How to Gain Weight on the Raw Food Diet

What is the secret to gaining weight when you are eating mostly raw food? Seriously, there is no secret. Gaining weight is simply a matter of consuming more calories than you use. The problem is this: most vegan raw foods are relatively low calorie. That is why it is so hard to gain weight on the raw food diet. It is possible, but very difficult. Here are some suggestions for gaining weight while staying healthy -- by eating raw, whole foods.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Calorie counter
• Plenty of raw fruit, nuts, seeds
• Powerful blender

1. *Use a calorie tracker to monitor your calorie intake.*
   
   This a great first step, but might not be the only tool you'll need. Since many calorie counters focus on packaged, processed foods -- and the raw food diet ensures you will be eating less (or none) of these, make sure that the calorie tracker you use has an extensive list of fruits and vegetables. Since many people eating mostly raw foods include a greater variety of fruits and vegetables in their diet than the average person, you might need to research some online or in nutrition books.

2. *Determine how many calories you need to consume to gain weight.*
   
   The most precise calculations take age, sex, current body weight, body fat percentage, and activity level into account. A very basic (but much less accurate) way to determine how many calories to eat for weight gain is to multiply your current body weight by 18 or 19. Please consult Additional Resources for a link to more accurate formulas.

3. *Buy high calorie fruits, nuts and seeds.*
   
   Examples of high calorie fruits and fruit juices are persimmons, prunes (dried plums), bananas, raisins (dried grapes), apple juice and pineapple juice.
   
   Some higher calorie nuts are almonds, brazil nuts, cashews and hazelnuts.
   
   Seeds that are relatively high in calories include sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds.

4. *Make raw food smoothies.*
   
   Raw food smoothies are an easy way to eat large quantities of higher calorie raw foods. If you use a powerful blender, like the Vita-Mix, you can blend fruit and nuts together for a smooth drink. Please see Additional Resources, below, for a banana smoothie recipe.

5. *Prepare some foods in advance for easy access.*
   
   Keep bags of frozen fruit and vegetables in the freezer to make smoothie-making easy.
   
   Make dehydrated snack bars. (For a raw snack recipe, please see Additional Resources.)

6. *Keep a stash of food next to you so you will constantly be reminded to eat.*
   
   Make sure you have plenty of food next to you so that you can munch while you work. Bowls of nuts, raw snack bars, and fruit are easy to eat throughout the day.

Resources

• Calorie Calculators and Calculations
• Smoothie Recipe
• Raw Snack Recipe