Raw Food Diet

[cyprant]

So in an effort to loose some weight and get healthier I went out and bought a bunch of different fruits and vegetables (more than I figured I could eat in a week. For the last 4 days that's about all I have eaten. I feel amazing, have lost 6lbs, and am almost out of my new food. I did a search on what I was doing on google, and apparently I am on a raw food diet...aka Vegan... forgive me Bacon...

Anyways, any one on here eat this way consistently?

I think I plan to do about 70% raw food once i get sick of my current 95% raw diet....

Any tips?

 

[findingZzero]

Ahhhhhh, the raccoon diet. Good for you. Make sure you're getting all your nutrients, including complete protein. And stay outta my chimney.

 

[VikingWarlord]

Make sure you're getting a mix of proteins that will contain a complete amino acid profile. All animal proteins contain all 9 essential amino acids. No plant sources do, so the combination of foods will be very important.

Rapid weight loss isn't necessarily going to be fat loss, especially if you're consuming low levels of protein. Changes in body composition are way more important than changes in bodyweight.

Make sure you're getting enough fats. Tree nuts and avocados are going to be your best sources if you're trying to stick with a vegan setup.

Along with the foods above, I also recommend between 6000-8000mg of fish oil per day. Supplementing with a multivitamin (or at least 1000IU vitamin D) and calcium would be beneficial for long term health as well.

I've known a lot of people who've done this sort of diet long term and only a couple were what I'd consider healthy. Unless you do a LOT of research on food composition and nutritional needs and plan things carefully, it's very difficult to maintain good health while doing something like this. Our nutritional requirements really suggest that humans were designed to be omnivores.

 

[cyprant]

Thanks for the responses...

I plan on eating meat, just not the way i used to (cheese burgers, gyros, etc)
We pretty much used to eat 95% frozen or prepared foods... so its not so much about vegetarian, as it is about eating "clean" foods... so im coming from and extremely unhealthy diet.

If i can keep my diet 70% raw fruits and veggies i think that will be pretty balanced...

 

[eldirector]

A co-worker has been doing this for a month or so. Hasn't dropped dead yet! Says he feels better, but just dropping the "crap" out of his diet could account for that (soda, pizza, junk food, etc...). He and his wife are nearly 100% raw veggies, so we'll see how long they can last.

Oh, and he somehow kept beer in his diet.

 

[JetGirl]

During the 11 years or so of being vegan, I went raw for about 6 months of it. I found out it was meh in the summer/fall but miserable in the winter so I stopped.
There are some pretty awesome recipes for raw soups and breads, though. Desserts, too for that matter. Check out some stuff at therawtarian.com, for one. There's a ton of other links out there, but that one seems to compile the best stuff.
Good luck. And raw or not...take your vitamins and make sure they include B complex.

 

[VikingWarlord]

Thanks for the responses...

I plan on eating meat, just not the way i used to (cheese burgers, gyros, etc)
We pretty much used to eat 95% frozen or prepared foods... so its not so much about vegetarian, as it is about eating "clean" foods... so im coming from and extremely unhealthy diet.

If i can keep my diet 70% raw fruits and veggies i think that will be pretty balanced...

When I set up diets for newbies, I give them five simple rules.

1. If it can't be grown or killed, put it the **** down.
2. If it takes more than three steps of processing to get it ready to put in your face, put it the **** down.
3. If it comes in a brightly colored package, put it the **** down.
4. If it has ingredients you can't pronounce, put it the **** down.
5. If you have to think about whether it fits in these rules, put it the **** down.

The people who stick to it do well. The people who don't just complain about still being fat.

 

[cyprant]

VikingWarlord,
Are you a dietitian? What do you do?

JetGirl,
I have heard there are multivitamins that are junk and others that are better (work). Any tips on selecting one? I purchased some a while back called "adam". I found them on amazon but i till have no idea whats good or not... some one told me the grocery store vitamins dont get absorbed or something...

 

[JetGirl]

JetGirl,
I have heard there are multivitamins that are junk and others that are better (work). Any tips on selecting one? I purchased some a while back called "adam". I found them on amazon but i till have no idea whats good or not... some one told me the grocery store vitamins dont get absorbed or something...

Go to your nearest whole foods store or co-op...bulletin boards there are full of contact information for people who do this for a living (or ask the people who work there). I ended up picking what worked for me because regular vitamins gave me stomach aches really bad. Everybody is different.

