Apparently people who have a “fixation with righteous eating” or who decide to give up certain unhealthy foods like “sugar, salt, caffeine, alcohol, wheat gluten, yeast, soya, corn and dairy foods” have a mental condition known as orthorexia nervosa.

And us low fat raw foodies really take the cake!  Not only do we shun all cooked foods, but we tend to skip on spices, onion, garlic, and most dehydrated foods as well.

I guess it makes sense.  I mean, one of my nicknames is “CRAZY Swayze”.

Sticking to a Healthy Diet Plan is NOT a Disease

According to mainstream media and medicine, you can only be healthy if you subscribe to the “everything in moderation” way of thinking.  Basically, you can eat anything you like as long as it isn’t to excess and still be perfectly healthy.

Now, I don’t dispute the fact that you can eat anything you like.  You certainly CAN eat anything you wish and should only choose a particular diet because it is the way you want to eat.

But to think that you can eat any food, any time and still be HEALTHY is just ridiculous.  Eating meat at every meal, even if it’s in “moderate” 3 oz portion sizes, is not health promoting.  Eating cereal for breakfast, even if you follow the suggested serving size on the box, is not health promoting.  Having Chinese stir-fry for dinner, even if it’s described as “light” on the menu, is not health promoting.

If OPTIMAL health is your goal, you can’t do any better than a low fat, high fruit raw vegan diet.  And this doesn’t just imply limiting your fat intake and shoving lots of fruit into your face.  If you really want to see results, you have to give up on (or at least severely limit) your intake of lots and lots of “normal” foods.

On the Other Hand…

While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to eat a healthy diet, it is never a good idea to obsess over food.  If what you eat (or don’t eat) causes you any amount of stress or strain in your life, you may want to take a step back and reanalyze your raw goals.

Remember, food really IS just food!

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

Today I want to continue the discussion on perfectionism and its relation to diet. In particular, the low fat raw vegan diet.

I’ve noticed that many beginner raw foodists are obsessed with going raw perfectly. Instead of focusing on simply getting enough calories in from sweet fruit, the person is intent on implementing rules like “no more snacking between meals,” “no more dinners after 5pm,” “no more white sapote after labor day”…

Hehe.

While its important to get the basics right as early as possible (i.e. eating enough calories), this “attention to detail” often leads to unnecessary stress and complete inaction. The individual is so worried about getting his or her diet “just right” that they are too afraid to take the first simple step.

Here’s a Little Story…

When I first went raw, I hardly ate any organic produce. In fact, for my first year or so of being a low fat raw vegan, I bet less than 1% of my food was organic (maybe some organic greens or celery on occasion).

Much more often than not, I ate from the grocery store for a couple of reasons:

1. Organic produce where I live was ridiculously expensive.
2. The quality of organic produce was barely decent at best.

After paying $3 a pound for fine-on-the-outside, rotten-at-the-core organic apples on multiple occasions, you’d shun the organic stuff, too!

Anyway, my point here is that I did not strive for perfection from the beginning. I was new to raw and certainly new to eating fruit for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

As long as the fruit was tasty, I really didn’t care where it came from! And if I had focused on getting all organic
fruit and vegetables, there’s simply no way that I would have had enough food (or money) to sustain myself.

I would not have stayed raw for very long.

Even today, I still don’t eat all organic, or even close to it.  And after the information I learned from that Penn & Teller episode, I don’t feel too bad about it.

That said, I do buy tons of local produce during the warm months and visit my local farmer’s markets whenever I can.  I don’t do this for perfection’s sake, but because shopping locally is how you get the tastiest fruit!

Prioritize Your Life

We can’t possibly do everything we want, need, or think we need to do in life. That’s why it’s essential to determine what is most important to you and prioritize accordingly.

And this is especially true for our diet plan.

As I mentioned earlier, I did not worry about eating organic produce right away. Just figuring out how much fruit to buy, where to put it, and how to eat it all was a big enough struggle!

