XPOST [PathOfHealth #11194]: Transitioning: Exercising the Stomach [Relearning to Eat] (WAS: Physical weight as a poor measure of dietary consumption)

[Guest guest]

Hi Claudia,

 

The following post from the PathOfHealth archive (#11194) may be helpful to

you.

Elchanan

 

PS: PathOfHealth is my " home " discussion group; I publish most of my posts

there.

____________

.....

 

One crucial aspect in transitioning to a healthful RF diet involves

relearning to eat enough. So you hit the nail on the head, so to speak, when

you say

 

>>> I'm really shaky (hands trembling--but this only seems to happen if I

wait TOO long to eat another banana

 

Fruits (with exceptions such as avocado and olives) are very high in water

content, very low in fats. They are low caloric-density foods, that is,

there are far fewer calories per bite in fruits vs. almost all other

foods--grains, nuts, seeds, and so forth. So we need to relearn how to eat

much more than we are used to consuming, in terms of volume (size) and mass

(weight, so to speak).

 

The stomach wall consists largely of muscle tissue, and over many years of

consuming high caloric-density foods (many calories per bite), that muscle

has become rather inflexible and weak ... just as would be the case with any

other underused muscle. So a central component of transitioning (though not

widely understood) involves gradually building up the size of our meals,

which means, quite literally, gradually building up our stomach muscle.

 

Please note that this approach to transitioning is completely antithetical

to all the widely taught ideas about " transitional foods " such as dehydrated

foods and so forth. All those ideas have to do with our attempts to continue

in our old emotional constructs while attempting to recreate our diet, and

almost everyone who attempts to go this route eventually fails.

 

I am using " transitioning " in an entirely different manner, involving

relearning to eat in an entirely new way, physically AND emotionally, all at

the same time. My foregoing comments on the stomach muscle address a portion

of the physical aspect of this transformation.

 

The headache you are experiencing is likely a " typical cleansing activity " .

When the blood stream carries foreign matter through the cranial region, en

route for eventual elimination, the body is smart enough to constrict the

blood vessels in the cranial region. This reduces the surface area of those

vessels, minimizing and transfer of foreign matter from the blood into the

brain. Innate intelligence, brilliant. Headache ... you bet!!! So appreciate

that headache, it's your body saving your brain while the rest of you cleans

house.

 

The " weight loss " is water weight, your body is beginning to remove stored

salty brine and other water-soluble foreign matter that could not be safely

removed before. And that's likely the underlying cause of that headache.

 

As for the bowels, don't worry, this too shall pass. (Sorry, I couldn't

resist.

 

Yes, you should notice improvements in your overall energy ... and you may

experience times when you feel very tired, as well. Just make sure to keep

your system well-hydrated, drink plenty of water. Not in floods, just in

sips, but throughout the day, and the night as well, if you are overweight

(which I seem to recall). ALL overweight people are systemically dehydrated

24x7, and all overweight people have deranged body temperature management.

 

I do hope you are committed to a course of action over several weeks

duration. That's the ticket right now. Stay the course, you're doing great.

And keep on writing, share the details, even the not-so-pretty ones that may

arise. In particular, please begin to focus on your emotional self. Begin to

notice any changes in your moods, attitudes, memories, etc., and share

away!!

 

Best,

Elchanan

_____

 

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

claudia

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 10:32 AM

rawfood

[Raw Food] Re: Physical weight as a poor measure of dietary

consumption

 

 

Well, I'd better get busy and start changing my diet, lol! I have a

long ways to go. But I do think if I would try to eat that much

without easeing into it my insides would freak out. Thank you for

giving me an idea of what is attainable. ~ Claudia