Hi friends, Kristina here, and today I’m going to share with you the top 3 mistakes people make on a raw food diet, and I’ll also share with you my key tips for success.

I’ve been a raw vegan for over 18 years now, and it’s completely changed my life. While some may call it a diet, I call it a lifestyle. changing what I’m eating not only helped me reverse my type 2 diabetes hyperglycemia, but it also awakened me and gave me so much more joy, purpose, and connection in my life. Food is medicine, and I truly believe that what we put into our bodies has the power to heal us and to make this world a better place. 

If you want to have success in this lifestyle, I pray you’ll really take these 3 lessons I’m going to share with you into consideration. They are game changers. I’ve seen many people come and go on this lifestyle, and the three commonalities I’ve found amongst most of them have been these three things I’m going to share with you today. You CAN have incredible success on this lifestyle, and just like with anything else in your life that you want to master, it will take learning, unlearning, commitment, dedication, passion, patience, and time.

First I’m going to share with you my key tips, then I’ll share with you the top 3 most common mistakes I’ve seen…

Key Tips:

• What you remove from your diet is just as important as what you add in - allow me to explain. I’m a huge advocate of encouraging people to eat one FullyRaw meal a day. This can be a juice, smoothie, or salad. It’s an action that helps you to build consistency and comfort within the lifestyle. This being said, you also have to REMOVE the foods from your diet that also might be causing stress or other health issues in order for you to SEE results. You can’t eat one raw vegan meal a day and expect it to completely change your life when you’re still eating cheeseburgers and other processed foods throughout the day. Make bigger changes across the board accordingly. Start moving towards a WHOLE FOODS, plant-based lifestyle. When you can’t eat raw, eat clean cooked foods. Start simplifying. Every step you take towards cleaning up your diet will yield you results. The more seriously you take this and the more you commit, the better results you will see. 
• Remove expectations & try not to put a timeline on your healing - leave all your expectations at the door and allow your body to do what it does best…self-regenerate and heal. I often hear from newbies, “I’ve been eating raw for 2 weeks, and I still haven’t lost weight” or “I’ve been eating raw for a month, and I’m still experiencing this health issue…” You can’t put a timeline on your healing. Your body is going to go at its own pace and will have its own agenda. Trust the process. If you’re putting in the proper amount of time, commitment, effort, and work, there will be results. It took me a year and a half to reverse my diabetes with only changing what I was eating. I was only 18 at the  time and only had 18 years of “damage” done to my body. Imagine if you’re just beginning your journey at 30, 40, or 60 years old. Healing takes time. Also, your body might be healing many other things under the surface before it gets to the ONE agenda item that you want it to get to. Trust the process. Remove expectations. Focus on the journey, not the destination. Have fun with the lifestyle. Find excitement in learning and unlearning. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much is revealed to you.
• Pull together your resources and recipes - I can’t stress this enough. Put together a list of your favorite resources that you can keep going back to so that when days become stressful, you can rely upon them and stay true to yourself and to your commitment. Download my recipe app and use that as a resource. Join my Inner Circle and join our live Zoom calls that we do twice a week on Sundays and Wednesdays. Use my website and online programs. Watch my free YouTube videos as a resource. I have nearly 800 videos you can watch and learn from at anytime. Keep yourself inspired.
• Find 5-10 recipes and make them on repeat - Find 3 breakfast, 3 lunch, and 3 dinner recipes and don’t be afraid to enjoy them as much as you like. This allows you to get used to making these recipes. Don’t worry about making a new recipe everyday. Get the hang of eating raw vegan FIRST before you try to DO EVERYTHING and make a million recipes. Take baby steps and master first what you can handle. You can grow and expand from there.
• Build your raw food kitchen - create a space in which you’re excited to make delicious and colorful recipes! You want this experience to be fun, so create your own raw food kitchen. Invest in the tools you need to be successful at this. My top three recommendations for kitchen tools are first a Vitamix blender, second a Nama juicer, and third is a spiralizer. I have all of those linked below for you with discount links and codes for you. I just added a new online shop to my app with my favorite kitchen tools, so you can check that out as well.  

