Raw Foods Diet?

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Sporty98
Sporty98 Posts: 321 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Anyone following a Raw Foods Diet? I have done a raw foods fast in the past, and am reading about the whole movement.....What books do you recommend on the topic? And, do you have any thoughts on how you feel before and since you've started the diet?

I have been doing a fruit fast for four days (today is day 5) and I am feeling great! Weight is coming off, and I feel energetic (for the most part).....I'm wondering if it's the weight coming off, or the absence of processed foods, or a combination of these many things.

Thoughts or recommendations?

Replies

  • NGMama
    NGMama Posts: 384 Member
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    I like Eat To Live. It incorporates raw and cooked food. I get too cold if all I eat is raw. I do love the idea of preserving enzymes and eating living foods. Sprouts are a big favorite for me. I know a couple of people who do completely raw, that's just not for me.
  • Sporty98
    Sporty98 Posts: 321 Member
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    I like Eat To Live. It incorporates raw and cooked food. I get too cold if all I eat is raw. I do love the idea of preserving enzymes and eating living foods. Sprouts are a big favorite for me. I know a couple of people who do completely raw, that's just not for me.

    I am glad that you said that you get cold.....After the first day of fruit fasting I started feeling cold. And, last night even with the wood furnace going, I could not get warm. I hadn't even thought that it might be from my food intake......Thank you!
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
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    I did a raw food fast for 5 days at a raw food retreat in Puerto Rico last year and got some sort of stomach bug (I am blaming the kumbacha that they made) and ended up losing 5 pounds during the whole thing, but when I went back to eating "regular" cooked foods, the weight came right back.

    It can be a great lifestyle, but it is very time consuming and hard to maintain, even the raw foodies admit this. Its alot of work! Good luck!
  • Sporty98
    Sporty98 Posts: 321 Member
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    I am currently thinking of doing a high percentage of raw foods.....Like 80% raw. I have really learned a lot about raw food eating in the past few days. I didn't realize that all nuts grown in the US are pasteurized, and therefore, not raw. So, it's little things like that that I have to learn.
    Thanks everyone!
  • allybay
    allybay Posts: 17
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    I did a raw food fast for 5 days at a raw food retreat in Puerto Rico last year and got some sort of stomach bug (I am blaming the kumbacha that they made) and ended up losing 5 pounds during the whole thing, but when I went back to eating "regular" cooked foods, the weight came right back.

    It can be a great lifestyle, but it is very time consuming and hard to maintain, even the raw foodies admit this. Its alot of work! Good luck!

    I'm doing this raw food diet going on 9 days now, I'm doing all raw fruits, veggies, grains, nuts, and legumes. Yes, I would have to say it is very time consuming. But I'm reaping the benefits, my skin is glowing, I've lost 7 lbs so far, I'm always always full, and you know its a good thing when you crave for fruits and vegs... :-D...Sporty98, is this true about the nuts that are labeled raw??
  • Sporty98
    Sporty98 Posts: 321 Member
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    [/quote]
    I'm doing this raw food diet going on 9 days now, I'm doing all raw fruits, veggies, grains, nuts, and legumes. Yes, I would have to say it is very time consuming. But I'm reaping the benefits, my skin is glowing, I've lost 7 lbs so far, I'm always always full, and you know its a good thing when you crave for fruits and vegs... :-D...Sporty98, is this true about the nuts that are labeled raw??
    [/quote]

    From what I've read, you have to make sure the nuts were not grown in the US....The US has a regulation about all nuts grown have to be pasteurized (I think...). But, I buy my almonds, walnuts, nut butters, seeds, etc. from the local co-op and nature store. They have both promised me that they are raw (the co-op makes the peanut butter).

    I have dropped about 9 lbs. and feel great! I'm sticking with the raw diet for now....Winter in the north may change my mind, but for now: RAW!
  • ariathel
    ariathel Posts: 2
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    To answer you guys' question about nuts - if they are shipped from California, they are NOT raw - as PP said, they have been pasteurized. My local co-op (gotta love Austin!) imports them from around the world - in the case of raw almonds, they come from Italy and are about $13.99/lb :(. If you aren't sure about your nuts, soak them and try to sprout them - if they rot, they've been pasteurized/cooked, and are no longer raw.
  • sweetpotatofry
    sweetpotatofry Posts: 209 Member
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    I tried a mostly-raw (60-80%) diet last summer from June-August while I was working in Atlanta, and it definitely helped me lose weight - I was back to a number I hadn't seen since high school, and without any real exercising! I followed nutritionist Kimberly Snyder's guidelines from her book The Beauty Detox Solution, on recommendation of a friend. My breakfast was a huge green smoothie, lunch was usually gigantic salads, and then dinner was a bit more lax (sometimes cooked, sometimes raw). Snacks included coconut yogurt, almond milk, millet bread, and hummus, in addition to various fruits and veggies, of course :)

