Swayze Swayze’s interest in diet and fitness began early on in an attempt to release excess weight. After over 2 years of struggling with anemia, restless leg syndrome, and “those last 10 pounds,” she stumbled upon the raw food diet in late 2007. Swayze has been actively living and avidly promoting a low-fat, high-fruit raw vegan diet ever since. To learn more about the best raw food diet, visit www.fitonraw.com and subscribe to Swayze's weekly raw newsletter, Peachy Keen Ezine. View articles | Contact author

Here are 3 key points that many raw foodists, including the so-ca falter on or even flat out ignore, and yet are so important for getting crazy awesome raw food results.

It's a little R.A.W. formula I came up with to help all you struggling raw foodies out there.

"R" Stands for...

*Reduce Your Fat Intake*

Too many raw foodists are eating way too much fat. As Dr. Graham likes to say, the mainstream raw food diet is an unsustainable diet of "grass and fats."

And it truly is!

With all the fruit fear mongering going around, raw foodists are only left with a couple of choices: fatty foods like avocado or grassy foods like greens...or even just plain ole' grass!

And because grassy foods provide very little in the way of calories, it's up to the fattier fare to pick up the slack.

The result? A food regimen that's higher in fat than the average cooked food diet!

I experienced this myself when I first went raw. I had been a low fat food person for quite some time, but my cooked vegan diet was failing me and so I wanted to give raw a chance.

I followed a well-known raw food cuisine book (this particular book is one of the top-selling raw recipe books today, actually), but all of the oil and nuts used in 90%+ of the recipes just didn't sit right with me.

When I finally sat down and calculated what I was eating, I was shocked to find that my daily "healthy" raw food diet was AVERAGING 45% fat!

I didn't even consume that much fat as a SAD eater!

After a few more weeks of research, I made the switch to low fat raw and immediately saw improvements: no more bloating, gas, or lethargy!

And with all the yummy sweet fruit, I was finally satiated! As long as I ate enough fruit (yes, this really is THE key), I never felt the need (and still don't) to fill up on dense fatty foods.

"A" Stands for...

*Add in Some Greens*

While I'm sure you know how important sweet fruit is to a healthy raw food diet...

(And if you don't, this article may help you out)

...you may be missing out on another important component: GREENS!

While fruits are absolutely vital because they come the closest to meeting our nutritional needs and provide sufficient calories, they do run low in some necessary nutrients (i.e. minerals).

That's where greens come in!

Tender leafy greens like romaine and bib lettuce - as well as delicious non-sweet fruits like cucumber and red bell pepper - have a higher mineral content than sweet fruits do.

And you know what? It's just really nice sometimes to have a big savory salad or a Fat Free Veggie Dip at the end of a fruit-filled day, which can really help with cravings and keep you on the raw path.

"W" Stands for...

*Work Your Body Everyday*

Sorry all you lazy raw foodists (a group in which I include myself), but if you want optimal results on raw (or ANY diet), you have to exercise.

You have to get yourself up off that couch and away from your computer/TV screen and move around a bit.

And if it's *optimal* results you're looking for, then you need to do this EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Even on my recovery days, I still do light stretching and low impact activities such as walking and biking.

And no, "low impact activities" do not include pushing the buttons on your remote or typing at your computer.;)

Of course, if you're new to being physically active, be safe and start slow. A 30 minute walk around the neighborhood 3 times per week is an excellent place to start and can easily be modified (i.e. alternating jogging and walking) as you progress.

Get Great Raw Results!

By following this formula...

Reducing your fat intake,

Adding in your greens, and

Working your body everyday

...you will definitely see some radical (but totally welcome) raw results.

Swayze


For more information on the best raw vegan diet, be sure to visit www.fitonraw.com and subscribe to Swayze’s newsletter Peachy Keen Ezine. By subscribing, you will also receive the free report The 4 Principles of a Healthy Raw Diet as well as the 5-week mini-course The Fool Proof Transition to Raw.