Fruits and vegetables only

[coffegirl]

I desperately want to loose weight,but I also need to improve my health and well-being.
So I want to do a 30 day trial to eat only fruits and vegetables.
Okay,I do make one exception:
I eat one yoghurt in the morning in order to get enough vitamin b 12.
What do you think?
Is it possible and healthy to live on fresh fruits and veggies for a while(or possibly long-term?)

[Sypyres]

I'm going to try and do the same but not even touch the yogurt. I would rather make a shake with tea. I'm doing it more to clean my system out but wouldn't mind the weight lost. I also heard whey protein is a good supplement. Not sure how long I'll be able to go but good luck to you.

[russianrocket]

There is no reason to only Eat fruits and veggies in order to be Healthy and lose weight

[Lauxa]

Calories come from either carbs or fat.

Fruit is high in sugar (carbs) also some other starchy veggies like carrots. Too much carbs without fats to balance it out could cause insulin spikes which are not exactly healthy. Also if you read Steve's trials, his juice fast and I think one other trial where he had very low fat content he found to be bad for his skin.

Avocados and olives are the only fruit/veg that has high fat content that I can think of. If you add nuts, this will give you another plant-based fat source.

I agree with RR, but it's up to you.

[ENTP]

Yeah, I tried it and became ditzy and unable to think clearly. It basically had the effect of reducing IQ by 40%.

Not to mention, it made me emotionally sensitive, which was equally problematic.

But hey, I lost a lot of weight. My low weight was 109 at 5'11 (female). Mind you, at 2200 calories a day.

Anyway, I'm the hell off that diet, because those side effects were too hideous. Even though I was taking supplements for vegans, to avoid real deficiencies.

[mango mcqueen]

with careful planning, eating a good mix of fruit and veg and nothing else for just a month will do you no harm and probably do you good.

but

it is important to get the right nutrients for health. if you end up living on bananas, grapes, carrots and a yogurt a day, then thats not very healthy in the long term.

i'm sure you know, deep down, as most people really do, the way to lose excess weight and improve your dietary health is to cut out the rubbish foods!

cut the over processed foods, the cakes, biscuits, fries, chips, crisps, chocolate bars, sausage rolls, fizzy drinks, extra cheese, extra sauce, late night snacks, muffins mid morning cos you had no time for breakfast.

reduce (not cut) caffine, bread, meat (if you eat it), dairy, some fat, alcohol.

eat more veg, fruit, fruit juices, salads, good fats (like olive oil), oily fish (if you eat fish), wholegrains and water.

you need a good amount of water to keep things moving well in the bowel department (!) but you don't need to count 8 glasses a day or whatever. you should get a good amount of water in your diet. salads and veg add fibre and 'bulk' which also keep your tum healthy and fill you up so you feel less hungry.

wholegrains like museli and oats make a good filling breakfast. if you eat dairy then milk is good for calcium and vit d, if you prefer an alternative like soya (or your yogurt) then the nutrients have been added and so are just as good.

snack on fruits and veg, and make sure you eat meals too. don't forget protein is important. a small portion of meat or fish a day, along with dairy should be ok for most peoples needs. if you are veggie then include your favourite alternative. beans and pulses are an excellent source of protein.

I don't know if this all applies to you, i'm new here i'm and i'v kind of jumped in!

i'm not a diet specialist, my know how is based of years of dieting experience. what worked for me in the end was, yep, cutting the crap and eating more of the good stuff. it can work, but its takes willpower.

good luck

[Lauxa]

mango made a good point, it does depend also on which fruits and veg you eat. If you do try this, be sure to eat as much green veg as you can stand, dark green leafy are the best, even though they have like zero calories they also have the most nutrients.

[trevorturtle]

Check out The 80-10-10 Diet by Dr. Douglas Graham if you're interested in the benefits of high carb raw vegan. Some people tend to really thrive on a high fruit diet.

[moonrambler]

Cool av, Trevor, it's like a rainbow!

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by trevorturtle

Check out The 80-10-10 Diet by Dr. Douglas Graham if you're interested in the benefits of high carb raw vegan. Some people tend to really thrive on a high fruit diet.

I've seen people thrive on that, and then hit what seems to be almost an inevitable brick wall.

[Clint Cora]

You need to exercise to lose weight as well and with such a restricted diet, I don't think you are going to have enough energy to get through good workouts.

