Amie,
You are doing SO GOOD - bless you! Aphil is right, don't let your bod think its starvation time!

Now I've gone and done it I've commited myself FOR REAL to doing raw for a book!! I've consented to let a girl (Alissa Cohen) put me and all my story, details, etc. in her next book - therefore, I MUST NOT FAIL!!!!!! Oh the pressure, will she crack? will she persevere? Blarghie-pargh.

On the upside, no downfalls yet, still trooping away with no bad food cravings, so all is well. As I'm nearing my day 14, I feel a bit trepidatious (sp?) since I've not made it past 14 days before. Thinking I might fast through it, hmmmmmm.

Anyway, I wanted to share what I submitted of my "story" aka Del's Raw Saga !

Name – delaray
weight - 215.5 (47% body fat)
measurement – Bust- 43.5, Waist- 39.5, Hips- 46.0, Thigh- 30.5
height - 5’ 8”

Story – I have known of raw since 2002 (stumbled across Shazzie’s site and was mesmerized for days reading through the whole thing). I have tried to be 100% off and own a few times since then. However, it seemed as though 2 weeks were all I could do raw and I would fall, aways regaining any weight I lost plus more. I got pregnant in January of 2003 at my all time highest weight of 182 lbs and gained 57.5 lbs more on top of that. Endeavoring to be raw through my pregnancy, I’d say I was about 50 – 60 % most days, 0% some. I developed complications such as high blood pressure, swelling due to pre-eclampsia in the later portion of the pregnancy which resulted in my son, Seth, being born 4 weeks before his due date by emergency c-section. Two days before my son was born my weight had topped at 239.5 lbs. After giving birth, I lost down to 205 lbs right away and instead of loosing the rest of the weight, I continued to gain. Another half-hearted attempt at raw (as well as Weight Watchers and e-diets) later and it was Christmas 2004, my son was 15 months old and I was fat and unhappy. I didn’t want to leave the house or see anybody. My fattest fat clothes were getting tight. Enough was enough. The Monday after Christmas 2004, I ate 100% raw and have not looked back.

(the story…to be continued…)

So here goes it - no turning back!

All you gals provide me great inspiration, too! I know I'm not going to be a rawfooder for life, but for detox and weightloss and regaining of my health and vitality - yes! I love hearing you girls doing it the "normal" way because I'll be back to "normal" eventually.

Do you see how just 200 calories can add so much to your nutritional numbers, and get them where they need to be? Good for you for making good choices for your added calories.

I also keep track of my calcium, protein, fiber, and other nutritional numbers as well. As far as teh fat goes-a good level is 3-4 grams per every 100 calories-so 1400 calories would be 39-55 grams on average. Just try to make them good fats-like peanut butter, olive oil instead of vegetable oil or shortening when cooking...the natural small amounts of fat in lean meats...you'll be fine.

Just finished my workout today:
2 mile walk-30 minutes
strength training-35 minutes

Hi everyone,

Yesterday's (Friday) exercise was 35 minutes strength training, and a 2 mile walk. Today's exercise was a 1 mile walk.

(I have regular workouts and dance rehearsal in the evenings on Mondays and Tuesdays-so on the weekends I tend to lighten my exercise a bit in anticipation for that.)

How is everyone doing? Well I hope.

Here is my eating for the day:

breakfast:
yogurt (key lime)
banana
handful of roasted soy nuts

lunch:
1 slice of whole wheat bread
turkey
small apple
yogurt (key lime again... )

dinner:
whole wheat penne pasta
1/2c. tomato sauce
broccoli-2 servings
1 small breadstick

snack: (not had it yet)
1 c. chocolate soymilk

Total:1600 calories

I have been a busy bee today-salting the sidewalks and driveway, spending 3 hours today at the sewing table, getting a little exercise in, cooking dinner and cleaning up, and I am getting ready to give the kids an evening bath and do a little laundry before settling in the chair for the evening to read for a while or watch a little tv with Jason.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.
Aphil

Hello ladies!!

wow, another week slipped by...and finally, my new tapes arrived today!! I did the Cardio Strike tape - it's very fast-paced, definitely for someone's who's been exercising for a while, unless you're OK with going off-track of what the rest of the gang is doing. Gilad uses ALOT of boxing stuff in this one, which is totally unfamiliar to me. PUNCH, JAB, UPPERCUT! Because it's unfamiliar, I was klutzy, but hopefully will get better.

