811rv VS. low-fat rv??

[Wendi Grant]

I am really struggling with a few ideas.  I like the way it sounds to "flush the fat" out of my body by eating more cleansing fruits, etc....like 80-10-10.  Even though I've never read the book (can't afford to buy it and can't find it in the library) I get the idea that it's LOTS of fruit and little fat/veggies.

I also don't know if I can afford to buy the fruits and such that will accomodate to supply the amount of calories on a 80-10-10 diet.  Can someone alaborate on this? 

Would it be so different to just eat low-fat raw vegan over choosing so much fruit?? 

 

What is your opinion?  Those of you who are doing it....let me know what are the benefits.  I would also like to know from those of you choosing this lifestyle what is your background (ie. SAD, raw vegan, vegetarian, vegan, etc.)

I am not trying to question that raw vegan is the healthiest lifestyle.....but I do think sometimes I consume too much fat. 

I also know that there are other "lifestyles" like Hallelujah Acres that promotes juices, greens (in the form of their barleymax, which is an awesome product) and 15 % vegan cooked foods....but strongly encourages everyone to be high raw vegan, as close to 100% as possible.

Sooooo that being said, I guess I feel confused by all the knowledge and trying to think of which way is better.  I know people say to listen to your body and do what feels right, but sometimes what is RIGHT doesn't feel RIGHT in the beginning.  You know???

Thanks for listening to me ramble. 

[Wendy Geesey]

I think LFRV is pretty much the same, the only difference I can see is that 811 states a limit for proteins and fats to no more than 10%. On a low fat diet there is no "standard" really. Low fat according to whoever it is that sets the standard here in the US in less than 30%!

As for why it appealed to me? Long story short- I had been raw about 8 months and felt good... then I did a 42 day juice feast... ahh, it was hard! At first I felt really great, but I know now that I did it about 2 weeks too long... I hit a real snag after that which was the middle of Feb.... I got Russell James chef course and started eating a bunch of gourmet raw foods... I didn't even really realize how much fat I was eating!! I just wasn't feeling well... no energy, stopped working out... 811 kept coming up so I thought I'd look into it.... I knew raw was the way, but could there be more than one raw way? YES, there is! Going STRICT 811 is very hard- no salt, no overt fat, no vinegar (those are hard for me), but keeping the fat under 10% isn't too hard. I feel so much better- so much more energy- back to working out every day, back to handling stress a little better, back to not drinking or taking anxiety meds.... my blood sugar is normal again :)  Yeah, it's just better.

[nathalie carles]

Wendi I think you have your post covered by Wendy...yes, fruits are very natural they just grow (especially berries)

we don't have to cultivate fruits most of the time vs gardens for greens.

Are you doing CA2?

[Wendi Grant]

Thank you guys for your insight.  Wendy, do you think there is alot of difference between 811 and just eating low-fat rv??   Is there a reason why 811 appealed to  you more?

Thanks.

[Wendy Geesey]

Oh, and you don't HAVE to count calories- it's just a good idea to in the beginning until you get an idea of how much you actually need to eat. I haven't counted for a while- I expanded my capacity to where it needs to be and I pretty much know where I'm at now.

Also- I totally agree with your concept about listening to your body!! I hardly ever hear this... but I don't believe that a SAD eating toxic body is safe to listen to!!! I've been eating raw for over a year and 811 for over 2 months and I am having cravings for salt and vinegar!!! I do NOT believe my body needs this junk- it's just addictive and I'm having a hard time with it. SAD food is MEANT to be ADDICTIVE!!! just my 2 cents, but I know it flies in the face of what most people say...

[Wendy Geesey]

Hi Wendi- easy questions to answer for me :)  I did read the book, and have been eating this way over 2 months (which makes me a baby 811'er ;) They say it takes 3-5 years to make this a solid lifestyle, and I believe it.

Let me first start by saying that I do believe our digestive systems were meant for this way of eating. I also believe that we were meant to live in a tropical environment where all this beautiful fruit is easily and cheaply available. I hope to live tropical some day- this is one of my goals.

In the book Dr. Graham talks about veggies- the ones that are the easiest to digest are leafy greens- but also zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, stuff like that. Tubers, or root veggies are harder to digest. Greens are a big part of the diet- it's just that they don't contain enough calories to sustain us. That is why fruit is so important.

I'm wondering what else is low fat raw vegan besides fruit and veggies?

Many people on this diet get the bulk of their calories from bananas! I bought a lot of bananas the other day for $19/pound!!! They were spotted- perfect for freezing to make nanner ice cream- I love it!! :) So cheap! Some days I eat 10 or 12 bananas!

I think the important thing is to keep it low fat. I hate to recommend cooked food, but it's better to eat a low fat cooked food (i.e. sweet potato) than anything high fat, raw or not. Dr. Graham even says that in the book too- even tho he didn't really want to say it ;) He said we shouldn't choose the lesser of 2 evils- we should choose what's best... but sometimes we are in situations where we must choose between evil 1 or evil 2 :P

I am like Nathalie- it is important for me to be social- my husband likes to go out to dinner once in a while, and I have friends I eat with that are not raw and far from 811, haha. So I am not religious, I will eat cooked food that is low fat or a salad with non fat dressing- you can do this if you want to. It's your life and whatever way you want to eat is up to you :)

You might want to check out 30bananasaday dot com.... they are all people who eat this way- they highly recommend reading the book- it is worth saving up for- it will help answer all your questions I think. I think you will also find lots of answers about 811 there.

[nathalie carles]

I think that like for  any other diets, unfortunately, there are many "ways of thinking, ways of doing" even in a  diet as simple as the raw food diet.

I usually try to go towards to the simplier because it makes more sens to me. We also are bombarded with "be good to the planet....1000 miles diet....eat locally...etc...." and eating a huge amount of fruits, depending where you live,  doesn't go with that.

There are no pineaples, mangos, coconuts,papayas,pink grapefruits, almonds, cashews,bananas, chia seeds cacao bits, all year strawberries... etc.... where I live in Canada) so if I had to eat this amount of fruits all my life I would spend a tremendous amount of money or if I choose to eat locally in the winter I would just eat apples.

The raw food lifestyle is easy, it is true that we shouldn't eat so much fat....a lot of things are made with soaked nuts (and a huge amount) when I read about salad dressings sometimes I am horrified with the amount of agave nectar (it is still sugar in a way)...and so on. The 8-1-1 diet sounds great for sure but it is a "diet" one more time and counting calories isn't fun. I love fruits, they are my everyday breakfast, my smoothies etc....but I also love my salads a lot, they allow me to go out in a restaurant....they allow me to have a social life which is very important for me. I just want to keep things simple , eat simple, at a reasonable cost. I live on an island and things already are more expensive (ferry cost etc...) than on the mainland and apart from bananas everything is expensive.

Strawberries (from California) 5$99....bananas (from Ecuador)....apples from New Zealand at 2$99...in the winter a salad (from CA again...what would we do without California here??? I wonder?) is $4 a piece!!!! Yes.

So, yes I do keep things simple, eat locally organic is also what I do in the summer but boy things are expensive

and eating this amount of fruits, for me I mean, is a little too much money wise...

If I lived in California or Florida (or?) I would eat much more fruits but here, in this part of Canada I go for more simple ...but that 8-1-1 way of eating sounds fabulous and easy when you have a lot of fruits around and obviously  by reading posts here on it it sounds fabulous....and actually easy to do!!!!

I also think that fruits and berries are the most natural food for humans, we were made to eat that way but our way of life has been a little disrupted....fruits are my snacks, my breakfast....