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The calorie "paradox" of raw veganism (raw day analysis)

5K views 50 replies 15 participants last post by  Semicharmed 
#1 ·
http://www.beyondveg.com/billings-t/...aradox1a.shtml

I think this is a reasonable raw vegan day:

Breakfast: 20 oranges (2kg - 940 cal)

Lunch: walnuts (150 g - 927 cal) + sunflower seeds (50 g - 292 cal)

Dinner: spinach salad (600 g - 138 cal) with tomatoes (100 g - 18 cal) and cucumbers (100 g - 15 cal)

Total: 3,0 kg - 2330 cal

2,472 l water

~ 44% carb calories

~ 43% fat calories

~ 12% protein calories

www.nutritiondata.com

Surprisingly for me, it seems like a pretty balanced diet, although the fat content is pretty high, I don't know if it's healthy or not. Calories are good, although, some people may require more than that. 3 kg of food is not huge bulk, the average American eats about 2,1 kg of food a day. It's certainly not what a cow eats at least.

I think the needs for vitamins and minerals are also met. What do you think?
 
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#3 ·
20 oranges? For breakfast? 20? Isn't that awfully acidic?

This is a balanced raw diet wtf?

Now I read the article I still say wtf?? Since when is the "party line", whatever the hell that may be, of raw veganism to limit nuts and avacadoes? raw vegans who follow the "party line" and limit their consumption of avocados, nuts, and dried fruit need to consume, What are they talking about here? I know nothing of raw food eating, but I am vegan, and I eat a heap of those. Not so much the dried fruit but for sure the avocadoes and nuts (though it can be hard to find true, unblanched raw nuts in some varieties).
 
#4 ·
There is more to consider than just calories. Since going raw myself a few weeks ago, I can tell you that although calorie, protein, carbs and fat intake is a concern...you must also take into consideration all the vitamins and minerals your body requires. I am not a nutritionists or a doctor, however I do look out for my health. I am currently tweaking the menu plans to ensure that we get the required vitamins and minerals first, followed by caories and such. Take yesterday for instance:

BREAKFAST

Orange (1)

Banana (1)

Apple (1)

Blackberries/Blueberries (1/4-cup

SMOOTHIE

Bananas (1)

Apple

Kale (1-cup)

Spinach 1 cup

Avacado (1)

Flax Seed (2 tablespoons)

Almonds (1 ounce)

Walnuts (1/4-cup

Lunch

Dandelion Greens (1 cups)

Braggs

DINNER

Sun-Dried Tomatoes (1/4-cup)

Zucchini (2)

Olive Oil ( 2 tablespoons)

Tomato ((2 cups)

Onion (1/4-cup)

Bell Pepper (1-cup)

There was also a snack here and a snack there of pate' and such. Calories came in around 1800 with protein at a little over 50g. But Iron, Magnesium, b1 thiamen, Zinc, Riboflavin,\tNiacin, B6, Folate,\tVitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin K are at levels they need to be at eating a RAW diet. I want to take a little supplements as possible. Currently we are using the NOW Vit-Min 75+ for supplemental with the B12, Iron and Calcium. Eating raw does not require you to stock your refrigerator with half the produce section of the grocery store for 1 days worth of eating. I am tweaking the calorie/protein end this week to bring the calories to 2000 and protein to around 75-100gr based on my weight, build and lifestyle.

Also looking at the your menu mihai_alexandru, that is nowhere near the amounts of iron, magnesium, calcium or zinc you need not to mention B3. But there I go again over-analyizing everything...lol
 
#5 ·
How bout sprouts? (Lentils, mung beans, chick peas, sunflower seeds, quinoa - excellent sprouted, wheat, spelt or other grains, etc. ) To add protein, valuable digestive enzymes as well as vitamins and minerals and reduce the fat content of your overall raw foods diet...
 
