Feelin' Fine...But Is That Enough?

Hey All!

Here's the deal.

For the past month I've been a raw vegetarian (about 85% raw fruits/vegetables and 15% cooked food daily) because since last April I've been playing with different diets and this one makes me feel great. With fingers crossed I hope to be 100% raw vegan by the end of next month.

Since last April I've also lost some weight (about 35lbs) and have about 25 lbs to go before I reach my target weight.

I've also recently decided that I'm going to pursue a career teaching yoga/meditation so I've kicked up my ashtanga practice to the traditional six days a week. Right now it is about thirty minutes per day of yoga but also another thirty minutes of walking to work (don't drive). All in all I'm burning an ass load of calories.

This website I'm using to keep track of my calorie consumption/expulsion warning me that I'm not in balance. Which, by seeing the numbers, I understand.

The things is that I feel great. Like really, really great. When I eat I get full very fast, I never feel hungry, I have a ton of energy, and my muscles rarely feel sore or fatigued from the exercise. I sleep well and many people wonder how I do it all.

My eating habits are like a bird. I nibble away at food now. It isn't that I don't want to eat it but my body isn't craving it.

The thing I'm wondering is should I listen to my body in this situation and as long as everything is feeling good and I'm not underweight just go along with what I'm doing OR should I ignore it and try to shove food into it to meet the recommended caloric intake?

Thanks. If you have any questions to clarify anything let me know.

Thanks again!

 

I would listen to your body. You need a certain amount of calories to maintain your active lifestyle, but it sounds like you're getting enough calories to provide the nourishment you need. Calorie guides don't really take into account different metabolisms and bone structure. I've never eaten the recommended daily calorie intake and I'm supposedly underweight for my height, but I'm also very small boned, I lead an active lifestyle and I feel good, so I've never worried about it. Your body is going to know what you need better than any kind of calorie chart.

 

Hmm... Well, I'm not a vegetarian but one thing I know is that well-balanced diet is important in staying healthy. You may feel healthy now, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything in the long run. By that, I mean that you have to take everything from your physique to your exercise routine to what you eat, and everything else in between, into consideration.

Do you take enough protein? Carbohydrates? From your post, it sounds like you lead a fairly active lifestyle and exercise regularly. Your body needs both protein and carbs to stay strong. Without them, you'd only lose weight without gaining muscles since your body needs to get energy from somewhere(and that somewhere could mean muscles, which is the situation you'd want to avoid).

You should listen to your own body, yes. But also keep in mind it is important to know what your body actually needs in order to survive through different degrees of exercise. What you want to avoid is to one day feel really weak all of the sudden and collapsing from lack of energy.

All the best... Hell, you're probably a lot healthier than I am, you don't want to know how much I abuse my body with all kinds of unhealthy things I put in it, LOL. xD

 

If it aint broken don't fix it. If there were anything wrong with what you're doing you would be feeling it. You'll KNOW when you aren't eating enough. When I get high and forget to eat sometimes I'll be able to feel my body consuming itself and my stomach makes loud sounds. If your tummy isn't rumbling you're good

 

I'll back up the others. If you feel healthy, you probably are healthy. And if you've been doing yoga, then you know how to listen to your body enough to know.

I've been wondering about this myself, though. I had the flu last week, and couldn't keep down what little I was hungry for. My stomach shrank a lot (LOT!) and this week, while the flu is totally gone and I feel great, I haven't been able to eat more mass than a banana at a time. More, and I start feeling sick. So I started paying attention to be sure that what little I eat is as nutritious as possible: lots of proteins and vitamins, not so much starch. I've been eating just enough starch to keep my blood sugar up. I've been hypoglycaemic for some years now.

The really freaky thing is this: I've been taking in less than 1000 calories a day, and most of that has been in fluid form: milk and juices. I've noticed that when my stomach's empty enough that the sharp painful feeling is just starting, I have more energy, I'm more alert, and I feel amazing. I can run farther, lift more weight, and climb better on the rock wall. The day is just better.

I'm a little concerned, as you seem to be, because I've spent the last few days just watching my waistline shrink as I go. I'm not losing weight, so it's not muscle mass I'm losing. I've actually upped my lifting this week. But the fat's just disappearing daily. Freaky shit.