[firenexx]

Clint: She didn't say she was restricting carbs or even calories for that matter, so I don't see how she would not have enough energy to get through workouts.

Also, I've seen people thrive on that, and then not hit a not-inevitable brick wall. Whose anecdote is more believable? Neither, we are both characters on the internet.
(Realistically, most of the people that I've seen fail with that is because they were unable to actually eat a high-carb diet due to a misunderstanding of basic mathematics and nutrition.)

The brick wall would be because you might (often correctly) assume that there is not enough protein or fat in such a diet. As long as your primary and only vegetable isn't lettuce, there is a good chance that OP would be getting plenty of protein from high-protein vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, artichokes, etc.
And there might not be enough fat if one doesn't include higher-fat fruits such as avocados or olives. However, including a small amount of a variety of nuts and seeds (soaked and/or sprouted) in one's diet will provide a sufficient amount of fat.


Now, in my humble and mildly informed opinion, the reason people attempting such a diet hit an "inevitable brick wall," is because they inadvertently end up adopting an extremely high-protein or high-fat diet consisting of fruit, veggies, and LOADS AND LOADS AND LOADS of beans, tofu, tempeh, almonds, peanut butter, avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, etc. Not that any of these things are inherently bad, but when you try to eat fruits and veggies and consistently score low on your caloric requirements, it is INEVITABLE that you will crave calory-dense foods that are conveniently high in protein and fat. Of course, a diet consisting of mostly fat and mostly protein with a small smattering of simple carbohydrates is going to feel like you are walking into a brick wall all day.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by russianrocket

I've seen people thrive on that, and then hit what seems to be almost an inevitable brick wall.

Originally Posted by firenexx

Also, I've seen people thrive on that, and then not hit a not-inevitable brick wall. Whose anecdote is more believable? Neither, we are both characters on the internet.

well, that's a double negative, so therefor, you actually agree

But that aside. I didn't say everyone hits the brick wall, nor did I say it is inevitable. So, my anecdote is more believable.

[kat]

Originally Posted by firenexx

Now, in my humble and mildly informed opinion, the reason people attempting such a diet hit an "inevitable brick wall," is because they inadvertently end up adopting an extremely high-protein or high-fat diet consisting of fruit, veggies, and LOADS AND LOADS AND LOADS of beans, tofu, tempeh, almonds, peanut butter, avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, etc. Not that any of these things are inherently bad, but when you try to eat fruits and veggies and consistently score low on your caloric requirements, it is INEVITABLE that you will crave calory-dense foods that are conveniently high in protein and fat. Of course, a diet consisting of mostly fat and mostly protein with a small smattering of simple carbohydrates is going to feel like you are walking into a brick wall all day.

A diet consisting mostly of fat and protein, with few or no simple carbs, is something many people thrive on. Look at the traditional diets of the Inuit and Massai, which contain almost no carbohydrates.

On the higher-carb side of what you outlined, my energy levels are quite high when I'm eating primarily beans/lentils, and entirely avoiding fruit and grains (I'm a strict vegan, and have been for over a decade, but occasionally experiment with vastly different styles of vegan eating).

Back to the original topic: yes, it's possible to be healthy on the diet coffeegirl outlined for a month, and longer. Look up "raw food".

[ChrisGinsburg]

Seriously, just try it. It's like groundhog day with every diet question as every tom dick and harry claims one type of food is far superior to another. Here it is.... the golden secret nobody will accept... wait for it..............





















Everyone's body reacts differently to different foods! *Gasp!*

[CroMagna]

Eating nothing but fruits and vegetables didn't work for me. I tried to stick with it dozens of times and failed. It was expensive to get enough calories because you have to buy food in bulk. I couldn't afford it so I was barely eating. Fruits are high in sugar and make you hungry. Besides, fruits and vegetables suck.

Now I eat one meal a day. I've lost 8 pounds in about 15 days. Steve lost 8 pounds in 30 days on his raw food trial. This seems like more of a lifestyle change. You can also break it up into 3 smaller meals, as long as they don't exceed 1,000 calories a day.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by CroMagna

Eating nothing but fruits and vegetables didn't work for me. I tried to stick with it dozens of times and failed. It was expensive to get enough calories because you have to buy food in bulk. I couldn't afford it so I was barely eating. Fruits are high in sugar and make you hungry. Besides, fruits and vegetables suck.

