Hows the gas???????

I actually have less gas!

In fairness, I must admit that I'm getting the impression that it is possible that the main benefits for me of this diet is that it is sort of an elmination diet. You know the kind that you do when you're trying to figure out what foods you might be allergic to?

That I must have been allergic or sensitive to some foods causing me to have gas and a huge appetite, never being full. I wonder if soy might have been one of the foods that I should avoid since I'm not eating any soy now and I ate a fair amount before I started this diet.

Anyway, the level of gas has definitely been reduced along with my appetite. I actually feel full when I finish eating now. Amazing feeling!

I had a short reocurrance of a yeast infection after I had dinner out last night at a local salad bar. I used their bottled Cesar salad dressing. Not sure of all the ingredients. I have read where soy is used a lot as a filler in a lot of highly processed foods. Wonder if that was the reason for my re-occurance of the yeast?

Also, I ate very late last night, after 9pm and I gained 1/4 of pound per the scale this morning. I am learning these things that others have learned already but I know for sure now that I can't eat after 6pm (except for plain unadulterated raw carrots and celery sticks.)

Still lots and lots of hope. Can you tell I'm excited!

OK I have questions. Please don't be offended but if eating is pretty much unimportant to you except for fuel and health how did a vegetarian manage to become overweight by 97 lbs.? And how do you propose to maintain the weight loss when you achieve the weight loss? Hat's off to you if you can enjoy eating like a rabbit for the rest of your life but I could never and wouldn't want to.

I once thought weight loss was impossible also but now I am steadily losing around a safe pound per week and eating anything I want. It is calories in,calories out. That simple. There are no magic foods, there are no bad foods.

It's a dirty little secret that lots of vegetarians are overweight. Problem is that it takes work to be a good vegetarian so for those of us too lazy, we eat too much cheese and too much sugar in the form of pasta and high carbs rather than complex carbs. Both DH and I had high-stress jobs and didn't take the time needed to eat healthy plus gave into our cravings too easily because we were maxed out.

Yes you are right about eating like a rabbit. Definitely not for everyone.

A little history: I was a cigarette smoker 30 years ago of gargantuan proportions. Horrible horrible addiction for me. Nearly three packs a day. I tried for years to quit and finally succeeded. Felt tremendous power when I did. It made me think that if I could only give up food, I would have the same relief.

But we can't give up food so with my bottomless pit appetite, let loose in the world of cooked food, it was always a struggle. I hit menopause and the fat person in me that was always hiding inside finally let loose. I'm not saying it was hormonal, perhaps a result of some depression side-effect of monopause, in any event, it has been miserable.

Also, I developed some health problems (possibly a result of food allergies) at this time which prevented me from being able to exercise. I had always been a very very active person, membership in a gym, jogging, weight-lifing, etc. (I had to to keep the weight down because of my bottomless appetite). All exercise came to a stop. So the results were tremendous weight gain.

Now that I have found the raw food diet, it seems (so far) that it will satisfy so many problems for me:
(1) first and foremost, bottomless appetite is gone
(2) Having known what addiction can be in the form of cigarettes, going on the raw food is a form of basically giving up food as I have known it all my life. Sometimes we have to remove that which we are addicted to. I definitely know for sure that this is not for everybody, I'm just one of those with physical and emotional problems that cause me to be highly susceptible to "living to eat" rather than "eating to live".
(3) Removes allergens from my diet (I think). Evidence is not yet complete..
(4) Does reduce the amount of time I have to spend in the kitchen by a LOT. (especially since DH is also on the same food plan and we have no kids.)
(5) cheaper

Problems that it adds is the social stigma but we already had encountered that when we went vegetarian so not such a big deal, not yet anyway. We'll see if we ever go on a vacation. (With my health, it hasn't happened anytime in recent history.)

Lucky you if you don't need to take such drastic measures. Though I am vegetarian for ethical reasons, I am now a raw foodist only for health reasons. Just posting for those who might be able to relate to some of my history.

Oh yes I can relate. I gave up a 3 pack a day habit 30 years ago also. Tried so many times and finally was able to do it the day I gave birth to my DD. The preganancy was the beginning of my weight problems. I went from 92 lbs to 150 and upon quitting smoking gained weight after the birth.

I was unable to lose any as a nursing mother (the nurse and it drops off didn't work for me) and had a second child two years later boosting my weight even further. Nursed baby #2 into his 3rd year and finally lost some weight after. Then I started yo-yoing.

