High Fat/Low Fat Raw...What is the Answer?

Today's Weigh In: 268
Beginning Blog Weight: 277
Pounds to Blog Goal: 14


Total Blog Loss: 9lbs in 2 days....wow!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here are a few more recent pictures of me, and there's one with my sweety, Cliff! That's us in Manayunk, a section of Philadelphia, where we live.

Okay, I just lost 9 lbs in 2 days of a simple raw diet and by walking. That is AMAZING. That goes to show the power of a simple raw vegan diet, exercise, no fat and no salt and of taking in fluids. My body really RESPONDS favorably to this kind of diet, obviously. (It's my MOUTH that's the problem!!!)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There are women doing a program like this in an online support group i once belonged to: http://www.rawfoodbootcamp.com/. These ladies walk ALOT, some have progressed past 1 hour a day, to 1.5 hours a day, to 2 hours a day, and some walk 2.5 hours a day! The women eat the 'bootcamp' diet which in essence is the 80-10-10 diet. They have huge weight losses in a very short amount of time. The website was developed as a healthy substitute to gastric bypass.

In order to stay on the 'bootcamp' plan, one has to be seriously motivated to get thin, and like to take strict orders and a fair amount of abuse, but heck, if it works, it works! There is NO cheating allowed. In fact, some of the girls eat an even stricter diet than 80-10-10, more like 85-10-5, meaning they eat NO overt fats whatsoever, only raw fruit and veggies, only 1 banana a day, and that's it! When i was on the program, i ate raw fruits, veggies, 1 banana, only 1/4 of an avocado a day and my fat % averaged about 11% a day.

(I am going to steer clear of the avocado, the olive oil and the nuts until i reach my blog goal, so in essence, i'll be eating not too far from what the successful girls on the bootcamp program do!)

There was a time when i didn't need to eat so low fat to lose weight as a raw vegan. When i lost the bulk of my weight 2.5 years ago, i was at a raw retreat in Lemon Grove, CA, the "Optimum Health Institute" http://www.optimumhealthinstitute.org/. I ate a moderately-low fat/SALT FREE diet at the institute, with sprouts, veggies, watermelon, seed cheeses, seeds, and seed crackers as staples of our daily diet, never olive oil, never salt. As i didn't have a car, and not much to do, I walked my butt off all over town, at least 5 miles a day, maybe even twice that, and I swam several times a week for an hour. I reveled in all of the activity.

I also indulged in high fat gourmet meals 1-5x/week at the incredible raw restaurants in town. Man, i had NEVER tasted anything so good. At the time, my eating habits were pretty under control. I was so focused. I didn't think there was anything wrong with high fat raw. I didn't know any different. I rarely binged. (I can remember a handful of times really overdoing it, buying 3 meals at the gourmet raw restaurant and taking them back to my room and eating everything.)

The overall key, i think, was the huge amount of exercise I was getting. I was amazingly toned when i left the institute. I weigh less now, but the pants that fit me then are too tight. I had lost a LOT of inches...and muscle BURNS fat. I could handle the higher fat diet. And, i wasn't binge eating. And as a raw newbie, coming from a diet of up to 5,000 -10,000 calories daily as a 425lb. person, the switch to raw was an overall dramatic calorie and FAT/SALT reduction.

When i came home from the institute and began working at Arnolds Way, i began to snack really uncontrollably on all of the fatty salty goodies there, raw bread, avocado, dehydrated snacks, pate's, cookies, etc... As long as i exercised daily, i stayed the same weight. (I constantly marveled at that.) No, I wasn't losing anylonger, but i wasn't gaining. My eating habits, however, had seriously deteriorated since the institute. Being in a stressful kitchen around raw 'legal' food all day is NOT a good combination for me. My diet changed from overall low fat/salt with some gourmet meals at the Institute, to gourmet meals and excessive comulsive binge-snacking daily. When the exercise stopped, but my eating didn't, i felt worse and worse, so i ate more and more trying to 'get energy' and feel better, which only made me ultimately feel worse. A vicious cycle.

