[n88tr]

I've been trying to stay away from any carbs except from vegetables exclusively, it's a bit of a challenge. Should I have whole grains in my diet like 12 grain bread, more oatmeal, etc or are vegetables the best way to go?

Also, how do I definitively figure out how much proteins and carbs I should be consuming, is there a scientific way to do this? I want to learn a lot more about nutrition, I think I have the exercises down now, been doing it for a while now but only recently have I started paying serious attention to my diet.

[Thomas_Rivera]

It's better to get it from other sources as well. Why would you just get it from vegetables? Vegetables are a smart way to go, but getting it from bread, oatmeal ETC gives you good sources of carbs AND protein.

You can figure it out easy.

Total calories a day= X
Fat= (whatever personally works best)18-25%X
Protein=1 gram of protein per a pound of body weight
Carbs= Protein+fat intake subtracted from total calories a day.

[Kaboom]

What are your goals?are you cutting or bulking or even maintaining?

[razorback11]

Does anyone have experience with raw food diet. I am active at work all day and also play sports two days a week and am wondering if I could keep up this lifestyle on the raw food diet. The people I have met on this diet look healthy but are not very athletic or active so I can not really trust their advice. I'm looking for personal experiences of active people who have tried or practice this diet. Is there any response?

[Thomas_Rivera]

For bodybuilding, or just in general, I wouldn't do the rawfood diet. In my opinion, no good diet should create a deficiency in anything.

"What is the Raw Food Diet?
The raw food diet is a diet based on unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, sprouts, seeds, nuts, grains, beans, nuts, dried fruit, and seaweed.

Heating food above 116 degrees F is believed to destroy enzymes in food that can assist in the digestion and absorption of food. Cooking is also thought to diminish the nutritional value and "life force" of food.

Typically, at least 75% of the diet must be living or raw.

What are the Benefits of the Raw Food Diet?
Proponents of the raw food diet believe it has numerous health benefits, including:
Increased energy

Improved skin appearance

Better digestion

Weight loss

Reduced risk of heart disease

The raw food diet contains fewer trans fats and saturated fat than the typical Western diet. It is also low in sodium and high in potassium, magnesium, folate, fiber and health-promoting plant chemicals called phytochemicals.

These properties are associated with a reduced risk of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. For example, a study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that consumption of a raw food diet lowered plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations.

What are the Guidelines of the Raw Food Diet?
1. What can I eat?

Unprocessed, preferably organic, whole foods such as:
Fresh fruits and vegetables

Nuts

Seeds

Beans

Grains

Legumes

Dried fruit

Seaweed

Unprocessed organic or natural foods

Freshly juiced fruit and vegetables

Purified water

Young coconut milk
At least 75% of food consumed should not be heated over 116 degrees F.

2. What cooking techniques are used?

Specific cooking techniques make foods more digestible and add variety to the diet, including:
Sprouting seeds, grains, and beans

Juicing fruit and vegetables

Soaking nuts and dried fruit

Blending

Dehydrating food
3. What equipment can I use?
A dehydrator, a piece of equipment that blows air through food at a temperature of less than 116 degrees F.

A good-quality juice extractor for juicing fruit and vegetables

A blender, food processor, or chopper to save time

Large glass containers to soak and sprout seeds, grains, and beans

Mason jars for storing sprouts and other food
Side Effects


Some people experience a detoxification reaction when they start the raw food diet, especially if their previous diet was rich in meat, sugar, and caffeine. Mild headaches, nausea, and cravings can occur but usually last for several days.

Precautions
The raw food diet may not be appropriate for certain people, such as:
Children

Pregnant or nursing women

People with anemia

People at risk for osteoporosis - A Washington University study found that people following a raw food diet had lower bone mass. Bone turnover rates, however, were similar to the group that ate a standard American diet.
Considerable time, energy, and commitment is needed to be healthy on the raw food diet. Many of the foods are made from scratch. Some ingredients may be hard to find, such as Rejuvelac (the fermented liquid drained from sprouted grains), sprouted flour, date sugar, young coconut milk, carob powder and Celtic sea salt.

People must be aware that certain nutritional deficiencies can occur on the raw food diet, including:

Calcium

Iron

B12 – The Journal of Nutrition study found that a raw food diet increased levels of homocysteine due to vitamin B-12 deficiency.

Protein

Calories
Critics of the raw food diet say while it’s true that some enzymes are inactivated when food is heated, it doesn’t matter because the body uses its own enzymes for digestion. In addition, cooking makes certain phytochemicals easier to absorb, such as beta-carotene in carrots.

Another critique is that the human body has changed in response to eating cooked foods. Some of these changes are that are jaws and teeth have become smaller, our stomachs have shrunk, and our small intestines have grown longer, lengthening the digestive surface area.

According to other alternative diet theories, such as macrobiotics, Ayurveda, and traditional Chinese medicine, a raw-only diet may not be appropriate for people living in colder climates or for people with certain constitutional types."

[n88tr]

Originally Posted by Kaboom

What are your goals?are you cutting or bulking or even maintaining?

I am overweight still with a significant roll around my mid section but I work harder at bulking so I honestly don't know what I want, I just workout like hell when I bulk, try to watch my carbs [cutting still], and do my cardio everyday.

I can imagine myself ripped but not slim, but from my little experience, I think it'll be easier to bulk then cut. I wish there were actual people in my life that I could talk to about nutrition and cutting. The most experienced people that I know of work at the YMCA [great place but not too many really smart people that I can find or talk to], like PTs and then there's my college gym but most of those people are actually younger than me and have been bulking for years now. I ask them basic questions like "how long have you been working out?" and they say [I've asked about a dozen great-looking guys] "oh, 5-6 years." That seems to be consensus. I've been seriously cutting for 4 months [I don't see any results, really frustrating], and seriously bulking for 2 months [lot more results there].

I really want to lose weight; I can't imagine myself with a flat stomach, but I do try and succeed to watch my diet and carbs but it takes so long to see results, sometimes I feel it's hopeless to achieve the kind of cut I want.