6 OF THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES
THAT PEOPLE MAKE ON A RAW FOOD DIET
|
_____________________________________________________________________
1. NOT EATING ENOUGH CALORIES
The number one reason that people fail on a raw vegan diet and end up going back to cooked and non-vegan foods is
simply because they aren't eating enough calories on this diet. There are a lot of calorie counting websites and
programs out there that can help you keep track of your daily caloric intake and my favorite is a program called
"Cron-O-Meter" which you can download for free HERE (This program will also tell you how much of each of the
individual vitamins and minerals you are getting as well.)
COMMON SIGNS THAT YOU AREN'T EATING ENOUGH CALORIES
1. TOO MUCH WEIGHT LOSS
I don't know anyone who became obese while eating a diet of only raw fruits and vegetables, but I do know some people
who lost too much weight while eating a diet of only raw fruits and vegetables due to not eating enough calories, and
although you may very well have gotten into this diet because you wanted to lose weight, please realize that when you
under-eat not all of the weight that you lose will be fat. (Some of it will be muscle.) Plus your body is smart enough that
if you deprive it of sufficient calories long enough you will be teaching your body to store as much fat as it can so that it
will have an alternative fuel source if you deprive it of sufficient calories in the future.
2. LOSS OF DESIRE TO BE ACTIVE
For every 1 pound that you weigh you will burn about 10 calories per day just eating, sleeping, and breathing. (So in
other words, a 150 pound man will burn about 1,500 calories a day without exercising, or going to work, or doing any
other type of physically demanding activities.
If you are eating less calories than you need your body will do what ever it can to preserve energy. (Like telling you that
it's too tired to exercise today, and it will keep telling you that it's too tired to exercise today until the day comes when
you finally have some extra energy that can be spent on something other than the most basic and important body
functions.)
I personally eat around 5,000 calories a day and I get it all from fruits and vegetables. How am I able to do it? I eat a
wide variety of fruits and vegetables, but the main staples in my diet are high calorie sweet fruits such as Bananas,
Dates, Mangos, Persimmons, and Watermelons. (An "Apple" has less than 100 calories, but a pound of "Medjool Dates"
has over 1,000 calories!) I still eat and enjoy low calorie fruits such as apples, pears, and peaches, but I certainly
wouldn't rely on them as my main sources of calories unless I decided to cut way back on my fitness training.
There are people in the raw food movement who promote the idea of "calorie restriction" and say that "The less you eat
the longer you will live." and there are even people claiming to be "breatharians" who don't eat at all. Beware of getting
caught up in the idea that the less you eat the more spiritually advanced you will be. In the end, eating less calories
than you need will not only result in the loss of desire to be active, but also the loss of desire to be alive, but hey, you
may live longer.
3. TEMPTATION TO EAT FOODS THAT YOU KNOW AREN'T GOOD FOR YOU
Even if you're a vegan for ethical reasons, meat will start to look tempting to you if you are under-eating long enough.
(We've all heard stories of plane crashes in remote areas where the survivors ended up turning cannibal because they
were starving, so don't think that your personal food preferences and moral ethics won't completely go out the window if
you deprive your body of sufficient calories long enough.)
If you are on this diet and you find yourself suddenly wanting to watch cooking shows, read cook books, or walk through
the aisles at grocery stores and just stare at the unhealthy foods that you used to eat you are very likely under-eating
and your body is trying to get you to go back to eating the foods that you used to eat because although those foods
might not have been very nutritious they were at least providing you with enough calories that you weren't starving so
your body is asking you to go back.
_____________________________________________________________________
2. NOT DOING THIS DIET 100%
Don't get me wrong, you don't have to do this diet 100% to receive major benefits, (Adding even a small amount of raw
fruits and vegetables to your diet can make a huge difference.) but if you chose not to do this diet 100% it wouldn't be
fair to claim that you tried this diet and that it didn't work for you.
If a person decides to go vegan because they want to lose weight but they are still eating meat, dairy, and eggs in
secret and they don't lose weight is it fair for them to give people the impression that they were following a vegan diet
and it didn't help them lose weight?
You aren't doing this diet 100% if you are still having occasional cooked food binges or "Cheat Days"... The whole
concept of a "Cheat Day" (A day in which you don't follow the diet that you're on and instead you basically eat nothing
but foods that aren't allowed in your diet.) makes no sense to me. "Cheat Days" = "Sick Days" in my opinion, because
you can't eat nothing but really clean and natural foods for a long period of time and then suddenly spend a day eating
nothing but unhealthy foods without getting really, really, really sick from it.