I soon found that on 80-10-10, the impulse to compulsively snack on high fat/salt items left completely as long as i stayed on it! I also began to lose weight again for the first time in over a year and a half of being raw. Exercise became a part of my life again. And things looked hopeful for further weight loss, finally!

I've since struggled seriously with maintaining a steady exercise program, and obviously, with finding a balanced binge-free raw diet, one to enjoy & savor, both low in fat, but high in enjoyment like i once had.

I suppose if i walked for hours a day like i did at the institute and kept my daily basic menu light, i could have that back again, that 'balanced binge-free raw diet,' and enjoy gourmet meals occassionally guilt-free, as i once did, with no effect on my weight.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As i am finding out, many people struggle to lose weight on a raw diet and find that balance - that perfect plan that works for them. Sadly, this is something they didn't quite expect when embarking on the raw diet.

Recently, a customer came into Arnolds Way and asked, "I've been eating raw for weeks....I'm waiting for the weight loss to come...when is that going to happen?" Being in my 80-10-10 phase, I asked about how much fat she was taking in, and about exercise. The answer for exercise was not in the affirmative, and she discouragingly admitted to eating too much fat. The 'magic' of the raw diet was escaping her.

It's confusing, because in 'Raw Reform: How to Go Raw for Weight Loss," Angela Stokes plainly writes, "Eat plenty of nuts." She does NOT eat this way now, most days she eats a diet of 75% fluid, but this obviously worked for her at the time.

I recently met another raw fooder with a perfectly lovely balanced moderate-fat raw diet, high in smoothies and juices and lovely raw salads, and no binge eating. What could be better? It's tasty, it's balanced, it's raw afterall. Yet, she is having frustrating difficulty losing weight with this plan.

From what i have seen at Arnolds Way, people who don't have much of a weight problem seem to do fine on a routine higher fat raw diet, at least for a while. One customer eats a LOT of nutspread daily...and lost 30 lbs effortlessly. But she was never heavy to begin with, and I don't know about her exercise routine. Lately, though, she complains of not feeling energetic.

Others with significant weight to lose have been blessed to find that perfect balance early in their raw food journeys.

My raw friend, Dustin, http://www.dustinkellogg.com/ lost 80lbs juicing, doing smoothies all day and basically eating only 1 gourmet meal a day, with gourmet snacks daily. I am not aware that he has a strict exercise routine, or one at all, but he keeps very busy at work. He has been successful in finding a balance that really works for him. From what i understand, he fasts in the mornings, juices or drinks smoothies beginning at 3pm, and then indulges in higher fat heavier raw gourmet food later. This obviously works for him, as he transformed before my very eyes. He doesn't have binge-eating issues, he savors and enjoys his food, and eats when he is hungry. His wife, Meredith, of http://www.therawseed.com/ is THE most amazing raw chef ever. Both are true inspirations!

Another dear good raw friend, Tim Arnold, http://akatha.org/ recently lost 140 lbs in 8 months eating a moderate fat/high salt raw diet. He was extremely motivated to become 'svelte', resists going 'low fat' and does not want to be deprived at all. He also eats a very high amount of sodium daily in the form of Himalayan Rock Salt, which he snacks on to give him energy. From what i understand, he eats lower fat raw as a basic diet at home with his wonderful wife, Leslie (lots of smoothies, lots of banana whips, not too many raw breads at home, no nut spreads, salads and sunflower pate's and veggie nori wraps often, and rarely olive oil). He then eats basically whatever he wants going out to raw restaurants, at raw potlucks, for raw treats. I don't see him eating huge portions of fatty items, and in fact, he often splits a meal with his wife at Arnolds Way. The clincher in his case is: He runs at least 10 miles a day now, and has even now run 2 marathons within a week of each other. An amazing man!

Men can probably get away with taking in more fat than women. And these two guys are also incredibly positive creative individuals who manifest much in their lives. That may have a lot to do with it as well.

Attitude and how one FEELS have a HUGE effect on the body. The "Secret" says that if we FEEL good, and actually believe what we're eating is good for us and that it will make us lose weight, it will!

That's how i felt at the Institute. I didn't feel BADLY EVER for eating raw food. It was raw, and i just kept losing. (I also barely stopped MOVING.)

