Yes, Raw Foodists Should Count Calories
* Feature Article: Yes, Raw Foodists Should Count Calories
* Your Questions Answered: Healthy Raw Foods for Endurance Activities
Yes, Raw Foodists Should Count Calories
Last week I talked about how all calories are NOT created equal. And while many of us (to those of you who posted, thanks for the great comments!) have experienced this for ourselves after switching from a cooked to raw diet, it does not mean that calories should be completely done away with.
In fact, calories and success on a low fat raw vegan diet go hand in hand. Here’s why:
Calories are King
If you want to enjoy your raw foods and have no problem fighting off cravings, then you need to eat enough sweet fruit.
Knowing the amount of calories you need AND the amount of calories that are in the fruits you enjoy will help you tremendously because you will know exactly how much fruit you need each day. It will be easy for you to buy enough food and you will always be PREPARED.
You know what they say: a prepared raw foodist is a happy raw foodist! 
And no, calorie counting is not an exact science. But it is accurate enough to help ensure you are getting in enough fruit each and everyday.
Does Swayze Still Count Calories?
Yes, she does. Every single day.
No, really I do! But not in the way or even for the reasons you may think.
I don’t weigh my food. I don’t restrict my calories. I simply use the estimated calories in food as a guide to how much I need to eat each day.
For instance, if I’ve had 10 mangoes for breakfast and 10 bananas for lunch, I know I’ve had about 2000 calories so far. To meet my personal quota of 2800 (the least amount of calories I need each day), I know I need to eat at least 600 calories from sweet fruit to start off my dinner meal.
If I still feel hungry after that amount (which sometimes I do), I eat more fruit. Then I finish off dinner with some tomatoes and other non-sweet fruits/greens and that makes up the rest of my calories for the day.
Having all this information in my head means that I know exactly how much food I need at all times, which means that I’m always PREPARED.
Because I know the calories in all of my favorite fruits, I ALWAYS know how much food to buy. I ALWAYS know how much food to ripen. And so I NEVER run out of healthy fruit to eat!
Consistency Really is Key
Once you’ve been eating high-fruit raw vegan for long enough, you’ll know just how easy and automatic this is.
You won’t need to weigh anything or use an online calorie database to log your intake. The only time I ever use these is when I come across a fruit I’ve never tried (like last year when I had white sapote for the first time!)
Go raw and be fit,
Swayze
Healthy Raw Foods for Endurance Activities
Jessica asks:
Have you discovered a way to make a ‘bar’, one that I could take on a 4 hr mountain bike ride? I am trying to perfect one with bananas that I dehydrate mixed with fresh dates and put in the fridge. Do you know of anyone who has tried?
I know some people drink Date-orade or just bring a few bananas – but if that’s not enough – what other 811 friendly ideas are there out there to replace the high fat ‘bar’ version and what use to be my old staple on rides, a Pb&j.
No, I have never made a raw bar before, but your dehydrated bananas mixed with fresh dates is a good one. What would be even easier would be to simply eat the dehydrated bananas and the dates separately. You could pack up both in a couple of plastic baggies and easily store away in a backpack.
Any dried fruit would work well for this, actually. And if you are looking for more whole food options, grapes are always a winner.
Most importantly, I would make sure to drink lots of water and eat lots of fruit the day before, and also do the same an hour or two before the actual ride.
Hope that helps!
Swayze
11 comments
Jessica, have you heard of DurianRider? He’s got a bunch of youtube videos and a blog. Also check out http://www.foodnsport.com and the Vegsource forum. What I hear mostly is to carry dates. I personally bring OJ in my waterbottle on my long runs.
Jessica Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 9:54 AM
Thanks for approaching this subject. I will try to perfect this ‘bar’ and see how it works. I think I will re-hydrate the dates first and then mix with bananas and then dehydrate into a block form and see how that goes. I’ll need to keep in the fridge so it doesn’t go bad. Wish me luck!
Swayze Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 7:58 AM
Good Luck!
So, Swayze, can I assume that a medium banana and a medium (ataulfo or Kent?) mango is 100 calories? I am not really good at consistently using fitday to track down what I eat, but I could do some mental maths!
Swayze Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 7:58 AM
Yep, both a medium banana and a medium ATAULFO mango are about 100 calories. One medium Kent mango is closer to 130 calories or so.
I don’t quite agree on this whole calorie counting thing or in the idea that one would need more calories eating only fruit then when eating the SAD. Eating this much fruit will only hide cravings, but only because is preoccupies the stomach with food. Also, the reason you feel better when you eat so much fruit is because of the slowing down of detoxification when eating more calories. If you eat less fruit, yes, you will start to lose weight, but only tissues that aren’t healthy and toxins that need eliminated. Eventually, while eating smaller amounts of fruit, your weight loss will level off and you will start to gain the weight back with the SAME amount of lower calories. It just takes time for your digestive and assimilation to improve and become more efficient. A much quicker way to do this is to water fast and the lose the weight quickly and allow your body to heal quickly, and then introduce moderate amounts of fruits and vegetables. This method will also be the quickest way to beat your cravings forever; you just have to stick out a tough few days at the beginning of the fast and the cravings will subside and when true hunger returns (which is felt in the mouth and throat and has nothing to do with the stomach like most of us think; the stomach cravings are due to the withdrawal of stimulants like food and drinks) you need to break the fast immediately. Even underweight people should fast because their digestive and assimilative powers are low, which is why they have a hard time gaining weight. It is not the lack of food that causes someone to be underweight, but it is a damaged digestive system and high amounts of toxicity that make their bodies inefficient with food. However, you have to have a good knowledge of water fasting first so that you know when to end the fast and how to carry it out. I recommend Herbert M. Shelton’s teachings about fasting. An example of someone who eats many fewer calories and doesn’t count calories besides to give people an idea of how much he eats is Tim Van Orden, who is a raw food runner. He says he eats only about 1500 calories a day, and he says he runs about two hours every day and he maintains his weight. Also, check out Loren Lockman’s videos on YouTube, which talk about eating smaller amounts of fruit than most people think we need.
Just my two cents from experience, doing a lot of reading, and sorting out the misconceptions. Most of what I am saying is based on the philosophy of natural hygiene. Look it up and learn as much as you can about it!
Hope this helps people and have a great day
-Paul
Swayze Reply:
September 1st, 2010 at 10:34 AM
I never said that you need more calories eating a high fruit raw vegan diet than you do eating cooked.
There are many many people, not just raw foodists, who claim to eat very few calories and yet perform amazing athletic feats, just as there are many many people who claim to eat mountains of food and accomplish the same feats. In my opinion, it’s all hearsay.
What matters is that I feel my absolute best when I eat a substantial amount of calories. My mood is great, I sleep well, I’m not cold all the time, and I have energy to be active all day if I choose. When I restrict my calories, I feel awful, no matter how long I detox, fast, etc. I tried that route for many years on many different diets, including low fat raw vegan, and the results were always the same: low energy, cravings, and bingeing.
I’m hear to help others succeed on this diet and that means eating sweet fruit, limiting fat intake, throwing calorie restriction out the window, and living an active lifestyle.
Paul Reply:
September 1st, 2010 at 3:53 PM
I’m not advocating a “restricted calorie diet”, but I am just saying that it’s very possible to feel full and satisfied by eating fewer calories because that is all your body wants.
You kind of proved my point to an extent because you said you feel better when you eat more calories, which is because of slowed down detoxification.
The reason you would have cravings (which aren’t true hunger) and have low energy is because your body is detoxing much faster and the energy is being taken from the muscles and re-directed towards healing/detoxification during a fast, which is why you would need rest. The thing about a true water fast is that it the cravings are strong the first several days, but then subside and the fast becomes much more comfortable after that barring any acute illness that occurs to help cleanse your body. If a water fast is carried out to its full extent, then those detox symptoms would not exist on a lower calorie diet.
And no one should be afraid of water fasting either because it is instinct for every animal in nature and just because human instinct is perverted doesn’t mean that it isn’t extremely beneficial if undertaken properly.
I have also heard of a number of people who find that the longer they eat a low fat raw vegan diet, they desire less food and HAVE to eat less to maintain high levels of energy… This is just the longer and more expensive route to take because of buying more food at first.
I’m just here for constructive discussion, not to prove anyone wrong or anything. We can always agree to disagree
Have a beautiful day!
-Paul
Swayze Reply:
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:04 AM
I have no problem with fasting and think it can be extremely beneficial, especially for people struggling with serious health issues. In fact, I may take a short fast when I return from Ventura after all this fat and salt I’ve been eating (raw restaurants, yikes!).
I went raw almost 3 years ago and experienced detox and I’ve fasted several times before (7 days was the longest for me). If I’m active, I still consume a lot of calories. The low fat raw vegans who do not eat very many calories typically are not very active either. I recommend a high fruit diet AND an active lifestyle because it takes both (not to mention several other factors) to be truly healthy.
The bottom line is that the body needs a certain amount of calories for fuel, which varies depending upon your activity level. The more active you are, the more calories you need. I worked out yesterday morning and then took a 14 mile hike in La Jolla Canyon near Malibu. Needless to say, I was hungrier than usual and am quite hungry this morning. It’s simply because I burned more calories and so I need more glucose.
I definitely agree both about the benefits of fasting (especially in chronic/acute illness) and about how an active lifestyle and a low fat raw vegan diet definitely go together. Certainly, you can’t justify eating low calories by being inactive. And it makes complete sense that the more active you are, the more calories/fuel you will need. It obviously still depends on the person though.
I also wanted to thank you for the blog and all of the good information in it. You definitely have people going in the right direction away from gourmet/high fat and supplement filled raw food diets, which do not provide for optimal health. And your view point on the body healing itself is right on. No outside herb/drug/therapy is needed, only the prerequisites for health will aid the body, which are fresh air, sunlight, exercise, sleep, fruits and vegetables, and pure water.
Have a nice day!
-Paul
Swayze Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 8:22 AM
Thanks so much, Paul!