If you’re new to raw, don’t stress yourself out over the little stuff right away. Learning to eat enough fruit and limiting your fat intake can be stressful enough without you having to worry about eating late dinners and snacking between meals.

Transitioning is an important part of the process and you can’t get things perfect right away.

Again, No One’s Perfect

No matter how long you stay raw, you will never “do” raw perfectly…whatever that means!

Take me, for instance. Like I said, I still don’t eat all organic foods. Most of my produce is still conventionally grown and certainly isn’t local.

Sometimes I even like to consume…*gasp*…frozen foods! When I eat smoothies, I like them cold and so sometimes I add ice or frozen fruit to the mix.

My poor intestinal flora!

And how about the other health factors?

Let’s see, I stay indoors on the computer quite a bit, sometimes I skimp on sleep, I don’t get much sunshine during the winter…

And I’m sure as heck not always “emotionally poised!”

Life’s a Journey

As corny as that sounds, it’s so true. I’m always amazed at how far I have come in terms of health and self-development in the past 4 years or so.

To think that this fruit-loving fitness fanatic was a junk food couch potato just a few years ago is pretty amazing.

And I’m sure you have gone through a similar transformation in your own life!

So whenever you find yourself obsessing over the little stuff, just remember that achieving health is an ongoing process. It’s something that we are constantly working at and tweaking every single day of our lives.

And while we can’t ever be perfect, we can always improve.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

You see, many raw foodists think that raw food is the end all be all.  They believe that if they shun cooked food and only eat raw food, they will be perfectly healthy.

Perhaps you’re feeling the same way.  Maybe you’ve read all the great testimonials from people who have released over 100 pounds, reversed cancer, and have finally begun to thrive and you are convinced that raw foods are the answer to everything.

I completely understand the enthusiasm – perhaps even fanaticism – surrounding raw foods.  It’s amazing to see the results that can be achieved just by going raw, especially if you go the low fat, high fruit route.

However, there are a couple of problems with this way of thinking.

Perfection

As I said, many raw foodists see a raw vegan diet as the “end all be all.”  They think they can give up cooked foods, go 100% raw and all their problems will *magically* be solved.

Let’s get one thing straight.  No one is perfect and no one ever will be…and that includes YOU!

I don’t care how little cooked food you eat or much raw foods you stuff down your gullet, you will *never* be perfect.

PERIOD.

Just look at all the raw food “gurus” out there.  Sure, they may market the raw food diet as the only way to achieve the “perfect” body, or to have “perfect digestion,” or to get “perfect” teeth…but that certainly does not make it so.

I mean, if this were really the case, wouldn’t these gurus be the pinnacle of perfection?  Some of them have been raw for 20+ years and yet I know they are nowhere near perfect…because no one is!

If these long-term raw food radicals still aren’t perfect, is there any reason to expect perfection from your own raw food results?

There’s More To Health Than Just Diet

One of the side effects of the mainstream raw food movement’s focus on food is the almost complete avoidance of exercise.  There are far too many raw foodists, gurus included, who rarely (if ever) participate in some form of bodily movement.

It’s as if they believe that eating raw will somehow “cancel out” the fact that they spend all day sitting on their butts!

In The 80/10/10 Diet, Dr. Graham actually lists a total of *32* “Fundamental Elements of Health” that you should be concerned with.

Here’s the first ten on the list:

1. Clean, fresh air
2. Pure water
3. Foods for which we are biologically designed
4. Sufficient sleep
5. Rest and relaxation
6. Vigorous activity
7. Emotional poise and stability
8. Sunshine and natural light
9. Comfortable temperature
10. Peace, harmony, serenity, and tranquility

See that?

“Foods for which we are biologically designed” (i.e. a low fat raw vegan diet) makes up just ONE single factor!

And it isn’t even first on the list!

Make What You Eat a Priority, Not an Obsession

I’m not arguing that improving your diet is not important.

