A Raw Food Diet You Can Stay On
by Ellen Livingston
Many raw food educators and coaches today will encourage you to learn a repertoire of complex gourmet raw recipes that mimic common cooked dishes, with the aim of a "painless" transition to a diet of all raw food. This approach has pitfalls.
First, these raw food recipes are often complex, and second, they are often high in fat. This makes them difficult, or even impossible to digest, and thus harmful to your health! Third, you may tire of all the work involved to prepare the fancy dishes, and fourth, this diet often fails to provide the correct ratio of carbohydrates, fat, and protein. This leaves the follower unsatiated, and therefore experiencing food cravings. On all of these levels such a diet is probably unsustainable.
The majority of people trying to transition to a raw food diet in this manner end up keeping a significant proportion of cooked foods in their diet, and therefore never achieve the promised level of vibrancy they are seeking.
For health, it is important to eat simply, and to limit fat intake. I recommend what is now being called the "80-10-10" low fat raw vegan diet. This is a healthy, sustainable way to go. For a complete description of this program, read "The 80-10-10 Diet", by Dr. Douglas N. Graham, available at www.foodnsport.com, or contact me at www.livingyoganow.com to obtain a copy. In this approach, at least 80% of your calories are obtained from simple carbohydrates, mostly the simple sugar found in whole, fresh, ripe, raw fruits. The rest of this high water-content diet is comprised of leafy greens, non-sweet fruits (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, etc.), other vegetables, and small amounts of nuts and seeds. 10% or fewer of your total calories will come from fats, and the same for proteins.
This diet is sustainable because your basic fuel needs are being fully met in their most efficient and digestible form (simple sugars obtained by eating lots of ripe fruits). This lower fat approach also keeps the whole body running at optimum efficiency. Learn this diet, and you won't need another diet again! The 80-10-10 lowfat raw vegan diet of mostly fruit is our biologically natural human diet. It is efficient, and provides the conditions for maximum energy and ultimate health.
There are several possible approaches to adopting this way of eating. One is to simply start increasing the percentage of fresh, ripe, raw, organic, whole plant foods at each meal. Begin each meal with raw fruits and vegetables. Better yet, eat only fruit for your first meal. Next, make your second meal all raw too. Begin dinner with raw fruits and vegetables, and eventually you can drop that last cooked food portion of dinner.
These methods can work. They may take time and perseverance, however, and for some it becomes a circuitous, winding, indirect route to the end destination. Struggles with food cravings, addictions, and emotional eating are common. Still, for some, a slow transition is the way to go. It can eventually take you to your goal. You just keep yourself heading in the direction you want to go.
Another creative possibility is to adopt one full day of all raw 80-10-10 diet the first week, two full days of this diet the next week, three days of it the third week, and so on until by the end of seven weeks you are eating the all raw 80-10-10 diet all seven days of the week. This approach is also gradual and may be accompanied by some of the detours and struggles of the previously described methods. But it has the advantage of giving you some immediate experience of longer periods of all raw eating. And you may notice more clearly the effects the cooked foods have on you.
If you've done your research, and you know you really, REALLY want true health on the optimum raw diet, then what I'm about to share may be the best method for you. It is the quickest, least painful route to all raw eating for those who are truly ready, and who have the knowledge and the faith required to fuel motivation. It's called, "Just do it!".
You simply eliminate all cooked foods and other stimulants from your diet all at once. You rid your body of toxins and food cravings quickly and effectively. The boundaries are clear. Your immediate results motivate you. You reach your goal more directly, the goal of creating true health on your natural lowfat vegan diet of whole, fresh, ripe, high water-content raw foods, mostly fruit. Then you are free to get on with living your dreams! (A word of caution: if you are on medications or coping with serious illness, please obtain qualified supervision or coaching before undertaking any of the programs described here.)
An especially effective way to make this leap is to choose one fruit that you really like, currently in season and readily available, and purchase a case of it. Be sure it is ripe, then eat only that fruit (and water as desired) for a week. Eat as much of this one fruit as you desire at each meal. Eat when you are hungry, until you are satiated. Make distinct meals, (rather than grazing) - and wait for hunger before eating. You quickly get in touch with what true hunger feels like. You experience uncomplicated, complete digestion. You free up energy. You overcome food cravings. You gain valuable insights about your relationship with food, and the many roles food plays in your life.
The next week, continue eating only this one type of fruit, and add organic lettuce, as much as you desire. The third week, add in other types of fruit, still sticking to "mono fruit meals", or one kind of fruit per meal, with lettuce as desired. After these three weeks, you are well on your way to a successful, sustainable, 80-10-10 diet of lowfat, mostly whole fruit, vegan foods. You have disrupted old destructive patterns, and created healthy new eating habits.
By now, you may have learned a lot about what good digestion feels like, what true hunger is, and how you relate to your food. You have helped your body to do some housecleaning. You can now begin to explore adding non-sweet fruits such as tomato and cucumber, celery and other vegetable varieties, and small amounts of whole raw plant fats such as avocado, nuts, and seeds. Plan for simplicity at each meal, and variety throughout the month.
I highly recommend that you receive qualified coaching for this or any other raw food diet transition program. As each person is unique, it is important before beginning a new health program to assess your personal health history, goals, and needs.
This is a major lifestyle change, and one which is largely unsupported by our society. You may be challenged, questioned, criticized, and even ridiculed on your way to uncommon health. This opposition could derail even a dedicated seeker. Plus, you may be filled with your own questions, concerns, emotional experiences, and insights that you would wish to share and discuss with someone who has successfully walked the path before you. You can contact me for support on this fascinating journey to optimal health. I offer personal coaching, as well as a course based on the 80-10-10 diet.
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