Hi guys,
I haven't had time to post here much the last year or so.. I've been very busy with work and other life stuff... but I still check in from time to time.
I've been pondering something lately that I hope you all can help me with. As some of you who have been around longer might remember.. I'm always struggling to eat enough to maintain a healthy weight. It's difficult for me to eat even 2000 calories from fruit per day.. I just can't seem to get the volumme down.. even after years of being LFRV... so I've been skinny all the while and just try to deal with it...
In case anyone is wondering I can't go back to cooked vegan foods for more calories because even something as "innocent" as boiled or steamed potatoes or yams really makes me ill..any cooked food brings back my fibromyalgia pain with a vengeance and give me throat and sinus "infections" and makes me grumpy and irritable.
In my attempts to find a solution I've been reading alot about calories and it occurred to me that it seems to take way more low fat raw calories to sustain a certain weight than low fat cooked calories would take.. In a recent poll here of how many calories people eat per day I was very surprised to find out that several women my size (height and weight) eat 3000plus calories per day to maintain their (low by SAD standards) weights while mainstream calorie charts will say that only 1800-2200 calories are need to maintain that weight.
Does anyone have any theories as to why it takes more low fat raw calories to maintain a certain weight than would it would be if the same person was eating low fat cooked calories? It seems counter-intuitive to the notion that raw calories are more efficient and better assimilated by the body. If that is the case, why the heck do we need some much more of them eating raw?
Thanks so much!
Permalink Reply by David Meyer on It has alot to do with the LF in LFRV. I have struggled to stay raw like the rest of you mainly for economic reasons, but I am still doing LFCV. The amount of food I have to eat for lunch just to get 600 calories is incredible. I have this HUGE bowl of salad and rice with a zero fat dressing that I make. Most Americans would see that much fodo and automatically think that it is 1,000 calories or more, but it is only one cup of rice that was cooked and one cup of brown rice is 600 calories, but it is a huge amount of food.
Americans try gastric bypass to lose weight and it almost never works. One contestant on biggest loser had it done and lost zero pounds. The reason why is you can eat the smallest amount of food ever, but if it is high in fat you will still get fat. The body stores fat regardless of the amount of food you eat. On a low fat vegan diet there is less fat to store. We can eat more food to sustain exercise and living without loading up on fat.
Permalink Reply by Alex Wall-Clarke on What i'm wondering Audrey is why do you put so much emphasis on maintaining a certain weight? There are so many factors that affect weight. I think it's better to put emphasis on how you feel, your health and energy levels.
The comment about water retention is a valid one, cooked starches and more likely the salt/flavourings put on them will cause you to retain more water to dilute the toxins, this adds to your weight significantly. The idea of a 'normal weight' includes the water retention that most people have, so when you eat the same number of calories raw your weight will be lower. This has nothing to do with the absorbtion of the calories, or your muscle and fat composition.
To me, the fact that mainstream wisdom says 2000 calories are enough just shows why many people are so dependent on stimulants like coffee, chocolate, sugar etc to even get through the day, and drugs to take away the pain temporarily. We know we can do better than that, simply by getting enough fruit calories and that's the real point here. If you really want to increase your weight healthily then you need to eat more calories and exercise to put on muscle and gain fitness. You can definitely do it when you put your mind to it :)
Permalink Reply by Audrey Walker on Hi Alex,
It's not the number on the scale I'm concerned about.. I'm definitely under weight.. if I looked and felt fit and strong but still had a low weight I wouldn't care at all.. but I definitely have bones poking out where there should be muscle as well as other symptoms of not eating enough...
I just can't seem to make force myself to eat large enough fruit meals. My stomach starts to rebel and I get this very strong sense of "i've already had more than enough" from my body.. I usually have to literally force down the last few bites and I'm practically gagging to to do that.. and thats just to get up to 1800 to 2000 calories per day. I really have no idea how I'll ever be able to fit in another 1000 low fat calories... ughh.. big sigh...
Permalink Reply by cynthia on Permalink Reply by Audrey Walker on I wish you could too! That would be awesome! :-)
It would be easier if I like dates more.. they are almost too sweet for me. I can only eat a few before I feel overloaded... I tried datorade and thought it was disgusting.. I was really bummed. I was hoping it would be the solution to getting more calories in.
Permalink Reply by cynthia on Permalink Reply by Audrey Walker on Hmm, I haven't tried that and I do like celery. Someone else here mentioned blending celery into the datorade. I never thought of that. I will definitely try it!
Thanks so much!
Permalink Reply by Amy Harwood on 
Permalink Reply by Fruity Jules on Hi, Audrey!
I remember you! (AND your before pic. Ha!) And I also remember your issue of being too thin.
So it seems to me that maybe your real question here is "How can I gain some weight?"
And I think the solution is to become more active/athletic so you develop some good natural muscle tone. This will also help your appetite so that you WANT to eat more, and therefore obtain more nutrients.
Think of pictures you have seen of Indian yogis or sadhus, who are sitting in lotus position, looking very thin. Some of them even claim to be breatharians. Most likely, they are doing almost no physical activity, devoting themselves to sitting meditation and therefore they have a low fuel need and so don't eat much.
Maybe this is kinda what you are doing! ; )
To me, it seems like the solution is pretty simple: become more active (!) and eat more dense fruits like bananas, dates, and mamey.
With love and friendship,
Julie ♥
Permalink Reply by Audrey Walker on Hi Julie,
Thanks so much! Exercise seems to be part of the answer in addition to getting more protein somehow. I was worried about exercising when I know I'm not eating enough to even maintain a sedentary lifestyle, but if it increases my capacity to eat larger fruit meals I guess I wouldn't have a deficit for too long. I'm willing to try it.
Thanks!
Permalink Reply by Monica Ralli on 
Permalink Reply by Ashley Christensen <3 on 
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