The raw diet is now recognised as a good way to lose weight and still have plenty of energy from the healthy foods you are eating
In fact, many find that just changing what they eat is enough to help them lose weight. That sounds like the worst kind of ad, I know, but it’s true – in a way. You don’t have to count calories or run marathons to lose weight with a purely raw diet – your body should naturally settle at a healthy weight – but the diet itself is not easy to stick to. You need a lot of enthusiasm to stay with the raw lifestyle.
It’s not all bad news. Lots of people who go on a raw diet find it gives them more energy and there is almost a spiritual element to the diet. Once you have eaten a purely raw diet for health and weight loss for a couple of weeks, you will have sampled the benefits that raw food can bring and you will probably not want to stop!
Make sure that you add plenty of variety to your meals and don’t just stay with a few of your favourite foods. Mix it up as much as you can. This will help you to keep on track. The raw way of eating is a restricted diet so you must also be sure to cover all of your nutritional requirements. The simplest way to do this is to log in to a site like Fitday.com and track your eating there.
I think it is true to say that you will be eating a far better range of vitamins and nutrients on a raw diet than on your previous eating regime. But there might be some important gaps in nutrition that you need to consider. Many people assume that they get all of the nutrients they need on a standard Western diet, when in fact they don’t. The best solution to nutritional deficiencies, if you do not mind a slight deviation from the pure raw diet for health and weight loss, is to take supplements for any vitamins and minerals that are lacking in your raw diet.
Another concern is that you end up being an eating freak and a raw food fanatic. You don’t have to do this. If you do not want to go 100% raw at this time, you may want to pick a partially raw diet for health and weight loss. Most people do this by eating 100% raw at one or two meals per day and then having some cooked food at dinner. This can still have a lot of the benefits of eating raw food but be aware that the benefits can vary hugely depending on what type of cooked food you eat.
If you have fruit for breakfast, a big salad or other raw option for lunch, and then have vegetable soup or a meat-free hotpot with rice and pulses for dinner, you should see some health benefits including weight loss if you are overweight. But if you are having two raw meals a day and then going out for a hamburger with super size fries every night, followed by a pint of ice cream in front of the TV, you are not going to lose weight so easily!
Of course, if you have any health issues you should consult with a doctor before starting on a raw diet for health and weight loss.