WHy I follow a low fat raw vegan diet

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  • elfo
    elfo Posts: 353 Member
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    Ok, I need to get ready for bed. BUT I will leave you with this -- google jim morris vegan body builder.
    You HAVE to check out this man's body.

    I am very familiar with the vegan bbing community, so a few things:
    He was not vegan until he was 65.
    Banana Girl (Freelee) is recovering from an ED as is a lot of her followers
    They aren't respected in the majority of the vegan fitness communities and made huge negative waves in the raw food community.
    There is a website out there that has many unhappy old followers who suffered health issues.

    I'm happy for you that you lost weight. Please be careful.

    I agree with you- disagree with a lot that Harley and freelee have to say. However, they were extremely supportive at the festival I attended and Harley even helped me to start running and keep decreasing my mile time. I've told them I don't agree with a lot that they advocate, but I can disagree with someone and still respect them. The reason that I mentioned Freelee is because her question to me (could have been anyone really) really shocked me and made me realize that I didn't want to keep going the way I was going.

    I have had a lot of benefits from eating this way. AND I feel the best I ever had. I know it's not for everyone, but I eat this way because of the way it makes me feel above all else. I get a WIDE variety of fruits and veggies. I am not your typical 30 bananas a day type person. I actually don't believe that;s a healthy diet.

    My usual caloric intake is usually about 2000 calories per day, and I get a wide variety of fruits, & veggies, with limited amounts of nuts, seeds, quinoa, brown rice, lentils, chick peas etc. I don't obsess about what I eat, contrary to what's been commented. I eat what I want and as much as I want because my body loves it not because I have to. I can eat anything really- this is what I choose to eat because it's worked wonders for me.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,302 Member
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    cliffs for anyone interested:

    OP did dukan diet, lost some weight, decided high protein was bad for her
    started vegan diet, regularly went drinking with friends and ate french fries, nachos, and all things delicious (except meat and cheese)
    met the banana girl at some festival and decided to dump all her friends and stop drinking
    now eats high carb, low fat, and freaks out when she goes to Chipotle

    pretty sure that covers it

    paraphrasing...thank you, the Great Slorax makes it easy.
  • smc864
    smc864 Posts: 570 Member
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    That banana girl that you met is a total whack job. No thank you.
  • Sunka1
    Sunka1 Posts: 217 Member
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    OP;are you supplementing with Vitamin B12? It's very difficult to get enough on a vegan diet. I think that your body will use reserves for a few years, but if you continue a vegan diet without B12 supplements you can develop pernicious anemia.

    I believe it's actually impossible to get enough B12 from a vegan diet. I think it's interesting that veganism is literally impossible without the modern chemical engineering required to manufacture B12 supplements.



    You keep writing this and it's just not true. Or at least I am as sure that I am correct as you are.

    Um. B12 is only found naturally in animal products. Perhaps your definition of vegan is different than the one I'm used to?
    I thought a few plants contained B12. Alfalfa, seaweeds and a few others?
  • dayone987
    dayone987 Posts: 645 Member
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    OP;are you supplementing with Vitamin B12? It's very difficult to get enough on a vegan diet. I think that your body will use reserves for a few years, but if you continue a vegan diet without B12 supplements you can develop pernicious anemia.

    I believe it's actually impossible to get enough B12 from a vegan diet. I think it's interesting that veganism is literally impossible without the modern chemical engineering required to manufacture B12 supplements.



    You keep writing this and it's just not true. Or at least I am as sure that I am correct as you are.

    Um. B12 is only found naturally in animal products. Perhaps your definition of vegan is different than the one I'm used to?
    I thought a few plants contained B12. Alfalfa, seaweeds and a few others?

    I don't think that it's been shown definitively that that form of Vitamin B12 from these sources is effective. Also, the B12 found on seaweed thought to be actually from tiny crustacean creatures and therefore not technically vegan.
  • Sunka1
    Sunka1 Posts: 217 Member
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    OP;are you supplementing with Vitamin B12? It's very difficult to get enough on a vegan diet. I think that your body will use reserves for a few years, but if you continue a vegan diet without B12 supplements you can develop pernicious anemia.

