Transitioning to Raw Foods just got Easy!

Fill Your Brain with Knowledge
Read, read, read as much as you can about a raw food diet. The more information you have, the more empowering you will feel. Knowledge is power! It also is great at keeping your motivation high. The more I read about a topic, the more the excitement I have to go out and experience what I have learned.

Know Why you are Changing to a Raw Food Diet
Is it to reverse disease, lose weight, increase overall health, or something else? Write out why are you changing to a raw food diet and repeat it whenever necessary. It is much easier to stick to a way of eating if you know it will help beat fatigue and eliminate your headaches, rather than saying "I just want to try it." Once you know your motivation, it is easy to stay on track because you know you are in the process of reaching your goal.

Connect with Other Raw Foodists
Read blogs of other raw foodists, find a friend or family member that will help you along your journey, or search out a local raw food network in your city. Having an accountability partner greatly increases your chances of succeeding. Studies show more people reach their goal when they make it public to others, rather than keeping it to themselves. An accountability partner will be expecting great things from you, so don't let them down!

Keep a Well-Stocked Kitchen
There is nothing worse than being hungry and wanting to eat a ripe, juicy apple, but the refrigerator is bare! Then you check the cupboards and find a box of cookies that you forgot to throw away and.... BAM! Temptation sets in. Don't let this happen, always keep your fridge full of plenty of fruits and vegetables. Even if it means grocery shopping every few days, it may seem like a pain, but it is worth it on those days when cravings hit. It's okay to overbuy sometimes when doing your grocery shopping. I know when I am buying apples I fill the bag with 4-5 because I think that is all I will be hungry for for the week, then I throw in a few extra "just in case." And I am glad I do! Many times I am thankful for picking up a few extra items that I didn't think I would need, because they do come in handy! Better to be over-prepared, then under-prepared.

Don't Overspend on Raw Food Gadgets
You do not have to go out a buy every single raw food gadget to prepare a variety of meals. I thought I would be stuck with endless salads and raw fruit if I didn't have a blender, food processor, dehydrator, Vita-Mix and a spiral slicer. You know what? I survived without any of those tools and you can too! For recipes that called for chopped nuts, I chopped them with a knife. For dehydrating, I placed the food out in the sun for a few hours (living in the desert Southwest does have it's advantages!), but you can improvise using an oven or toaster oven set on the lowest setting, even turning it off and on so it doesn't get too hot. After awhile you will know what kinds of gadgets you would like to purchase. Buy them one at a time and slowly incorporate them into your kitchen. The first gadget I bought was a food processor because I got tired of chopping nuts by hand. I still have no need for a dehydrator, but would like a spiral slicer soon. This also keeps me motivated because I am looking forward to getting my new "toy" so I can experiment in the kitchen and keep my meals fresh and exciting.

Do not try to be 100% raw overnight
Just start with one raw meal a day, I chose eating fruit for breakfast. Breakfast is usually the best meal to choose because you are fresh, ready to start the day on a good note and don't have any stress that would cause you to reach for something to relax your nerves. So eat fruit in the morning, as much as you want, until you are full. Then you are free to eat lunch and dinner on your usual diet. After you are accustomed to fruit for breakfast, incorporate a raw lunch into your day as well and leave your SAD diet for dinner only. Then when you feel comfortable, switch your dinner to raw as well. I see so many people get all gung-ho for the raw food thing, eat it for a couple weeks and then throw the towel in and give up. It is because they did too much, too soon. Take it easy and slow down, you have the rest of your life to eat raw foods so what's the big hurry? A few extra weeks of partial SAD eating isn't going to kill you, how long have you been eating SAD already? Transition slow and you will be more likely to stick with the change.

Be Prepared for Social Activities
Let's face it, not many people eat a raw food diet, so this can make it difficult to attend social functions where food is going to be served. Food choices will be very limiting. I am somewhat at an advantage because I don't go out and socialize much, but for the few times that I do I always have a plan. Don't go out without a plan! If you are going out to eat at a restaurant, pick a place that at least offers salads or a fruit plate. If not, ask if the chef will prepare something for you per your specifications. If going to a party or someplace that offers snack food, don't go hungry!! Always assume there will be nothing there for you to eat so eat beforehand. If it's going to be a long night, pack a raw food bar or two in your purse and eat them in the bathroom.