Now I eat one meal a day. I've lost 8 pounds in about 15 days. Steve lost 8 pounds in 30 days on his raw food trial. This seems like more of a lifestyle change. You can also break it up into 3 smaller meals, as long as they don't exceed 1,000 calories a day.

1000 calories a day? Yeah... you go ahead and try and keep that as a life style. That's the definition of barely eating.

[Altan]

Hi coffegirl,
No doubt fruits and vegetable are great for health but you must get some diet meals to lose weight and do take small proportion of everything in your daily meals. Some tips for you to lose weight.
Do break your meals in 5/6 small meals including sacks,
Drink 2 glass of water before every meal,
Prefer fresh fruits over beverages, soda and diet soda,
Drink green tea twice in a day,
Chew food well and slowly,
Do start some physical activity to lose weight quickly.

[ginkgo]

Healthy vegans and vegetarians eat mostly fruits and vegetables. An unhealthy one may eat only crackers and jelly beans. The healthy ones also eat beans that are vegetables, nuts and seeds. Some may eat a small amount of whole grains.

Now if you really need vitamin B-12, you can take a supplement. It is cheap since you need so little. A capsule of it (like 500mg) can contain enough to last you 100 years. If the yogurt is in America and not organic then it may have the bovine growth hormone in it that will make you fatter like a pregnant cow. You eat it since you like the taste.

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by russianrocket

well, that's a double negative, so therefor, you actually agree

But that aside. I didn't say everyone hits the brick wall, nor did I say it is inevitable. So, my anecdote is more believable.

I read a book with interviews of people who had been raw vegans for over a decdade. I thought that they would be nice stories. But these people hit brick walls. It is difficult to change a body that has been eating cooked food for a long time. Most of them hit a point where they became emaciated like starving people.

But they were chosen since they had been on it long enough to show that they can be on it for the rest of their life. They passed through the brick walls and became normal weight again.

At one time when they flew planes, as they got faster and faster and approached the speed of sound the planes would shake more and more like an earthquake. So some experts said that when they hit the speed of sound, it will be like hitting a brick wall and the plane will shatter. Now they have a land vehicle (similar to a car) that goes faster than the speed of sound.

Oh I forgot. The planes did not explode when hitting the speed of sound but they would go
BOOM! It is known as the sonic boom. Sonic boom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created by the supersonic flight of an aircraft. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding much like an explosion.

[irfan]

Originally Posted by Lauxa

Calories come from either carbs or fat.

Or protein. Also, there are many different types of carbs and fats. Fibre is a carb and has no calories. All fats have the same number of calories, but some are much healthier than others.

Originally Posted by Lauxa

Also if you read Steve's trials, his juice fast and I think one other trial where he had very low fat content he found to be bad for his skin.

Frankly, so what? That's one person's experience! Different people have different experiences. Thumbs up to Steve for trying to work out what works for him! but thumbs down to anyone who thinks his experience is definitive.

Originally Posted by Lauxa

Avocados and olives are the only fruit/veg that has high fat content that I can think of. If you add nuts, this will give you another plant-based fat source.

Absolutely. Avocados, olives, nuts .... and raw seeds.

You just wrote out my shopping list for me!

[EvolveWithFlavor]

Originally Posted by coffegirl

I desperately want to loose weight,but I also need to improve my health and well-being.
So I want to do a 30 day trial to eat only fruits and vegetables.
Okay,I do make one exception:
I eat one yoghurt in the morning in order to get enough vitamin b 12.
What do you think?
Is it possible and healthy to live on fresh fruits and veggies for a while(or possibly long-term?)

Spent some time understanding the information and concepts behind "healthy eating"

One of the biggest things that gets in the way is a lack of understanding, or an ability to "get it" in your head about what you have to do, why you have to do it, how to put the food together, an appropriate time to go to the grocery store, what you have to get, etc.

Don't just jump in head first, that would be like hoping in the water without knowing how to swim.

And don't go crazy either - you don't need to be a mad scientist. That basics from Steve's posts or my website about Raw Foods should be enough to get you going.

