I don’t think everyone can go 100% raw overnight on their own.

Raw as an Investment For Your Health

For most of us, food is a nuisance. (I used to think this a lot before I went raw!) It’s a drain on our bank accounts, our schedules, and our energy.

Sometimes we eat out of necessity, opting for the quickest option that we can chow down on so that we can get back to the real important stuff.

Other times food can be a way to medicate ourselves. We might eat when we’re bored, feeling emotional, avoiding problems that need to be solved or work that needs to be done, and so on.

Let’s take a different perspective of the food that we eat. What if the food that we ate was solely seen as the fuel for our bodies and minds? Just like you wouldn’t put random household ingredients into your car’s gas tank, you should invest in the correct fuel for your car.

In this case the food you eat is an investment for your body, for the long-term.

Photo by John Watson

Raw Food Diet Definitions

In the spirit of accepting that every one of us is at a different place along our journey, let’s look at the different options that you have for incorporating more raw foods into your diet.

• 100% Raw: People who go 100% raw overnight, tend to experience great benefits soon after they go raw. Sometimes however, being 100% raw is too strict and these people can flop back and forth between 100% raw, high raw, and going back to their original eating habits. There’s nothing wrong with this approach, as long as you aren’t taking yourself too seriously, or are afraid of reverting back to your not-so-good eating habits.
• High Raw: The definition of high raw is between 80%-99% Raw raw foods. What this means is that people who are high raw intend to eat raw all of the time, but that there are certain circumstances that are beyond their control. For example, they might eat a condiment or a sauce that isn’t raw, or even go for some cooked vegan options if they are stuck. People who are high raw have the advantage of being lenient with themselves, and not beating themselves up for not adhering to their standards.
• Raw Until Dinner: One of the simplest ways to add more raw foods into your diet, is to go raw until dinner. The idea is that you eat raw meals for breakfast, and lunch, and your snacks are raw. Then dinner is up to you, you can choose to eat the foods that you always eat, but you’ll notice that soon enough you’ll be attracted to eating more healthful foods even in the evening.
• Transitioning To Raw: If you just learned about raw foods, and you want to take the slow and steady road to eating more raw foods, transitioning is the way to go. When you’re transitioning, you choose exactly which meals and what it is you’re going to eat for each day, and try to fit in as many raw fruits and vegetables as you can. One of the ways of doing this is to drink a big green smoothie either in the morning, or as a snack in the afternoon. I personally transitioned to raw foods for over a year, before actually choosing to take the high raw path.

Bear In Mind

Everyone is different, and we all have different experiences with food from our past. It’s important to take into account that just because your mind has decided to eat more healthful fruits and vegetables, doesn’t mean that your body is in agreement yet.

Sometimes we have resistance when it comes to changing our eating habits. It helps to have a buddy who can keep you accountable. Having a whole group to support you is even better!

There’s no raw food police, and you don’t need to destroy yourself esteem trying to go 100% raw overnight.

Photo by Thomas Hawk

A lot of health experts argue for and against all kinds of different foods: between eggs, soy, protein, and fish we have enough contradicting information to fill a New York City studio to the ceiling with paperwork.

One thing health experts never argue about, is that including more fruits and vegetables into your diet is a good thing.

Nice to Have Requests

I’m going to use the analogy of software “requirements” and “nice to have” features, because if you’re reading this I know that you know how to use a computer.

The requirements for your email client are that it be able to deliver and receive email, and that it not crash on you. A nice to have feature would be that it can filter your email into different folders and detect spam.

Eating 100% raw is a “nice to have”. None of us wants spam to get through the filter (okay, some people might be looking to grow certain parts of their body – but I digress), so we aim to eliminate spam with our email software.

Some people might wish to be able to just go raw overnight, eliminate all of the unhealthy foods they’re currently eating, and just live blissfully in the land of health foods forever.

Of course it’s not that easy to just go 100% raw overnight. So we keep this idea of being 100% raw as a “nice to have” goal for ourselves. Just like software developers have a hard time to build systems that catch all spam and filter it properly.