Finally discovered WW in my thirties and lost all the excess weight and became a lifetime member. Our parents were aging and I was thrust in one caregiving role after another five years later. Some of the weight would come back and I would take it off and then a couple of years later the same but never more than twenty pounds.

Then along came menopause and my metabolism came to an uttr halt and up went the weight seemingly overnight. For two years NOTHING I did would make that scale budge. A couple of years ago things leveled off and I got down to a comfortable weight once again. DH was injured, back to a caregiving role and now her I go again.

Apparently it's a good thing I'm not a nurse or I'd probably weigh 300 lbs.LOL

Ironically I felt so fat at 145 at the age of 25 and would be happy just to stay below that number today.

It seems you have reason to believe that some food allergies could be some of your problems. I would like to share a sure fire way to find out what foods you are sensitive to. I tried this under dr. control so I know it works. Before you get up in the morning and moving very slowly so as to not use much energy take your resting pulse, write it down. Get a journal to keep this info in and for a month do this every day. You will soon know what your average resting pulse is. Now, in addition to that write down every bite of food that goes into your mouth (this gets to be a pain and you will forget at times, just give it your best shot.) 1/2 hour after eating take your pulse, do this for every meal and in a month you will notice which foods cause a spike in your pulse. Elimate the most glaring food with spikes and try another month, you will soon find out the foods your body is sensitive to. This really works its just takes some time. I found an extreme allergy to wheat, cut all wheat out and my joints were alsmost good as new. I truly believe I would have been in a wheelchair by now had I not found this allergy. It was also an addition for me that I still fight even tho I'm miserable when I give in to it. Hope this helps some and good luck on the raw food.

HI. I am eating raw foods also but not just carrots. I am doing it to get healthy and to clear up my psoriasis. I was also doing a month long colon cleanse. I lost weight, had lots of energy and it does taste good. I also eat lots of fresh fruit especially watermelon and cantaloupe. I was doing so great but now I am back to my old self and believe it was the colon cleanse that I need to get back on. It was one that takes time but does not hurt your body but gives your body a chance to heal. Anyway I just wanted to let u know that not only does the raw foods help u lose weight but it also cleans up the liver and other organs that need it. Keep it up and u will feel so much better. Dark greens r especially great for you. Romaine lettuce to be exact.

Moite..thanks for that information. I was thinking of having blood work done for my allergy food test and they r so expensive so this is going to save me a lot of money. Thanks.

puffysmom - interesting you should mention psoriasis. When I was buying almond milk at Whole Foods, a woman across the aisle asking me how it was and said she was trying to give up soymilk because of the soy. I told her I was new to it and mentioned I was just starting the raw food diet. She said she had a 70 year old friend who had psoriasis all his life. He has gone on a rarw food diet and it has totally solved his skin problems. I value those kinds of testimonials very much since I know (pretty sure) the woman had no financial gain from telling me the story.

Also, I'm not just eating carrots. DH and I went to the farmers market yesterday and loaded up on all kinds of veggies and nuts. We're eating a lot of catalope, strawberries, blueberries and bananas and salad with all kinds of veggies with olive oil/vinegar dressing. (Would like to hear what others are eating on this diet.) Haven't bought a dehydrator yet. Some of the more experienced raw foodists seem to think (according to forums) that the simpler you keep this diet, the less problem you will have with cravings for cooked food.

On the weight loss front, I haven't lost any more weight. Probably because I'm eating too many nuts or it could be other reasons. I'm not worried. There is a 'detox' phase at the beginning when your body adjusts. Could be a result of this. At least I haven't gained any weight.

The main thing is I love the "structure" this diet gives me. The analogy of giving up cooked food to giving up cigarettes (for me) becomes more and more obvious every day. The extra time I have because I'm not in the kitchen either cooking or eating or planning to cook or cleaning up reminds me of the extra time I had when I first quit smoking. I was so used to filling spare moments with smoking that I would sit there trying to figure out what I could do. By the way, I'm no longer having the cooked egg for lunch. But I am still having my goat's milk yoghurt. Not sure if that is raw. Still checking. I am thinking about having one serving of steamed fish (probably salmon) per week. I don't want to deny the studies that seem to indicate fish is a magical food. Haven't had this yet. Hope the fish doesn't set up cravings. We'll see. Learn something new every day.

I have hope that this diet will fix some (or maybe all) of my health problems over time but that won't be overnight. Hope is a wonderful thing.