The routine will go as so -
Monday - Cardio Classic
Tuesday - Hips, Thighs, and Buns
Wed. - Cardio Strike
Thursday - Chest & Back, Abs
Friday - Cardio Blast
Sat. - Shoulders and Arms
Sun. - day off

I do the above for the first 2 weeks; then for week 3 and 4, the same but also add one more Ab workout. Weeks 5 and 6, one more Abs and more Chest/Back and Shoulders/Arms. It varies more after that, but that's enough for now

I will be changing the days to make my day of rest on Tuesday, when I work 5:00 am to 1:00 pm, I think.

I'm excited about doing something different. And I REALLY REALLY have to focus more on "clean" eating. I really have to examine everything that goes in my mouth, and try to drastically cut down anything that is sugary/white-floury. My biggest downfall!

There is an Eating Plan that came with the System - its everything I know already, but reading it reinforces. And with the query - "Is this a food that will help me look better, feel better?"

QUESTION - why does he list Sweet Potatoes so often? Is there something about sweet potatoes I don't know? I guess I always thought of them as a starchy potato, but with even more sugar ?

Hello to everyone else! Have a great night!

Sweet Potatoes-
They are a lot more nutrient dense than white potatoes are...and since they have a sweeter taste and are not as dry as white potatoes-they are a lot easier to eat without a ton of butter or sour cream on 'em.

Hello, I found this website about a month ago and now I am excited to see a group doing it the "old fashioned way." I have no interest in diet pills or something you actually have to buy. What happens if you can't buy it? Seems like you would gain all of the weight back. Anyhoo, I'm working out at least 4 times a week (pilates/strength training/arc trainer/WATP tapes). I try to limit my fat intake to 35 grams per day. I dont know if that is a good number or not, but it's what I am doing, well, trying. Anyone have suggestions for losing it just a little bit quicker (maybe a pound or two a week)? I don't know if I could stick to anything that is less than 35 grams of fat a day. I drink plenty of water, usually 5-9 glasses a day. Well, if you have any suggestions, please, let me know.

Welcome Universityprincess! I like your way of thinking, also, in that we can't choose a getting-in-shape process that depends on buying a certain food, or supplement, etc. I't sbeen a while since Icounted fat grams, so I'm not sure what to suggest to you...calorie-wise, I'm sure aphil can help guide you

I'ts 5:10 am, I actually got myself up on time to exercise before work! I was inspired by my wonderful Gilad It's Shoulders and Arms day; and if I have time, I might slip an Ab workout in also.

thanks for the sweet potato info, aphil! I will buy a few small ones and try 'em. Can they be microwaved?

Another day of challenge for eating well. I can get a good breakfast in OK, but at work, that's another story for a good lunch. And to keep away from the cookie nibbles. I have got to remember about my resolution to keep away from white flour/sugar/processed stuff.

Have a great day, everyone! Snowey, girl, let's hear from you please, hon! I miss miss MISS you!!!!

good morning!!! 5:00 am again, just finished coffee and about to do my second Gilad cardio session. I am SORE from yesterday's arms/shoulders workout!!! First time I've felt my triceps in forever. The ab workout was good too, but I'm not as sore from that.

I can't believe how well I stayed on program yesterday. I feel so good about that. Day two, here I come (deep breath )

delaray, sorry I missed on welcoming you! great to have you here. and congrats on the book deal! nothing like a little pressure to keep you straight and steady, eh?

thanks aphil, for the sweet 'tater info!

Hope everyone is doing well. I am SO hoping that my motivation and determination is back, as it was almost three years ago when I started this. I WANT to see some more lean muscle emerging!

Have a great day!!!!!

Hi UniversityPrincess, hi Holly, hi to everyone...

Welcome UniversityPrincess, kudos to you for realizing that fads and gimmicks and pills and such don't work - not in the long haul. Aphil is super great at helping to set up calorie / fat gram plans but if I may make one tiny suggestion - Eat as much raw food as you can stand!!! That's what I'm doing (all the food I eat, actually) and it is awesome (more energy, positive attitude, no cravings, hardly any more blowing nose (ick, huh), sounder, more refreshing sleep, less sleep needed - just to name a few of my RAWards thus far! ).

Holly, it's fine sweetie, as I don't post all that frequently (even when I worked it the old fashioned way) and now even less that I'm doing my Raw-thang. I just like checking to see how ya'll are doing and giving you updates from time to time....

You ladies are all doing wonderful!

