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Whos' Raw? and who wants to tell me about it?


amawalke
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This might be pretty specific but who is:

a) eating a raw (or mostly raw) vegan diet

b) someone who has trained for or is training for a bikini division competition

c) willing to tell me about their experience with those two things?

 

Also, anyone who fits into ANY of those categories, not just those who fit all three, I'd love to hear your input!

 

I've read some about raw and think it sounds like an amazing lifestyle. But I haven't heard of many raw vegans who also train for competitions. I think it will be a slow transition if I ever go completely raw, but I'd like to move towards that way of eating. Is this lifestyle conducive to the bikini "look" I'm trying to achieve?

 

thanks! You all rock! Progress pics coming up in 2 weeks!

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I've read some about raw and think it sounds like an amazing lifestyle.

 

It's not.

 

Is this lifestyle conducive to the bikini "look" I'm trying to achieve?

 

Absolutely not.

 

You need to be putting on lean mass right now, you are too slim for bikini as is. You will be hard pressed to grow off a raw diet, and there is nothing healthier about it vs a vegan diet. Raw foodists hype up their diet and lifestyle, you'll find that some of them are just outright liars. Don't buy the hype.

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Amawalke;

 

Most books on raw food diets are not written by authors with degrees, credentials or a formal education in nutrition. To put it bluntly, many of the beliefs behind raw foodism are "made up" and even contradict basic biochemistry known for centuries that any college student would read in a text book.

 

Brenda Davis R.D. is a coauthor of The American Dietetic Position Paper On Vegetarianism, architect of the anti-diabetes program for the Marshall Islands and an author of about half a dozen books on veg*n related nutrition. She has the education. She has the credentials. She is fact based.

 

If you read any book on raw foodism, you should read hers as it will based on facts.

 

Becoming Raw The Essential Guide to Raw Vegan Diets

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I've read some about raw and think it sounds like an amazing lifestyle.

 

It's not.

 

Is this lifestyle conducive to the bikini "look" I'm trying to achieve?

 

Absolutely not.

 

You need to be putting on lean mass right now, you are too slim for bikini as is. You will be hard pressed to grow off a raw diet, and there is nothing healthier about it vs a vegan diet. Raw foodists hype up their diet and lifestyle, you'll find that some of them are just outright liars. Don't buy the hype.

 

Interesting points, Zack.

 

I was wondering from your perspective on this - what is it about cooking foods that makes them more conducive to adding muscle mass than if you were to eat them raw?

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I was wondering from your perspective on this - what is it about cooking foods that makes them more conducive to adding muscle mass than if you were to eat them raw?

I think what he is referring to is that many high protein vegan foods are not raw, but are still very useful for adding muscle. Beans, soy products, fake meats, etc....

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Thanks you guys. I'm gonna play with it and see what happens! Anyone else think playing around with different food combinations and workouts is fun? Is that why most of us are here?

 

I did it for a while a few years ago. If I were you and wanted to compete within a year, I'd discourage it. I was glad I did it though, good learning experience.

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I did the 80/10/10 diet for mor than a year. I felt really great on it, putting on weight on this diet is really hard, you have to eat very big amonts of food. The reason I stopped doing it was because it was too expensive. I am still doing a low fat vegan diet, only I eat cooked foods, but I still do it big amount of raw foods. I can't get anything down in the morning just fruits. I get lot of calories from grains ( gluten free only) and beans legumes etc, but mostly grains. If I eat too much fat or gluten I get mucus in my nose I feel sick and tired. But this is my experience. Hope it helped.

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ouch. Is that because of all the fruits and veggies they eat? and specialty products? Right now I'm spending like 30-50 a week on food, unless I go out to eat. But my diet is pretty simple I guess. And obviously, it's not totally raw. I'm reading "Becoming Raw" and am probably just going to eat a larger percentage of raw food (fruits and veggies, not a bad thing right?) but I don't know if I'll get into sprouting/dehydrating etc. I'm definitely a blending machine, and I got a food processor, so that's been fun! I was looking at some videos of Bikini Comps, and those girls are way tinier than me! They just have better arms and backs! But I wouldn't say I was too "skinny" for bikini comps at all. If anything I need to tone my legs a hella lot and lose some of this badonkadonk in my booty, and build arms and back a little bit. None of them looked overly muscular.