Honesty is very important here. (Even a lot of well known diet book authors get very uncomfortable and even defensive
when asked the simple question, "What have you eaten in the past 24 hours?") If you aren't getting the results that you
are wanting ask yourself if you are truly doing this diet 100%. If the answer is "no" you'll know what is likely the problem.
_____________________________________________________________________
3. BELIEVING THE HYPE ABOUT "SUPERFOODS"
A big problem in the raw food movement is that there are a lot of people in the movement who promote and sell
"Superfoods". Beware of charismatic speakers who go around giving lectures about the amazing benefits of certain
"Superfoods" and who also happen to make a living by selling them. Below is a list of "Superfoods" that I found being
sold on several different raw food websites...
THE SUPER FOODS
Lets not forget why we started the raw food diet in the first place. Almost every one of the "Superfoods" above are
refined, processed, and packaged foods and going back to eating refined, processed, and packaged foods is taking a
huge step backwards rather than forwards in my opinion.
I'm not denying that something like "Goji Berries" is a good food, but to say that it is 10 times better than eating
something like "Blue Berries" is laughable. (Especially if the Goji Berries are dehydrated and could have been picked
years ago.)
The fact is all of the fruits and vegetables are just as worthy of being called a "Superfood" as the foods that are
commonly given that name and you could easily write an entire book about all of the amazing benefits of any fruit or
vegetable from "Apples" to "Zucchinis".
The word "Superfood" can also mean radically different things to different people. (To some people a tomato that has
been genetically modified to be able to grow 5 times bigger than would in nature would be considered a "Superfood".)
Also keep in mind that even if a certain "Superfood" happens to have a really high amount of a certain vitamin or mineral
it doesn't mean that you need to be eating it or that your body will even benefit from you doing so. (Unless you are
deficient in a certain nutrient and can't find it elsewhere why would you spend a lot of money on a rare food simply
because it's touted as being a really high source of that nutrient?)
And finally,"Superfoods" tend to be VERY expensive and in many cases people will spend so much money on them each
year that it would actually be cheaper for them to simply buy a plane ticket to where their favorite exotic "Superfoods"
grows and pick them themselves. So please don't get caught-up in the "Superfoods" hype and end up making $100
smoothies in your kitchen until you go bankrupt and end up quitting the diet because you believe that you have to be
super rich to be a raw foodist.
_____________________________________________________________________
4. FRUIT PHOBIA
There is a lot of unnecessary fear around fruit these days and If you are scared to eat fruit because of all of the sugar
they contain keep in mind that every cell in your body uses sugar as it's main fuel source and you have about 100 trillion
cells that need regular feeding, and even if you attempt to eliminate all sugars from your diet everything that you eat will
have to be converted by your body into sugar before it can actually be used as energy, so this makes fruit the most
ideal food for us since it's such a readily available and quick source of sugar (energy) that needs minimal processing by
the body.
When people hear the words "high blood sugar" they automatically assume that it's a problem that is related to
consuming too much sugar, when in reality the actual problem has nothing to do with eating more sugar than our bodies
were designed to be able to handle, and is actually a result of one of the following 3 problems...
1. TOO MUCH FAT IN THE DIET
Your cells use sugar as it's main source of fuel, but in order to get the sugar that you eat into all of your cells it first has
to travel through your blood stream and if you eat a high fat diet your blood stream will be clogged up and it's going to
be no different than trying to drive home from work and getting stuck in a big traffic jam on the High Way. So instead of
the sugar quickly going straight to the cells that need it the sugar will remain in your blood for a long time leading to
sustained elevated blood sugar levels.
The cleaner your blood is the faster the sugar will be in and out of your blood stream. The average American consumes
over 50 pounds of pure fat a year! But if you are on this diet that I am recommending the amount of fat that you
consume in a year will be much lower, plus every ounce of fat that you will consume will come from plants and none of it
will be from animals and none of it will be heated, processed, or refined in anyway, so you will be able to eat high
amounts of fruit without sugar becoming a problem for you.
2. NOT GETTING ENOUGH EXERCISE
Many children today as well as adults are consuming a lot of sugary sodas and sugary junk foods, and are then
spending most of their time sitting in-front of a TV. Fueling your body with high amounts of white processed sugar and
then sitting still all day is asking for problems.
If you're reading this and thinking, "I can't eat much fruit right now because I'm not an active person yet." that's like a
bodybuilder saying, "I'll start lifting weights once I have big muscles." That kind of mentality will only keep you stuck
where you are at and make self improvement next to impossible. If you want to be an active person or an athlete you
must begin eating like one first.