To those of you having psoriasis. I experience this problem and am unable to find much about the cause other than it seems to stem from the liver. I have it mainly on my elbow.
I found that good old fashion vicks vaporub, not only makes my skin soft but keeps the flaking to a minimum. You do have to be consistant or it starts right up again, no cure here but it looks better and feels better. Hope this might help someone out there

The scale has been doing some funny things but guess losing weight on this raw food diet isn't a whole lot different than any other diet. After several days of thinking I should see the number on the scale go down, it took it's own sweet time (seems like) but it finally did. Today, I was down a total of 4 pounds in 17 days.

My diet isn't 100% raw. I'm still having goats milk yoghurt with a lot of raw veggies for lunch every day. So I would say my diet is 90% raw.

Even better than losing the weight is the fact that my appetite has greatly decreased. It kind of reminds me of when I was on a low carb diet about 10 years ago. Some of you probably know what I'm talking about. My appetite is totally under control. I just ate my big green salad for supper with a few prunes and dates for dessert. And it is VERY satisfying. Yes, I'll probably get hungry before bedtime. I'll have a banana then but that is a heckuva a lot better than a big big bowl of rice and butter and cheese (from the microwave) that I would have had three weeks ago.

I never thought my cravings would go away this easily. Especially with all the sugar from the fruit I'm eating. I ate a fourth of a large watermelon for breakfast this morning. It was sooooo good. I know that watermelon has a high glycemic index rating because it is so sweet but my appetite certainly hasn't increased.

Of course, when I see advertisements on TV for what looks like delicious cooked food, I wish I could have some but as I have said numerous times already, it is like giving up cigarettes, I finally realize I just can't eat like that and have my appetite under control.

And our grocery bill is quite a bit less. DH keeps asking what's the downside. He also reports that his appetite is greatly reduced.

I have an appointment in a week with my doctor who is an MD but who also has a masters in Nutrition so he is very much oriented towards taking vitamins and the glycemic index, etc. I am keeping a record of all my questions. Should be interesting (especially if I continue to lose weight like this.)

I'm glad to hear the raw food diet is working for you. I had looked into it myself, but I'm not much of a fruit lover - so it didn't really appeal to me. I am very interested in your thoughts about food allergies however. I just yesterday ordered the 100+ food Elisa test. It took me a year to convince myself to spend the money ($379.) to give it a try. My fear is that either the test will be inaccurate and have me eating the wrong foods or that I will be overwhelmed by the amount of foods I have intolerances to and give up.

I believe I do have food sensitivities or intolerances - especially to wheat and dairy. I followed an elimination diet years ago - felt the detox symptoms for about 5 days and then felt better than I had felt my entire life. Unfortunately each new food I added into my diet left me with symptoms and I gave up trying to figure it out on my own. I know from experience that diets that leave out a lot of foods (Fat Flush especially) are the best for weight loss for me - although some like the Atkins or Glycemic Index diets failed me. I lost only small amounts of weight by following a low calorie diet - so it's more than calories in and calories out for me anyway.

I'm looking to not only lose excess weight but also improve several health conditions I have been battling - acne, severe PMS and fibroids, fatigue, edema and others. If I can avoid a hysterectomy which looms in my future I will feel the high cost of testing will be well worth it.

Once I get the test results back (in about a month), I'll start a thread and try to keep up with updates.

Keep us informed of your progress!!

lydia -- the 100+ food Elisa test sounds very interesting. I may give that a try, eventually. I'm convinced that I have quite a few food allergies.

I used to throw up when I was given white milk as a child. Never drank any once my mother figured out the cause. Except in elementary school when I was forced by a teacher and I threw up. Funny how I was able to drink chocolate milk, though. I read later (as an adult) that in fact the chocolate in chocolate milk reduces the allergic reaction.

Anyway, regarding food allergies, I know I'm sensitive to wheat though I'm not a celiac. I am also sensitive to dairy.
(Ask me why I can't give up my goatsmilk yoghurt, this is the last frontier for me, hope to give it up eventually.)
I subscribed to the test at http://www.enterolab.com/
which is where I got the results about wheat and dairly.

The test was expensive. I think over $300.00. Glad I did it though. Sounds like the Elisa test may give you the same results plus some.

This food allergy thing is tricky, I think. One of our dogs now it seems has food allergies. I asked the vet to test and she said that testing for food allergies is not very reliable (for dogs). I wonder if this is true for humans? A food elimination diet was the only thing she could recommend plus eating only a particular type of dog food that was "engineered to have a small enough molecule size so it doesn't trigger the allergic reactions" (her words). I was amazed and am wondering if raw food has "smaller molecules" than cooked food, HA, HA.

