There are hundreds of articles and books dedicated to helping you have more energy. I’m sure you’ve heard of these solutions: eat less meat, cut down on sugar, eat more fiber, drink lots of water, exercise everyday, on and on.

I’m here to tell you that you can significantly increase your energy by doing just one simple thing. But first, let me dispel a few myths…

Do Nuts and Protein Bars REALLY Increase Your Energy?

Have you seen those Emerald nuts commercials? You know, the ones where the people fall asleep during important tasks because they haven’t got enough energy. Then a friend gives them some nuts and woo hoo, they have energy galore!

I want to let you in on a little secret: there is *nothing* you can eat that will increase your energy. Not fruit, not vegetables, and certainly not nuts!

Digestion is a process in your body and it *requires* energy. That’s why everyone retires to the couch after a large Holiday meal. Your body is working overtime to process all of the food, leaving you too worn out to do anything else!

Which brings me to my next point: there are certain foods that require *less* effort from your body to digest. Raw fruit, for instance, only takes *minutes* to go through the full digestive process.

But again, even raw foods do not give you energy. It just uses up less, providing you with optimal fuel and letting you retain more of your own energy than if you had eaten, say, a bologna sandwich.

What About Exercise?

If simply eating an apple requires energy, you know what exercise does, right? Yep. Exercise saps your energy!

Think about it: you decide to go for a jog. You spend a good 30 minutes on the track. How do you feel afterwards? You feel a little worn out, right? And probably a little hungry, too.

With that said, making exercise a regular part of your life will *improve* your energy expenditure in the long run.

Because your body is now engaging in more intense periods of movement, average daily tasks will become even easier to perform. They will require less energy from you than they did before an exercise routine was implemented.

Exercising also makes the *true* energy booster even more efficient…

So What Does Give Us Energy?

Good question!

The *only* thing that we can do to actually restore our energy is…

*SLEEP*

That’s right.  Good ole’ sleep.  It’s easy to do, you can do it in the comfort of your own home, and it’s free!  What’s better than waking up naturally after a good night’s rest?

When you sleep, your body goes into hibernation mode. Because you are not moving, eating or thinking, you are creating less of a demand on your body. All of your organs, muscles and nerves are given the chance to rest and recover.

How much sleep do you need? It’s an easy answer, but you might not like it…enough.

You need enough sleep.

You want some numbers?  The general guideline is 8-10 hours every night. However, this changes from person to person. Someone who is training for a marathon will need much more sleep than someone who only goes for long walks on the weekends.

Tips For Getting Quality Sleep

As evidenced by the vast number of sleeping pills and potions used by the general public, people have a hard time getting quality sleep.

Here are some easy tips to help you *finally* get some sound sleep:

• Go raw! As stated earlier, eating healthy raw foods require less energy, allowing you to sleep much more soundly.
• Don’t eat too late. Try to finish your last meal a few hours before bedtime so that your body is not digesting food while you are asleep.
• Be a yogi! Just a few minutes of yoga, or any kind of light stretching, is a great way to calm your body and mind before sleepy time.
• Start an exercise routine. You will be amazed at how wonderfully exhausted you feel when bedtime rolls around.
• Turn off the computer or put down the laptop at least an hour before you go to sleep. I’m really bad about this sometimes, but it truly makes a difference.

As far as getting *enough* sleep, you simply have to get into the habit of doing so. The easiest way to do this is to gradually add on time to your nights. For instance, start by going to bed just 20 minutes earlier than you usually do. Add 20 more minutes the following week, and so on.

You can also try just adding a few restful moments throughout your day. That means no TV, no computer, and no phone! While this isn’t as restorative as sleeping, it does provide your body with a little bit of recovery time.

I have one last little point to make. If you wake up in the morning exhausted, that’s because you are! The absolute best thing you can do is go back to bed. Even if it means skipping exercise, go back to bed.

Yes, it’s that important.

What’s Your Sleep Schedule?

I’m an early to bed, early to rise type of gal and I feel best with about 9 hours of sleep a night. How about you?

Leave your comments below!

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. Can’t get enough quality sleep because you can’t stay raw? Can’t stay raw because of crazy cooked food cravings?