 

[VikingWarlord]

VikingWarlord,
Are you a dietitian? What do you do?

Nope, I'm not a dietitian or a nutritionist, as I lack the official credentials. Professionally, I work in the medical lab industry.

Nutrition, fitness and human performance are passions that I've spent the better part of the last 7 years cultivating. Because of that, my specialty is more sports nutrition but there really isn't much difference between that and diet for non-athletes.

I started doing this because I got tired of all the mass-media garbage that abounds in this country relating to diet and fitness. I dug around, consulted nutrition textbooks, original academic research, and found guys like Lyle McDonald, John Berardi, Alan Aragon, Martin Berkhan, and several others and started to figure out what was real and what was just hype.

tl;dr: I'm a nerd.

 

[cyprant]

Nope, I'm not a dietitian or a nutritionist, as I lack the official credentials. Professionally, I work in the medical lab industry.

Nutrition, fitness and human performance are passions that I've spent the better part of the last 7 years cultivating. Because of that, my specialty is more sports nutrition but there really isn't much difference between that and diet for non-athletes.

I started doing this because I got tired of all the mass-media garbage that abounds in this country relating to diet and fitness. I dug around, consulted nutrition textbooks, original academic research, and found guys like Lyle McDonald, John Berardi, Alan Aragon, Martin Berkhan, and several others and started to figure out what was real and what was just hype.

tl;dr: I'm a nerd.

Cool man. I may be consulting you via PM in the future if you dont mind. I will definitly need a work out plan for a beginner. I am clueless and when I start doing some thing i usually end over doing it and getting hurt...

 

[Sailor]

There is still time to grow some cold weather hardy greens and veg, and sprouting seeds is super easy and produces a lot of nutrient packed food. I am just now starting with sprouting for the winter, to supplement the store bought veg.

Come October 1st, venison will be the lean protein of choice.

 

[voodoo304]

I have a cousin here in Indy who is a raw food Chef. She puts on a lot of seminars on the north side at Whole Foods and other places.
I've eaten her food and it's delicious. Good for you for taking the stand to make a change and better yourself.
As someone else stated, start planting for a fall harvest! I live in a subdivision on a 1/4 acre and I plant food all around my house and in old 2 liter bottles and old milk jugs to recycle. There's always room for something and it's really rewarding to eat your own food.
Good luck!

 

[VikingWarlord]

Cool man. I may be consulting you via PM in the future if you dont mind. I will definitly need a work out plan for a beginner. I am clueless and when I start doing some thing i usually end over doing it and getting hurt...

Before you try to do anything, figure out specifically what your goals are. If they're not concrete, it's really hard to figure out how to get there.

For example, "getting healthier" or "being fit" can mean a lot of things. Blood chemistry, lipid profile, body composition, VO2Max, and a half a dozen other things contribute to overall health. Defining exactly what that means to you and figuring out your metrics are important.

 

[rambone]

Most of my diet is raw. I am big into fruit/vegetable juicing. As a daily routine I drink two 32 ounce containers of raw juice (no pulp removed) for breakfast & lunch, and eat one healthy meal in the evening. I've lost 35 lbs eating this way.

 

[Clay]

ok, you guys have me intrigued. A friend of mine has been doing this for a while, and raves about the results. I've considered it for a while, and this may be the tipping point. I've lost a bunch of weight, but Ive hit a plateau and I need to step it up a bit and get back on the path to weight loss.

Tell me what you guys are eating, and how much.

thanks,
clay

 

[cyprant]

I eat an apple or banana for breakfast, another piece of fruit 2 hours later. For lunch i have a huge salad with spinach, broccoli, colliflower, carrots, celery, cucumbers, and the slightest amount of dressing. 3 hours later more fruit. Dinner is another huge salad with more fruit. I eat as much as I want to and since last week I have lost 11 lbs. I get hungry quickly after i eat, but its ni problem, because i can eat when ever I want...

 

[rambone]

When I am drinking raw fruit/vegetable juice, I drink until I am full. If you are consuming raw produce you don't really need to count calories or servings... this is not a starvation diet.

For me, that works out to about a quart of juice as a substitute for any given meal. Typically I am drinking juice steadily all day.

 

[Ericpwp]

I eat like this during Lent. It started with a weight loss competition at work. I won (a paid day off). Been doing it every year since. The first few days are the hardest, and I eat way more food during the diet.

 

[Clay]

how are you guys juicing? do you have a dedicated juicing machine?