Raw Food Diet – 7 Days Diet Plan

7 Days Raw Food Diet Plan

Are you trying to eat healthier, feel better and lose weight? If so, you know that there are just so many options available. However, one diet that has taken the world by storm and is often touted for its health benefits is the raw food diet.

If you’ve never heard of this diet before and want to learn about how it works, we’re going to explore whether you can lose weight with raw food and even share before and after stories.

What Is Raw Food Diet for Humans?

The raw food diet is eating foods that meet the following classification:

Organic (mostly)
Uncooked
Unprocessed

Some people will also eat raw eggs, fish, meat and unpasteurized dairy. If you’re thinking that you would never eat raw meat, don’t worry – most people don’t follow this trend (and we recommend that you don’t).

Additionally, you can eat ” warm food,” which means that it doesn’t reach over 118 degrees.

While there’s been a major resurgence of this diet, it’s not new. In fact, people in the 1800s used to follow this same diet.

How Does Raw Food Diet Work?

Raw foods never get heated above 104°F – 118°F. Additionally, the foods should be organic or at least not be treated with pesticides or processed in any way. For most people, the diet is similar to veganism, where people eat a primarily plant-based diet.

The most common foods to eat are:

Fruits
Nuts
Seeds
Vegetables

If you’re taking supplements not prescribed or recommended by your doctor, they’re normally not allowed with this diet. Instead, the goal is to eat foods to meet all of your dietary needs. If you need to take supplements, this means that you need to adjust your diet.

However, this is just part of the concept because some people do have health issues that may cause them to require supplements. If this is the case, adhere to your doctor’s recommendations.

Why is All Food Raw?

Raw foods are thought to have more life force because they’re a living food. Many people who follow the raw food diet suggest that since the food is uncooked, it’s not harmful to the body and is filled with natural enzymes.

Cooked foods do have some of their natural enzymes and nutrient content reduced during the cooking process.

Recommendations When on the Raw Food Diet

If you plan on following this diet, know that some people state that if you eat 75% raw food, you’re adhering to the diet’s guidelines. However, there are also hardcore advocates of the diet that go 100% raw and state that it’s the best that they’ve ever felt.

Raw Food Diet to Lose Weight – Is It Possible?

Of course. Losing weight is all about burning more calories than you take in each day. Raw foods don’t have the additional calories from sugar and additives that sneak into a person’s diet.

For example, a raw apple has about 95 calories in it, while a small cup of Applesauce has 166 calories in it.

Lowering your caloric intake will help you lose weight by eating raw foods. However, you must adhere to the “everything in moderation” rule. If you eat too much of anything, the calories keep adding on until you’re now eating excess calories.

Many studies link this diet to lower body fat levels and weight loss, including:

7 – 9.4% lower body fat
May aid in weight loss (here)

One area to be cautious with when following this diet for weight loss is your consumption of nuts. Nuts are filled with vitamins and nutrients, and they’re necessary to receive some of the minerals that you won’t find in fruits and vegetables.

However, nuts are also very calorie-dense and filled with good fats. If you eat too many nuts, they can push your daily caloric intake too high, causing you to stay the same weight or even gain weight in the extreme case.

With that said, there are a lot of benefits of eating this way, too.

Raw Food Diet Benefits

Why should you follow this diet when there are so many others available? The benefits. You’ll find that the raw food diet, when you include nutrient-rich plant foods, has a lot of health benefits:

Improve heart health. Studies suggest that this diet may help reduce your risk of stroke and heart disease.
Lower blood pressure. Fruits and vegetables are linked to lower blood pressure levels.
Improve blood cholesterol. Nuts, seeds and whole grains are all linked to lower risks of heart disease and improvements in blood cholesterol.
May reduce diabetes risks. Raw foods, primarily fruits and vegetables, may help lower blood sugar and increase your insulin sensitivity. Why? These foods have higher levels of fiber.
May help with weight loss. Studies link vegan diets to lower body fat levels. Additionally, one study found that people following this diet for 3.5 years lost 22 – 26 pounds over this time.

