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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.