experience problems from having too much lycopene or potassium.

The consumption of more than 30 mg of lycopene daily could potentially cause nausea, diarrhea, indigestion and bloating, according to the American Cancer Society.

People with serious hyperkalemia, or too much potassium in their blood, should probably not consume more than about one cup of watermelon a day, which has less than 140 mg of potassium. According to the National Institutes of Health, hyperkalemia can result in irregular heartbeats and other cardiovascular problems, as well as reduced muscle control.

Loading up on water-dense foods like watermelon can be tempting for those looking to lose weight because they help you feel full, but Lemond cautions against going to extremes. "Eating more fruits and vegetables of any kind naturally helps decrease overall calories (energy) of the diet," she said. "We know that people that eat higher quantities of fruits and vegetables typically have healthier body weights However, I do not recommend eating only watermelon … You will lose weight, but that weight will be mostly muscle."

Jarzabkowski also warned watermelon lovers to be mindful of their sugar intake. "Though watermelon's sugar is naturally occurring, [watermelon] is still relatively high in sugar."

"My recommendation is always to vary your selections," said Lemond. "Watermelon is a great hydrating food, so keep it in along with other plant foods that offer other benefits. Variety is always key."