Top 3 Mistakes:

1. Not eating enough calories: This is the #1 mistake people make when they first start eating a raw vegan diet. They don’t consume enough calories. Raw living foods are naturally higher in water content and volume, and lower in calories, so you have to eat MORE of them to get the energy or fuel you need for your body to thrive and function at its optimum. Processed foods are higher in calorie and way smaller in volume. People are used to eating small portions and getting in more than the amount of calories they need. Actually, this is why people are used to OVER-eating calories, and often times still not feeling full. Not to mention, processed foods usually are very low in actual nutrient density. So you can eat a lot of calories with zero nutrition and never feel full essentially. I call it the empty cookie syndrome, and it’s a huge part of why so many struggle with the SAD diet, or Standard American Diet. People are used to eating empty calories. Not to mention, because these foods are so calorie heavy, making it easy to overeat or to eat more calories than what you need…people often feel the need to restrict or DIET. This is exactly the opposite of a raw vegan lifestyle. When I talk about unlearning everything you’ve been taught before or unlearning how you’ve been conditioned to eat, this is what I’m talking about. Raw living foods are about abundance, nutrition, color, vibrancy, and LIFE. You actually HAVE to eat more to get what you need, and you get to enjoy EVERY bite without guilt, shame, or restriction. It’s HEALTH FREEDOM. I often talk about HEALTH FREEDOM, and this is a big part of what I’m talking about. It’s also having sovereignty over your food choices and what you put into your body. You can’t just eat 5 apples in your day and expect it to be enough. Check out the meal plans on my app and on my website. Each day has a proper amount of calories configured for you to be successful and satisfied in this lifestyle. You can also check out my online programs or use calorie-counting apps like Cronometer to make sure you’re eating enough in your days. 
2. Overdoing fat for protein/calories instead of fruit: Fruit is not your enemy. Many people are afraid of eating fruit because they’ve been told it has too much sugar and that all sugar is bad for you. The truth is: there’s a difference between the simple nutritious sugars in fruit vs. the complex carbohydrates of other processed foods. Fruit has fiber, vitamins, and even protein, and it’s hydrating for your body. When you go raw vegan, you’re eliminating from your diet processed foods, and also other complex carbohydrates that include breads, rice, etc. that would normally provide you ample calories. If you’re not consuming those other complex carbohydrates, you HAVE to get your calories in from somewhere, and those calories come from FRUIT. People assume they will starve if they only eat fruit, or they think that there’s too much sugar in fruit, so they try to get all of their calories from nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds do not have as many vitamins and minerals as fruits do. Nuts and seeds are rich in FATS. Only consuming nuts and seeds all day instead of enough calories from fruits, veggies, and greens will put you on a HIGH FAT diet. Fruit and greens are where it’s at. Fruit is one of the most pure food sources you can put into your bodies–and when you eat enough of it..it’s SO satiating and filling. Learn to consume mono-meals. It’s easier than you think.  If you have fruit sensitivities or health issues like diabetes, please of course consult with your doctor. You can also eat ample greens with your fruits to help slow the absorption. I have many more videos on this, and I recommend watching my most recent video on how to eat raw vegan naturally. There’s a LOT more to be discussed on this topic, so if you have questions for me, please join my Inner Circle group coaching calls. 
3. Prepare for your success. Do not leave things to chance. Map out your days and BUILD HEALTHY HABITS: One of the BIGGEST reasons people do not succeed at this lifestyle is because they do not plan. They don’t do the necessary grocery shopping, don’t clean out their pantry, don’t plan their meals the day or week before…they don’t plan and they assume everything will naturally come together or happen by chance. When you’re learning a new language like this one, you have to build a new habit…you have to put in the forethought and effort. Set yourself up for success by mapping out your meals in the day, making sure you have what you need, and even pre-planning for social scenarios or crazy busy days too. I believe in you. You can do this. When you’re afraid you can’t commit or if you’re afraid to fail…PLAN. It’s my biggest secret to success in this lifestyle.

BONUS TIPS: Supplement. Get sleep. Get sunshine. Seek connection. Rest when needed. Exercise daily. Food is just one element on the spectrum of health. Be sure you’re taking care of your body, mind, and spirit.