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Don't get a dehydrator, it's a waste of time and money. Eating bigger amount fruits and veggies is, good. I mostly stopped 811 because I didn't had enough money for this diet. I still eat green smoothies etc. I try to eat a lot of greens a day. Theres nothing bette for breakfast than a green smoothie

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ouch. Is that because of all the fruits and veggies they eat? and specialty products?

 

 

I don't know, but I think that is a good guess. Produce, even commercial ( and most raw foodists are adamant about being organic ) tends to be an expensive. My area has many natural foods stores and co-ops. The price of the prepacked raw products and raw restaurants tends to be astronomical.

 

I'm reading "Becoming Raw" and am probably just going to eat a larger percentage of raw food (fruits and veggies, not a bad thing right?) but I don't know if I'll get into sprouting/dehydrating etc.

 

Good move. That is the only book of raw foodism that I know about where you are going to get facts.

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The book has made some interesting points so far; like how raw foodists need to be really careful about their dental health if they eat too many fruits (I love fruit but I'm leaning towards eating more veggies; I'm in love with green smoothies right now!) and it made a good point about added oils. I've been obsessed with coconut oil and was justifying it as a "health food" but the book made a good point that it's totally fine to get healthy fats in your diet but they should usually come in a nutrition package (like in avocados, nuts and seeds.) They talk about all the different variations of raw food diets, and suggest that going 100 percent raw isn't necessarily ideal for everyone. I like the idea that it doesn't have to be all or nothing. It's not like "once I go 100 percent raw, I'll be eating the perfect diet!" It just talked about aiming to include these good foods into your diet. I just started reading it last night, and even being a speed-reader I really just skimmed most of it. You all have been totally helpful too. It's nice to get multiple perspectives on it.

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I love young coconuts! We go through maybe 3 to 5 a week.

 

Here are two ways to open a young coconut. I have always used the first method, (John Kohler) works great for me. Never tried the second. I don't bother with the special tool to bore a hole in it to remove the water.

 

After I get it open & pour the water into my blender, I then scoop the meat out & place in the blender as well. It makes a great coconut milk/smoothie that lasts for several days in the fridge. However, it usually doesn't last that long at my house! YUM!

 

 

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Thanks! I'm going grocery shopping either tonight or tomorrow; if I grab a coconut (which I will if I see one!) I'll let you know how it goes. katz; what are your thoughts on coconut oil by itself? I love it, but I can definitely sub in other things for the creamy texture if it's not that great for me

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Thanks! I'm going grocery shopping either tonight or tomorrow; if I grab a coconut (which I will if I see one!) I'll let you know how it goes. katz; what are your thoughts on coconut oil by itself? I love it, but I can definitely sub in other things for the creamy texture if it's not that great for me

 

 

I don't use coconut oil for anything, as that is really considered a "processed food" - and since I don't cook or prepare many fancy recipes, I don't have a need for it in any foods that I eat.

 

The coconut water is great for the electrolytes/minerals it contains, and if you blend the water & meat, it makes an excellent coconut milk to use as a base for smoothies/shakes or even in cereals.

 

My issue is that most young coconuts available in my area are from Thailand, not organic, and are treated with post harvest treatments such as bleaching agents, fungicides and preservative to survive the 3-week boat trip to the US and still arrive with weeks of shelf-life thereafter.

 

I still use them, although it is a concern for me. There are online sellers that sell organic untreated coco's here in the states, but they are a bit pricey...

 

BTW, with nutrient dense smoothies, nuts, seeds, fruits & vegs, and other raw foods there is no problem at all getting enough calories on a raw diet. The idea that a cooked vegan diet supplies more calories makes no sense to me;

 

How is cooking the raw food going to give you more calories? The only thing that would give you more muscle building calories on a vegan diet as opposed to raw would be the use of powdered proteins as a supplement.

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BTW, with nutrient dense smoothies, nuts, seeds, fruits & vegs, and other raw foods there is no problem at all getting enough calories on a raw diet. The idea that a cooked vegan diet supplies more calories makes no sense to me;

 

How is cooking the raw food going to give you more calories? The only thing that would give you more muscle building calories on a vegan diet as opposed to raw would be the use of powdered proteins as a supplement.

The idea is that there are many more vegan foods in total when you include non-raw foods, and those can be very calorie dense compared to raw foods....

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