Utter exhaustion in first week! - Raw Food Chat

kittynurse · 10-15-2007

Hi there. I'm brand new to the raw food diet. I'm doing it primarily to provide emotional support for my mom who is doing it for a health problem. I exercise quite a lot. I do an hour of cardio 6 times per week, weight train 4 times per week, and take a 90-minute Bikram (hot) yoga class 3 or 4 times per week. I've been completely exhausted since I started eating exclusively raw. I was consuming a large amount of protein before starting this way of eating, and I wonder to what degree the change in protein consumption might be impacting my energy level. I ate very healthily before, so I really don't think I'm experiencing the heavy "detox" I would expect in someone with a previously-poor diet. Also, I've gained a few pounds and my clothes are fitting tighter. And I've only been doing this for a week! I have been eating a lot of flax and nut based foods, but I can't imagine that my calorie consumption has increased by that much! Does anyone out there have any thoughts on how to get my energy back up and not keep gaining weight? Everything I've read about raw food diets indicates that I should have boundless energy and that weight should be falling off my body.

nothinkingbehind · 10-17-2007

Hi and welcome! I think it's awesome that you are supporting your mom in this change, I'm sure she appreciates it, and you might find that you love raw!

I have been raw for about a month and a half, and I am by no means an expert, but I can tell you what has worked for me. I am about 70% raw right now. I've also transitioned to a vegan diet. I can tell you that it worked better for me to transition slowly so as to not "shock" my body. And I ate a very clean diet proviously, so it wasn't like I was eating fast food and then going raw. Some people go raw cold turkey and it works great for them, other people have better luck if they transition. You didn't mention what kinds of foods you are eating, or what a typical day's diet would be. That would probably help us give you a more thorough answer. Also, when you make any change in your body's fuel sources and processing, it takes a bit of time for it to adjust. So you have to allow it to "heal" from the food you have been eating. Does that make sense?

I also try to include things like hemp protien, hemp seeds, and bee pollen for good sources of protien. If you are not vegan you could also do raw eggs. I do think that different people need different amounts of protien, and if you need more, that could be why your body feels like it's lacking something.

I hope this helps, and I am sure others will have some great wisdom, they always do!

Melissa

greenbunny · 10-17-2007

Melissa was right on! Yeah, everything she said.

Another important thing to remember is that if you were eating a lot of dense protein before your body is basically "addicted" to getting bombarded with the stuff. Going all raw from a good diet is just a big a jump as going from a junk food diet to what most people would call a healthy one. It is a gigantic change to your body. It sounds like you are real achiever and so you might feel like going all raw all at once should be easy for you. Going slower would give you more of the ability to evaluate each different food that you are incorporating to see how your body reacts to that. Please check out our discussion called Oh Nuts about seeds and nuts as a protein source - it is vital that you are soaking those nuts/seeds.

Since you do not have the same immediate health concern that your Mom does you can still support her and incorporate one new food a week to evaluate it more precisely.

The idea that everyone has immediate tremendous energy and loses weight are stereotypes that are not necessarily true. Many people do go through times of releasing toxins where they don't feel all that great and many people will gain weight if their body was undernourished before. You might think that your body had great nutrtion before, but you would be surprised the difference in nutrtion when eating all raw. Your body might be wanting to eat more than it needs because it is finally getting real nutrtion.

Raw foods is a long-term approach to health not based on the normal American "thin or bulked up at all costs" approach. It takes time and patience to allow your body to come back to it's healthy balance. If you change one thing at a time you will be able to tell if your lack of energy is because you are detoxing, because you are reacting badly to something you are eating or if you are not getting something that you are presently getting in your diet that you need or at least need to wean yourself off of - which is my guess that you are going through with protein withdrawal.

I could keep on talking on and on but I will spare you. If you would like to talk more about this please just ask.

Raw foods will eventually make you filled with energy and bring you to your ideal weight whatever that might be. It's just a question of making the transition.

Greenbunny

nothinkingbehind · 10-18-2007

I knew GB would have some great wisdom for you! I agree with everything she said, too.

I know that, for me, changing my mentality about my diet has helped me to look at my overall health differently. The gradual change that GB is talking about is a healthier approach to changing anything in one's diet. For example, years ago when I switched from white flour to wheat flour, I did it gradually. I made bread with mostly white flour, then added wheat flour bit by bit until I was eating whole wheat bread all the time. It's the same with most of our dietary changes. A good nutritionist or dietitian will tell you to change one thing at a time, improving your health on a long-term, permanent basis. You are much more likely to continue a pattern that you start slowly.

Good luck!

Melissa