New Here; used to be raw vegan

snowbunny · Post by **snowbunny** » Sat 12 Dec 2009 20:29

I am fairly new to the discussion board, and so I thought I would say a little about myself. I mentioned briefly in another post that I have been following this diet for about a month. Prior to converting to Wai, I was a raw vegetarian, which means I ate raw fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, a few cooked grains, and sometimes egg yolk. I was around 90% raw, as sometimes I still enjoyed tea, and certain munch foods, I guess is what you call them here. I am not on the strict sample diet now, but I plan to get there as I have always wanted to be 100% raw, as that is what is natural. I currently enjoy some munch food, which is usually just some French fries, daily or almost daily. At other times, I have eaten a small cooked meal for social occasions.

I changed my diet because I finally decided that I was taking too many supplements trying to create a completely balanced diet—I had everything from vegan prenatal vitamins, to spirulina and chlorella, to vitamin C and D capsules and tablets. Oh, and I was taking 1000 mg of vegan Omega 3 DHA to support my daughter’s brain development and to help with my depression. It just didn’t seem right to be taking so many pills; I didn’t want to raise my daughter to have to rely on pills and powders to create a balanced diet, because that is just so unnatural.

I am also expecting some weight loss—I am about eight months post partum. I just could not stick to a raw diet while pregnant; I tried, but my body demanded otherwise. And while I am at pre-pregnancy weight as of about six months post partum, I am not at pre-pregnancy body. According to those “ideal weight” calculators, of which I am very skeptical, I am already at my ideal weight for my height and frame: 5’4” and 120 lbs., which is about 1.63 m and 54.4 kg, for the non-U.S. readership. So, I am on the slim side, but I obviously still have weight to lose. It’s the extra flab around my midsection and upper arms; it’s just enough to annoy me now. I believe it is about 10 lbs, or 5 kg, that I need to lose.

I am planning to bring my daughter up in the Waiian fashion. I want her to be 100% raw, natural, healthy, well, balanced, immune, and above all, happy and full of love. My husband is not supportive of this diet at all. He still abides by the SAD (Standard American Diet) most days, and believes optimum health is achieved by the FUCKED diet (Food Understanding Corrupted, Killing Even Doctors), which is most Americans’ attempt at being healthy by substituting chicken for beef, and increasing dairy, wheat, and egg consumption with some cooked broccoli. He knows we are raw, but not Wai. Obviously, I am here for support, too. Here is an example of what my daughter and I eat:

I usually eat every 1.5-2 hours, depending on how I feel, and sip water throughout the day. Yesterday I ate the following:

3 small bananas, 1 medium apple mixed with 2 tbsp oo and 1 tbsp honey

4 yolks with 2 tsp sugar

2 small bananas mixed with 2 tbsp oo and 1 tbsp honey

2 yolks with 1 tsp sugar

2 small bananas mixed with 2 tbsp oo and 1 tbsp honey

2 oranges dipped in 2 tbsp oo with 1 tsp sugar

2 yolks with 1 tsp sugar

munch food: tuna and salmon sushi rolls, (6 pc each)

2 bananas with 2 tbsp raw coconut oil

My daughter just began eating solid food. She has:

Breastmilk throughout the day (and night)

½ - ¾ c. blended raw fruit 3-4 times a day; yesterday she had mango and peach

Next week, I am introducing yolk to her.

Thank you for reading.

Post by **Oscar** » Mon 14 Dec 2009 12:01

The last % before 100% are always the hardest, and having addictive food around you doesn't make it easier.

If you haven't done it yet, you can enter your daily intake into the nutrient calculator: http://www.waiworld.com/waidiet/nut-calcsimple.html
Your energy intake should at least be somewhere around 2000kcal. The calculator only supports raw food, though.

snowbunny · Post by **snowbunny** » Tue 15 Dec 2009 00:56

I have used the calculator from time to time, mostly to find out the nutrient values, but I didn't know if I should really pay attention to the kcal values. I thought if I just go with how I feel, I would be all right. I feel like I must eat a little more at times, because I am nursing. I think I average around 3000 kcal. There is a suggested diet on this site for a female who consumes 2950 kcal in her example menu, which I thought seemed about right, even though she is older than I and is not mentioned as lactating. Though I still want to lose 10 lbs (5kg), I don't want to restrict my kcal intake too much. I have decided to just go on the 100% sample diet from now on.

Post by **Oscar** » Tue 15 Dec 2009 13:11

3000kcal is for sure not too little, though it might be a bit more than you actually need (I don't know how much energy lactating needs). When you go 100% you might see this decrease, but if not, there's nothing to worry about.

YouTube · Post by **RRM** » Tue 15 Dec 2009 18:12

Snowbunny wrote:I usually eat every 1.5-2 hours

The more often you eat, the smaller your meals,
the less fat is stored with every meal.
Hence its easier to lose weight...
whereas its also easier to keep your blood glucose at the right level

snowbunny · Post by **snowbunny** » Tue 15 Dec 2009 20:11

Oscar wrote:3000kcal is for sure not too little, though it might be a bit more than you actually need (I don't know how much energy lactating needs)...

I am not sure how much energy a lactating woman is supposed to need either; everything is so contradictory. I've read and heard from 500-1000 extra kcal. But, I tend to think this is not necessarily true, because those values seem to be excessive. I just eat whenever I feel hungry, which happens to be somewhere between 1.5 and 2 hours on average. Some days I eat more than I did pre-pregnancy, but then again, I wasn't on this diet pre-pregnancy, or post-pregnancy up to this point in time, so it's really impossible to say whether I am actually averaging a higher kcal intake. Now, I might actually be averaging a lower kcal intake...