Must-Have Requirements

At the other end of the spectrum, everyone has a must-have requirement of eating more fruits and vegetables. In most countries governments recommend that we eat 5-10 fruits and vegetables per day.

Compare your daily intake of fruits and vegetables and see if you meet these recommendations. Didn’t think so. Well, I’m sorry to say but before software developers can release their email programs, they have to make sure that the software can send and receive emails without crashing.

The same goes for you, you need to include more fruits and vegetables into your diet. That’s a must-have requirement! Of course, no one is going to yell at you if you don’t, and I recommend you to be gentle on yourself if you fall short.

Simply becoming aware that you need to include more fruits and vegetables into your diet is the first step in the right direction.

How Close To “You 2.0″ Are You?

Just like software developers, you’re never done. Once a software release is complete, developers need to maintain the product, and get to work on the next version.

Usually requests that didn’t make it into the first version are included in the next version of a software application. If you’re not ready to go all raw, you can leave that to your next version.

How close are you to releasing your current habits and embracing the new you? It’s up to you, and as long as you’ve got an estimate and schedule for your lifestyle changes, you’ll be well on your way to increased health and vitality!

Here are some of the random occurrences of meeting people who were into raw foods.

Photo by Amy Vuong

The Checkout Girl

The other day I went to the grocery store to stock up on Larabars for myself and my dad. (The fact that my relatively small town carries Larabars is enough of an indication that raw foods are becoming more mainstream, but I disgress.)

We decided to take one of each different kind of Larabar, just to keep things fun.

When we got to the cash register, the sales clerk scanned the Larabars and then stopped to talk to us. She said she loved the Cashew Cookies bar, and that she had just tried the pistachio variety recently.

I told her that cashew cookie was one of my favorites too. She was surprised to see them on sale, since they were $.30 cheaper than the last time she bought one.

I told her that the prices had gone down, permanently. She was surprised and excited.

I don’t know about you, but when a chocolate bar gets cheaper, that usually means it’s because the product isn’t selling well or something. That’s not the case for Larabars though.

The smiling sales clerk was very excited, and said she would stock up on Larabars now.

She continued to check out the rest of the food that we were buying, which consisted mainly of green and leafy veggies. She seemed to have a bounce in her step, and she was very enthusiastic about how many Larabars we were buying.

I was happy that to find out that someone other than me buys Larabars! The higher the turnover, the more indication that raw food is taking the world by storm!

Photo by Celeste RC

The Librarian

A few days later, while I was at the library stocking up on books, I ran into a librarian who I have known for years.

She asked me what I was up to these days, and I mentioned that I was starting a website about raw food to help people go raw.

“Raw food?” She asked.

“Yeah, it’s all about uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds,” I replied.

“Oh I know all about raw foods! I ate raw for many many years. I read books by Victoria Boutenko and her children,” She said with a big smile.

Now I wasn’t surprised, because this woman had been a vegetarian ever since I could remember. Of course being vegetarian in these parts of Canada is considered a little bit weird, so image how far out vegan or raw foodists might be.

In any case we discussed quite a few ideas and even a few simple recipes together. She told me that the only reason she stopped eating raw, is because everybody else around her was not eating raw.

She enthusiastically mentioned that she had the most energy while she was eating raw.

I thanked her for the books and for the nice chat, and I skipped all the way home like a happy bunny.

These are just some of my feel-good “raw food going mainstream” examples from the last week.

** Have you ever experienced any fun raw food moments that made you think “Yes, raw food can and will go mainstream!”? If so share below in the comments!

Photo by Bram Cymet

I believe we should be nice to ourselves and our bodies. That means not killing yourself trying to reach the idealized concept of being a 100% raw foodist.

Be Gentle With Yourself

A lot of people when they first learn about raw foods, decide to commit to it completely. That’s exactly what I did when I first learned about raw food.

I chose to be 100% raw or nothing at all. And while I think it’s important to give yourself a 30 day trial on raw foods, I don’t think you should kill yourself trying to be perfect.

After all, we are only human. We have moments of weakness, and we all have things to work through. We all have issues with food that we probably didn’t know we had, which tend to surface when we start eating raw.

