newbie with calorie question...

[kellijean]

I am looking for a bit of clarification from anyone who might have some idea about this...

I have been doing raw vegan now for 4 or 5 days now and I am so thrilled with my progress as far as pretty much sticking to eating what I should except for 2 or 3 minor (and I mean only MINOR) slip-ups. I have been tolerating the off and on detox headaches, which are nothing compared to the health benefits I expect over the next year or so, but I am noticing that my caloric intake is A LOT per day. I know that my body needs to focus on healing rather than weight loss so I havent even attempted to step on the scale, but my question is that I have heard so many people express different opinions about calories - that they arent important with regards to weight loss and if your body is ready to lose weight then it is ready to lose weight, and then there are others who state that you still really need to keep your calories in check in order to lose weight...I guess I am confused. Can anyone offer some insight into this for me???

[Eva]

Calories is a simple matter of measuring the exact energy of a food.

Weight loss -- and how calories affect our extra fat -- THAT is a totally different story. This is all pretty complicated, and it affected by our metabolism, activity level, what we have been eating before this, etc. If you are GENUINELY hungry (ie hunger pang, tummy feels empty) and eat then, even if it is a lot of calories, no matter what it's unlikely for you to GAIN fat.

And calories your body recognizes -- i.e. "real" food -- are on the other end of the spectrum, on the happy, not gaining extra weight, not feeling sluggish afterwards, side.

So, for now at least, just eat good raw food, and you will likely lose some weight if there is some to lose. If you seem to be craving fat, go for the avocados or coconut or whatever. Just eat good raw food, and you're set for now.

And I don't know if you know about green smoothies yet. If you don't, here is a very quick summary: smoothie with some fruit and some green leaves, maybe some water and ice too if you like. It can be lots of fruit and a few leaves or whatever. This will probably help you with the headaches. You lose minerals when you're detoxing. This will help with that and also help you to detox through your bowels rather than with other symptoms.

G'Luck.

[kellijean]

That makes sense to me.