    I believe it's actually impossible to get enough B12 from a vegan diet. I think it's interesting that veganism is literally impossible without the modern chemical engineering required to manufacture B12 supplements.



    You keep writing this and it's just not true. Or at least I am as sure that I am correct as you are.

    Um. B12 is only found naturally in animal products. Perhaps your definition of vegan is different than the one I'm used to?
    I thought a few plants contained B12. Alfalfa, seaweeds and a few others?

    I don't think that it's been shown definitively that that form of Vitamin B12 from these sources is effective. Also, the B12 found on seaweed thought to be actually from tiny crustacean creatures and therefore not technically vegan.

    Thanks for the crustacean creature alert. But overall we need to have more trust in our plant friends.
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
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    I stopped reading what I saw the words banana girl
  • ishkur
    ishkur Posts: 41 Member
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    OK I actually went and read the whole thing. Just sounds like the OP reacted to an inability to control herself by instituting an essentially arbitrary set of extremely strict rules. This is pretty common. I guess some people need an extremely rigid structure to enforce compliance. Sounds like she went first to one rigid diet, which she raved about while she was on, to another rigid diet, which she is now raving about.

    OP, there's nothing magic about your diet (and a lot that is not good about your diet). The only magic you discovered is compliance.

    ^^^^This. All "diets" for losing weight no matter what you start doing come down to being in a caloric deficit.

    I'm not sure that's true. I myself have struggled with my weight for quite a long time, I could never drop below 130lbs no matter how hard I tried, and the fat just stayed no matter how lean I ate, or how much exercise for 5ish years. Now I've been vegan for 6 months (not exactly RAW vegan, as my dinners usually tend to be sort of a greasy mess but the rest of my day is healthy grains and fruits (in my opinion)) and since then I've finally dropped passed from 150lbs, to 130lbs, and NOW I'm actually 113lbs now! My body fat dropped from 33% to 22%! With just 30 minutes of cardio 6 days a week and a little bit of weight lifting thrown in. My deficit has pretty much stayed the same, cycling between 1200-1300. So I do believe veganism/raw-vegan has greater benefits, at least for me.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
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    Um. B12 is only found naturally in animal products. Perhaps your definition of vegan is different than the one I'm used to?

    Um - no. B12 is found in soil which animals injest when they graze, which is then passed on to meat eaters.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Um. B12 is only found naturally in animal products. Perhaps your definition of vegan is different than the one I'm used to?

    Um - no. B12 is found in soil which animals injest when they graze, which is then passed on to meat eaters.

    People want this to be true, but it's not. The B12 in animal products comes from bacteria that live in the animals which manufacture it. Or it comes from other animals that animal eats.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,919 Member
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    Um. B12 is only found naturally in animal products. Perhaps your definition of vegan is different than the one I'm used to?

    Um - no. B12 is found in soil which animals injest when they graze, which is then passed on to meat eaters.
    Um-no. B12 is synthesized from bacteria which co exist (symbiotic) in soil and animals, which is then passed on to humans. SEMANTICS.
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
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    Ok guys - with all respect I get what you're trying to tell me. That a lot of you would not be able to thrive on this lifestyle, and guess what? You don't have to. This is just the lifestyle that works sooooo well for me. I personally know multi-marathon runners, bodybuilders, and people who have cured themselves from diseases on this lifestyle. Lifestyle is not just about what we eat.

    i knew if i read this whole thread i'd eventually find the "magic bean that cures diseases" card being played by OP.

    congrats OP, you didn't disappoint. :drinker:
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
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    Its great that you are happier now and its also wonderful that you feel as though your mind/body connection has improved.

    But please remember that the mind is a lot more powerful than the body. And often we can convince ourselves/believe things very strongly despite the fact that they may not be the best for us, our body and those around us. Some examples include people in cults, people who swear they feel great on the cabbage soup diet and pretty much everyone on My Strange Addiction.

    You did say that your body still craves foods you are not 'allowed.' And you've had a very strong online reaction to your story, with lots of people expressing concern about this particular diet. Those two things might give rise to some serious introspection and discussion, rather than blind defense.

    THIS!

    OP, I'm glad you found something that works for you (I don't like vegetables so this definitely is not for me). But while reading this I couldn't help but feel a cultish mentality and addictive personality traits. I could be wrong (and I hope I am). But, while you are eating healthy foods, I don't see this as a healthy diet.