Oscar wrote: ...When you go 100% you might see this decrease, but if not, there's nothing to worry about.

Yes. Yesterday was my first day of being 100%. According to the nutrient calculator, I consumed "2246.81kcal." I did not decrease anything on purpose; I simply was not as hungry yesterday, and I was sipping oj/oo for most of the afternoon and evening. Today might have a higher kcal value than yesterday. I never check until the end of the day when I am done eating.

snowbunny · Post by **snowbunny** » Tue 15 Dec 2009 20:23

Yesterday I had:

1 banana with 1 tbsp honey mixed with 1 tbsp oo

3 apples with 1 tsp oo each
(were eaten at different times of the day)

4 yolks with 2 tsp sugar

2 yolks with 1.5 tsp sugar

½ tomato with 1 tsp oo and a bit of lemon juice

32 oz orange juice with oo
(sipped throughout the afternoon and evening)

16 oz water
(sipped throughout the day and evening)

And my daughter had:

Breastmilk throughout the day (and night)

½ c. blended mango (morning)

½ tsp plain yolk (early afternoon)

½ c. blended mango (evening)

YouTube · Post by **RRM** » Wed 16 Dec 2009 10:21

Wow, thats great!!
How is your baby's stool?

Post by **Oscar** » Wed 16 Dec 2009 11:32

Sounds good

How (much) does she sleep? And how much does she cry?

snowbunny · Post by **snowbunny** » Wed 16 Dec 2009 22:10

RRM wrote:Wow, thats great!!
How is your baby's stool?

Well, her stool is the same, so far. I don’t think she has eaten enough yolk yet for there to be a noticeable difference. Today, we actually increased to ¾ tsp, and I will probably offer her another ¼ tsp later today too. So, we will be up to a 1 tsp serving, and up to two servings a day. This may or may not affect the stool.

She is really liking the yolk, so I feel like she can try a little bit more now. I will still go steady, of course.

Oscar wrote:Sounds good

How (much) does she sleep? And how much does she cry?

She takes two naps during the day, for about one or two hours each nap. She will sleep four to five hours at night, and then wakes up to nurse, and goes back to sleep. We co-sleep to make this easy and comfortable for both of us. Twice she has slept a six hour stretch during the night, not on consecutive nights, either. Six hours is considered “sleeping through the night,” but, in reality, breastfed babies do not sleep through the night, because breastmilk is so easily digested, and the baby will need to feed more within a couple of hours. Formula-fed babies actually “sleep well” because their bodies are working so hard to digest all the weird bovine proteins and other “stuff” in their formula.

As for crying, she does not cry too much at all. I do my best to make sure all her needs are met. She will get a little fussy if she wants to sleep or eat, or if she wants to be picked up. Sometimes she cries when she wants to nurse, but not always. She is a very good girl.

snowbunny · Post by **snowbunny** » Wed 16 Dec 2009 22:30

My daughter and I both ate less yesterday, for whatever reason, and I had a much food in a social situation.

I had:

3 apples (in 3 different sittings)

4 yolks with 3 tsp sugar

24 oz oj with about 6 tbsp oo and 3 tsp sugar
(sipped during the afternoon and evening)

munch food cheat: French fries

And my daughter had:

Breastmilk throughout the day (and night)

½ tsp plain yolk (early afternoon)

½ c. blended cherries (early evening)

YouTube · Post by **RRM** » Thu 17 Dec 2009 18:48

Good to hear! (ehhrr, read)

snowbunny · Post by **snowbunny** » Mon 21 Dec 2009 06:45

Today, my daughter had a second whole egg yolk. As usual, she had her ½ c. raw blended fruit this morning, and then 1 yolk about a half an hour later. This evening, she did not want the second ½ c. of raw blended fruit, so I decided to offer her some yolk, which she did want to eat, and so I let her finish it. Since she has been doing very well on yolk so far, I did not see any harm in offering her a little more yolk today. Although, two yolks will not be a regular part of her diet for awhile yet.

YouTube · Post by **RRM** » Mon 21 Dec 2009 17:18

Once she had egg yolks for a while, just listen to her;
there may be days she does not want yolks, and days she wants more.
Both are ok.

snowbunny · Post by **snowbunny** » Wed 23 Dec 2009 06:33

I have been on the 100% strict diet for the last few days, and using the nutrient calculator, I have found that I am actually consuming more calories on average than I was with the 90% strict diet. I am concerned because I really do not want any weight gain now as I have been slowly losing weight after my pregnancy. I have been eating more frequent meals, but I find I am hungrier more often lately. I eat slowly and do not eat more after I feel satisfied. If I do not feel full after eating one piece of fruit, then I eat another. I am trying to listen very carefully to what my body needs. I suspect the culprit is the high-calorie content of the olive oil: I add a tablespoon or two to all of my fruit. Should I decrease my consumption of oo? Of something else? I have been eating somewhat like this:

2 bananas with 1 tbsp honey and 1-2 tbsp oo, 4-5 times a day

1-2 apples with 1 tbsp oo/avo oil/flax oil blend, 2-4 times a day

6-10 yolks with 3-4 tsp sugar, usually 2-4 yolks at a time, either before a nap or after a walk.

A side note: I am not wanting any other fruit besides apples and bananas, and the occasional orange. I think it is because most fruit is out of season, and does not taste right to me. I know there is other seasonal fruit, but what is available is not organic, and I refuse to eat non-organic produce.