I’ve got just the thing…

“How to Conquer Your Cooked Food Cravings Once and for All”

A Guide for Destroying Cravings on a Raw Food Diet

www.CookedFoodCravings.com

Click on the link below to learn more and purchase your copy today:

==> www.CookedFoodCravings.com

10 Benefits of a Raw Food Diet

Are you really eager to go raw, but just can’t seem to muster up the courage to get started?

These are some of the top 10 benefits of the raw food diet that most every raw foodist has experienced. If this doesn’t convince you to go raw, I just don’t know what will!

#1: Improved Digestion

If I had to give you my top raw food benefit, improved digestion would be it. It is the one result that almost every single person who attempts a healthy raw diet experiences.

Not only that, but it usually occurs very quickly. Many indigestion symptoms go away in just a few short days, if not less.  Whether you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome or just the occasional upset tummy, you will see major improvements after going raw.

However, if you continue to abuse the #1 food combining rule, then your results will not be as great. No amount of raw food can undo the effects of the sugar-fat combo.

#2: Permanent Weight Loss

Hmmmm…maybe permanent weight loss should be the top benefit?

I don’t think it’s going too far to say that close to 99.9999999% of people struggle with their weight at some point in their lives. Many of us go on diet after diet after diet, hoping that we will see *some* kind of positive change in our weight.

Unfortunately, the only change that most of us witness is a higher number on the scale. And if we do happen to lose weight, it’s usually at the expense of our health (i.e. calorie restriction, dangerous diet pills, frozen food programs, etc.) and typically comes back to haunt us sooner or later.

On the other hand, eating a healthy raw food diet allows you to lose weight *permanently* while improving your health substantially. Plus, you get to eat *pounds* of food on a daily basis, without any gain or the guilt!

#3: More Energy

Unlike what you read/hear from many well-known raw foodists, raw foods do *not* give you energy.  Nothing you eat does, whether it’s a burger or a banana.  Eating food of any kind *requires* energy, just as everything else that you do during the day requires energy.

What makes following a healthy raw vegan diet truly special is that it requires less energy to process inside your body. 2 pounds of grapes literally takes *minutes* to be fully digested by the body. This is opposed to cooked foods, or even a complicated fatty raw dish, which take hours to be digested.

The one *true* energy provider is sleep, which brings me to benefit #4…

#4: Better Sleep

Since I’ve been raw, I rarely ever feel tired when I get into bed. Even after being raw for so long, I still get ready for bed sometimes and think, “Gee, I’m not going to be able to fall asleep right now. Maybe I should just stay up for a little longer.”

However, I convince myself to get into bed and the moment my head hits the pillow, I feel so relaxed. Within minutes, I’m out.

The best part? When I wake up, I feel completely awake and ready to begin my day. No more groggy mornings for me!

This is a far cry from my bedtime routine from two years ago.

My daily routine was this: feel absolutely exhausted by 4pm. Try not to fall asleep at the wheel on the way to a client’s house. Feel a little better after a 30-minute nap. Feel exhausted again by 7pm. Get into bed still exhausted by 10pm. Remain awake for an hour. Wake up at 7am groggy and grouchy. Repeat.

Yikes, that makes me tired just writing it!

#5: Mental Clarity

I’m sure that many non-raw foodists will disagree with this one. Raw foodists are supposed to be tree-hugging, hippie nut jobs, right?

On a raw food diet, because you are no longer weighing your body down with hard-to-digest cooked foods, you have more energy to use your brain!

Of course, this has a lot to do with sleep as discussed previously.

Because you spend less energy digesting your foods, you sleep more soundly. This means that you have more energy during the day, meaning your thoughts are generally much more clear and your focus greatly improved. You are more mentally, and even emotionally stable.

It’s really a cycle, isn’t it? The more raw foods you eat, the better you sleep. The better you sleep, the more energy you have. The more energy you have, the more mentally stable you are. The more mentally stable, the easier it is to stay raw.

And the longer you stay raw, the healthier you become!