You’ll also find studies suggesting that whole plant foods aid in digestion, promote good bacteria in the gut and so much more. One word of caution is that you need to review your diet plan and make adjustments to it to ensure that you’re eating a nutritionally balanced diet that is not lacking key nutrients.

7 Days Insulin Resistance Diet Plan

Carb Cycling for Weight Loss + 7 Days Meal Plan

Raw Food Diet Meal Plan – 7 Days

Our “meal plan” is just a base plan and should be adjusted based on your current height, weight and nutritional needs.

Day 1

Breakfast: Green Monster Smoothie
Lunch: Spinach Soup with Garlic and Coconut
Dinner: Lentil Walnut Tacos

Day 2

Breakfast: Chia Pudding
Lunch: Raw Vegan Mac’ n’ Cheese
Dinner: Spring Rolls Bowl

Day 3

Breakfast: Berry Mint Smoothie
Lunch: Waldorf Salad
Dinner: Raw Vegan Pizza

Day 4

Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon and Chia Bowl
Lunch: Collard Wraps
Dinner: Raw Mexi Chili

Day 5

Breakfast: Banana Pancakes
Lunch: Mango and Ginger Soup
Dinner: Vegan Lasagna

Day 6

Breakfast: Crunchy Raw Muesli With Fruit
Lunch: Zucchini Pasta With Pesto Sauce
Dinner: Rainbow Pad Thai With Almond Sauce

Day 7

Breakfast: Tropics Smoothie
Lunch: Vegan Mango Salad
Dinner: Raw Tacos

And if none of these recipes sound good to you, don’t worry – there are so many more. The goal is to start finding items that you love raw and adding them into your diet. In fact, even if you eat two raw meals and a snack per day, accounting for 75% of your diet, you’ll begin to notice a big difference in how you feel.

If you do go fully raw, add snacks into your day. The recipes below are filled with great snack ideas that easily fit into the meal plan above.

Best Raw Food Diet Recipes

If you have no clue how to make some of the foods above, you’re not alone. People are so used to “cooking,” meaning that they need to heat foods. Thankfully, there are raw diet cookbooks filled with recipes that adhere to this diet.

A few of the best-selling options on Amazon are:

The Raw Deal Cookbook: Over 100 Truly Simple Plant-Based Recipes for the Real World – A book filled with 100 plant-based recipes and tips that help you make delectable meals filled with flavor.
21-Day Vegan Raw Food Diet Plan: 75 Satisfying Recipes to Revitalize Your Body – A great book with a 21-day plan to follow and easy recipes.
Raw Food Diet Cookbook for Vegans, Fruitarians and Vegetarians: Over 500 New and delicious 100% Raw Recipes – A superb cookbook with over 500 recipes to follow. Each recipe is 100% raw and fills nearly 200 pages.

Of course, you’ll find many websites filled with recipes that you can follow to make up your own meal plan. Experiment and see what works best for you!

Raw Food Diet Before and After Stories

If you search for people’s experiences on the diet, you’ll find hundreds of stories online. A few of the before and after stories that truly impressed me and led to far more research into this diet include:

Digestion improves a lot, leading to a much easier time in the bathroom.
Almost everyone states that they have an immediate boost in energy levels.
Some Redditors lost 30 – 35 pounds in three months.
A very active person lost 25 pounds in a single month.
A dedicated individual lost 80 pounds in a year before plateauing.
Many stories mention that people feel better, sleep better and don’t feel bloated.
People with acne problems claim the problems cleared up rapidly.

Caution. Many people do find that following the raw food lifestyle is difficult for them. The main issue is that people are used to eating bread and processed foods. After a week, people stop paying attention to labels and derail their diet in the process.

Following the raw food diet is an adjustment for most people, but it’s worth the health benefits. Try it for yourself, see if you notice a difference and then adjust as necessary based on how you feel. Most people feel amazing after just a few days on the diet.