#6 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Begonia View Post

How bout sprouts? (Lentils, mung beans, chick peas, sunflower seeds, quinoa - excellent sprouted, wheat, spelt or other grains, etc. ) To add protein, valuable digestive enzymes as well as vitamins and minerals and reduce the fat content of your overall raw foods diet...
Sprouts is one thing I seriously want to add to our diet. The problem here is that most of the product I am seeing in the stores look bad. I am going down to one of the health/organic stores later this week to look again. We are going to attempt to grow our own here in the apartment but that will not happen for a few months. Just too many things going on...lol
 
#7 ·
Ken, your diet is very high in fat and low in carbohydrates from fruit. I don't think it's sustainable as-is but it's fine for transition or if you're not active and don't need a high amount of energy.

I get alll nutrients with a high fruit low fat diet. About 2,500 cals from fruit. Our fuel.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by penny79 View Post

Ken, your diet is very high in fat and low in carbohydrates from fruit. I don't think it's sustainable as-is but it's fine for transition or if you're not active and don't need a high amount of energy.

I get alll nutrients with a high fruit low fat diet. About 2,500 cals from fruit. Our fuel.
Hi Penny,

My carbs on yesterday were sitting at 191g. I haven't even looked at the fat, will need to add that on my spreadsheet..hahaha What fruits and what quantities are you eating daily for the calories? Right now I am not as active as I should be. Much writing to be done between now and Feb. But I will be out of the transitional stages here shortly I hope.
 
#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kencraw View Post

Also looking at the your menu mihai_alexandru, that is nowhere near the amounts of iron, magnesium, calcium or zinc you need not to mention B3. But there I go again over-analyizing everything...lol
Actually I think vitamin & mineral requirements are met. 100g of oranges and spinach for example are low in some vitamins & minerals, but in this case you multiply that by 20, respectively 6.
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by mihai_alexandru View Post

Actually I think vitamin & mineral requirements are met. 100g of oranges and spinach for example are low in some vitamins & minerals, but in this case you multiply that by 20, respectively 6.
But looking at the spinach alone for a moment 1 cup of spinach is 30 g. You are saying 600g which equates to 20 cups of spinach. That is way too much eating. Seriously. 20 cups of spinach, 2 cups of sliced cucumbers and about 3/4 cups of tomato. That is a lot at dinner time. Couple that with eating 20 oranges in the morning. Plus a cup each of walnuts and sunflower seeds. Personally I would not get anything done because I would be eating constantly..yea I eat slow.. hahahaha
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kencraw View Post

Hi Penny,

My carbs on yesterday were sitting at 191g. I haven't even looked at the fat, will need to add that on my spreadsheet..hahaha What fruits and what quantities are you eating daily for the calories? Right now I am not as active as I should be. Much writing to be done between now and Feb. But I will be out of the transitional stages here shortly I hope.
Oh, geez. Every day is different. If I have ripe bananas (I only eat them ripe, they're horrible unripened), I might eat 6-24 of those. Otherwise, apples, berries, pineapple, grapes (high calorie), melons, greens, lots of greens.
Sometimes I have avocado, like 3 per week. Other times I don't eat overt fats and get my fat from the greens and sweet fruit. I like other nonsweet fruits, too, like bell peppers and tomatoes. No green peppers because those aren't digested/are unripe.
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by penny79 View Post

Oh, geez. Every day is different. If I have ripe bananas (I only eat them ripe, they're horrible unripened), I might eat 6-24 of those. Otherwise, apples, berries, pineapple, grapes (high calorie), melons, greens, lots of greens.
Sometimes I have avocado, like 3 per week. Other times I don't eat overt fats and get my fat from the greens and sweet fruit. I like other nonsweet fruits, too, like bell peppers and tomatoes. No green peppers because those aren't digested/are unripe.
I was just mentioning to my wife today about adding grapes. hahahaha. I would love to add more berrie but they are so expensive around here. The bananas do get eaten a lot. Thanks Penny for the reminder about the green peppers too.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, I hear you on the berries. They don't taste good when not in season, anyway, so you're not missing out.


I transitioned with higher fat and using oils still and nuts, etc., but eventually I felt lighter and noticed even better digestion and skin and energy on a high-fruit diet. The nuts just sit in your stomach for so long! Plus you're never satiated because your body knows it needs carbs.
 
