Did it today

January 12, 2002

went 80% Raw...Huge triumph for a Vegan who loves cooked food....but all the

information Ive been getting lately has really made me move toward Raw...wish me

luck Christie

January 14, 2002

Christie, Good luck on going 80% raw. I've

been striving for 90% for the last 2 weeks. One

challenge is that because raw foods are water-rich - some

being in excess of 90% water - that you have to consume

proportionally more raw than you'd think relative to

calorie-dense cooked foods. I can eat totally raw for

morning through evening, but if I have a cooked food

dinner, I think the ratio drops to about 50% instead of

the 67% you'd generally expect. So even if you have

some cooked foods, try to include some raw in the meal

to keep the percentage high. It helps if your

family has the same goals. Mine doesn't, which means I

get about zero support at best, or negative support

at worst. The challenge comes when you have to feed

your kids and you don't intend for them to be 100%

raw. It's frustrating to go to restaurants where 99%

of the food is cooked (even more frustrating where

you used to enjoy some of the menu items), and the

only thing you can get raw is a salad, after you

probably made a meal out of raw salad at lunch. I

just keep going back to a Whole Foods Market and

loading up on lots of fresh fruits and veggies. If you

have an abundance, you don't want it to spoil, so that

also gives you a financial incentive to consume lots

of raw and keep that raw percentage high. I'm

getting to where I'm more satisfied eating raw meals, but

I still get occasional cravings for cooked or for

salty foods. I now accept that it's not simply rhetoric

when raw foodists claim that cooked food is

" addictive " . It really is in some respects until you can begin

to weaken that addiction by eating more raw

food. I'm eating much more raw than I was a few weeks ago,

though I'd guess I'm about 80% versus the 90% I set out

to be. A possible side-benefit (though not my

" objective " ) is you absolutely do lose weight without even

trying. At least, that's my experience and I'm puzzled by

the occasional post from people who don't experience

some weight loss. Mallon

January 15, 2002

I am new to raw foods. I am having trouble losing weight. Are you eating Nuts?

I think I may be eating too many. I cannot seem to get full or satified without

them. Any Suggestions ?

January 15, 2002

A question for you peacebyrd. Are you

eating 100% raw foods, or at least very close to that

level? If you are you probably should start losing

weight even if you are eating raw fats. But try to keep

it below 30% of your calories. You could even do

with only 10% fat calories in your diet. Remember that

fat has 9 calories per gram and carbs have only 4

calories per gram. So very little fat goes a long way.

Then if you want to get full and not eat a lot of nuts

you have to eat lots of fruit. I can have 6 to 10

bananas per meal. Bananas are good because they are high

calorie and low fat. People new to raw foods

don't realize how much more fruit they need to eat in

order to sustain themselves. Cooked food is mostly

dehydrated and so it has many calories in a small amount of

weight. With raw fruits you have include lots of water

with your calories and therefore stretch your stomach

to feel satisfied. Don't worry about

hypoglycemia either. We were designed to eat fruits. It's

combining fruits with fats that tends to cause blood sugar

problems. But make your own experiments to see what truly

works for you. I used to think I was

hypoglycemic, my problem was not eating enough fruit. As soon

as I increased my banana consumption I was fine and

was full for quite a while after the meal.

Good Luck, Roger Haeske Get a Free 6 Step

Technique to Transition to a Raw Diet, go to

<a href=http://superbeing.com/awesometechnique.htm

target=new>http://superbeing.com/awesometechnique.htm</a>

January 15, 2002

I do include nuts...but not TOO many---Fat is fat

anyway I look at it. I know Raw food is cleansing

and detoxifying---so I know a headache is

normal---but Ive had a ferocious one for 2 days and it only

eases off when I eat my cooked dinner. Im wondering if

Im eating enough calories during the day???

January 15, 2002

Peacebyrd, I am including raw nuts and

seeds in my diet, as well as avacadoes (average 2 day)

for the fat and to feel " satisfied " . But I always

avoid eating nuts/seeds at the same time I eat fruits.

I did a lot of reading on food combining principles

a few years back, and generally buy-in to the

argument that it's best not to combine high protein or

high fat foods with high carb foods. Usually, if I've

eaten fruits first, I wait about an hour before eating

nuts. If I eat nuts first, I try and wait at least 2

hours before consuming fruits (nuts take longer to

digest than fruits). What makes people become fat

is an interesting subject to me. I've never had a

serious problem with being overweight, but back in the

days when I followed the typical American SAD I bought

into the theory that fat makes you fat and like most

well-meaning consumers I looked for low fat items and the like

but my weight still crept upward. I was even

exercising regularly at that time. I heard about the

Atkins diet and thought it absolutely ludicrous that one

could eat high fat and actually lose weight. To prove

or disprove it to myself, I tried that diet for 2

weeks and actually lost about 10 pounds. After the 2

weeks, I began replacing carbs in the form of good

vegetables (rather than breads, sugars, and starchy stuff)

and I still lost a little more weight. I later

educated myself better about good nutrition and

significantly reduced meat consumption. When I read up on food

combining principles, I followed them in earnest for a

while and got the surprise result that my weight

dropped. Thus having seen that one can lose weight either on a

high fat diet (which essentially follows food

combining principles because you're eating almost zero

carbs), or by carefully following food combining

principles, I came to the conclusion that following food

combining principles tends to result in weight

loss. Nowadays I eat meat only on rare occasions. I make a point

to consume a fair amount of good quality fats -

almonds, and other raw seeds or nuts, and avacadoes -

because you do need fat in your diet for optimum health.