Perhaps moite's methods that she got from her doctor about measuring her pulse rate may be the best way. I'm going the simple route with this raw food diet (for now) because it meets many other needs also.

I had a great day yesterday. I went the whole day without the "wave of tiredness" that comes over me every day after lunch. I hope it wasn't an anomaly.

Bad news is that with the raw food diet, there is a "detox phase" initially where some claim that you are ridding your system of toxins. The detox phase can produce acne which is what I just got yesterday. I haven't had a pimple on my face for many years but I have two now. Oh well.

If my energy level stays good, I'll have to add that as one more reason why I'm glad I found this diet. I was craving cooked food day before yesterday but managed to get by without it. Hopefully those days will get less in number. This was kind of like craving a cigarette after quitting, as I remember it many years ago.

Keep us posted about your food allergies. I'm becoming more and more convinced that for some of us, they are literally killing us or are reducing our quality of life (for some of us) to a very very large extent producing chronic problems and diseases that mainstream medicine doesn't have a clue.

In my case, I definitely feel like I've become a guinea pig for trying out different "cures". I'm hoping that raw food will by my answer. I realize that because there is no definite proof, I could be wrong on this but as my DH says, it's gotta be better than being so overweight and hungry all the time. We were killing ourselves eating cooked food so how could this be any worse.

Elphaba - I hadn't heard of the test you had so thanks for the info.

Dogs have a tendency to be allergic to corn. I had a dog who was biting and scratching himself to the point we thought about having him put down. We took him off corn-based products and gave him the supplement in the link below. Within 2 weeks, he was like a different dog - lived to be 17!! So I highly recommend it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pets Alive

I had a food allergy test done a while back. The results book said that any food that you eat too often, you will develope allergies to that food. You are supposed to rotate foods and not eat the same food for at least four days. You may have been allergic to soy because you ate it too often. The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat a healthy, natural diet and control your portions.
Donna

"The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat a healthy, natural diet and control your portions.
Donna"

Donna -
You're probably right in what you have said but I want more than just losing weight. I want to lose it without all the craving and bottomless appetite problems that you have to tolerate on diets with cooked food. I'm FREE of being hungry all the time on this diet (so far). I can't believe it. The longer I'm on it, the freer I feel. (besides being free from the kitchen maintenance except for lots of chopping.)

Lost another 1 1/2 pounds today. I'm down 5 pounds from 17 days ago. I also like it because it has been a relatively slow weight loss, makes me feel like I'm not being reckless for that reason as well as the fact that I am eating SOooo many fruits and vegetables.

My grocery shopping time HAS increased. I have to go more often though my bill when I check out is incredibly less.

You are not losing weight because of raw food, you have eliminated much of the fattening foods that you were eating. You said you were eating a lot of cheese and pasta. You are now eating a lot of fruits and vegatables. It wouldn't matter if they were cooked or raw, they are the same calories. You are eating foods with a high water content which is very good. Eventually you will want to add some other foods to this "diet". Try adding a small amount of pasta with lots of steamed vegatable. also, you may want to add some beans. I wouldn't count every pound because you are losing and gaining a lot of water on this diet, which will cause your weight to fluctuate.
The problem with this diet is you will soon become bored with the lack of variety in the types of food you are eating.
Donna

Donna - your advice is good if it is aimed at someone who doesn't have the problems I have. I have been off pasta for months and the minute I have had even 1/4 cup full, I have a never-ending craving to finish the whole 2 quart bowl and add other fattening cooked foods as well.

I envy those like you without the addictive personality or system or allergies or whatever I have. But I just CAN'T eat cooked food in moderation. You are absolutely correct that I will get bored because I am already but I remember the cravings (just like I had with cigarettes) and it is helping me for now.

DH feels the same way so I'm lucky having his very very significant support. Don't think I could have come this far without his encouragement.

You are so lucky. I hope you truly appreciate the wonderful world of cooked food as one who is lucky enough not to have the problems I have. Not everyone can participate in that world.

And not only do I have to give up cooked food, I also have to give up cooking cooked food which I loved. But it is a life or death problem and I feel I have no other options.

I may be bored but I'm free of the cravings which seemed like a "horrible monkey on my back". I'm sure there are some similarities with those who have given up cocaine or heroine. (Thank god, I never tried those.)

Weight loss status - no weightloss for the last three days. But that's okay. At least I didn't gain and I don't mind if this is slow, that makes it more longer lasting IMO. And I'm drinking a whole lot more water, just seems to be natural whereas before, I had to force myself.

elphaba,
It sounds like your problem is bigger than just food cravings. My suggestion is to find a Naturopathic M.D. or an Internist who is also a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner. They could do a work up on you and test you for food allergies. Are your cravings emotional or physical or both. I also have a hard time controlling my eating, I am not much different from everyone else. If I even see a bag of potato chips, I will eat the whole bag without any problem. I'm talking a HUGE bag. I only keep healthy foods in my house, and not a lot of choices. If I had a pound of cheese, it would be gone the first day I brought it home. I used to exercise a lot, but not anymore. I am also going through menopause, so I'm tired a lot.
I really wish you luck, keep us up on your progress.
Donna

Doing a food elimination diet via the raw food diet is a lot cheaper and simpler and probably more reliable if what I hear about food allergy tests is true than going to a naturopathic physician or an allopath. I already have a physician (he is an M.D.) who is non-traditional and recommends/suggests vitamins etc. He is very supportive of the raw diet. He even had some suggestions that I didn't know about, i.e. steel-cut oats which is now the only grain I'm eating.

I have lost a total of 6 3/4 pounds in 5 weeks (or so). I don't have an exact date when I started this diet because I "phased" into it.

It has been relatively easy but my first test is coming this Friday when DH and I will visit my 98 year old aunt who is still very alert and likes to go out to eat. I plan to blow the diet.

It is so easy to do this diet that I don't think it will be a problem getting back on it when I return home. And I will only be "blowing it" for one meal.

By the way, DH has lost more than 17 pounds in one month. Pretty soon, he will weigh less than I do. Oh well. I definitely feel this is something I can do for a long time.

Will be interesting to see how much weight I gain by going off the diet for one meal. I have a sense because my weight loss is relatively slow that it isn't mostly water.

I can already tell that my visit with my aunt will be a serious downfall because it will be an "all you can eat" seafood buffet. And probably all the seafood will be fried. I can't deny that I'm really looking forward to it.

I will report back in a couple of weeks. I'm only weighing once per week and we know what next weigh-ins going to be so I will report back on the week following next.

Also, I don't want to make people think that I haven't had some problems. All the "literature" about this raw food diet mention a "detox phase" which can be short or long, varies by the person. There can be some physical side effects during this period when your first starting the raw food diet and headaches is one of them. I have had more than my share of these. Also, been a little tired on some days.

I've learned that nuts which normally are allowed on the raw food diet are something I need to watch out for. I'm allergic to some of them (because I start itching) but walnuts seem to be okay.

I have been doing pretty good but I dont do all raw foods. I also steam my veggies. have some chicken and about one time a month a small burger. My meat is about the size of my palm. I do almost no carbs aside of what is in my veggies and fruit. I do not weight more than once every two weeks and then when I get on I say a little prayer before looking at the scale. I am averaging about 3#s a week. I do eat a huge salad for my evening meal which consist of romaine and spinach which not only helps u lose weight but is also good for arthritis. I am older so have that problem. I am also doing cucumber, carrots, zucinni, sometimes onion, broccoli. The greener the veggie the better it is for u. I make my own dressing also. I love tomatos but is not good for a psoriasis person to eat. My dressing consist of sesame oil, flax seed oil, olive oil, onion and garlic powder and some Xylitol. I have to take pills before I go to sleep so have some kind of raw veggie or fruit like an apple. My psoriasis is kind of clearing up. Was so bad when I started that it can take years to clear up. Oh. I also eat quite a few almonds as they r also good for ones body.
Since January I have lost a total of 56#s. That is great for me as I usually hit plateaus. I will not say that I dont miss some of the great foods that I used to love but it is healthier for me to eat this way. Three weeks ago my doctor took me off my high blood pressure medication as my pressure was good. 130/70. I went back in today to get read and it is better yet off medication. It is 130/66. I must be doing something right. Pulse was super. I ride bike daily for exercise along with working around the house. I live with my son and DIL and grandkids and I have almost as much to do here as I did when i was young and had my own little kids. I am also feeling much better physically. Strength wise. i also have psoriatic arthritis and that is better than when on medication.
Eating lots of fruit and veggies sure agrees with me. Now if only my psoriasis would completely go away I would be one happy camper. Also eating is hard for me as the rest of my family eat all the goodies I used to eat that is bad for our bodies. I usually eat by myself so there is no temptation.