Raw lifestyle vs. Calorie Counting
vegansara
Posts: 192 Member
Hey all,
There is a lot of talk in the raw food community (at least the areas of the interweb that I frequent) where the sentiment is "as long as it's raw, eat whatever you want! You will magically lose weight and don't ask me how many calories are in a recipe because calories don't matter if you're feeding yourself raw plant based foods!"
Have you come across this yourselves? What are your thoughts? I have done a 30 day raw challenge in the past and dropped a lot of weight without counting calories, but now I'm really attached to MFP and watching calories. But sometimes I think about how much easier it is to be able to eat whatever I'd like (really, however much I'd like) and continue to drop weight. When figuring calories for a recipe for example, I sometimes think . . . does it even matter if it's raw vegan?
What are your thoughts?
There is a lot of talk in the raw food community (at least the areas of the interweb that I frequent) where the sentiment is "as long as it's raw, eat whatever you want! You will magically lose weight and don't ask me how many calories are in a recipe because calories don't matter if you're feeding yourself raw plant based foods!"
Have you come across this yourselves? What are your thoughts? I have done a 30 day raw challenge in the past and dropped a lot of weight without counting calories, but now I'm really attached to MFP and watching calories. But sometimes I think about how much easier it is to be able to eat whatever I'd like (really, however much I'd like) and continue to drop weight. When figuring calories for a recipe for example, I sometimes think . . . does it even matter if it's raw vegan?
What are your thoughts?
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I have heard that too and it makes me wonder. Especially since counting the calories on the raw brownies I made is KILLER! (150 cals and 15 grams of fat per square inch!! Whoa LOL
Even if you didn't need to count calories, I would think it would still be good to track nutritional values as well to see how it all balances out... of course, I'm probably attached to it too! I'm not raw all the way yet (and don't know if I ever will be 100%, but I'm experimenting) and I've heard that statement too. Even for vegans...0 -
Raw gourmet foods like raw brownies are full of fat and toxic stimulants (cacao) !!! Nothing in there is good for you! You're right to say whoa! Just because it's raw does NOT mean that it is better for you! You would be better off eating lightly steamed vegetables or a bowl of rice than one of those raw brownies!
I follow 80/10/10 High Carb or Low Fat raw veganism and I use MFP to count calories to ensure that I am eating ENOUGH. Calorie RESTRICTION is the ENEMY in the high carb raw vegan community (check out 30bananasaday.com, durianrider.org, or rawfit*****.com if you're interested in more info on that.)
Read 80/10/10 by Doug Graham. It CHANGED my life. When I first decided I wanted to do raw foods, I started by reading Ani Phyo's stuf and I got totally stressed out by all the superfoods and nuts and processing that I would have to do! Going 100% seemed totally impossible! Then I stumbled on 30bananasaday.com and Freelee and Durianride, and I've been raw vegan for over a month now!0 -
^--- I agree with this post.
If you are eating raw gourmet, I would watch your fat intake very closely. I think raw gourmet is a nice transitional tool, and would be great short-term for someone coming off of fast food and a standard American diet. I believe at the end of the day junk food can be junk food, no matter what it is made of.
Whole fresh fruits and vegetables with very limited nuts and seeds is the way to go in my opinion. It is just so much easier, faster, and more satisfying!
My favorite Low fat raw vegan is Kristina Bucaram "fullyrawkristina" on youtube. She has recipe tutorials and she focuses a lot more on the vegetable side of things than Durian or Doug Graham (which are also fantastic by the way). Although, Kristina still eats a lot of fruit, because it rocks!
I have so much energy it is unreal, If feel like I have to go workout or I might explode. Good luck!0 -
^--- I agree with this post.
If you are eating raw gourmet, I would watch your fat intake very closely. I think raw gourmet is a nice transitional tool, and would be great short-term for someone coming off of fast food and a standard American diet. I believe at the end of the day junk food can be junk food, no matter what it is made of.
Whole fresh fruits and vegetables with very limited nuts and seeds is the way to go in my opinion. It is just so much easier, faster, and more satisfying!
My favorite Low fat raw vegan is Kristina Bucaram "fullyrawkristina" on youtube. She has recipe tutorials and she focuses a lot more on the vegetable side of things than Durian or Doug Graham (which are also fantastic by the way). Although, Kristina still eats a lot of fruit, because it rocks!
I have so much energy it is unreal, If feel like I have to go workout or I might explode. Good luck!
I love Kristina too! I've been watching her videos- so inspiring!