I haven't tried to calculate the percentage, but

I'd guess that based on calories I probably get about

30 or 40 percent from fats and the rest from non-fat

fruits/veggies. So, if you're not already following food combining

principles, you may want to try doing so for 2 to 4 weeks and

gauge the results. If you're not familiar with this

subject, simply either eat only one food item at a single

meal, or eat multiple foods of the same type at one

meal. But don't combine high-carb foods with

high-protein or high-fat foods at the same meal. Some books go

into more detail on this subject, but simply avoiding

mixing foods as I've mentioned here is probably 80 to 90

percent of it. Good luck, Mallon

January 15, 2002

Personally I believe that fat is not fat. It

makes a big difference whether or not it is devoid of

enzymes and cooked or whether it is natural, vegetarian

and raw. Raw vegetarian fats will not make you nearly

as fat as say Doritos or French Fries.

Avocados for instance will have all the necessary enzymes

in them to digest the fat. So fat is still somewhat

fattening but not even close compared to cooked fat. I'd

say raw fats are only about 25% as fattening as

cooked fats. (Just an estimate from personal

experience.) I've been eating a lot more raw fat

during the winter months and I haven't gained more than

an extra pound. I'm still 14 pounds below my normal

cooked food weight and I ate very little fat back then

anyway. Even when I was eating cooked foods I was

thin at 6' 3 " and 175 lbs. Now I'm 161 lbs and eating

as much as I want. In fact I probably eat too much

at times. The only thing I have lost is my fat. I

haven't lost any muscle. If I workout I get more muscle.

As far as the headaches. Whenever you eat a cooked

meal your detoxification will stop. Therefore you have

no more headache. It's not that the cooked food is

so good for you, in fact it is so bad that it is

overloading your bodies ability to heal and cleanse itself

and so the detoxification stops. Or it could

be that you are eating something in your diet that

just isn't right for you. Maybe it isn't organic. I

know I was having problems with eating grapes for a

while. For me it was that my body was out of balance. It

seems I needed more fat. Once I increased my fat

consumption during these winter months I got back to normal.

Going on raw foods is an adventure because all of the

standard knowledge is no good. Boards like these are

really helpful for people trying to make it. I should

have joined something like this a long time ago.

Roger Haeske Get a Free 6 Step Technique to

Transition to a Raw Diet, go to

<a href=http://superbeing.com/awesometechnique.htm

target=new>http://superbeing.com/awesometechnique.htm</a>

January 15, 2002

Mallon, Your message a great

read. The Atkins diet is a huge hint that sugar and fat are

a disaster mix. They certainly should not be mixed

in the stomach and and I suspect that mixing in the

blood is not good news for plaque in the arteries. The

only scientific basis for saying that the more they

are separated the better is my own empirical

experience. I tend to eat my last meal early evening with

fats and in the morning I start with fruit. THe fruit

gets to the blood quickly. I take exercise in the

morning and work with my brain. I tend to rise very

early. By lunch time I hit into the greenery and firm up

on the fats in the evening as per Wolfe

counsel. To your corresspondant I say each meal with the same

ingredients is different at the start and there are many

phases to work through. A few months ago I could not

believe that it would be possible for me to thrive on a

no meat no fish no cheeze diet. Now I I thrive on

it. Peter Gardiner

January 21, 2002

Mallon; I finaly got my copy of " Sunfood Diet

Success System " By David Wolf. He says what I have always

believed, that Avocados are a great transition food (cooked

to raw), he says " Most raw foodists I have met have

eaten 2-5 avocados nearly every day since they started

on a program of natural nutrition. Most seem to

never get tired of them! I know raw-foodists who have

been eating 2-5 avocados nearly every day for 5, 10,

aven 20 years. Fatty raw plant foods are like that,

you only need one or two and they seem to be totally

satisfying. A good healthy body loves them. They are soft on

the body, especially when eaten with green leaves. "

I eat as many as 5 avocados a day. They do NOT make

you fat. Raw fats are not fattening. cooked food is

not as nutritious as raw so you have to eat much

more. We have expanded our stomachs from a lifetime,

and generations of eating cooked, this is why it is

hard to feel satisfied eating raw watery foods. This

is where avocados can help. Eat all you want. If we

truly are what we eat, then I am a big green

ball. Doug

January 21, 2002

lol, Kauguy! I love your saying " If we truly

are what we eat, then I am a big green

ball. " I too love avocados. My boyfriend thinks im an

avocado addict. While i dont eat more than 2 a day, I

find they are very satisfying. I am not 100% raw but I

find if I eat avocados I eat less cooked food then

when i dont eat them. I am trying to get back to

eating 80% raw( slipped quite a bit over holidays)Most

of my " cooked " food is salad dressings and some soy

products that I dont want to part with. I love all the

posts here and that one site that someone mentioned is

wonderful! I have been reading quite a bit of it as of

late. Keep on eating those great avocados! Have a fruitfull

day!