Eating raw foods really brings up all these old emotional patterns, whether they have anything to do with food or not.

There’s No Raw Food Police

That’s why I always say there’s no raw food police. I think that raw food is great as an ideal to work toward, but being at 100% raw and killing yourself is much worse than the alternative.

If you can eat 75% to 90% raw, without the guilt trips, without pulling your hair out, and without causing too much trouble in your household, isn’t it much better?

Photo by Nik Worthley

Whenever we choose to make changes in our life, we should understand where we’re coming from. If you’ve been eating a highly processed or standard American diet for the last 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years, how can you expect to go raw overnight?

You have to give your body and your emotions, time to catch up with your newly adjusted mental model.

Oh, and by the way food definitely has an impact on our emotions. So you’ll want to make sure that you’re not so hard on yourself.

All Or Nothing vs. A Commitment

Sometimes it’s better to transition into raw foods slowly. Just like you wouldn’t try to run a marathon after years of inactivity without practicing first.

You wouldn’t want to overburden your body with the task of taking out the trash (all the toxins you’ve been gathering over the years) overnight.

When you go raw, there are so many different things that take place.

You’ve got to make different choices in your everyday life, and that’s going to bring up some resistance for yourself and for the rest of the people in your life.

You’ll also experience different physical changes. You might start losing weight, you might be bloated or gassy, you might sleep better or wake up in the middle of the night. You might have cravings, feel hunger pains, or lack energy.

All of these things are perfectly normal, but if you’re taking the stance of needing to be in this 100% raw, you might decide that it’s all too much at once and give up.

Going Raw At Your Own Pace

You have to understand that you’ll still be here in a year from now. So any small changes that you make right now will benefit you in the long term.

So even if you can just cut out coffee, and replace it with a green smoothie or green juice in the morning, you’re doing yourself a great service.

Building up small changes over the long term is a great way to include more raw foods into your diet, without causing you too much emotional stress.

Not to mention that taking it easy, is better for the people in your life. You don’t want to scare them or make them think that you’re going all crazy extremist on them, when they still enjoy eating steak.

What you want is to come up with an action plan that you will follow. You can do a 30 day raw trial, because that will give you motivation and results right away.

Your skin will get clear, your eyes will be brighter, you’ll lose weight if you have to, or gain weight if you need it, you’ll have more energy and you’ll sleep better.

But if you decide that after 30 days it’s going to be tough to keep going, then ease back to maybe 90% raw or 80% raw if that makes you more comfortable.

Because aren’t we all doing this raw food thing for a few simple reasons? We want to be healthier, and we want to live in a safe and healthy environment. So don’t make your environment more toxic by trying to go raw or die trying.

“If you look good, you feel good.”

Taken at face value, we always assume that simply putting on a fun new outfit, or getting a hair cut can make us look good, and therefore feel good. This in turn helps us to act more confidently.

Somehow my brain decided to analyze the phrase in terms of raw food, or general health. What if looking good is actually a side effect of being healthy? Of feeling good?

That prompted the question, which one comes first: feeling good or looking good?

Photo of Anthony The Raw Model, Read His Story On his Blog.

Which Came First?

Anthony the Raw Model credits his success in the modeling world with learning about raw foods.

From an evolutionary standpoint, human beings are most likely to be attracted to good-looking human beings.

For instance, a woman would pick a good-looking and confident man to have children with. Good looks are generally a sign of health, which means that the man will live long enough to protect the family, and the children will have strong healthy genes.

We often hear of beautiful men or women getting better treatment in life. I think it’s actually genetically hardwired into us to treat beautiful people well. We help people who are good-looking, because we know they are healthy, and they will go far in life.

I’m not talking about tons of plastic surgery, fake beauty, or beauty for the sake of trying to get ahead in Hollywood. I’m talking about genuine beauty, the one that tells people you are healthy, you are a vibrant human being, and you are a genuine person.

How do we know which one came first? Is it because someone is beautiful that they feel good? Or is it because someone feels good that they look good?

When you have healthy internal organs, you are less likely to experience symptoms of a weak system: clear skin, strong nails and teeth, bountiful hair, and your ideal weight.

