The raw food diet -- in which you consume at least 75 percent of foods in their natural, uncooked state -- can be a healthy lifestyle choice, but you may continue to lose weight due to the large number of low-calorie foods that you eat. If you want to maintain your current weight on a raw food diet, you need to take special care that you're eating enough.
Daily Calories
In order to maintain your current weight, you need to be eating the same amount of calories that you use each day. MedlinePlus suggests that you can determine the right number of calories by multiplying your current weight by 10 if you are sedentary, 13 if you have a low activity level, 15 if you have a moderate activity level and 18 if you have a high activity level. Once you know how much you need to eat to maintain your weight, you need to track the calories that you eat by keeping a food diary.
Considerations
The bulk of a raw diet consists of raw fruits and vegetables, which are low in calories. Few people on this diet eat 100 percent raw foods, though. The other 10 to 25 percent of your diet can consist of beans, whole grains and even meats. When you incorporate these types of foods into your diet, it becomes easier to get the number of calories that you need to maintain your weight.
Grab-and-Go Foods
It's helpful to have a number of higher calorie foods on hand that you can just eat whenever you're hungry. Nuts and seeds are higher in calories, and are easy to take with you wherever you go. You can also maintain your weight by keeping a large number of fruits -- which are often higher in calories than vegetables -- on you, eating a banana or apple whenever you feel hungry.
Sneaking Extra Calories In
If you find that you are still losing weight when you don't want to, you may need to find ways to sneak a bit more fat and calories into your diet. For example, add raw nuts to a fruit smoothie to add calories, or make a guacamole from high-fat avocados to dip your vegetables in. Every little bit can add up.
Trial and Error
Weight maintenance is often a matter of trial and error. Though the formulas from MedlinePlus can help you to estimate how many calories you need to eat per day, your actual daily caloric needs may be higher or lower than the estimates. Pay careful attention to what you are eating to find the right balance for you. Over time, you will learn what works for you.
Member Comments