January 21, 2002

Doug, I agree totally with you drawing the

distinction between raw fats and cooked fats. Cooked fats are

the only ones that screw up your blood levels of fat

(lipids). I believe in the same book you reference that one

of the people that Wolfe referred to who had eaten

so many avacadoes for so long had his blood tested

to prove this point and his triglycerides and

cholesterol, etc., were perfectly normal. The body

needs a given level of fat (I've read at least 20 to 25

grams per day) to operate and metabolize properly. For

the average cooked foodist, the body has to work with

fat supplied by denatured cooking oils or cooked

meat. Most cooking oils are molecularly changed as

they're subjected to extremely high heat in the

extraction process and to extend the shelf life. A number of

people who've researched the subject feel that many of

the oils sold and used today are not fit for human

consumption. I cringe when I occsionally hear someone say they

don't eat avacadoes because they have too much fat!

This means their bodies have to work with the highly

processed and cooked fats they invariably do eat. What a

pity, this distinction isn't better

understood. For reference, some of the " good " oils are the

cold-pressed ones. Olive oil comes to mind first, but you

can't cook at high temperature with it (not an issue if

you're raw). For those that cook occasionally, peanut

oil is good at higher termperatures, and if you look

hard enough you can find unrefined (cold or expeller

pressed, I believe) oil. A good way to tell is if the

bottle has an expiry date on it. Unrefined oil typically

has a date of not more than one to two years. Refined

oils don't have expiration date because they've been

processed to have an extremely long shelf

life. Mallon

January 21, 2002

After more reading and research, Im agreeing with

the fact that raw vegetable fats are processed

differently by the body. Answer this question for

me: How do you all afford to eat multiple Avacados a day?

(We are normal middle class people who budget and

save) I shop in my local health food store, its

a chain so the prices are better than a small

locally owned health food store. I buy organic produce

all the time now...but only end up with what looks

good and what is in the budget. I DO refuse to pay

$4.99 a pound for broccoli. Ive read books on

Raw eating and they say its cheaper than cooked...Im

not seeing that at all...Does anyone out there feel

this way? Between the Raw Almonds at $9 a pound and

the organic Avacados at $2-4 each (when they are even

there) How do you guys figure that its cheaper? Besides

the amount of produce you need to buy is

greater....for my husband and I anyway. I totally support

eating raw foods...I guess Im just going through some

Social Sticker shock here---anyone else ever feel this

way? What do you typically spend on groceries? How often

do you buy groceries? Thanks a

bunch!!! Christie Charleston, SC

January 22, 2002

Jaminielove: I too love dressings on my

salads, I make a simple dressing out of avocados. I have

a small container for my blender, into that I put a

few tablespoons of avocado, some soy sauce to taste,

and the juice of 1 lemon. Thats the basic dressing,

then just get creative. Sometimes I put in curry

powder, or mustard, garlic, maybe throw in a tomato,

whatever sounds good at the moment. Its great. Doug

January 22, 2002

Christie, I'd suggest you keep visiting

different grocery stores to see who has the best prices.

Prices here in Dallas vary a lot by store. I've found

one large chain " Super One " that has pretty good

quality, and dirt cheap prices. I buy most of my

fruits and veggies at a local Whole Foods Market. The

quality is fantastic, but I have to be flexible in what I

eat based on prices. That is, I may pay upwards of

50% to 100% more for some organic items (expecially

if quality excellent), but I have to avoid

outrageously priced items. I basically look for what is

organic AND on sale. Been eating a LOT of apples lately

(99cent/lb organic). Sometimes I eat non-organic, but I

never juice with non-organic. Avacadoes here are

priced typically at $1 to $1.70 each. I've never paid

over $2.00. Almonds can be expensive at some stores,

but I've found one place selling them about $4 to $5

per pound. Try also ethnic stores - Indian, SE Asian

stores etc. The Indian stores here carry almonds, and

all the stores tend to carry unique fruits, generally

at good prices. Mangoes can be fantastic when in

season, versus typical chain grocery store mangoes here

that are never any good. I'm not sure I agree

eating all raw is cheaper in the short run, but it can

be done if you make an effort to shop around. Also

by making some minor changes in your spending, most

people can cover the added costs. But I'm sure in some

areas, this is easier than others, due to local market

conditions, geographic location, etc. Mallon

Did it today

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