#14 ·
Berries and tomatoes are so expensive. I am so glad we decided to start indoor growing last year. Even in the small apartment we have 2 tomatoes, 2 peppers and a summer squash. Right now what I am looking at, and again I analyze everything, we are still low in the calcium, protein and zinc as far as just through natural raw foods. Keeping it simple too, no dehydrator just a blender and a food processor. We decided going forward to stay away from all the supplements and additives as much as we can. Obviously taking the multi-vitamin which covers everything, but would just love to get the eating plan down to where the only supplementation necessary would be for the B12. Yea I know, looking at this through a microscope. But, I am discovering ways to keep things very simple, nutritious, meeting as many so-called daily requirements and not spending a fortune doing it. Plus spending as little time as possible in the kitchen.

Thank you again for the reminders and the ideas. Off to writing so I can pay for the next grocery trip...lol
 
#15 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Firefly by 3 View Post

20 oranges? For breakfast? 20? Isn't that awfully acidic?

This is a balanced raw diet wtf?
20 oranges (almost 1000 calories) seems to be overkill. Especially for breakfast.
 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kencraw View Post

Sprouts is one thing I seriously want to add to our diet. The problem here is that most of the product I am seeing in the stores look bad. I am going down to one of the health/organic stores later this week to look again. We are going to attempt to grow our own here in the apartment but that will not happen for a few months. Just too many things going on...lol
Do Quinoa sprouts because they only take like a day and half. So fast and easy compared to some of the others that take like 3 days. Plus you get all the benefits of Quinoa which is really cool!
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by penny79 View Post

Ken, your diet is very high in fat and low in carbohydrates from fruit. I don't think it's sustainable as-is but it's fine for transition or if you're not active and don't need a high amount of energy.

I get alll nutrients with a high fruit low fat diet. About 2,500 cals from fruit. Our fuel.
How can eating 20 ORANGES in a day not be getting enough fruit? It would take me all day to eat that many oranges and I need my mouth for other things than chewing!
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by penny79 View Post

Ken doesn't eat 20 oranges a day. Did you see what he posted as his intake? It was very little calories from fruit.
Oh sorry, I misquoted. I was replying to the original post about a reasonable raw vegan day.

My question is still the same though, does 20 oranges literally mean 20 oranges in one sitting?
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

Oh sorry, I misquoted. I was replying to the original post about a reasonable raw vegan day.

My question is still the same though, does 20 oranges literally mean 20 oranges in one sitting?
Depends on the person and their activity. A lot of high fruit raw people I know train hard, like bike or run for hour(s). So maybe they'd have 10 oranges before and 10 after. I personally eat 6-7 bananas in one sitting. Have a flat stomach afterwards, too.
Everyone's different, though.
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by penny79 View Post

Depends on the person and their activity. A lot of high fruit raw people I know train hard, like bike or run for hour(s). So maybe they'd have 10 oranges before and 10 after. I personally eat 6-7 bananas in one sitting. Have a flat stomach afterwards, too.
Everyone's different, though.
Woah! I've been considering trying raw veganism for awhile but that sounds intimidating! I tend to have a short attention span for food and get full easily and that sounds like a LOT of chewing I'd have to do. How long does an average meal take? Do you ever eat on the go or is it more of a sit down thing every day?
 
#25 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by penny79 View Post

6-7 bananas takes like 15 min. to eat. I eat on the go with smoothies sometimes. It's not like you have to heat. Just peel, cut/chop, and eat.
Okay I am a REALLY slow eater, I think one banana tends to take me like 10 minutes to get through and 6 or 7 sounds exhausting. I know I don't eat nearly enough fruit though, maybe I should just take it slow and try to increase my speed and intake over time?
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

Okay I am a REALLY slow eater, I think one banana tends to take me like 10 minutes to get through and 6 or 7 sounds exhausting. I know I don't eat nearly enough fruit though, maybe I should just take it slow and try to increase my speed and intake over time?
Yeah, good idea! Or sipping a smoothie slowly.
 
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