#6: Soft, Smooth, & Clear Skin

To be honest, I’ve always had pretty good skin. I’ve had maybe three blemishes in my entire life. In fact, the worst my skin has ever been was for the first few months *after* I gave up salt! But that’s for another article…

I’m not trying to brag. I just want to be honest. I’m not here to make up crazy transition stories about how going raw made me grow 5 inches taller and gave me the power of flight.

Anyway, I’m sure that many of you struggle with skin problems, whether it’s a blotchy skin tone, dry skin, oily skin, visible pores, blemishes, etc.

You *do not* need an expensive, chemical-laden skin treatment routine that only serves to further irritate your already abused skin. All you need is a good heapin’ helping of water-rich raw fruits and veggies.

And some sunshine couldn’t hurt either.

SIDE NOTE: I did have one skin problem prior to raw: keratosis pilaris (aka chicken skin). Click here to see how I bested it.

#7: Thick, Healthy, & Shiny Hair

I’ve always had really thick hair, but it was very dry and hard to manage before I went raw. The worst part was that I would shed like crazy!

My Mom was always pulling handfuls of my long locks out of the rollers of the vacuum. Yuck!

Now that I eat plenty of nourishing, water-rich foods, my hair is silky and soft. And I’m no longer a shedding machine!

#8: Healthy Teeth & Gums

But aren’t your teeth supposed to rot out of your head when you go raw?

NO! The fact that so many long-term raw foodists have suffered tooth decay is simply a testament to the fact that the mainstream raw food diet *does not work*.

On a healthy raw food diet full of sweet fruit, vegetables and little fat, you will not experience teeth problems. In fact, the condition of your teeth and gums is likely to improve!

The real key is to have a solid dental care system in place and not to make dehydrated foods the base of your diet.

#9: No More Aches, Pains, or Minor Illnesses

How many of you have struggled with “everyday” illnesses and pains such as headaches, migraines, colds, flus, tummy aches, joint pains, muscle cramps, allergies, etc.?

We all have at some point!

Personally, I used to struggle with…

• anemia
• restless leg syndrome
• muscle and joint pains in my legs and feet
• seasonal colds about 3-4 times a year (pretty much whenever the weather changed)
• the flu every couple of years
• headaches
• heavy menstrual flows and horrible cramps in my abdomen and lower back that left me in tears

And of course there were the seemingly random and unexplained aches and pains that would crop up every once in a while.

Every one of these has been *completely eradicated* since I went raw. No more headaches. No more colds. Perhaps best of all, no more heavy periods and gut-wrenching cramps!

Sorry guys, but that really is a big one for the ladies.

#10: Save Some Green

When you decide to take your health into your own hands and go raw, you can expect to save some dough in the process.

No more money wasted on unnecessary drugs, supplements or “superfoods.” No more expensive doctor’s fees. No more high insurance rates.

You can finally focus on *you* and spend that extra time and money on the things that actually make you more…well, you!

Still Waiting to Go Raw?

What are you waiting for? Each day that you remain a slave to your aching back, your extra fat, or even your trip to the local pharmacy, is a day that you could be living raw and loving it!

UPDATE

It’s been over two years and these are still my top raw food benefits. But what about you? Which raw results have you enjoyed the most?

Don’t be shy. Leave your comment below!

Go raw and love it,

Swayze

P.S. A raw food diet not giving you the radical health results you’ve been longing for? Click here to see what you’re doing wrong.

But as I’m sure you know, health isn’t just about diet. Check out these 3 non-dietary mistakes made by raw foodists:

Mistake #1: Getting Far Too Little Sleep

So you’ve heard the news. Raw foodists eat such a clean diet that they only need to sleep 5-6 hours each night!

Don’t believe this nonsense. You will not shave off hours from your sleep schedule just by going raw. Sure, you may need a little less sleep, given the fact that your body no longer has to fight its way through all the fatty cooked sludge, but it won’t make that much of a difference.

And actually, since a healthy raw food diet will lessen your body’s digestive and toxic load, you’ll have more energy than ever to exercise. Increasing your activity level means that you will need MORE sleep, not less!

Remedy: Sleep as much as you need to every single night. This generally means 8-10 hours, but will vary from individual to individual. If you feel ready to wake up each morning, than you got enough sleep.