So, attitude, and flooding ones body, one's spirit and mind with POSITIVE energy and GOOD FEELINGS no doubt have MUCH to do with weight loss success.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On a more practical level, at a recent talk, i was discussing what kind of diet we need to create for ourselves, and I remarked, "Everyone has to find a raw diet that works for them." I said, "You have to KNOW WHO ARE ."

I think this is what this blog is all about. The perfect raw diet....whether low fat or high fat...whether it accompanies alot of exercise, or not alot...needs to be discovered.

What actually works? What doesn't?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Binge eating is really a separate issue, i think. Or is it?

YEARS in therapy, 4 stays in Eating Disorder Units could never stop my insane fast food binges. After giving up cooked food, binge eating DECREASED at least 85%. Even the gourmet raw binges i've described....don't even COMPARE to the way I used to binge. An average fast food binge was: 4 double cheeseburgers, 4 orders fries, 3 cokes, 1 chicken sandwhich, 3 peices fried chicken, chicken nuggets, 1 sundae, 1 pie. That was one binge. Some days included several.

While eating 80-10-10, i never binge.

How can you binge on FRUIT??? or GREEN SMOOTHIES?

And who would WANT to?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So, is it the FOOD? Or is it ME?

Or is it my REACTION to the FOOD? If my EMOTIONAL REACTION to the FOOD would transform, perhaps binging would reduce. That never worked with cooked food, believe me, i tried, but, maybe there is hope yet for raw.

Ahhh, I know i have a lot to work on, and the perfect anti-binge raw diet for me will be revealed, although i must say, 80-10-10 seems to work pretty freakin' spectacularly.

If i could maintain 80-10-10 as my basic daily diet, even at work, don't touch a thing there except for fruit, exercise my butt off daily, AND eat out at raw restaurants every once in a while without my eating escalating out of control...i think i will have found something really permanent that i could live with, and be successful with. More like what i did at the institute.

Ahha Moment: I NEVER kept oil or salt or nuts in my kitchenette at the Institute....because i KNEW i couldn't be trusted with them. I only ate them OUT.

A little voice whispers....

"KNOW THYSELF!!" "Know what YOU can handle."

~ ~ ~ ~

• BR: 1 Quart filtered water, 2 bananas
• EXERCISE: 1 hour walk
• SN: 3 oranges
• LUNCH: Tomato Beet Soup - Blenderized in Vitamix: 3 large red ripe roma tomatoes, 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, 1 larg slice of red beetroot, 1 stalk celery, spritz lemon juice, few circles of zucchini
• DINNER: Meditteranean Salad: Tear 1 small head Romaine into large bowl, add 3 sliced red ripe roma tomatoes, 2 slices purple onion, 1/2 long green hot pepper cut in rings, 2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley dressed in: a few splashes apple cider vinegar, 1 small drizzle of agave, a few shakes of cumin, a few shakes of garlic powder, 1 shake cayenne pepper, 2 tsp. nutritional yeast. A macintosh apple for dessert
• SNACK: 2 bananas, 1 macintosh apple, 1 red apple
• SNACK: 'vanilla shake' - In vitamix: 3 bananas, organic vanilla, agave

I wasn't hungry until late morning today, when i had my two bananas shortly before my 1 hour walk. It was a tough walk, but i did it without stopping. The soup for lunch was kinda gross, and kinda yummy. My first taste i grimaced, "YECH!" but the second taste, i was changing my mind to "YUM!" How bizarre! But actually there was something very satisfying about it. Dinner, i desired a salad. Have not had greens for days, shame on me. I could barely comtemplate eating it with just lemon. How i miss salt and oil on a salad. I did the next best thing and chose nutritional yeast. At 1 gram of fat and 5mg of sodium, it was an excellent choice. Nama shoyu has over 900mg of sodium per serving. Yeast is not traditionally 80-10-10, but i'm actually really proud of myself. I enjoyed the crunch of the salad and the tastes of the veggies. The yeast gave it the tiny bit of flavor that it needed. The apple was a delicious dessert. I was hungry all evening! Happy Memorial Day!

xoxo, michelle joy at LaSoprana@aol.com