Have Variety in your Foods
Variety not only ensures you get a wide range of vitamins and minerals, but it also serves to satisfy your taste buds. I hardly ever eat the same thing on consecutive days, I'm just not hungry for it. If I eat oranges for breakfast one day, I won't eat oranges again for a few days. Also, try incorporating a new food into your diet once a week to help add variety.

Keep an Un-Cookbook on Hand, or a Few
Sometimes I just get bored with the foods I eat on a regular basis, so having a few recipe books around the house ensures I have access to new dishes to try. Now I never have an excuse for running out of raw food ideas.

Keep a Food Journal
Write down what you eat on a daily basis, then write down how you feel afterwards. After a few days you can look back and see how you reacted to certain foods. Most likely you will see a pattern of feeling great after eating a raw meal. This will help keep you on track and see how much progress you made, and that changes really are happening. You will be less likely to backslide to a SAD diet after you see how well you do on raw. It's a great motivational tool!

Exercise
I like to do weightlifting at home and the elliptical machine for some cardio, but feel free to find any physical activity that you like to do. Exercise helps regulate blood sugar levels, strengthens the heart and cardiovascular system and it just feels good! Endorphins are released when you partake in physical activity, which helps to alliviate pain and boosts your serotonin levels which are responsible for food cravings. After a good workout I always crave good, healthy raw foods and I can abstain from cooked foods with no problem. So before you give into cravings, go get some exercise and see how you feel afterwards.

Don't Think of It as a Diet
The more you think of eating raw foods as a diet, the more likely you are to get off track. Don't deprive yourself! When I first starting eating raw I allowed myself unlimited calories. This helped in two ways. First, I did not feel deprived, if I was missing a tasty cooked food treat, I made it's raw equivalent (this is where keeping a couple raw uncookbooks on hand is keen.) Since you will be eating mostly fruits and vegetables they are very low in calories and quite filling because of their high water and fiber content. After eating half of a watermelon for breakfast I was stuffed! I couldn't eat another bite, yet it had the same amount of calories as my usual cooked food breakfast of yogurt and cereal.

Second, when you restrict calories you are only depriving your body of essential nutrients and minerals. Many people experience weight loss while eating raw foods, even when they are eating more calories than before! So don't be afraid to eat, eat, eat! Think of all the wonderful goodness you are doing for your body. I am not saying to gorge yourself on tons of nuts, dried fruits and peanut butter. These foods are calorically dense and will add to weight gain in the long run. What I am saying is to eat unlimited amounts of fruits and vegetables, at least in the beginning of your transition, to help your body adjust. If you feel you are eating too much, you can always scale back on calories later.

You Will Backslide!
Notice I say 'Will' and not 'If.' Everybody backslides!! Tell this to yourself right now so you are not disappointed when it actually happens. You must have a plan. Hopefully it is along the lines of picking yourself back up and starting again. Don't feel like you have to throw in the towel and call it quits. You are only human, you will make mistakes. Learn from them and move on. Keep your eye focused on your goal, you did write it down, right? Don't get discouraged, many people fumble and fall, but the true winners are those who stare adversity in the face and call it's bluff.

Stay Motivated and Positive
Pick something that will motivate you and keep it close at hand. Whether it's posting your "before" photo to the fridge, or writing a favorite inspirational quote and carrying it around in your wallet. Choose something that has meaning to you and refer back to it when you need a little boost. Motivational sources can be religious, spiritual, moral, personal, the list goes on. You probably have a good idea of what motivates you, so use it! Use it as often as necessary to keep yourself on track. Keep positive thoughts in your mind, do not let others influence what you already know is right. People who do not understand a raw diet will knock it down, but don't listen to them. Instead, pull out your motivational tools and keep going!