It is *hugely* important, especially considering the harmful food and drugs that the majority of people consume day in and day out.  Eliminating cooked food and making healthy raw food a priority in your life will have wonderful consequences for you.

However, there’s no need to get obsessed.  Your diet is only ONE factor of many that play a role in your overall health and well-being.  If you truly want to thrive, you must consider every aspect and act accordingly.

As Doug Graham often says…

“You are only as strong as your weakest link.”

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

As long as you are eating the main foods that the human body has anatomically and physiologically evolved to thrive on (fruits and veggies) in a substantial quantity (90-95% of your diet), the other 5-10% of what you eat won’t matter much.

To put it into perspective, say you eat a diet of mostly sweet fruit, moderate amounts of greens and limited overt fats on a daily basis. However, once a month you go out to eat at your favorite restaurant.

That one meal once per month will not have much of an effect on your health. Sure, you might feel groggy the day after – or even a few bites into the meal – but your overall health will not suffer much.

It’s about what you do on a regular basis, not what you do occasionally.

On the contrary, if you consume cooked dishes frequently and a big fruit meal once per month, you won’t experience the rewards of the healthy meal because it will be overshadowed by your regular habits.

In fact, you will probably experience NEGATIVE results after eating the fruit (i.e. bloating, gas, etc.) because of the state of your body from your frequent cooked food consumption.  And the extent of these consequences will of course be dependent upon what foods you actually ate (fast food will more than likely generate a more severe reaction than a home cooked vegan dish).

So…Cooked Foods Are Okay?

As I’m sure you know by now, I do recommend a 100% raw diet as the optimal diet for human beings. While eating cooked food infrequently isn’t necessarily going to harm you that much health-wise, it certainly isn’t going to help you either.

Cooked food provides absolutely NOTHING in the way of nutrition that cannot be obtained from raw fruits, tender leafy greens, nuts and seeds. In fact, it provides MUCH LESS because so much has been damaged during the cooking process.

Even a “healthy” low fat cooked vegan meal of steamed veggies with rice cannot measure up to raw produce because ALL cooking damages the food being consumed to some degree.

Do What Makes You Happy!

Don’t go raw just because you think it’s optimal or because all the raw food fanatics on YouTube are telling you to.  Do it because it gives you great results and ultimately makes your life more enjoyable.

Personally, a 100% raw food diet works great for me.  I get to eat as much delicious food as I want, when I want, and still keep my girlish figure.  If I could do this with cooked food, you better believe I’d be loading up on cookies and cupcakes.

But that’s just me.

If going 100% raw makes you happy, great.  If going 50% raw makes you happy, wonderful.  If going 1% raw makes you happy (thanks to that scrawny piece of lettuce on your BLT), FANTASTIC!

Just be happy, okay?

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. Not looking to make the big leap to 100% raw, but interested in some recipes to help get you started?  I’ve got just the thing…

“Low Fat, Fruit Filled, High Fun Raw Recipes”

Delicious AND healthy low fat raw recipes!

www.fitonraw.com/low-fat-raw-vegan-favorites

* Special Offer: Send in Your Testimonial for a Free Report!

* Feature Article: How to Convince Your Loved Ones to Go Raw

Send in Your Testimonial for a Free Report!

First, I want to send a big “THANK YOU!” to everyone who has purchased my recipe e-book…

“Low Fat, Fruit Filled, High Fun Raw Recipes”

It was released mid-January and has already sold over 100 copies!  I’ve gotten some really good feedback from those who have purchased, like this lovely gem from Shayla in Texas:

Dear Swayze,

When I first heard about becoming raw, it was hard to figure out just what to eat.

I would look through  recipe books and all I would get is recipes involving a dehydrator or other pricey equipment; and I know I can’t just eat 10 bananas! The “Low Fat, Fruit Filled, High Fun Raw Recipes”  really helped me figure out what to do! I just love the Radically Raw Pizza! I’m glad I bought it and I thank you for putting it together!