    As happy as I was about the weight loss and as much as I really, really wanted to stick with the lifestyle change, I couldn't help but notice a few downsides:

    - I was frequently tired and needed to eat constantly to keep full
    - My skin and hair were drier than before (??? I know many people have seen the reverse happen)
    - Time-consuming, as a lot of people have mentioned already
    - After I got used to easily digestible food, it was hard to eat out or occasionally indulge in something a little heavier - my body would take hours to break it down, and I'd feel awful in the process

    On the other hand, I randomly had calluses on my hands and feet disappear, and they'd been there for years! Also went to the bathroom veeery regularly, lol.

    Then I moved back to NY and in a sort of personal upheaval eating raw became nearly impossible to maintain. I think it depends on the person, like with so many things, and in the end the raw food lifestyle was just not for me. After coming back to NY my doctor diagnosed me with hypothyroidism, and like a lot of people have said already, eating raw will exacerbate the feeling of being cold all the time. It was fine during the summer in Hotlanta, but not up here in the Northeast :(

    I still make green smoothies at least three times a week, though!
  • Sporty98
    Sporty98 Posts: 321 Member
    Options
    I tried a mostly-raw (60-80%) diet last summer from June-August while I was working in Atlanta, and it definitely helped me lose weight - I was back to a number I hadn't seen since high school, and without any real exercising! I followed nutritionist Kimberly Snyder's guidelines from her book The Beauty Detox Solution, on recommendation of a friend. My breakfast was a huge green smoothie, lunch was usually gigantic salads, and then dinner was a bit more lax (sometimes cooked, sometimes raw). Snacks included coconut yogurt, almond milk, millet bread, and hummus, in addition to various fruits and veggies, of course :)

    As happy as I was about the weight loss and as much as I really, really wanted to stick with the lifestyle change, I couldn't help but notice a few downsides:

    - I was frequently tired and needed to eat constantly to keep full
    - My skin and hair were drier than before (??? I know many people have seen the reverse happen)
    - Time-consuming, as a lot of people have mentioned already
    - After I got used to easily digestible food, it was hard to eat out or occasionally indulge in something a little heavier - my body would take hours to break it down, and I'd feel awful in the process

    On the other hand, I randomly had calluses on my hands and feet disappear, and they'd been there for years! Also went to the bathroom veeery regularly, lol.

    Then I moved back to NY and in a sort of personal upheaval eating raw became nearly impossible to maintain. I think it depends on the person, like with so many things, and in the end the raw food lifestyle was just not for me. After coming back to NY my doctor diagnosed me with hypothyroidism, and like a lot of people have said already, eating raw will exacerbate the feeling of being cold all the time. It was fine during the summer in Hotlanta, but not up here in the Northeast :(

    I still make green smoothies at least three times a week, though!

    I am finding that I am cold all the time. I am not sure if that's dietary or because I've dropped 12 pounds, and am very near my goal (which I lowered when I almost reached this weight). I too live in NY, and find the cool temps here not the best for this diet!

    I am currently eating a green smoothie for breakfast everyday, a large fresh organic salad for my second meal, and often for my third. At times, I'm just not hungry for more after the salad, so I may have fresh chopped fruit for dinner. I am loving the diet so far and will hit a month on the diet this Saturday! Hard to believe I've been vegan for a month! I used to be a vegetarian, but never vegan! And, breads used to be my big addiction! Now, don't even miss them!

    I used to have a small rash where my sports bra would rub in the front.....It looked like a small fungal rash. After a couple of weeks on this diet, it is gone. I was there for a LONG time, and I used to treat it with Tea Tree oil (which takes care of everything!).....I did nothing special or different to it, other than change my diet. I had heard that things like that happen on this diet.....I also heard that gray hair can return to it's youthful color.....I'm hopeful! :D

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