My metabolism seems so fast right now. true? common?

So, I'm in my second month into eating raw, and I feel so great! My energy level is ridiculous, and my attention for school right now is amazing. I have such a passion for everything I do right now. Anyway.

Is it odd right now that I've been eating very frequently, and I'm almost always hungry.

Ex: yesterday, I ate:

Breakfast: (6 a.m.) 2 pears, some grapes, 4 cups of water

Lunch: (around 10:45 a.m.) probably about 2 pounds of grapes, a pear, some macnuts, 4 cups of water

Snack: around 2:15-getting hungry, so I ate some more macadamias

After school:

4:30-some grapes, 2 plums

5:30-my package came from my friend who generously sent me lots of raw! I tried 2 hemp brownies immediately mmmmmm

for some reason, i hadn't been very hungry for the past 3 days, so i was eating very little. then the evening came and i was starving

6:00-tried a dill "sauerkraut" cracker :)

8:00-made some nut milk out of almonds -and in a failed attempt to make ice cream (poor planning on my part)-I use some nut milk sweetened with agave, coconut butter, a hemp brownie, and maybe some other stuff (haha)-it made a nice smoothie though

around midnight, while doing homework, I was starving and needed some food to be able to concentrate - i had some flax crackers, and I woke up about an hour ago still starving. haha

(Oh, and after school I had at least 8 cups of water, no more than 10) - just adding that information to show that water is not a factor in my extreme hunger this past week or so

Now that I wrote everything down, I now realize I didn't have as much fruit as I should've in the evening, but regardless, I'm still always hungry.

2 days ago when I was home from school (mental health day :p), I ate throughout the day:

at least 5 pears, 2 apples, 1 pound of strawberries, a banana, 3 plums, a spinach/banana smoothie, and some granola made with dates, coconut oil, almonds, agave, and hemp

I was still so hungry.

So i'm slightly worried about this for one reason: I thought that raw food requires you to eat less because you're absorbing more nutrients, so I don't know what's going on with my hunger! Although I probably don't have malnutrition anymore because I can feel so much more energy than when I was probably eating too little. I am aware that I'm eating lots of fat, even up to 100 grams a day I'd guess. I usually gain weight very quickly due to a slowed metabolism (from an eating disorder), but everytime I get on the scale, I'm shocked to see that my weight has been within a 3 pound range every time, and I have ultimately lost weight from eating the raw vegan way.

I'm not sure if there are less toxins in my body and I can digest things quicker than usual, my metabolism is boosted, or if I'm just not getting enough nutrients (which would seem odd to me). On the latter, I would just assume that I'm getting enough nutrients because of how much energy I have compared to when I was probably not eating enough and felt lethargic no matter how much I slept.

Often when I see information about raw, people express the fear of eating too much fat or too much sugar; and I am without a doubt eating lots of sugar and lots of fat (I'm not looking to lose weight though, just maintain, and I'm 16). I would just like to know if that will have a negative effect on my overall health in the long-term. It's hard to find raw information with specific needs to a teenager! haha.

Comments

  • I've been raw for only about a total of four months, and I have to say, I eat a lot more than that. If I'm on the go I can manage to eat a lot less, but if I'm at home or something I eat pretty often. I want to have more control over it, and begin to eat less, but I know it's all a part of the transition. Your body needs more time raw before it can become as efficient at digesting / absorbing food as possible. I wouldn't worry about feeling hungry

  • eechoeecho Raw Newbie

    Here's my take, many people including myself experience this. In my opinion, based on experience, research, and intuition, there are two reasons for this:

    1) When you go raw, your metabolism is still sky high from when you were cooked. So, all the new raw foods just burn right up in your digestive tract. It takes some time before your metabolism slows down and your body becomes more efficient at processing food.

    2) Its not really hunger you are feeling. Its discomfort from detox. When you go raw your body will be cleaning out for a very long time, possibly many years. Of course, its the worst at the very beginning and then gets better. So, the "starving" feeling you feel is probably not actually hunger, but the detox, and eating is not satisfying hunger, but rather stopping the detox.

    Since a human being can survive for more than 40 days without food, I think it is almost impossible to absolutely need food after only a few hours. You just have to get used to the detox symptoms, and basically wait it out. Your body will change, just stay focused on your goals and keep doing a lot of research about the raw food diet. That will help you stay on track. Also, personally I think its not bad to feel like you're eating too much, if it doesn't conflict with any other goals. For instance, if your goal is simply to remain a raw vegan and be healthy, then continue doing what you're doing and just play it by ear.

  • First of all, actually to me, it sounds like you're not eating enough. I usually eat 9-10 servings of fruit a day, plus loads of cashews, almonds, little salads, veggie crackers, and more!

    Eecho...I have no idea where you got any of that information from but I don't agree with it. Can you source it?

    Also vegankid, you're SIXTEEN! Which means guess what? You're GROWING. I ate three times as much food when I was a teenager as I do now, your metabolism/need for food is really high at this stage. Don't feel like you're eating too much, you're not. Also, if possible, find a support group of other vegan teens in your area...it sounds like you need the social support.

    Good luck!

  • eechoeecho Raw Newbie

    I would love to source it but I haven't done that research. Thus I began with "in my opinion". It may or may not be true, just seems like a viable hypothesis (perhaps I should have emphasized that more).

    About my second point, just check out any number of sources

  • superfood2superfood2 Raw Newbie

    Not enough fruit, too much processed food (and fat from nuts and brownies and crackers) that doesn't have teh carbohydrates you need.

    Also, please keep in mind that some people in this world really ARE starving and not just "hungry" or "have an appetite for something." I think using the language "starving" is very disrespectful to those in actual need with no access to food.

  • eating raw does not = having to eat less... in fact, it's pretty much the opposite. it's much easier to fill up and get your daily calories off of less cooked/processed food (the problem is, it's harder on your body overall) and if you look at it logically you'll realize that you're going to need to eat quite a bit of fruit (and greens) to achieve the same caloric intake as what you would on a cooked diet. I suggest checking out fitday.com or something similar to look up the caloric values of the fruits and veggies you eat to get an idea of how MUCH of it you'll need to eat to thrive.

    and with what superfood said go easy on those nuts, processed, overt fats. Glad you're feeling great (aside from the hunger) however, that isn't going to last long if you don't get your diet straight.

    and sugar from fresh raw fruits is a ton different than sugar from dates and whatever other kinds of sugars you're chowin' on.

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