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Thanks for bringing this up. I've had these questions too. I know part of what got me overweight is thinking that I could eat as much as I wanted - after all, I'm eating vegetarian. I'm a living example of the fallacy of that thinking. Anyway, as I've been eating raw I've been concerned about how high my fat intake has been and how low sometimes my carbs and proteins are. So I'm glad I'm on MFP and monitoring those things and to get the names listed in this topic. I plan to check them out soon and to continue to move towards eating simple foods - like fresh fruits and veggies - that are not an imitation of the standard American foods.
To me the bottom line is to never stop thinking because there are so many traps one can fall into if you let your mind go to sleep.
It's good to know that I'm not alone in this journey.0 -
Bump
Still learning...Thank you for your input! I'm learning so much. Trying to go at least 50% raw for now and I'm LOVING the way it makes me feel 0 -
Since when are nuts and raw dark chocolate not good for you?Raw gourmet foods like raw brownies are full of fat and toxic stimulants (cacao) !!! Nothing in there is good for you!0 -
Since when are nuts and raw dark chocolate not good for you?Raw gourmet foods like raw brownies are full of fat and toxic stimulants (cacao) !!! Nothing in there is good for you!
Nuts are okay in moderation. Raw chocolate or cacao is a toxic substance. It's a know neurotoxin. Here is a good video about raw cacao from the man who introduced it into the raw food movement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wArks4mczm4
Raw carob powder is a better option. I add it to my banana smoothies. If you add carob, bananas and some frozen bananas it's almost like a chocolate coffee tasting smoothie. Super Yum0 -
^--- I agree with this post.
If you are eating raw gourmet, I would watch your fat intake very closely. I think raw gourmet is a nice transitional tool, and would be great short-term for someone coming off of fast food and a standard American diet. I believe at the end of the day junk food can be junk food, no matter what it is made of.
Whole fresh fruits and vegetables with very limited nuts and seeds is the way to go in my opinion. It is just so much easier, faster, and more satisfying!
My favorite Low fat raw vegan is Kristina Bucaram "fullyrawkristina" on youtube. She has recipe tutorials and she focuses a lot more on the vegetable side of things than Durian or Doug Graham (which are also fantastic by the way). Although, Kristina still eats a lot of fruit, because it rocks!
I have so much energy it is unreal, If feel like I have to go workout or I might explode. Good luck!
^ Everything they both said! I love Kristina too!0 -
I am a vegan 15+ years and I go raw every now and again. I like to say I eat a high raw diet mostly in the summer in the Northeast. I have to count calories because no matter how much raw I eat, the nuts catch up with me, and they have to be restricted, for me at least. Vegetables, even raw vegetables have calories. Juicing and smoothies add up too.0
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I am a vegan 15+ years and I go raw every now and again. I like to say I eat a high raw diet mostly in the summer in the Northeast. I have to count calories because no matter how much raw I eat, the nuts catch up with me, and they have to be restricted, for me at least. Vegetables, even raw vegetables have calories. Juicing and smoothies add up too. Eating healthy is not calorie free!0
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Before eating raw (5/25/13) I would eat whatever I wanted. And what I wanted was a half a stick of butter a day and Indiana popcorn at night. I was at an all time high of 231lbs and was in bp, cholestral and gerd meds. I am off all of my meds now and have a bp of 110/70. I've never seen those numbers! My joints dont hurt and my joints are half the size they were. No more inflammation! I tried counting calories, first eating 1500 and only losing a lb in a month. Then to 1200 and losing nothing. I was hating the road I was on and always felt counting calories and this idea of willpower an unnatural idea. I wanted harmony-a natural way of eating to restore balance. I see now that obesity is a matter of nutrition. My weight is coming off slowly, but my body and mind really like eating this way. I feel a new found respect for the energy in the foods I eat. I always craved sweets and now that has waned. I just want the most nutrtional bang for the buck! I say eat what you want raw and trust it will naturally balance out. Guilt will put weight on you!0
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I went raw before I found MFP, which was through a search on a vegan question. I started logging everything and it helped to know what I was eating, but I never fussed with whether I was over or under the computer calculated goal. I just ate what I wanted and as much or little as I wanted and use the diary just to track my nutrients.0
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I am new to a raw diet. I have to say that I absolutely love it. I have been using MFP and I have been staying under my calorie goal. I have been on this diet for a week and a half and I have lost almost 5 pounds. I am really happy with this. I am more happy about the way I feel. I have more energy, I am not sluggish and my body seems to be responding well to my food intake. I am on about an 85% raw diet. I hope to get to 100% by the end of the year. I eat until I am full most days, and I do not usually go over my 1200 calorie goal. I do workout every day and I am sure that has some to do with my weight loss. I feel like my raw diet is pushing me to being better overall. Mentally physically and spiritually. It is crazy how one part of my life has affected the other parts, but it is definitely a spiritual journey to me. I hope that it becomes this for you as well. Good luck!1
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You can think of it like this.. Instead of saying "I'm eating raw foods", you can just CUT ALL PROCESSED FOODS and you will lose weight NO MATTER WHAT. Cooked, steamed or whatever!