Mistake #2: Getting Far Too Little Exercise

The reason that some raw foodists do in fact sleep less is because they don’t get any exercise! This is HUGE a mistake. You need to exercise if you want to be healthy. You can not be fit if you do not move your body.

And this means VIGOROUS activity! You know, where your heart beats fast, you breath hard, and your whole body leaks buckets of sweat.

So to answer your question…no, bringing in the groceries does not count as exercise.

Remedy: Start a simple exercise regimen you can stick with. It can be as simple as a walk around your neighborhood 3 times per week. What’s important is that you a) start with something you enjoy and b) start slowly. Otherwise, you’ll be a couch potato again before ya know it.

Mistake #3: Getting Far Too Little Sunshine

Notice how so many raw foodists struggle with vitamin D deficiency? Ever wonder why?

No, it’s not because they gave up meat and fortified dairy. It’s because they don’t get enough sun!

I know what you’re thinking…”Telling me to get more sleep was an easy sell and I’ve known about the benefits of exercise for years, but there’s no way you can convince me to expose my delicate skin to the cancer-causing sun!”

Get over it. Sure, too much of anything is too much and not a good thing. But the right amount of sunshine can do wonders for your overall health. Remember, vitamin D comes from exposure to the sun, not from what you eat.

Remedy: Layout naked (or as close to it as you can get) in the sun for 15-30 minutes everyday. Never underestimate the power of a good sunbathing session.

That’s all for now. It’s time to break a sweat, eat a satiating fruit meal, take a nap in the sunshine, and enjoy the rest of this glorious Friday!

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. Want to learn from the person who convinced me to give raw a second chance?  Check out Frederic Patenaude’s latest tell-all book Raw Food Controversies:

Raw Food Controversies

How to Avoid Common Mistakes That May Sabotage Your Health

Click Here!

Frederic has made every mistake in the book when it comes to going raw and suffered serious health consequences because of it.

Learn exactly what he did wrong, what happened to him, and how you can avoid all of it and go raw the healthy and sustainable way:

Raw Food Controversies

* What’s New: Meet Me in Cali

* Feature Article: A Great Unexpected Raw Food Diet Result

Meet Me in Cali

Besides being in Michigan this October for Dr. Graham’s lectures, I’ll also be visiting my big sis in Ventura, California later this month.

Told you I’m traveling a lot this year!

Anyway, I’ll be available from August 28 through September 2 and would love to meet up with some of my fruit-loving followers!  So if you’ll be in the Ventura area from August 28 through September 3 and would like to hang out and nosh on fruit, shoot me an email at swayze@fitonraw.com.

Swayze

A Great Unexpected Raw Food Diet Result

Here’s an unexpected sleep-related result I experienced soon after going raw:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Some other raw food benefits I have experienced:

• weight loss
• no more anemia
• no more RLS
• no more muscle and joint pain (especially my left knee)
• no more seasonal colds
• no more frequent headaches

And I get to eat as much sweet and delicious fruit as I want!  Who could ask for a better diet?

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. If you want to experience awesome raw food results like I have, a low fat raw vegan diet is the only way to go.  And I’ve got just the thing to help you with that:

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

Delicious and Healthy Raw Vegan Favorites for Every Meal

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

1. Eat a healthy, low fat raw vegan diet
2. Stop using an alarm clock
3. Finish your last meal at least 2 hours before bedtime

There was one important point that I forgot to address for becoming a morning person.  This one may actually be the most important tip of all…

Get Enough Sleep!

I know many raw foodists claim that eating raw means you get to sleep less and less and less, sometimes no more 5 hours a night.

NO, NO, NO!

This is one health and wellness area where mainstream medicine and media have got it right.  The average human – I
don’t care if you eat burgers and fries all day or live on sunshine and moonbeams – needs at least 8 hours of sleep
every night.

In fact, you may find that you need MORE sleep since going raw!  Many people discover that they are able to be (and actually want to be) more active and, as a result, need to sleep more.

But there’s no reason to rely on a number to tell you how much sleep you need.  As long as you are waking up naturally feeling ready to go – you did get rid of that retched alarm clock, didn’t you? – you are getting enough sleep.

Some days you may need more, some days you may need less.  Let your body be your guide!

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze