Continuing our conversation from the last post, when I first started with raw food 31 years ago, the healing that I experienced with my fatigue and other health challenges was so significant that I was super motivated to stay with raw. Within a few months I encountered a significant pitfall that many of you may have experienced too, which was hunger. All the raw food books I read and the teachers that I spoke with encouraged me to eat fruit whole. I followed this suggestion and found myself eating fruit regularly throughout the morning and afternoon. I was also told to eat until I felt satisfied. Even when I ate one piece of fruit after another for what seemed like quite a bit of time, I still felt hungry. So, I ate more. And still felt hungry.
I’m the type of person who really likes to feel full. In reality, I have always been a two to three large meals per day person. I like to eat a meal and feel full until the next meal. I’m not really a snacker or a grazer like many people that I know are.
Getting back to my story, when I started raw, I found myself eating fruit whole but was still hungry. I could have easily given raw up for not working because if this, but I had experienced the benefits of this lifestyle and was resolved to find a solution. One morning, as I was loading up my tote with a bunch fruit to eat for the day, I had an idea – instead of carrying this large bag of fruit throughout my busy day ahead, what if I just blended it all and put the mixture into large mason jars?
I got out my glass carafe low-power blender and created some smoothies, which were actually more appropriately called “chunkies” at the time since that’s the best my little blender could do.
I had two of the smoothies for breakfast and remaining for lunch. I felt my usual great amount of energy throughout the day with one big difference, no hunger! I felt full and satisfied with my fruit smoothies until my next meal.
I knew then, that this would be a game changer for me and I have been employing this strategy ever since. As a side note, a couple years later, I started adding leafy greens to my smoothies and my satiety was even better. And a few years later after graduation, these smoothies evolved into smoothie bowls.
This is why it is so important to know yourself and what works best for you. I think that the approaches that certain raw food teachers teach can be a good starting point, but may not be the most ideal for everyone in all situations. One must consider health goals, current health status, how the approach fits into their daily life, and more. It’s more than okay to find what works best for you. Similar to my situation, it may be a simple change or a series of changes that make the difference, keep you on the path, and help you achieve and MAINTAIN the health goals you are seeking. Open-mindedness and critical thinking together can be a powerful combination! In my next few posts, I’ll continue to share more game-changing strategies that have made all the difference on my raw plant-based path.