alright, this might seem like a silly question. i read over and over people eating mostly fruits, mostly veggies, and others who eat fruits, veggies, nuts, and sprouted items. which are most beneficial, or is it just on personal preference of what one eats. i dont want to be eating too much nuts during the day with the whole avocadoes i eat along with coconuts, and oils. i am doing this diet to help lose weight and of course helping animals is a MAJOR concern for me. are the fatty fruits and nuts supposed to be eatin sparingly or in any amount since they are natural foods and healthy? guess im just getting a little confused while trying to spice up my menu. today i made these breakfast bars from Rawvolution which consisted of: raw almonds, raw walnuts, ground flaxseed, rasins, and strawberries. just wondering if i begin eating nuts and fatty foods with each meal if that is considered unhealthy or if they are ok since they are "good" fats. please help, confused. seems while i look at most of the meals in rawvolution that they consist a main part of nuts for meat, cruncy substitute or what not. is this for people transitioning more easily by eating foods made to look and taste like those from the SAD diet. would it be healthier to eat just fruits and veggies or dehydrated foods put together to make a similar meal as what i was used to. i would think raw fruits and veggies is better, but i do know that some fat is essential. just wondering if there were certain limits of natural fat intake that i should not be passing up. thanks again

* if you're transitioning and feeling good and also eating other things like salads, blended soups, green smoothies, and just unadulterated fresh fruits and veggies, i wouldn't worry about the gourmet raw foods at first. the longer you stay raw, the more your body's feedback mechanism kicks in, prompting you to eat more of the former, and less of the latter. just my experience.i found that i really thrived on lots of raw fats at first (for me that was mostly in fthe form of avocados, macadamia nuts, and olive oil in dressings and such). so if you are feeling good and meeting your goals eating that way right now, don't sweat it.

* if you are trying to lose weight but find that you are not while eating raw, you should look at fats, even healthy fats, as the culprit. as bryan says, a generic SAD diet has approx 40% calories from fat. if you can keep it under that for awhile, you'll likely start to drop weight. (use fitday.com or nutritiondata.com to check your percentages). slowly look toward lowering that number over time. i personally range between 20% and 30% at 8 months raw, and am still losing weight. I dropped a lot of FAST weight early on (and I was eating pretty high fat at that time, i wasn't tracking it then, but i'd estimate that it was higher than 40%), and I'm kind of plateaued now but slowly losing. i'm exercising a fair bit too, though.

* for me, i eat raw gourmet as a treat sometimes, but on a typical day if I am reaching for the healthy fats i ask myself "is this thing helping me eat more unadulterated raw fruits and vegetables?" that becomes the litmus test. if the answer is yes (like in the case of a salad dressing, where i wouldn't otherwise probably eat all those greens) i go for it. if the answer is "not really", then i check and see if i would be just as happy eating something else at that moment..

> just wondering if i begin eating nuts and fatty foods with each meal if that is > considered unhealthy or if they are ok since they are "good" fats.

do you need to eat them with EACH meal? i find i can stay away from fats more easily in the morning, so i try to keep my breakfasts fat free whenever possible, to boost my percentage of carbs. see if it might be fun for you to challenge yourself to eat one or even two meals per day without the fats. you might find that you don't miss them.

> seems while i look at most of the meals in rawvolution that they consist a main
> part of nuts for meat, cruncy substitute or what not. is this for people
> transitioning more easily by eating foods made to look and taste like those
> from the SAD diet.

Yes.

> would it be healthier to eat just fruits and veggies or dehydrated foods put
> together to make a similar meal as what i was used to. i would think raw fruits
> and veggies is better.

Yes, trust your intuition on that. You're right.

I don't eat nuts because most ( or maybe all ? ) nuts have been cooked in their processing. I have heard that if you get the nuts direct from the farmer you can get truly raw nuts if you check it out carefully. I eat seeds that I can sprout. I also get fats from avocados and coconuts and other fresh raw foods. I like nuts but if their not raw then nuts to em. As for putting foods together to make a "bar" or recipe I prefer to eat simply and as far as the dehydrator is concerned I prefer not to make my fresh raw foods into stale foods.

I think it is best not to overdo the raw fats, even though obviously they are healthier than other fats....well, this is what I am AIMING for anyway ha ha! Haven't had a nut binge in a while, so I guess that is something...

good luck

I agree with Maui and the other great posts. I think, in the beginning, it is wise to eat a WIDE variety....and MEASURED amounts of fats....even with each meal. YOU will need to try the different styles of eating to see what works for you. As long as YOU are setting conscious goals....and taking responsibility for those....and accepting the consequences....and not stressing over things....you'll be fine.

-My personal opinion is that your joy will bring you enlightenment and a healthy diet....not the other way around.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

I went raw as of today. I bought about $88 in groceries that should last me the week. This was from my regular grocery store with, unfortunately, only about 25% of it being organic. (I figured for the first raw week, it will do.)

I noticed I bought a lot of raw nuts, which is funny because I've never eaten a lot of nuts in the past. I think I had the nut milks in mind when buying them, though. I want to be careful with all these nuts because my diet wasn't very fatty before today, so....

I think in the very beginning the body goes absolutely nuts when you cut out the heaviest and most harmful cooked foods, which is why the fats are SO good and SO filling. It's okay, it's just important to keep in mind you want to get through that phase, because ultimately, physically and emotionally, not even raw fats will dope out your body the way pastas and things will.

So it's also a process of learning when and why you were eating... coping with that... and welcoming changes for the better!

i think that i am going to try eating one type of fruit or vegetable for each meal/snack throughout the day. seems like i will be able to limit my fat intake some. i cant wait for spring and summer to bring local fruits and veggies. i did hear that the body takes 14 days for a habit to set and the body to get used to newly learned routine. im hoping that my fat cravings will go down after i buckle down. thanks guys

I relied on heavy nuts, seeds, and oil for my transition and entire first year of raw. It's only now that I'm cutting back on the fats. My body has healed a tremendous amount even with the high fat intake, but now I am ready for the next level of health. So, I have been cutting back on the fat intake.

Go at your own pace. If you are asking "how much", then maybe let your body answer?

Lots of love to you,

Wendi Dee
XOXO