The raw food weight loss technique is one of the weight loss diet techniques supported and even used by doctors and specialists. The health experts even recommend the raw food techniques to their overweight, obese, and diabetic patients whose need to lose weight is necessary, not just aesthetic. So if you want to lose weight just to look good, if this technique works for such patients, then the raw food weight loss diet will surely and more effectively work for you too.
Raw foods are foods that have low caloric levels but high amounts of nutrients. According to nutritionists, the nutrients in raw foods make people feel more full and satisfied, and this feeling lasts for longer periods during the day. Because of this, they won’t be as susceptible to cravings and binge eating because they won’t feel deprived of food.
But how does raw food do this? What’s in raw food that you can’t get from the regular foods that you consume?
How Raw Food Can Promote Weight Loss
- The enzymes – the secret raw ingredient
- The threats to enzymes
- What to eat
- What not to eat
1. The enzymes – the secret raw ingredient
These benefits of raw food in weight loss are all because of the secret ingredient in raw foods: the enzymes. Enzymes are natural ingredients in whole raw foods and they play plenty of purposes in the body. They help the body properly digest food and helps regulate and make sure that all chemical reactions in the body that occur at the cell level are carried out properly. Enzymes is actually what makes vitamins and minerals as effective in bringing about good nutrition and health. Some nutritionists go so far as to say that these enzymes are what sustains the body, and thus are the source of life.
If your body does not get much enzymes, it starts on the road towards deterioration. This is why we now suffer from a lot of diseases, overweight and obesity problems, depression, and several other health problems that plague every aspect of life.
But if your body gets all the enzymes it needs, it goes on working properly and without any problems. Proper enzyme intake will also help you maintain weight at an optimal level so you are neither underweight nor overweight. In fact, there is a specific enzyme that helps prevent obesity and excessive weight problems. This enzyme is called lipase, and its main purpose is to help split and burn fat then distribute it throughout the body. If the body does not get sufficient lipase, fat with accumulate especially on the hips, buttocks, and stomach. This is why raw food diet programs are also effective in getting rid of belly fat.
2. The threats to enzymes
Enzymes have bountiful sources: all raw foods are abundantly laden with enzymes. If raw foods make up majority of what you eat, you get close to maximum “perfect nutrition.” Unfortunately, there are many dangers that threaten and destroy enzymes.
According to the natural scientific process that occurs during cooking, the heat in cooking changes the chemical structure of foods and also destroys majority of the natural nutrients and enzymes the food contains. So when you eat cooked foods, you are not getting as much nutrients out of it as you really should, so you will tend to eat more and thus gain more weight. But if you eat raw foods, your body will get more nutrients from less food intake.
Aside from that, the modern lifestyle expose us to plenty of threats to enzymes. These threats include stress, additives in food, too much coffee, air pollution, and lack of sleep. And since enzymes are the source of life, they also bring about the natural process of food decay. This shows that the foods are live. But most of the foods we eat nowadays have a lot of preservatives. In order to preserve these foods, the enzymes are then killed. The more you are exposed to these threats, the more enzymes you need.
In the raw food weight loss program, weight loss could very well equate to protecting the enzymes in your body and adding more enzymes to the supply.
3. What to eat
So what should you eat in a raw food weight loss diet plan? Here are some examples of raw foods and raw food meals. Eat a lot of raw nuts and seeds, raw soups such as cucumber and gazpacho, raw goat and sheep cheese, raw fish such as cold smoked or cured fish, and raw meats such as cold smoked or cured meats. Also, pile up on salads as appetizers or snacks. Eat breads, bagels, and tortilla wraps for snack or breakfast. Also, fruits and vegetables make healthy desserts. For beverages, fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies are really healthy and taste great.
There are also a lot of raw food recipes online, so you can try them out. Some people are actually surprised to find that these raw food meals actually do taste really good, so they are satisfied and filled both in taste and in health.
4. What not to eat
Nutritionists always emphasize on this diet advice: diet is partly about what you eat and partly about what you don’t eat. So there are also a few things you should avoid so the raw foods you eat will work to their full potential. For example, avoid coffee, alcohol, tobacco, fried foods, roasted nuts, and foods that contain harmful protein.
The Raw Food Weight Loss Process
Take note, however, that a raw food weight loss program will take time. You won’t see visible results as fast and early as you expect. If you start eating more and more raw foods, your body will undergo an adjustment period during which it will cleanse and detoxify itself. After this detoxifying process, that’s when you will start noticing the effects of losing weight by eating raw foods. You will become healthier, then you will start shedding unwanted weight.
Aside from that, raw foods will also give you plenty of other benefits. Raw foods can help improve the condition of your skin, hair condition, and mental clarity. It can relieve you from depression, fatigue, and knee or back pain. You will enjoy all these benefits on top of the raw food weight loss benefits.