Sincerely,

Shayla Stagg,
Cameron, Texas, USA

Who wouldn’t love getting comments like these?

If you have also purchased the Low Fat, Fruit Filled, High Fun Raw Recipes and are enjoying the tasty dishes, I would love it if you would send me a testimonial to use on my site.

If you do, I’ll send you my free report “Dealing with Diet Dissenters: How to Handle Unsupportive, Argumentative, and Downright Rude People on a Raw Food Diet”

Simply email me your feedback at swayze@fitonraw.com and I’ll send you the report straight away.

Thanks again, everyone!

Swayze

P.S. To learn more about Low Fat, Fruit Filled, High Fun Raw Recipes and read some more testimonials, simply visit the link below:

www.fitonraw.com/low-fat-raw-vegan-favorites

How to Convince Your Loved Ones to Go Raw

I know how exciting it is when you first go raw.  You see all these wonderful bodily and mental improvements that you never experienced on any other diet.

You truly feel like you have discovered the “Fountain of Youth” and you just want to bombard everyone you know with all the raw food and fitness information you’ve got.

Please, don’t do it!

There is a better, gentler, and much more *effective* way…

Don’t Force It

Let’s face it.  Even though the popularity of the raw food movement is growing, most people still think eating a raw food diet is for wackos.

And no matter how supportive or encouraging your family and friends are, they probably feel the same way.  Don’t be surprised if they view the whole raw food movement as a food fad and fully expect you to come running back to “normal” cooked fare in no time.

And this makes perfect sense!  Just think back to your cooked food days: how would you have reacted to someone (even a close relative) trying to convince you to eat nothing but fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds? AND nothing is cooked?!?

Just some crazy new trend, right?

And how about the nerve of this loved one telling YOU how to live YOUR life as if they could possibly know what’s best for YOU!

The audacity!

Bottom line, you can’t force people to change their mindset and you certainly can’t force people to change their eating habits.  If you try, you will fail.  Not only will you fail, you will risk losing valuable relationships in the process.

Flaunt It!

The best thing you can do to convince others to go raw is to lead by example.  Simply live your life and people will be drawn to your successes.

When people start noticing how healthy and vibrant you obviously look and feel, everyone will want to know your secret.  All of a sudden, people who were never interested in your diet or exercise regimen (or perhaps even shunned/poked fun at what you’re doing) will be dying to know your secret.

No one can resist the raw glow!

Most importantly, they will be coming to YOU for advice, instead of you bombarding them.  It will completely be their idea and their CHOICE.

Proof is in the (Raw) Pudding

When I first went raw, the rest of my family ate standard cooked food.  My Mom has always been an excellent cook, but health wasn’t really high up on the agenda.

The concern was more for taste, not nutrition.

So what did I do to try and convince them to go raw?  Nothing. I didn’t bombard them with raw food “propaganda.”  I didn’t preach to them about the “evils” of cooked food.  I didn’t even instruct them to read 80/10/10 or The China Study.

I just ate lots of fruit, exercised, spent time outdoors, got adequate sleep and answered any health-related questions they had for me.

Well, it’s been two years and things have really changed.  My Mom eats mostly vegan and rarely ever cooks meat anymore.  The family has gone from having meat pretty much every single night to once or twice a week.

There is much more of a focus on plant foods and much less on meat, cheese, dairy, salt, butter, etc.

While two years may sound like a long time to you, just think back to how long it took you to come to grips with raw foodism.  Personally, I became interested in health and fitness back in early 2005, but it was not until late 2007 that I went raw.

And remember, I’m from the land of BBQ ribs, fried chicken, and pulled pork sandwiches.  The fact that my family regularly eats meatless (sometimes completely vegan) meals and LOVES them is just too cool to me.

And now I get to accept full responsibility and praise for all their health improvements, of course.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze