Newbie with questions re: weight loss, depression&anxiety and cravings

[Guest guest]

Hi!

I have been a vegetarian for the past 17yrs. I have tried to go vegan a few

times, but find completely eliminating dairy hard. I am intetrested in trying to

go raw. I have a couple of questions for you all;

*Has anybody found a raw diet to have helped with recurring major depression?

How about anxiety?

*Has anybody found that they were able to lose a very large amount of weight

(50+)on a raw food diet?

I have alot of weight to lose and am looking for an alternative to weight loss

surgery - I'd much rather do it through lifestyle changes. I crave refined

carbs like bread, pasta and am a sugar junkie.

*After a time eating raw - do those cravings subside?

Thanks in advance,

Feather

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Check out the pictures on my website. You'll see that people have lost

MAJOR weight on a raw diet.

 

http://www.rawfoodwiki.org/index.php/Photographs

 

there are also some stories there of people who've cured all sorts of

emotional issues, as well....

 

 

As for dairy, you can create raw substitutes for almost every texture...

 

Do you have a community of people to share raw food with? I'm convinced

that makes all the difference!

 

Margie

 

On Tue, 6 Jan 2004, Heather wrote:

 

> Hi! I have been a vegetarian for the past 17yrs. I have tried to go

> vegan a few times, but find completely eliminating dairy hard. I am

> intetrested in trying to go raw. I have a couple of questions for you

> all; *Has anybody found a raw diet to have helped with recurring major

> depression? How about anxiety? *Has anybody found that they were able to

> lose a very large amount of weight (50+)on a raw food diet? I have alot

> of weight to lose and am looking for an alternative to weight loss

> surgery - I'd much rather do it through lifestyle changes. I crave

> refined carbs like bread, pasta and am a sugar junkie. *After a time

> eating raw - do those cravings subside?

> Thanks in advance,

> Feather

>

>

>

>

> Post your free ad now! Canada Personals

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi! Just starting out myself, too..but I think the

answers are all yes...have you gone to

rawfoodsupport.com? they have info packed forums

there...

--- Heather <featherheatherlee wrote:

> Hi!

> I have been a vegetarian for the past 17yrs. I have

> tried to go vegan a few times, but find completely

> eliminating dairy hard. I am intetrested in trying

> to go raw. I have a couple of questions for you all;

> *Has anybody found a raw diet to have helped with

> recurring major depression? How about anxiety?

> *Has anybody found that they were able to lose a

> very large amount of weight (50+)on a raw food diet?

> I have alot of weight to lose and am looking for an

> alternative to weight loss surgery - I'd much rather

> do it through lifestyle changes. I crave refined

> carbs like bread, pasta and am a sugar junkie.

> *After a time eating raw - do those cravings

> subside?

> Thanks in advance,

> Feather

>

>

>

>

> Post your free ad now! Canada Personals

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

>

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

hi feather, i'm totally new to raw and this list! however, regarding

your depression and anxiety, i thought i would share some of what i

found out. . . . have you gotten your thyroid checked? i've gone

thru a couple of years with the symptoms you described and many others.

finally after doing a ton of research i found out (of course lots of

blood work too) that my body was not converting T4 to T3 (T3 is the

hormone that keeps the metabolism going) - this may also have something

to do with your weight?

 

i just started raw (4 days back) and we (i convinced my husband to join

me) are doing it as an " experiment " because nothing is working for me so

i thought i would give it a go. i've been working out everyday except

one day over the weekend i'm off, even after getting on a thyroid

medication, i still didn't lose any weight - thou i'm not gaining

anymore, that is good news. and my other symptoms are gone -

depression, anxiety attack, etc. after starting on thyroid medication

(which i hope to eventually stop when eating raw). my holistic doctor

is pretty sure i need a really good cleansing of my liver, etc. for all

the organs to work again, so therefore we are doing raw.

 

i hope to learn a ton from the list ) and of course all the books i

have.

 

-birte

 

 

Hi!

I have been a vegetarian for the past 17yrs. I have tried to go vegan a

few times, but find completely eliminating dairy hard. I am intetrested

in trying to go raw. I have a couple of questions for you all;

*Has anybody found a raw diet to have helped with recurring major

depression? How about anxiety?

*Has anybody found that they were able to lose a very large amount of

weight (50+)on a raw food diet?

I have alot of weight to lose and am looking for an alternative to

weight loss surgery - I'd much rather do it through lifestyle changes. I

crave refined carbs like bread, pasta and am a sugar junkie.

*After a time eating raw - do those cravings subside?

Thanks in advance,

Feather

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I've phased over into total raw and I can tell you that the anxiety and

depression decreases quite a bit over time on this raw lifestyle change.

I've never had any attention on weight and never had a problem, but I do

find that I'm dropping a little each month. Don't focus on the weight. Focus

on the raw lifestyle. The cravings do subside in time but you'll need a

support group to help you just like an AA group.

 

Jesse

 

 

-

" Heather " <featherheatherlee

" rawfood " <rawfood >

Tuesday, January 06, 2004 9:04 PM

[Raw Food] Newbie with questions re: weight loss,

depression & anxiety and cravings

 

 

> Hi!

> I have been a vegetarian for the past 17yrs. I have tried to go vegan a

few times, but find completely eliminating dairy hard. I am intetrested in

trying to go raw. I have a couple of questions for you all;

> *Has anybody found a raw diet to have helped with recurring major

depression? How about anxiety?

> *Has anybody found that they were able to lose a very large amount of

weight (50+)on a raw food diet?

> I have alot of weight to lose and am looking for an alternative to weight

loss surgery - I'd much rather do it through lifestyle changes. I crave

refined carbs like bread, pasta and am a sugar junkie.

> *After a time eating raw - do those cravings subside?

> Thanks in advance,

> Feather

[Guest guest]

Hi heather, if you want to try to go vegan, two books I really found helped me

(they aren't raw books but they are good vegan books) are " Vegan Vittles " and

" The Uncheese Cookbook " , both by Joanne Stepaniak. Late last year, Stepaniak

also came out with an updated 10th anniversary edition of Uncheese. It has

really good recipes for making fake cheeses that actually taste good and melt to

an extent! There are also good fondue recipes, soups, breakfast ideas, entrees,

and a killer recipe for baked macaroni & cheeze. and it's a hell of a lot lower

in fat and no cholesterol, than the dreaded : " CHEESE " . :-)

 

as for going raw, part of my new year's resolution besides recommitting myself

to my vegan diet was to go raw: 50% to start, i don't think i could do 100% on

a permanent basis. But one thing I'm doing is with each meal I have, I add a

raw element or two. With breakfast I'll make fresh juice in my juicer to go

with breakfast and have some fresh fruit wiht it. with lunch and supper it

could be a raw entree, or a salad, or fresh veggies wiht a special sauce or

dressing.

 

As far as sacues & dressings go, I really like Joanne Stepaniak's " The Saucy

vegetarian " , a no-cook sauce recipe book. some of the recipes in there use tofu

or other cooked item as a base but a lot of the recipes in there coudl be

considered raw like the vineagrettes or some recipes that use tahini as a base.

 

Megan

 

 

[Guest guest]

Feather,

 

It is probably the wheat that is giving you the depression. It is a big

shift moving over to raw fruit and vegetable from where you are. You need

to start with fasting and shift over to eating a lot of greenery. This will

take away a lot of the craving.

 

Peter

 

 

Heather [featherheatherlee]

07 January 2004 03:04

rawfood

[Raw Food] Newbie with questions re: weight loss,

depression & anxiety and cravings

 

 

 

Hi!

I have been a vegetarian for the past 17yrs. I have tried to go vegan a few

times, but find completely eliminating dairy hard. I am intetrested in

trying to go raw. I have a couple of questions for you all; *Has anybody

found a raw diet to have helped with recurring major depression? How about

anxiety? *Has anybody found that they were able to lose a very large amount

of weight (50+)on a raw food diet? I have alot of weight to lose and am

looking for an alternative to weight loss surgery - I'd much rather do it

through lifestyle changes. I crave refined carbs like bread, pasta and am a

sugar junkie. *After a time eating raw - do those cravings subside?

Thanks in advance,

Feather

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Hi there,

I went raw 100% about 2 1/2 years ago, and I was a very anxious carb addict. I

find that I still get junk cravings unless I'm 100% raw. Not because of some

perverse perfectionism, but that's just how it is with my body - if my diet is

not 100% raw over a period of time, then I still get the donut, bagel,

spaghetti, whatever cravings.

I also am much less anxious. I fall asleep easily, sleep the night, and wake up

refreshed.

Fruits, greens, lots of water, and exercise. Victoria Boutenko has a good book

(12-step) for raw people - you would like it.

Good luck,

Kathy

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Perhaps you could commit to sticking to raw dairy only - you can buy cheeses

anywhere and find milk if you look hard enough. Once you stop producing as

much mucus and you're benefitting from digesting it more easily, it will be

easier to give it up altogether and use nut/seed milks and cheeses.

 

Or you could go with the nuts and seeds immediately, but have raw dairy say

once or twice a week for now. I think it is important not to feel denied -

if you do, the chances of falling off the wagon in style are much higher and

mental poise is vital for a healthy body.

 

If you are overweight, weight loss is inevitable on a healthy raw diet.

 

For depression, look up Gabriel Cousens - he has written a book on the

subject (depression free for life I think) and is probably the best

authority on the subject. Essential fatty acids feature a lot, especially

DHA. He recommends E3Live.

 

Sara xx

 

 

 

> I have been a vegetarian for the past 17yrs. I have tried to go

> vegan a few times, but find completely eliminating dairy hard. I

> am intetrested in trying to go raw.

[Guest guest]

*Has anybody

> found a raw diet to have helped with recurring major depression?

 

I've suffered from major depression for just over 2 years. I am on

anti-depressants, and when I started tapering off of them, my

depression returned. There are many people who have found that the

raw diet has lifted their depression completely, but I find that it's

a great " supplement " to medication. I'm on half the dose I was on

before I went raw.

 

Dr. Gabriel Cousens wrote a book called Depression Free for Life.

He's an ivy league trained psychiatrist who also happens to be raw.

The book goes into natural cures - I've followed his protocol and

have had great results. I highly recomend reading it before or while

you're transitioning to a 100% raw diet.

 

Bridgitte

[Guest guest]

Yes, I've had my thyroid checked many times and its normal. I even had special

hormone tests and brain scans because I had a pituitary microadenoma (miniscule

benign tumour of gland) that eventually dissapeared all by itself (yay-no more

MRI's! although it did sensitise me to bat radar). I'm glad that you caught it

for yourself - hopefully it will help having that straightened out. Thanks to

everyone for their kind responses and support - I'm gonna need it!

Feather

 

" Birte M. Haakansson " <birte1 wrote:

hi feather, i'm totally new to raw and this list! however, regarding

your depression and anxiety, i thought i would share some of what i

found out. . . . have you gotten your thyroid checked? i've gone

thru a couple of years with the symptoms you described and many others.

finally after doing a ton of research i found out (of course lots of

blood work too) that my body was not converting T4 to T3 (T3 is the

hormone that keeps the metabolism going) - this may also have something

to do with your weight?

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Heather,

 

If you are willing, I would be interested in hearing your expereince

of how your diet has effected your pituitary condition. A pituitary

microadenoma is a diagnostic possibility for me and what I'm going

through.

 

Nina

 

rawfood , Heather <featherheatherlee>

wrote:

> Yes, I've had my thyroid checked many times and its normal. I even

had special hormone tests and brain scans because I had a pituitary

microadenoma (miniscule benign tumour of gland) that eventually

dissapeared all by itself (yay-no more MRI's! although it did

sensitise me to bat radar). I'm glad that you caught it for

yourself - hopefully it will help having that straightened out.

