I've been feeling strange lately on raw til 4... It's a combination of feeling energetic & also dizzy w/ brain fog. Like I'm hyped up on the sugar from fruits, but I'm lacking something essential... I'm starting to feel kind of sceptical about eating this way because this is the 2nd attempt I've made and the 2nd time I've felt these same symptoms.

What could I be doing wrong?

How long have you been on this diet? It could be that your body is still getting used to it. I know when I switched my diet, I felt like crap for about 4 days after the switch. After the fifth day I started feeling great.

I've seen a lot of people mention having these sort of symptoms while following a RT4 lifestyle. I imagine it would have something to do with coming off of the "sugar high" you get from eating large quantities of fruit and fruit alone for breakfast. Sugars like the fructose found in fruits are very fast digesting, giving you great immediate energy but poor long-term energy. I'm not certain what iteration of RT4 you're following (are you simply interested in eating raw for breakfast and lunch, or are you following the Freelee the Banana Girl sort of guidelines for meal size and macro-nutrient breakdown?). My suggestion would be to add more greens to your breakfast. Leafy greens contain a lot of minerals and their added fiber might slow down your sugar absorption. You could also blend chia or flax seeds into your morning smoothie/sprinkle it over fruit (assuming that's what you're reading). Healthy fats provide more steady energy. Also make sure you're getting enough calories (raw fruits and veggies are bulky, but not very calorie dense). Would you mind sharing what some of your RT4 meals have been like?

Brain fog? Sounds like something you'd buy from a Spirit Halloween store.

Seriously though, what have you been eating and for how long?

Eating too few calories? Add them up and check. It is hard to get enough food on a vegan diet, especially raw.

"feeling energetic & also dizzy w/ brain fog" is how I often feel when I go salt deficient.
Some times my muscles will also feel weak while I still feel energetic, but if it progresses farther I get drowsy.

When you feel that way you could try dissolving 1/4 tsp of salt in a cup of water and drinking it down. If you start to feel better within 15 minutes (often as little as 5 minutes, for me) you were simply hyponatremic and need to be more careful about getting adequate salt intake.

Salt deficiency is getting quite common in the west as salt-phobia keeps getting spread. In my town pharmacies actually limit people to buying only 1 bottle of salt pills because every summer when people finally get told by their doctor that salt deficiency is why they always feel dizzy, fogged out, and weak they go and try to buy 20 jars of salt pills
Properly dilute salt water tastes better and is better for your stomach tho.

That's super interesting! I hadn't really thought about that being a factor. Do you need to get salt with Iodine, though? The salt brand I purchase says it does not contain this mineral. Is that what supplemental salt pills are providing, or is it just good old NaCl? (The chemical makeup of table salt)

I'm not really following anyone's guidelines strictly. I'm just eating what I like / want. During the day I've been eating 2-3 fruit mono meals (for easiest digestion since I'm new to this), and I'll have another meal with either raw salad or veggies & hummus, or a handful or 2 of nuts after I workout. I try to eat a little protein after working out.. Is that necessary on a raw diet? I do drink coffee at least every other day, with coconut milk & stevia. And for dinner I've been eating 1/2 raw veggies (or raw pasta sauce or salsa), with 1/2 cooked hclf foods.. like potatoes, pasta.. maybe some beans. I'm pretty sure I'm hydrated well enough.. my pee is clear. & It's been about 2 weeks since I started.

I haven't been using salt much at all becausse I thought it wasn't the best thing to have on a raw vegan or raw til 4 diet... I can definitely add it back in. I do miss it on my potatoes and in my guacamole..

If your pee is clear then your body will easily remove any excess salt.
Salt deficiency itself is just the sodium chloride. The iodine will help prevent iodine deficiency which has its own symptoms and is much slower to develop or reverse (because the iodine needs to be manufactured into hormones). Salt pills and salty packaged foods use non-iodized salt. If a vegan gets insufficient iodine then, yeah, iodized salt is a good source. So are seaweeds other than kelp (which is wildly variable and totally unregulated).

Perhaps you're not eating enough, try and stuff your face a bit more (not necessarily just fruit, try leafy greens and other veg).

Are you eating enough bananas? Great for energy I find.

Also what environment are you in? If you're in a low frequency environment doing something you don't like with people you don't like I find that can bring my energy down to the point where I could take a nap haha.

i am guessing that you don't get enough kcals. minerals might be low, fats might be low, protein might be low also.

i think mostly raw and mostly fruit is fantastic as long as you meet all your requirements.

if you are not sure, use cronometer.com.

Yesterday I ate about 1800 cals... Which isn't really too bad since I only weigh 117 lbs. But I still felt weak and off. I hate to say it, but I feel like I can eat the same amount or calories and feel completely normal when eating a whole foods based omni diet. Why is this?

