Is raw till 4 high carb vegan healthy?

"Healthy" is such a vague term that it's really meaningless without context.

Raw Till 4 is certainly extreme, unbalanced and expensive, and it doesn't guarantee weight loss. Is it really going to be sustainable for you?

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How about just trying to use MFP.
Log your food accurately and honestly keeping a reasonable calorie deficit
Be consistent / Be patient
Don't try an overly restrictive diet that is going to make this difficult, just keep it simple

MagicDance396 wrote: »

Hi I'm 18 years old, and around 300 pounds. I have been trying to find a lifestyle I can maintain healthily. I came across the raw till4 high carb vegan lifestyle and it looks amazing. But is it healthy? I don't want to do any more damage to my body than I already have

Why not just follow the guided set up from MFP and follow that? No need to try something this restrictive.

Losing weight doesn't have to be rocket science.

MagicDance396 wrote: »

I have in fact tried calorie deficit. I've tried low carb. I've tried small portions. I've tried nutrisystem. I've tried a lot. I've been trying to lose weight since I was nine. I've been on so many diets and "lifestyle" changes. And I always lose weight, but I always fail and gain it back because I binge. I figured vegan would be good for me because it doesn't restrict as much of how much you eat.

Oh, sweetie, I just looked at your profile. I'm vegetarian now and have been vegan in the past, and neither of those eating plans have made me lose weight. You say you don't want to crash diet anymore, which is a good place to start. When you see "crash" diet, though, think "extreme" diet. Anything that is extreme or restrictive typically leads people to eventually binge or at least give up and splurge.

Vegan diets are highly restrictive, and Raw Til 4 is insanely restrictive. If it's a huge change for you, we can predict with a high degree of accuracy that you will eventually gain whatever you've lost back. (The one circumstance where it might not end like this is if you're already a vegan eating a high volume of raw foods. If it's not a huge change, it might be sustainable in the long term. I don't know if that's the case for you.)

Literally the only thing you need to do to lose weight is eat a little less than you burn, for a long period of time. That's it. You can eat exactly what you do now, just less of it. If you can keep that up for long enough, you'll lose weight. It's the "long period of time" part that trips people up. They cut down calories in an extreme way, but only for a short time (because nobody can keep that up for long).

Try this...tell MFP you want to lose 2 pounds per week. Then follow that number for 4-6 weeks. Get a food scale and start weighing solids to make sure you're hitting your goal as closely as possible. Compared to what you'd spend on Raw Til 4, food scales are CHEAP. Mine was about $15 from Amazon.

MagicDance396 wrote: »

I have in fact tried calorie deficit. I've tried low carb. I've tried small portions. I've tried nutrisystem. I've tried a lot. I've been trying to lose weight since I was nine. I've been on so many diets and "lifestyle" changes. And I always lose weight, but I always fail and gain it back because I binge. I figured vegan would be good for me because it doesn't restrict as much of how much you eat.

there are a lot of calorie-dense raw and vegan foods that could very easily take you beyond your allotted calorie goal.

while bananas and avocados and nuts may be raw and vegan, you can still gain weight eating them if you are eating more than you are burning.

losing weight isnt so much about what you eat, but how much.

i feel that this next endeavor of yours is just complicating things. if you lost weight with calorie deficit, you know it works. sometimes you just need to flex that will power and stick to moderation.

Well said AliceDark. I was just concentrating on the whether or not it is healthy.

My experience was around four months. I found I had appetite issues toward the end and smoothies are a no go for me, they make me ravenous and give me a crash, even when I put seeds and nuts in for fat and protein. However, I was healthy and active (as far as I knew, I didn't go get bloodwork or anything). It was expensive and I had to use Cronometer to micromanage my nutrients because I was stubborn and refused to take anything except B12. I also go lots of sunshine for vitamin D.

This is one of those things that I don't see how it will hurt to try it and see how you feel on it if you are healthy.

As a vegan who eats around 40:60 raw to cooked, I would say that a vegan diet is not restrictive at all but you do have to do a bit of research to make sure you are getting the right nutrition daily, which is no more difficult than an omnivorous diet really but you just find yourself trying different vegetables, beans and pulses, nuts and grains you might not have thought of before. Its a great adventure though.
As skullshank said above, "while bananas and avocados and nuts may be raw and vegan, you can still gain weight eating them if you are eating more than you are burning.". That is true though they are all good sources of carbs, healthy fats and nutrition within a slight calorie deficit if you are aiming to lose weight.
Whether you decide to try going vegan for a time, or not, the key for me was to add a lot of leafy greens and things like celery etc that will fill you up without adding significant calories - that and a big helping of patience and perseverance.
- Calculate your calorie needs with a sensible deficit with the MFP engine and set your target to lose a little weight each week and you will get there.

melimomTARDIS wrote: »

if binge eating is your problem (like it is mine) you gotta work on that first. Freelea is super cute, so I see why women want to start up on her plan, but she excersizes a ton. Its not just the banana smoothies that give her that figure.

