Lets talk about calories.

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Permalink Reply by Mellifera on July 5, 2009 at 6:48pm

I eat in the middle....around 1100-1300. I think it's a good idea to figure out how much YOU need and not follow standard recommendations unless they are right for you. I eat so that's I'm not hungry, irritable, faint, etc. but the benefits of calorie restriction are real, so I don't feel the need to eat any more than that.

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Permalink Reply by hagbard on July 5, 2009 at 7:39pm

I have no idea.

My rule is: as long as it's raw I eat whatever I want as much as a want.

The corollary to that rule though is that I am *listening* much more closely to what my body really wants.

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Permalink Reply by Rawgreengoddess on July 6, 2009 at 2:14am

i eat around 2700-3800cals a day....have been eating raw coming into my 6th year now....i eat high fruit low fat and train alot...

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Permalink Reply by Cam on July 6, 2009 at 3:37am

It depends.

Everyone's calorie requirements are going to differ based on the following:

1) Your caloric needs to maintain their weight. Usually by taking your weight (in pounds) and multiplying it by 10 gives you your bare minimum (150lbs = 1500 cals).

2) How active you are. Some people who are training for marathons or long bike rides can burn more than 5000 extra calories, therefore will need to eat a lot more. If you sit all day and aren't very active you may only require a few hundred calories more than your minimum calorie requirements to maintain your weight.

3) Your weight goals. If you want to lose weight or gain weight.

I just mentioned a few common ones.

I typically eat 2500 cals/day. On days in which I work out I will be closer to 3000. I weigh about 165lbs.

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Permalink Reply by TaiChiMaster on July 6, 2009 at 4:52am

The absorbability of the food we put into our mouths is a big factor I think. Absorbability depends on a few factors, including how well the food (or smoothie/blend) is chewed, whether the seed/grain/legume has been soaked or sprouted, whether the nutrients in the food have been altered/denatured by heat/cooking/irradiation (ie raw/live foods vs cooked foods!), food combining, the state of your digestive system, and the overall state of your body/mind.

I'm sure you'd absorb more from say 500 calories of a well-blended (but not over blended) green smoothie, than you would from say 500 calories of say sesame seeds that haven't been soaked/sprouted and are poorly chewed, or from say 500 calories of cooked sweet corn that's poorly chewed. So, I think that "500 calories" of green smoothie is far more nutritious (energy & nutrients absorbable) than "500 calories" of sesame seeds or cooked sweet corn.

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Permalink Reply by Mellifera on July 6, 2009 at 10:34am

that's very true. when calories are measured in the lab, they use a machine that burns that food. That's def not what happens in our body. Chewing, proper stomach acid, the texture and surface area of the food, etc. make a big difference.

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Permalink Reply by TaiChiMaster on July 6, 2009 at 5:17am

Also 500 calories of table sugar ("pure", with practically zero minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients) is very different than 500 calories of a good green smoothie (made with fresh ripe raw organic whole fruits, greens, root vegetables, weeds, seaweeds, etc).

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Permalink Reply by Debbie Took on July 6, 2009 at 1:34pm

I have never counted calories since going raw. Calorie-counting was part of my cooked life.

I have no idea how many calories I consume on average, and this is something on which I differ from many others on a high-fruit diet.

I go with 'less is more', and think most of us, raw or not, eat far too much. (And that certainly includes me.)

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