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This is interesting to me.
I've recently started to juice, and have been attached to MFP for YEARS. However I am so not into calculating the approximate numbers for how many calories are in, say, one juiced beet.0 -
When I first starting eating raw two weeks ago, the struggle was very real, so I think that counting calories would have been too much. Now that I've adapted more (it's not a diet, it's just how I eat), I can track my food on MFP and it's not a sore reminder of all the things I'm not eating, it's more like a shiny star on my sticker chart. Of course, going from SAD to Raw, you will lose weight, and at the beginning when things were still hard, I told myself, "It's raw, you don't need to count calories", which was essentially true as far as my health was concerned, as I was only eating vegetables/fruits/limits amounts of nuts, and not making recipes. Now that I'm expanding, I have realized that you could easily get carried away with your caloric intake, so I think at this point it makes sense for me to track my foods, for the nutrients as well.0
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I've been trying to do the Raw Til 4 deal since I still like roasted potatoes, rice, and some pasta every now and again. When I wasn't logging my calories, I was definitely eating too much fat. That's been my main mistake, and now I'm trying to overcome that. Eating higher fat has given me acne problems, and I'd rather like that to go away! I'm a lot closer to 80-10-10 this week, and I'm feeling good about it. The hardest part is trying to convince myself that I won't gain weight from eating 2000+ calories a day since I'm only 5 ft tall... Any ideas on that?0
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Both raw foodism and calorie counting have their place. While some in the raw community insist that you can eat whatever you want on a raw diet, (Alissa Cohen) it isn't magic. If you eat a pound of macadamias for breakfast, Matt Amsden's burgers on onion bread for lunch and Ani Phyo's strawberry cheesecake for dinner, you will probably not lose weight. (But hey- yum!)Raw gourmet foods like raw brownies are full of fat and toxic stimulants (cacao) !!! Nothing in there is good for you! You're right to say whoa! Just because it's raw does NOT mean that it is better for you! You would be better off eating lightly steamed vegetables or a bowl of rice than one of those raw brownies!
Utter nonsense. Raw brownies contain coconut oil, walnuts and cacao- all of which are scientifically proven to be beneficial.
The only people who claim it is toxic are Paul Nilson, (who claims to get his nutritional information from spiritual sources) and Jeremy Safron - who may be a terrific yogi / life coach, but has only anecdotal / personal evidence to offer.0 -
What I have heard of this seems quite sensible. The idea is that you get fat from eating fats. So, if your raw-vegan recipe has lots of avocados, nuts and seeds, coconut oil, and so forth, than you can get fat.
I have definitely known lots of people who eat LOTS of fruits and veggies, ten times more than I could ever eat, and not get fat.
Although, I personally could never limit my avocado in-take. MmMmMm0 -
I count calories on my raw vegan diet (which includes cacao, avocado, a large variety of nuts and coconut - YUM!), but only because otherwise I struggle to eat enough for my fitness goals. Between the volume of the masses of fruit and veg I consume, together with the filling-ness of coconut/avocado/nuts/seeds if I'm not careful I can be quite a long way under my goal if left to my own devices. I'd have absolutely not a chance of hitting my calorie goals if I eradicated the demonized "overt fats".0
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I'm new to the raw vegan lifestyle. In fact, I've been raw for exactly 5 days. What I've found in those five days is if I don't keep my fat intake below 10-15% of my calories, I will not lose weight. I might even GAIN weight which is exactly the opposite of what I'm trying here. In 5 days, I've lost 8 pounds. Those days I didn't carefully watch my fat intake, I didn't lose. Also, exercise is a must.0
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I am also new to raw vegan diet. I say diet because I am only trying it out for now. I find it impossible to eat enough calories without overdoing the fat. There is no way I could eat another bite today and I am not even at 900 calories. I feel really good but am afraid to mess up my metabolism. Any tips?0
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Supplement with cooked foods like potatoes and rice and maybe even vegan breads until you can eat enough calories from fruit. A good tip for packing in fruit calories is to make it into a smoothie. I use the large pint sized jars and fill two of them for one meal. Go for higher calorie fruits if you can't pack in the volume like mangoes, bananas, and dates. Save the veggies for dinner so that you're able to get more of your calories from fruit during the day. It'll help with energy and you won't feel like you're starving at the end of the day.0
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