    Maybe, once the honeymoon phase is over, you will balance it all out.

    Anyway, good luck and I wish you well.
  • anj1030
    anj1030 Posts: 153 Member
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    cliffs for anyone interested:

    OP did dukan diet, lost some weight, decided high protein was bad for her
    started vegan diet, regularly went drinking with friends and ate french fries, nachos, and all things delicious (except meat and cheese)
    met the banana girl at some festival and decided to dump all her friends and stop drinking
    now eats high carb, low fat, and freaks out when she goes to Chipotle

    pretty sure that covers it


    I might have a girl crush on you.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
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    Um. B12 is only found naturally in animal products. Perhaps your definition of vegan is different than the one I'm used to?

    Um - no. B12 is found in soil which animals injest when they graze, which is then passed on to meat eaters.
    Um-no. B12 is synthesized from bacteria which co exist (symbiotic) in soil and animals, which is then passed on to humans. SEMANTICS.

    Bless you :-)
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Um. B12 is only found naturally in animal products. Perhaps your definition of vegan is different than the one I'm used to?

    Um - no. B12 is found in soil which animals injest when they graze, which is then passed on to meat eaters.
    Um-no. B12 is synthesized from bacteria which co exist (symbiotic) in soil and animals, which is then passed on to humans. SEMANTICS.

    Bless you :-)

    The bacteria that manufacture B12 cannot live in the human digestive tract, and there is no significant quantity of B12 in dirt. Unless you have some evidence to the contrary, which I'd love to read. I wonder just how much dirt a human would need to eat to get enough B12.
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
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    I wanted to share with you all a little bit about my dietary lifestyle. While I don’t let a label define who I am, my food choices fall into the high raw low fat vegan category. After almost two years of research on nutrition, I find this to be the ideal lifestyle for not only a healthy lifestyle, but also for fueling the body with optimal energy so that you can take on all that you desire in all areas of your life.

    Funny, that's why I eat an almost strictly carnivorous high-fat lifestyle. :)
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
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    The bacteria that manufacture B12 cannot live in the human digestive tract, and there is no significant quantity of B12 in dirt. Unless you have some evidence to the contrary, which I'd love to read. I wonder just how much dirt a human would need to eat to get enough B12.

    Jonnythan - can you provide me with a reference that shows that the bacteria that manufacture B12 exist mainly in animal gut and not the soil please, as my understanding was that the bacteria was soil dwelling and animals ingested B12 as a by-product of grazing.

    If I am wrong, I would like to see science based references before I accept a change of view. Always open to change and not saying anyone is wrong or right here.

    TIA
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    The bacteria that manufacture B12 cannot live in the human digestive tract, and there is no significant quantity of B12 in dirt. Unless you have some evidence to the contrary, which I'd love to read. I wonder just how much dirt a human would need to eat to get enough B12.

    Jonnythan - can you provide me with a reference that shows that the bacteria that manufacture B12 exist mainly in animal gut and not the soil please, as my understanding was that the bacteria was soil dwelling and animals ingested B12 as a by-product of grazing.

    If I am wrong, I would like to see science based references before I accept a change of view. Always open to change and not saying anyone is wrong or right here.

    TIA

    Well the only reference I could find with regard to soil actually containing more than trace amounts of B12 is here:
    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/48/3/852.full.pdf+html

    Apparently vegetables grown in human manure, and not washed before being eaten, contain enough B12. So if by "soil" you mean "human feces" then by all means "soil" contains enough B12 to prevent deficiency.

    If you have any information that states regular soil contains enough biologically-active B12 for humans, please post it here.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
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    Thank you Jonnythan. I think that's the point that is missed out - probably not considered - when talking about B12 in "soil" - we should actually say that bacteria that dwell in manure dropped by animals manufacture B12 and that is then ingested by grazing animals which then pass on the vitamin to humans through flesh, eggs or dairy consumption.

    I didn't think the bacteria that manufacture B12 lived in the animal itself, but that the vitamin was ingested through grazing or, in the case of predatory animals, ingesting other animals who are/were grazers.

    I may be wrong - still researching.

    edit: spelling

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