Thanks to everyone for their kind responses and support - I'm gonna

need it!

> Feather

>

> " Birte M. Haakansson " <birte1@c...> wrote:

> hi feather, i'm totally new to raw and this list! however,

regarding

> your depression and anxiety, i thought i would share some of what i

> found out. . . . have you gotten your thyroid checked? i've

gone

> thru a couple of years with the symptoms you described and many

others.

> finally after doing a ton of research i found out (of course lots

of

> blood work too) that my body was not converting T4 to T3 (T3 is the

> hormone that keeps the metabolism going) - this may also have

something

> to do with your weight?

>

>

>

> Post your free ad now! Canada Personals

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Sorry, I meant Feather and my spell check got the best of me...

 

N.

 

rawfood , " Nina Dunham " <ndunham@r...> wrote:

> Dear Heather,

>

> If you are willing, I would be interested in hearing your

expereince

> of how your diet has effected your pituitary condition. A

pituitary

> microadenoma is a diagnostic possibility for me and what I'm going

> through.

>

> Nina

>

> rawfood , Heather <featherheatherlee>

> wrote:

> > Yes, I've had my thyroid checked many times and its normal. I

even

> had special hormone tests and brain scans because I had a

pituitary

> microadenoma (miniscule benign tumour of gland) that eventually

> dissapeared all by itself (yay-no more MRI's! although it did

> sensitise me to bat radar). I'm glad that you caught it for

> yourself - hopefully it will help having that straightened out.

> Thanks to everyone for their kind responses and support - I'm

gonna

> need it!

> > Feather

> >

> > " Birte M. Haakansson " <birte1@c...> wrote:

> > hi feather, i'm totally new to raw and this list! however,

> regarding

> > your depression and anxiety, i thought i would share some of

what i

> > found out. . . . have you gotten your thyroid checked? i've

> gone

> > thru a couple of years with the symptoms you described and many

> others.

> > finally after doing a ton of research i found out (of course

lots

> of

> > blood work too) that my body was not converting T4 to T3 (T3 is

the

> > hormone that keeps the metabolism going) - this may also have

> something

> > to do with your weight?

> >

> >

> >

> > Post your free ad now! Canada Personals

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Heather, Greetings ~

 

I am a raw fooder of 3-1/2 years. Your email prompted me to copy

part of a post that I wrote for another group re being raw, weight

loss, and depression. (I belong to several groups and don't want to

bore those people who have heard my story umpteen times in the past

years.) What is not included in the part pasted below, is that when

I'm raw, I'm 100% raw. Perhaps my experience will be of some

interest.

 

---snip---

 

During the first several months of being raw, I lost 85 pounds. On

one of my cooked binges I gained back 10 and since then I've lost

that same 10 pounds many, many times. I reached a sort of " plateau "

where it didn't matter how little or what I ate (raw), I just didn't

lose weight. I've consulted with several of the raw masters and have

stumped them. I believe that my poor body just doesn't know which

way to go with the way I go back and forth between good food and bad.

 

(For me, I use the word " bad " to described cooked food. That comes

as a result of the effects that cooked food has on my body and mind.

That may not be true for you, so I apologize.)

 

The most important change that has come from being raw is increased

mental health. I had been diagnosed as being bi-polar (manic

depressive) and have spent much time hospitalized and have taken

every antidepressant available up until 1999, including lithium.

Since being raw, I take no medication -- not even aspirin -- and

most people I am around say that I am one of the most even-tempered

people they know. Amazing! After a few days back on cooked, the

depression raises its ugly head. Then I get into the cycle: I eat

cooked food so I'm depressed; I'm depressed so I eat cooked food.

 

---snip---

 

Wishing you the best on your trip to rawdom!

 

Annette

 

 

rawfood , Heather <featherheatherlee>

wrote:

 

> *Has anybody found a raw diet to have helped with recurring major

depression? How about anxiety?

> *Has anybody found that they were able to lose a very large amount

of weight (50+)on a raw food diet?