Eating Intuitively With The Raw Food Diet
http://www.foodndrinks.net/articles/4283/1/Eating-Intuitively-With-The-Raw-Food-Diet/Page1.html
James Beller
James Beller is a blogger, online publisher and natural and raw food enthusiast. He writes articles for various websites and blogs which promote the raw diet and natural health such as http://www.beautifulonraw.com. By James Beller
Published on 10/8/2009
Once your body is cleansed after following a raw food diet regimen, it becomes possible to be healthy by truly eating intuitively, that is to listen to your body tell you what kind of foods it needs.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually get hungry...truly hungry...during the day and then wander out to the kitchen to grab whatever it is that your body is calling for?
You eat it in peace, savoring the natural delightful flavors, knowing that you are flooding your body with all the nutrients it needs at that particular time. Then, completely satiated, you skip off to go about the rest of your business that day, knowing that when hunger strikes again later, you will repeat this same scenario, only you'll probably consume something different at that time.
Does this sound like some far-fetched dietary utopia that no normal person could ever hope to achieve? Au contraire! Think again. This is actually the most natural and healthy way to eat, and it is completely normal. What's more there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who do it on a daily basis.
Most of us have been conditioned since childhood to eat, as it were, with our minds. The latest food pyramid or diet fad tells us what to eat and when and how much and how to prepare it.
We are programmed to analyze what we are eating, how many calories, how many carbs, how many fat grams, and we satisfy all of our supposed nutritional requirements intellectually or turn to supplements to fill in the gaps. How many times has your body cried out for bananas, but you told it "No, that's got too many carbs. I'll eat some lettuce instead."
When we give ourselves over to the tyranny of diets, instead of the signals of the body that we are actually feeding, we become enslaved. We lose our intuitive sense of what is right for us and what it is we truly want. We bow down to addictions and blood sugar swings which dictate to us many of the foods and beverages we consume.
When our bodies are healthy and clean, we are better able to 'tune in' and know at any given time what it is we really need. Our bodies have an innate intelligence and really can communicate to us what is best if we are willing to listen.
Everyone is familiar with craving oranges when the body needs Vitamin C, or women craving chocolate when they need the extra magnesium during hormonal changes.
When one embarks on the raw food diet, there is a cleansing and detoxifying that takes place, with the end result being not only physical health, but also the clearing away of the blockages that have been restraining us from listening to the body's signals, and we are able to finally let the body lead instead of the mind. We find to our dismay, that the body never steers us wrong.
Most people eating a raw food diet can tell you stories about living for days on dates and kale, or eating 4 or 5 avocados a day for a week and then craving nothing but fresh tomato salsa until tomatoes are no longer in season.
This is not to give the impression of some sort of dietary fixation or gluttony, but to point out that when the body has a need for a particular nutrient or other substance that a food has to offer, it will crave that very thing until its needs are met. Then, you will desire something else. It may be a lot during certain times, it may be a little at others. It may be something fresh and in season, or something that you haven't had since childhood.
Believe it or not, a body cleansed and balanced on a raw food diet, will actually crave the things that are good for it. You don't need to worry that by eating this way you will be downing nothing but Krispy Kreme donuts or Starbucks lattes. A healthy body will not call for these types of foods.
So next time you get a snack attack, stop and ask yourself what it is you're really wanting. How can you satisfy it with a real, raw natural food? The answer may surprise you.
If you are interested in learning more about the possibilities of the raw food diet, nowadays there are many resources available. Three that I have found helpful are: http://rawfoodme.wordpress.com, http://rawfoodists.blogspot.com/, and http://www.simplyrawbliss.com/.
You eat it in peace, savoring the natural delightful flavors, knowing that you are flooding your body with all the nutrients it needs at that particular time. Then, completely satiated, you skip off to go about the rest of your business that day, knowing that when hunger strikes again later, you will repeat this same scenario, only you'll probably consume something different at that time.
Does this sound like some far-fetched dietary utopia that no normal person could ever hope to achieve? Au contraire! Think again. This is actually the most natural and healthy way to eat, and it is completely normal. What's more there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who do it on a daily basis.
Most of us have been conditioned since childhood to eat, as it were, with our minds. The latest food pyramid or diet fad tells us what to eat and when and how much and how to prepare it.
We are programmed to analyze what we are eating, how many calories, how many carbs, how many fat grams, and we satisfy all of our supposed nutritional requirements intellectually or turn to supplements to fill in the gaps. How many times has your body cried out for bananas, but you told it "No, that's got too many carbs. I'll eat some lettuce instead."
When we give ourselves over to the tyranny of diets, instead of the signals of the body that we are actually feeding, we become enslaved. We lose our intuitive sense of what is right for us and what it is we truly want. We bow down to addictions and blood sugar swings which dictate to us many of the foods and beverages we consume.
When our bodies are healthy and clean, we are better able to 'tune in' and know at any given time what it is we really need. Our bodies have an innate intelligence and really can communicate to us what is best if we are willing to listen.
Everyone is familiar with craving oranges when the body needs Vitamin C, or women craving chocolate when they need the extra magnesium during hormonal changes.
When one embarks on the raw food diet, there is a cleansing and detoxifying that takes place, with the end result being not only physical health, but also the clearing away of the blockages that have been restraining us from listening to the body's signals, and we are able to finally let the body lead instead of the mind. We find to our dismay, that the body never steers us wrong.
Most people eating a raw food diet can tell you stories about living for days on dates and kale, or eating 4 or 5 avocados a day for a week and then craving nothing but fresh tomato salsa until tomatoes are no longer in season.
This is not to give the impression of some sort of dietary fixation or gluttony, but to point out that when the body has a need for a particular nutrient or other substance that a food has to offer, it will crave that very thing until its needs are met. Then, you will desire something else. It may be a lot during certain times, it may be a little at others. It may be something fresh and in season, or something that you haven't had since childhood.
Believe it or not, a body cleansed and balanced on a raw food diet, will actually crave the things that are good for it. You don't need to worry that by eating this way you will be downing nothing but Krispy Kreme donuts or Starbucks lattes. A healthy body will not call for these types of foods.
So next time you get a snack attack, stop and ask yourself what it is you're really wanting. How can you satisfy it with a real, raw natural food? The answer may surprise you.
If you are interested in learning more about the possibilities of the raw food diet, nowadays there are many resources available. Three that I have found helpful are: http://rawfoodme.wordpress.com, http://rawfoodists.blogspot.com/, and http://www.simplyrawbliss.com/.