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Maybe because you are accustomed to your stomach being full of slow-digesting meat and dairy.

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I felt a lot better today. Not 100%, but better. 2 things I did differently: I drank some coconut water instead of water only.. (which has sodium).. I also had bananas for breakfast and veggie sushi for lunch. So the rice and veggies would give me slow-releasing energy.

So it might very well have been a combination of low sodium and the fruit energy just going through me way too fast and making me crash..

I'm just a little confused because, for example, Freelee is always advocating "no salt" and eating "90% of your calories from fruit" ... What's your opinion on this?

I think very few people's bodies can successfully withstand it.

No salt and 90% fruit? When I was pregnant I ate almost completely whole foods, no added sugar, caffeine or salt. I continued after birth and started feeling kinda like you describe, and faint. I've always been on the low end of normal blood pressure, but when I got seen it was really, really low. I was advised to add salt.

How about things like seaweed? isn't iodine necessary on an almost raw diet, as it would be on any?

You need more energy, so you have to eat avocado because it contains (healthy) fat. It keeps you running for half a day easy. I am eating avocado twice per day.

In case you can't find avocado, the only alternative I know is the Kollath Breakfast, although it's significantly less healthy comparing to avocado.

In fact, it seems there might be another alternative though: spirulina but I haven't tried it. It's kind of expensive and I prefer to stay away from any processed food anyways. Producing it yourself requires quite some effort, definitely not worth for me.

Brain fog? Sounds like something you'd buy from a Spirit Halloween store.

Sodium (in salt) is an essential nutrient, so you should not go with "no salt" diet. This low-sodium recommendations went too far, I believe. Low-sodium diet can make you dizzy.

A lot of fruits means a lot of sugar - this can cause your blood glucose going up and down a lot and make you tired.

Balanced nutrition is very key. I highly recommend going to see a dietician to help you get all your nutrition on a raw vegan diet. I would do this first. Also, Vegan Society has an excellent article on nutrition and where to get what on a vegan diet. See the links on the right side for all the links.

How are you getting your B12 vitamins? Also you need a fully balanced meal. 90% fruit is not balanced. You do need to have a complete protein source, B12, Iodine, and a whole slew of other vitamins and minerals. There are many raw food websites that do not even mention how to get all your nutrition.

My recommendations:
1. B12 - get Red Star fortified with B12 Nutritionist yeast. Add a couple tablespoons of this to your food. I would search for a way to make a vegan cheese with this yeast. Personally, I would drink commercially made Vegan milks that have B12 in it. I would just find a brand that fits you the best.

2. Legumes - Be sure you do NOT EVER eat Raw Kidney beans! Do your homework. Some legumes can make you very sick, if ate raw.

3. Protein - Soy is a complete protein. This can be ate raw.

4. Iodine - this is a necessary mineral. Salt is good for you. Too little salt and your blood pressure can go up. And you might lack in the iodine we need.

5. Calcium - Vegan milks are fortified with both calcium and B12, making it easier to get these necessary nutrients.

Recipe idea: Take extra-firm, Organic non-gmo Tofu and break it up into scrambled egg like pieces. Mix in some yeast, salt fortified with iodine, a little tumeric. Add in any vegetables you want to this. Top with Tellicherry black pepper and you have a good breakfast. I would add a Kale, Banana, Coconut and Rasperry Smoothie to this.

Dehydrator: This is your friend. You will use this to make "breads". I do not have a recipe I can give you, but some people have managed.

Vitamixer: Brilliant for making Raw Vegan Soups, smoothies and other recipes.

I looked into going Raw Vegan but changed my mind on it when I realized that too many sites just did not have a very good balanced diet version of raw vegan. Also, my food allergies and intolerances got in the way when the food scientist told me that I have to avoid fermented everything. That killed raw vegan for me right there, as raw vegans tend to ferment or sprout everything. I think that you can be healthy raw vegan, but it just takes more work - and more education to be sure you are getting enough of your key nutrients. All vitamins and minerals are necessary for our bodies. Those who have gotten sick on the raw vegan diet just was not getting everything their body needs for good health.

Your comment on kidney beans had me thinking which beans are ok to sprout and led me to this very helpful site---
https://rawevolution.wordpress.com/2...not-to-sprout/


Soybeans are especially toxic if raw! Like poisoness. Soymilk is simmered beans at a much higher temp than anyone with a raw diet would allow, and of course tofu is made of coagulented soy milk. Tempeh while fermented, starts with boiled beans
The link above doesn't seem to recognize soy bean sprouts either way. I have seen soy bean sprouts sold at Asian groceries, so I guess they're an option