Or the Datorade... I doubt you would 'damage' your body attempting HCRV or raw til four, but, like others said, OP is it something you will be able to maintain over the long term?
I gained weight when I transitioned to a vegan diet..... I also gained weight when I did Freelee's 30 bananas a day. You still have to moderate your caloric intake NO MATTER what eating plan you choose.

I have no idea if raw veganism is healthy or not (there isn't enough data to say one way or the other, since it's a pretty new diet, but the people who do it claim to be healthy). I would be wary of it though just because it's so extreme.

It is a VERY restrictive diet. It is quite expensive, especially because they want you to buy everything organic and use a Vitamix. Also keep in mind it takes time to eat all that fruit. The people on Youtube who are famous for this diet don't even have jobs, they eat fruit and exercise all day. Their health is literally all they think about. Not realistic for the average person.

Starting from where you are starting from, I don't think this diet would be best for you at all.

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This is the diet promoted by Freelee the banana girl right? If you look around on some forums that aren't moderated by her you'll see some of the horrible things that people have experienced doing this diet. Freelee deletes anything remotely negative from her pages so you won't get a balanced view there. Just search hair loss on RT4 for starters.

emily_stew wrote: »

GiveMeCoffee wrote: »

MagicDance396 wrote: »

I have in fact tried calorie deficit. I've tried low carb. I've tried small portions. I've tried nutrisystem. I've tried a lot. I've been trying to lose weight since I was nine. I've been on so many diets and "lifestyle" changes. And I always lose weight, but I always fail and gain it back because I binge. I figured vegan would be good for me because it doesn't restrict as much of how much you eat.

I understand, I was there, except I yo yo dieted longer than you've been alive. I started on MFP over 2 years ago at 285 lbs, I was desperate to lose the weight, thought I knew how to do it. No, I knew how to diet, I didn't know how to be successful with weight loss. I thought you had to be miserable, that I had to drop my calories real low, cut out foods, etc. None of that was true.

To be successful I had to be brutally honest with myself
I had to log everything, use a food scale this helped me to learn real portion sizes, and this went with the brutally honest part.
I had to be consistent, I had to show up every day and to give my best effort on that given day.
I had to learn and be open to advice from those around me, and take what they said to research, ask more questions and research some more.
If I thought about making a change, I asked myself "Is this a change I can do forever?" If it was great, probably a good change... if the answer was no, then I had to rethink why I wanted to make that change.
I found activities I loved that took some time.
I also learned that the more restrictive I made my diet or plan, the more I wanted to quit, so I learned to keep it simple.

I've lost 125 lbs and have kept it off for almost a year now.

Listen to this lady OP, she is wise

GiveMeCoffee wrote: »

MagicDance396 wrote: »

I have in fact tried calorie deficit. I've tried low carb. I've tried small portions. I've tried nutrisystem. I've tried a lot. I've been trying to lose weight since I was nine. I've been on so many diets and "lifestyle" changes. And I always lose weight, but I always fail and gain it back because I binge. I figured vegan would be good for me because it doesn't restrict as much of how much you eat.

I understand, I was there, except I yo yo dieted longer than you've been alive. I started on MFP over 2 years ago at 285 lbs, I was desperate to lose the weight, thought I knew how to do it. No, I knew how to diet, I didn't know how to be successful with weight loss. I thought you had to be miserable, that I had to drop my calories real low, cut out foods, etc. None of that was true.

To be successful I had to be brutally honest with myself
I had to log everything, use a food scale this helped me to learn real portion sizes, and this went with the brutally honest part.
I had to be consistent, I had to show up every day and to give my best effort on that given day.
I had to learn and be open to advice from those around me, and take what they said to research, ask more questions and research some more.
If I thought about making a change, I asked myself "Is this a change I can do forever?" If it was great, probably a good change... if the answer was no, then I had to rethink why I wanted to make that change.
I found activities I loved that took some time.
I also learned that the more restrictive I made my diet or plan, the more I wanted to quit, so I learned to keep it simple.

I've lost 125 lbs and have kept it off for almost a year now.

I second this, so please, please listen to us. I spent 20 years being severely obese too. I also tried every "diet" out there. Low carb, low fat, pills etc. The truth is, what was just said above and what several others are saying. Eat at the proper calorie deficit and you will lose weight. Weigh and measure all your food. Learn to forgive your self and go forward when you occasionally overeat. Dont try some super restrive, "fad" I can almost guarantee you, it wont be the fix your hoping for.

I lost 123 pounds by simply logging every day, eating at a caloric deficit, and never giving up. I have also kept mine off for a year. You can do this, dont give up on it!