Here is an update on my loss so far (oh to be less of me )...

weight - 205.0 (down 10.5 pounds since start of raw) ((-4 since last week))
body fat - 46% (down 1% since start of raw) ((no change since last week))
bust - 42.75 (down .75 since start) ((-.75 since last week))
waist - 38.5 (down 1.0 since start) ((no change since last week))
hips - 45 (down 1.0 since start) ((no change since last week))

O.K. time to go to the store soon - amazing how much food I go through. This way of eating can be quite expensive. I'll be glad when my body doesn't want so much food. I mean everything I eat is loaded with vitamins, minerals and enzymes so soon I should not need to eat so much - I hope!

UniversityPrincess-
Rather than concentrating so much on fat grams-concentrate more on calories instead. If you are making healtheir eating choices most of the time-fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean meat, and skim dairy products-your fat intake will naturally not be so high.
There are two main reasons I shy away from just counting fat grams:
~You can eat 0 grams of fat each day if you wanted to-and still eat a zillion calories. If you eat more calories than you burn, you won't lose-whether they contain fat or not.
~When reduced fat/low fat/fat free came into popularity in the 90's-a lot of people started downing fat free ice cream and low fat cookies and were overeating these products. Just because it is fat free or low fat-doesn't mean it is junk. A cookie-fat free or not-is still a "treat" and not meant to be eaten every day.

With your current weight at 241-why don't you start out eating 1900 calories a day. I assume you are keeping a food diary because you were already counting fat grams? Just do the same thing with the calories instead-and concentrate on making healthy food choices. You should lose at a decent pace on this calorie level-and as your weight goes down later on-then the calories can be adjusted accordingly.
Welcome! We are a supportive and diverse group here!
Aphil

Ddel-
I meant to respond to you a while back about the raw food diet...and it keeps slipping my mind. Yes-I am sure that I could do it no problem-and I live a flexitarian (vegetarian a couple days a week for health purposes) diet, but I am unable to do the raw foods diet because of the extensive exercise that I do each week-especially with all my strength training and dancing-my protein requirements are too high to maintain my muscle on that sort of an eating plan. You can get the minimum RDA of protein if eating a raw foods diet correctly-but strength trainers and pro athletes or dancers have higher requirements than the RDA for average people.
It sounds like you are doing great, though.

Hi Ladies

Hi, to all the new girls

Holly~ You are doing great and it sounds like you are back!

I agree with Aphil about watching your calories rather than your fat grams. Your fat should be in check if you pick the right foods. I could not wait to post today becouse I had such a great week After talking to Aphil I have been trying to get my calorie in take at 1400. Saturday were in the high 1300 range and did my elliptical for 25 minutes then did a cool down walk on treadmill for about 15 minutes (burned 410 cals) I am eating as much good stuff as I can and my cals for Sunday were only 1256 and 42.05g of fat (I ate egg beater, low fat cheese, cottege cheese, coffee, multi grain bread, nuts, seeds, lots of fruits, lots of veggies and had pork and turkey)? I had a glass of wine that night so it may have boost it up to at least 1370? Did 25 minute walk at 4.0mph on treadmill, 20 min pilaties dvd, walked a nature trail with DH and did all my stretches. Today I should be at 1339.5 cals and fat 45.3 g and will do the elliptical. For the good news. after not loosing last week I was scared to weight in SUnday, but I did and "lost" 3.2 lbs last week!!
I was so happy. After 6 months of not loosing and then gaining 8lbs, I final saw a good loss. I hope to keep it up......Still have not spent my gift card, maybe this weekend?

HI Ahil, Deb, Irish, snowey Db and everyone new here....Have a good week and keep up the fight.


Amie

YEAH AMIE!!!! YOU GO GIRL! I AM ROOTING FOR YOU!!

Deb

amose-good for you girl!!!

After using fitday.com to record my food intake I found that I was off on some of my figures. So I did get up to 1400 cals over the weekend??

As for today: 1413 caories 40g fat

1 multi gran toast w/ 1tbsp peanut butter
coffee

oat meal
1 med banana

Lean cuisine
1c grapes

1 tbsp raw plain almonds
1 tsp raw plan sunflower seeds

4 oz grilled skinless boneless chicken breast cooked with Pam Spray
salad w/ 1 tbsp lowfat ranch
1c Zucchini cooked with Pam Spray
1/2 c 2% milk for some vit. D

4 oz lowfat cottege cheese
cup of green tea

2.5 L of water

20 min brisk lunch walk
Elliptical 25 minutes, 15 minute 3.0 mph cool off walk on treadmill and full body stretches