One thing I hear about Raw Food that always makes me cringe is this statement:
You can eat whatever you want and not gain weight! Its RAW!!!
TOTAL B.S.!!!
If you follow that rule, all your late-night raw ice cream sundaes
and superfood fudges will have you wondering what the hell happened.
I thought this was true for a while, so I would still eat heavy things late at night
and let me assure you, despite still be 100% raw, I put on weight.
It still breaks down to simple math as far as Im concerned.
You have to burn more than you eat if you want to LOSE weight.
The beauty of most raw food is that there is so much bulk, and not
so many calories. You can drink a monster green smoothie that will
totally fill you up and it might only be 300-400 calories.
But if you are eating lots of dates and nuts and other dried fruits,
you are going to be sadly surprised.
I made the progress I did because I did lots of greens and non-sweet fruits
like cucumbers and tomatoes and kept it light at night.
AND I exercised. Most raw vegans still dont seem to do much of this.
Otherwise I would stay even or possibly even gain weight again,
despite being 100%. So dont fall into this trap.
You cant just eat whatever you want because its raw.
There are still dense calories in nuts and dried fruits
that will bite you in the butt if you arent careful.
Of course enjoy these items, but just be conscious.
Keep the heavier meals for lunch, so you can burn off those calories
throughout the remainder of the day, and then ride it light at night.
Have your raw sweets, but dont go overboard and try to have them
a few hours before bed. These little things can really add up over time.
Raw is wonderful, trust me I know...
but we still cant escape the simple math of calories.
Argue with me about it if you must, but Ive gone
through it and it really rang true for me.
Durian in Central Park...for LUNCH. :)-A
