Did some quick art on my snack. Came out as very abstract one 🙂 That’s dehydrated fermented rye flour, orange and lemon peels, prune and fig
As promised I’ve compiled a list of strategies to help you stay full on a raw vegan diet. Although I don’t like to think of it as a diet. It’s a way of living. Because it touches many parts of life.
Anyways, this is what came out after 5 years on it. Some things may not work for you. Everyone is different. Tailor them to yourself. At the end of the day, you will develop your own scheme how not to starve. So, don’t worry if something doesn’t work for you.
If you are just starting, you may want to eat a lot. Do that. Give your body time to adjust. Just don’t chew on nuts and seeds all day. And constantly try new things to minimize the amount of food you eat.
Enjoy.
1 Always have complex carbohydrates in the morning. Not just any. Those with resistant starch. If you have a sweet tooth, put some dried fruits or raw honey. It’s better to soak dried fruits beforehand to prevent them sticking to your teeth
2 Breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day. Also, aim at having a bulk of your calories in the first part of the day. This way you eliminate the feeling of extreme hunger in the evening
3 Don’t wait until you are desperately hungry. Instead have 5-6 small meals per day. I think this rule is even more relevant here as most food is not high in calories
4 If you feel hungry 30 minutes after eating, have some coconut meat or soaked coconut flour. Just a small amount of either is very high in insoluble fiber. They would expand in your stomach giving you a good feeling of fullness. Without the burden on digestion. Similarly, this coconut trick also works if you do it just before a meal. In case you don’t feel like eating a lot OR feel like you need to eat a lot to satisfy yourself
5 Do not eat a lot of fat (I’ll repeat that often). Avocados and cashews only sound filling. Here is why. When you frequently indulge on fat it keeps your insulin levels constantly elevated. You don’t want this. Because when there is a lot of insulin in blood your cells start to ignore it. This prevents insulin from doing its main job – getting glucose into cells and converting it to energy. No glucose in cells = no energy = you feel hungry when there is a lot of glucose in blood. In other words, you feel hungry even after a substantial meal
6 Prepare properly grains, nuts and seeds. Like I said many times, these foods have phytic acid. Phytic acid forms insoluble complexes with minerals, proteins and other nutrients. This means that nutrients are not absorbed into blood and thus are not delivered to cells. When cells lack nutrients they need, your body starts to tell you that. How? Through false hunger and cravings. This is while you may ingest those nutrients every single day…
7 Have greens and herbs every day. They must be organic. Any edible greens and herbs. Don’t be afraid to try wild ones. For example, dandelion greens (in fact, the entire plant, including roots is edible; it may easily replace the whole medicine cabinet !). Greens and herbs are your daily multivitamin. As well as a multimineral, if there is such a word. They greatly decrease the chance of deficiencies. Deficiencies, in turn, may show themselves through false hunger and cravings
8 Try not to drink liquids during or one hour after a meal. It’s easier if you cut on your salt intake or avoid it completely. The goal is not to dilute hydrochloric acid in the stomach. There is one exception that you can do though. Simple sugars. Their digestion begins in the mouth and they don’t require much acidity. For example, little pure glucose fruits like ripe banana, dates and figs with tea is all right. Again, soaking dried fruits does a favour for your teeth. In short, sufficient acidity of the stomach is one of the prerequisites to smooth digestion. It ensures that all nutrients are absorbed and taken up by your cells. Which means, again, the chance of having a false hunger and cravings is smaller
9 Try not to mix carbohydrates and fats. Especially simple ones like glucose and fructose. The only exception might be coconut oil. The reason is, relative to other fats, it is digested quickly and with minimal effort. Actually, it is because of this quality it is given to infants and those with poor digestion. To repeat, proper combining = smoother digestion = better supply of nutrients to cells = less chance of false hunger
10 Eat slowly and chew thoroughly. Always bear in mind that a hormone responsible for feeling of satiety is released 20 minutes after the first bite
I guess that’s enough for one time. The rest will come some other day.
A couple final suggestions. Don’t put too much focus on always being perfect – 100% raw and vegan. Fanaticism is dangerous (found it a hard way). Be cool about this all. You know when you are concentrating on something too much, you usually end up screwing it up? And forbidden fruits are still the most sweetest. Yes, sometimes hunger will defeat you. That’s fine. Go slowly. If this lifestyle is for you, eventually you will get to a point you want.
If you have something to ask, please do.