3. CONSUMING SUGARS THAT HAVE BEEN STRIPPED OF THEIR FIBER, WATER, AND NUTRITIONAL VALUE
- Sugars That Has Been Stripped Of Their Fiber
It's true that a banana has a lot of sugar in it, but the main difference between eating a sugary banana and drinking a
can of sugary can of soda is that the banana has fiber in it which will help to slow down the body's absorption of the
sugar to a natural speed that it can handle, and the can of soda has absolutely no fiber in it which means that all of the
sugar in it will hit your blood stream instantly and this will result in a noticeable "sugar buzz" and then a big crash shortly
thereafter.
Even fruit juice can be dangerous to drink because when you juice a fruit you are removing it's fiber, and although
homemade fruit juice would be a much better option than a can of soda from the store, it will still spike your blood sugar.
(Oranges and other citrus fruits are ok to juice because their fibers are so small that they don't all get lost in the juicing
process.)
- Sugar That Has Been Stripped Of Their Water
Dried fruit can also be a big problem, because by weight most fruits are between 80% - 90%. water, so if you remove
their water not only will you be consuming a much higher concentration of sugar than normal, but it also won't have the
water needed to help dilute the sugar before it hits your bloodstream. Some people recommend soaking dried fruit over
night before eating it and I agree that this will help, however, if you take a bowl of raisins and soak them in a bowl of
water overnight they certainly aren't going to turn back into the grapes that they once were, so it's always best to simply
eat fruits in their whole and natural state the way that they were meant to be eaten.
Dried fruit can be good to have on hand just incase you run out of fresh fruit and need something to eat, but it's not a
good idea to eat them on a regular basis when you have the option of eating fresh fruit instead.
- Sugar That Has Been Stripped Of Their Nutritional Value
White processed sugar has been completely stripped of all of it's nutritional value. It contains absolutely no vitamins, no
minerals, no fiber, no water, no protein, and no enzymes. It is unhealthy to consume white sugar in any amounts, yet
the average American is consuming over 100 pounds of white sugar a year! If you follow the diet that I am
recommending here you will be consuming absolutely no white sugar at all and if you really want to sweeten something
up can use sweet fruits like dates, bananas.
_____________________________________________________________________
5. EATING A HIGH FAT DIET
The Standard American Diet is extremely high in fat, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that when people eating a S.A.D.
diet first switch to a raw food diet they naturally find themselves gravitating towards the raw foods that are the highest in
fat such as avocados, coconuts, olives, nuts, and seeds which are all roughly 75% fat, or they will consume extracted
oils such as olive oil, coconut oil, and flax seed oil which are all 100% fat and will provide you with roughly 100 calories
of fat per tablespoon!
I highly recommend reading the book "The 80/10/10 Diet" which gives very clear and understandable data on why we
should aim for a diet where fat doesn't exceed 10% of our total calorie intake for the day.
A lot of people are under the impression that you won't be able to get enough protein on a raw vegan diet unless you
eat lots and lots of nuts and seeds, but keep in mind that nuts and seeds are 75% fat and only about 10% protein, so
wouldn't it make a lot more sense to refer to them as a "fat source" than a "protein source". (The only way that you
could not get enough protein from fruits and vegetables is if you aren't eating enough calories and are starving.)
_____________________________________________________________________
6. BECOMING A "SUPPLEMENTARIAN"
I'm a big believer in the notion that with a healthy diet and lifestyle the need for supplementation is unnecessary and that
with an unhealthy diet and lifestyle no amount of supplements will be able to save you in the long run. I'm not here to tell
people to never take supplements. There could be a time in a person's life when supplementation could be helpful or
could even save their life, but before you start buying and taking supplements I would first and foremost recommend that
you get a blood test done and find out for sure whether or not you actually need supplements so that you don't waste
your money or go through a lot of unnecessary stress worrying about it...
A lot of raw vegans that take supplements are actually just taking "sleeping pills" and what I mean by that is that the
reason they take supplements isn't because they found out for sure that they actually need to be taking them but rather
they take the supplements in order to help set their mind at ease so they can sleep better at night.
Below are 6 potential problems that I see with taking supplements that I hope you will read and give some serious
thought to before you decide to take any...
PROBLEM WITH SUPPLEMENTS # 1 - "False Sense Of Security"
A lot of people that take supplements will look at the nutritional label and say to themselves, "If these supplements are
providing me with all of these vitamins and minerals than I don't really need to go out of my way to eat fruits and
vegetables anymore, because as long as I am taking these supplements I'm going to be fine."
