Is the raw vegan diet making me "too thin"? Please advise

In the last 4 days I have had 4 people telling me I am "too thin". This worries me! So I think it is time I asked for advise on curezone about whether I am really too thin or ill. I would be thankful for any thoughts or information on this.

I have been on a 90% raw diet for 4 months. I also Water Fast once a week and have done a longer, 7 day Water Fast in June. I take an enema once a week.

In these 4 months, my illnesses (chronic dry eye, mild chest pain, sciatica) are palpably better though far from cured. I feel much lighter and more 'swift' in my movements. My skin is better. A few people have commented that I look significantly younger and I too feel that I look younger. Both physically and spiritually, I feel more sensitive. Physically, I see a whole new level of awareness of what foods, drinks, pollutants can do to my body. My libido is 1/5th of what it was but I really don't mind, even prefer it this way.

I enjoy all this. However, almost everyone I meet says "you have become so thin!". I live in a culture - India - where people feel free and even obliged to comment on what they see is your health situation. Hence, I also get a lot of comments like "You have become so thin - have you been sick?"

Most people comment on my thinner face and my neck and shoulders where the outlines of my bones are visible.

I am trying to figure out if I am really too thin.

In these 4 months, I've lost 8 kg / 17 lb. My height is 5'8" and my weight, when I last checked (I don't have a weight machine) a couple of weeks ago was 55 kg / 123 lb. I am a male, 30 years old. My waist size is 30", which looks pretty normal to me. It used to be 32-33" before the lifestyle change.

That makes my BMI 18.5, which is borderline underweight, although the BMI theory doesn't make sense to me.

Am I really too thin? I don't feel too thin myself when I look at my image in the mirror, especially without clothes. For the first time in my life after I was a little child do I not have a paunch. I feel slim and fit, not thin.

My skeletal frame, however, has always been very small. Perhaps smaller than anyone I have met. Especially on my wrists and ankles. That makes me look thinner than others now that I have less fat.

From reading articles online, I have found three points to note about being "too thin" -

1. Dr. Fuhrman in Eat to Live says

"Most people [on his diet, which is not fully raw] lose weight and then stop losing when they have reached their ideal weight. You are not the judge of your ideal weight; your body is. As almost everyone is overweight, many people think they are too thin when they have reached their best weight. I have many patients who, after following my plan to reverse diabetes or heart disease, report, 'Everyone tells me I look too thin now.' I then measure their periumbilical fat and check their percentage of body fat, and usually show them that they are still not thin enough." (pp. 192-193).

2. Going raw makes your body shed unhealthy fat and muscle and it takes about a year before you put on healthy fat and muscle. Because of this you may look emaciated for that year.

3. Raw fooders don't get enough fat. I get at least 300 grams or more of cashews, almonds and walnuts a week, plus lots of sprouts. So I wonder if this is true for me.

Is the problem with me or with those who comment on how thin I am? What do you think about the above points, especially 1 and 2?

Any thoughts, information, links would be very helpful. I am getting concerned about all these adverse comments on my looks and health.



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