Getting The Raw Glow

If there’s one thing that happens for most people when they go raw, it’s that they develop the raw glow. Their eyes are shinier, their skin is clear, they have rosy cheeks, and their bodies become slim.

Some of these things happen more quickly for some than for others. Similarly, if the raw diet is not done correctly, there could be further side effects.

Along with the raw glow, people tend to experience more energy, and a more vibrant life. That’s what I call feeling good.

With the raw glow, I’m convinced that it is healing the internal parts of our body, that makes us feel good, which in turn makes us look good.

More Beautiful Raw Foodists

I kind of feel bad singling out specific raw foodists as “beautiful”, because to me every one is beautiful, in their own way. So if you’re not in this list, please recognize that this is just a small sample of gorgeous raw eating people, and that beauty has a lot to do with how you feel.

It’s Up to You: Do You Feel Good?

Everyone wants to feel good. We also want to look good, because life is just more fun when other people smile back at you, and compliment you.

Want to find out more? Read the 9 unconventional ways Raw Food changed my life.

Have you ever wondered why some people are drawn to raw food after a sudden event in their life?

Maybe it’s because raw food appears to be an extreme measure. It’s only when death knocks at the door that we realize we had better change your ways.

Whether or not you have been driven to the edge, I’m glad you’re here to learn more about raw and living foods.

Let me explain to you the story of how I decided to change my dietary habits.

I Was The Candy Girl

As a young child, I did everything in my power to eat sweets. I used emotional tactics against my parents to force them to succumb to my will. (Guilty!)

Of course, I wasn’t aware of the damage I was causing both to myself, and to my parents and their relationship.

Every day after school, I would ask for money and buy candy at the corner store. Failing that, I would eat the highly processed packaged cakes that my grandmother kept around the house.

I had no clue the damage I was doing to my own body.

I Ate Cookies For Breakfast

As a teenager, I was extremely hard to please: I was a picky eater. I didn’t like vegetables, and I ate a very highly processed diet. (Actually, I loved raw carrots and string beans, but they didn’t “count” as vegetables unless they were cooked. Go figure.)

I ate chocolate cookies for breakfast. Worse, they were packaged microwavable “warm-up” cookies, and I had to have at least two for breakfast.

Photo by Babileta

At school, I ate uncooked ramen as a snack at recess. My friends and I would put the dry packaged “sauce” in the bag, then crunch up the noodles, and eat as is. I cringe looking back.

Unsurprisingly, I had acne before I hit age 11. I kept hoping that it would pass. Doctors would tell me that it had nothing to do with what I was eating.

A dermatologist recommended birth control pills, and I took them. The acne got a little bit better, but it didn’t quite go away.

The Cafeteria Drove Me To Even More Junk Food

In College, I discovered just how little I was used to eating different foods. At the cafeteria, I ate mainly chicken fingers, you know those deep-fried ones. Sometimes I’d add a salad, but eating just chicken fingers was cheaper.

While I was growing up, many of my family members suffered heart attacks and died. The grandmother who fed me highly processed sugary cakes had passed away. The uncles that teased me for being skinny, had also passed away.

The stroke that broke the camel’s back came when one of my aunts died. She was unable to breathe, and she went into a coma. All of these events were related to the foods we were eating, that much I knew for sure.

Extreme Circumstances Call For Extreme Measures

I started researching nutrition, and cures for all of these diseases that were ailing and killing my family members.

I came across a variety of different raw food diets. Some of them included raw eggs, and raw fish. I tried all of them. My skin cleared up temporarily, but I wasn’t satisfied yet.

After a long conversation with my boyfriend, I decided to stop taking birth control pills. Now, I wasn’t trying to get pregnant. I was however, trying to cleanse my body of all the drugs and chemicals I had been putting into it my whole life.

As soon as I stopped taking birth control pills, the acne came back with a vengeance. I also discovered a new way of eating raw: raw veganism.

Although I wasn’t out of the woods yet, I had found something that made sense to me on an instinctual level.

Read about the rest of my raw story here.