Everyone is very attracted to the idea of being able to take a pill that will not only cure their health problems, but that will
also allow them to continue doing the things that caused their health problems in the first place, and sometimes people
get the false impression that supplements will do just that. (Putting a multi-vitamin tablet on top of a pizza isn't going to
make the pizza any less harmful.)
PROBLEM WITH SUPPLEMENTS #2 - "Nutrition Is Lost In Unhealthy Lifestyle Habits"
Diet is only one factor in the overall picture of health and certain lifestyle choices will cause your body to use up vitamins
and minerals a lot quicker than others, and below are some examples of this...
- Vitamin A levels are lowered when you drink coffee.
- Vitamin B levels are lowered when you are under a lot of stress. (In a traffic jam, a job you hate, a bad relationship etc.)
- Vitamin C levels are lowered when you drink alcohol.
- Vitamin D levels are lowered when you lock yourself indoors and don't get sunlight.
- Vitamin E levels are lowered when you smoke cigarettes.
I know a lot of people who do all of these things and not surprisingly they are constantly getting sick and are constantly
reaching for another "energy drink" just to get them through the day.
PROBLEM WITH SUPPLEMENTS #3 - "Too Much Nutrition Is As Bad As Too Little Nutrition"
Getting "too much" nutrition can be just as bad as not getting enough, and a good example of this would be if a person
decides to become a vegetarian but they are so worried that they won't get enough protein in their diet because they
keep hearing the question, "Where do you get your protein?" that they consume large amounts of protein supplements
and end up harming their liver and kidneys with it.
- Our bodies need "sunlight", but getting "too much sunlight" is a bad thing.
- Our bodies need "exercise", but getting "too much exercise" is a bad thing.
What you need to realize is that when you consume a lot of vitamins or minerals from fruits and vegetables the body is
very efficient at absorbing what it needs and simply eliminating the excess, but when you consume vitamins and minerals
from supplements it is much harder to eliminate what you don't need.
PROBLEM WITH SUPPLEMENTS # 4 - "Snake Oil Salesmen"
I've had people basically tell me that it would be impossible to earn a living by going around and helping to spread the
message of healthy eating unless you are also selling unnecessary and expensive supplements while I'm doing it. Not
surprisingly you'll find that virtually everyone who is spreading the message that we can't be healthy without
supplements makes a living by selling the very supplements that they are trying to convince people that they can't live
without.
PROBLEM WITH SUPPLEMENTS # 5 - "Supplements Usually Contain Unhealthy Filler Ingredients"
Keep in mind that if there were no filler ingredients in vitamin and mineral supplements many of them would actually be
microscopic, because if you look at their nutritional information on these supplements you'll notice that the actual
amounts of each vitamin and mineral are measured in milligrams.
Just look at the ingredient list on a can of Whey Protein Powder or even on a bottle of "Flintstones Chewable Vitamins"
and I think that you'll see why I feel that you would be much better off getting your nutrition from whole foods rather than
from supplements.
PROBLEM WITH SUPPLEMENTS # 6 - "What Is Believed About Nutrition Keeps Changing"
Nutrition is still a theory and there are many different and conflicting nutritional theories out there. In the past scientists
said, "We eat fruits and vegetables for their vitamins and minerals, so if we make vitamin and mineral supplements we
can get our nutrition that way instead of from eating fruits and vegetables." But over time they realized that the people
who were consuming these supplements instead of real fruits and vegetables weren't getting enough fiber in their diet
and were developing digestion problems, so they then had to created fiber supplements, and then they had to create
enzyme supplements, protein supplements, omega 3, 6, & 9 supplements, etc... Maybe someday people will finally
realize that the raw fruits and vegetables have contained everything that we need and in the exact amounts that we
need all along, and that we have been making nutrition 1,000 times more complicated than it has to be.
Animals in nature go their entire lifetime without worrying about how much protein they are getting or worrying about how
they are going to get enough "Vitamin A", "Iron", or "Zinc" and yet they are healthy and in shape. (Have you ever seen
an overweight kangaroo, giraffe, or zebra in nature?) We on the other hand believe that we have nutrition down to a
science, yet we're the ones with nutritional disorders.
______________________________________
* Agave Nectar
* Ant Extract
* Bee Pollen
* Cacao
* Coconut Oil
* Colostrum
* Deer Antler Extract
* Goji Berries
* Honey
* Maca Powder
* Mangosteen Juice
* Marine Phytoplankton
* Royal Jelly
* Sea Salt
* Sea Weed
* Spirulina
* Nut Butters
* Wheatgrass Juice
* Moth Extract
* Noni Juice
* Nutritional Yeast
* Olive Oil
* Placenta
* Propolis