Good Luck and Congrats on recognizing that you need to make a change

[sandradavis]

I fast sometimes and learned this; as I ate only a salad everyday at 5 PM, I felt better, and began to see the weight loss. It took about five days to see it make a difference.
I also decided to stick to eating fruits and vegetables, it made me prefer them.
Eat light as in soups and sandwiches.
Anyone who eats processed food and goes through drive-through s cannot expect to look good or feel good.
Maybe once a month eat junk food but all the other time eat fruits and vegetables, you will find you will prefer them to junk food.
Also I make my own soups and freeze them in serving sizes for later.
Eat three times a day and no cheating.
Eat by the clock this is a good way to eat.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by sandradavis

I fast sometimes and learned this; as I ate only a salad everyday at 5 PM, I felt better, and began to see the weight loss. It took about five days to see it make a difference.
I also decided to stick to eating fruits and vegetables, it made me prefer them.
Eat light as in soups and sandwiches.
Anyone who eats processed food and goes through drive-through s cannot expect to look good or feel good.
Maybe once a month eat junk food but all the other time eat fruits and vegetables, you will find you will prefer them to junk food.
Also I make my own soups and freeze them in serving sizes for later.
Eat three times a day and no cheating.
Eat by the clock this is a good way to eat.

Both my room mates eat junk food all the time, and they look and feel great.

[ChrisGinsburg]

Originally Posted by russianrocket

Both my room mates eat junk food all the time, and they look and feel great.

How old are they?

[Harmonium]

My body will process anything as long as I smoke weed. I eat whatever and I feel healthy.

When I felt most unhealthy was when I wasn't eating a lot and had little desire to, and when eating almost anything it would make me feel sick afterwards like my body didn't like it. Doesn't really happen anymore, but it sucked.

I am interested in trying raw or close to it, but it seems like a giant PITA and I'm skeptical that it would even work out better than what I am currently doing. I feel I need a good amount of food, and limiting my diet makes it harder to ingest the food I feel I need.

[superfoodist]

This is a great idea!

Meat is just dead flesh that takes forever to digest, thus draining your energy. Fruits and vegetables are ALIVE!!

Make sure you mix up certain vegetables with protein though, so that you get an adequate amount of complete proteins. Also, eat things such as avocados, nuts, olives, coconut oil, etc to get healthy fats into your system.


I'd personally skip on the yoghurt. Most are unhealthy, and the ones that are "healthy" are still loaded with sugar. To get your B vitamins, look into organic spirulina powder. It's an algae that will supplement all of your B-vitamin needs.

Good luck

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by superfoodist

This is a great idea!

Meat is just dead flesh that takes forever to digest, thus draining your energy. Fruits and vegetables are ALIVE!!

Make sure you mix up certain vegetables with protein though, so that you get an adequate amount of complete proteins. Also, eat things such as avocados, nuts, olives, coconut oil, etc to get healthy fats into your system.


I'd personally skip on the yoghurt. Most are unhealthy, and the ones that are "healthy" are still loaded with sugar. To get your B vitamins, look into organic spirulina powder. It's an algae that will supplement all of your B-vitamin needs.

Good luck

Umm, no, it does not take forever to digest. I thought that vegan propaganda has been dismissed by now, but apparently, it's alive and well thanks to people like you

Veggies are just dead plants, that can take forever to digest, because our bodies aren't build to digest cellulose. I don't know why you think veggies or fruits are alive. They are ripped out of the ground, torn off their branches, and sliced into little pieces. What does it take to make something dead exactly? Not to mention, studies have shown that plants can feel pain too.

The animal might be dead, but by your definition, the meat is alive.

[superfoodist]

Umm, no, it does not take forever to digest. I thought that vegan propaganda has been dismissed by now, but apparently, it's alive and well thanks to people like you

Veggies are just dead plants, that can take forever to digest, because our bodies aren't build to digest cellulose.

Sigh..

First off, it does take longer for the digestive system to digest meat. Meat typically consists of much longer protein chains that it has to break down into amino acids, as opposed to vegetables and fruits. Therefore, it takes longer to digest meat.

Also.. Correct. Human's can't digest cellulose, which is why we stay away from leaves and grass. We can, however, digest fruits and vegetables.

I don't know why you think veggies or fruits are alive. They are ripped out of the ground, torn off their branches, and sliced into little pieces. What does it take to make something dead exactly?

As for veggies and fruits being alive.. They may not be growing after a certain point once they are removed from their source, but they still contain the life essence when you eat them relatively fresh.

Meat on the other hand has no life essence when you eat it. For example, when a cow is slaughtered, his dead body goes through several biological functions which cause all of his cells to begin dying, his blood to stop flowing, etc etc. The flesh that you're eating has already been in a state of decay ever since the animal it came from was slaughtered.

Not to mention, studies have shown that plants can feel pain too.

Studies haven't shown that plants feel pain. They don't have a brain, nor any type of nervous system to receive any pain signals. Studies have shown that when under a strong microphone, they can hear "screaming" coming from the plants that are being cut open.. but of course, when something is cut open, a gas is going to come out, and under strong microphones, the sound of that gas being released is going to indeed sound like a very quiet "scream".

Above all else, animals are higher on the food chain than fruits and vegetables. Therefore, fruits and vegetables provide the foundation, or the essential nutrients for all life. Animals then eat these fruits and vegetables, meaning we're only getting a second rate version of what these very fruits and vegetables produced, as opposed to getting a first rate version by going straight to the source and eating the fruits and vegetables themselves.

Please don't spread misinfo, especially not with a topic that, when looked at in its full truth, can also prevent the unnecessary suffering of hundreds of millions of animals.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by superfoodist

Sigh..

First off, it does take longer for the digestive system to digest meat. Meat typically consists of much longer protein chains that it has to break down into amino acids, as opposed to vegetables and fruits. Therefore, it takes longer to digest meat.

Also.. Correct. Human's can't digest cellulose, which is why we stay away from leaves and grass. We can, however, digest fruits and vegetables.



As for veggies and fruits being alive.. They may not be growing after a certain point once they are removed from their source, but they still contain the life essence when you eat them relatively fresh.

Meat on the other hand has no life essence when you eat it. For example, when a cow is slaughtered, his dead body goes through several biological functions which cause all of his cells to begin dying, his blood to stop flowing, etc etc. The flesh that you're eating has already been in a state of decay ever since the animal it came from was slaughtered.



Studies haven't shown that plants feel pain. They don't have a brain, nor any type of nervous system to receive any pain signals. Studies have shown that when under a strong microphone, they can hear "screaming" coming from the plants that are being cut open.. but of course, when something is cut open, a gas is going to come out, and under strong microphones, the sound of that gas being released is going to indeed sound like a very quiet "scream".

Above all else, animals are higher on the food chain than fruits and vegetables. Therefore, fruits and vegetables provide the foundation, or the essential nutrients for all life. Animals then eat these fruits and vegetables, meaning we're only getting a second rate version of what these very fruits and vegetables produced, as opposed to getting a first rate version by going straight to the source and eating the fruits and vegetables themselves.

Please don't spread misinfo, especially not with a topic that, when looked at in its full truth, can also prevent the unnecessary suffering of hundreds of millions of animals.

The only person spreading misinfo, is YOU. Show us a study that animals suffer? I of course mean, the way that humans suffer. You dismissed anything I said about plants feeling pain, so show us how animals suffer. How they understand pain and death. Etc etc.

As for meat. If you are going to compare meat and veggies, you have to compare similar densities. Eat the same amount of nutrients from veggies compared to red meat, and we can talk about how long it REALLY takes you to digest something. You ever try eating 400 calories worth of apple? Not only that, you aren't going to get every nutrient out of veggies, because our bodies can't digest everything. While almost everything of meat, is digested. Fruits, are considered predigested, so of course they are going to be easy to eat. Same thing goes for finely aged meat, that has been predigested.

Not to mention various nuts, which take HOURS to digest, even if they are raw.

Tell me, how long exactly do you think it takes for meat to digest? Or, I'm sure you're one of those people that considers it rotting, instead of digesting. So, how long does it take to rot, and be pooped out? You didn't say LONGER. You said it takes FOREVER. Meat taking long to digest, is a MYTH. Maybe really processed or cooked meat, sure. But meat in general, digests within 2-4 hours. I can eat steak, and it will come out the other end, within the same day.

As far as cellulose, sure, fruit doesn't have it. Veggies do. Not just leaves and grass.

Meat, starts dying when you kill it, but so do plants. They start going into a process of death. Why do you think meat and plants are so different exactly? Life essence? PROVE IT lol. We are talking about science here, not metaphysics. If you can't prove something, then don't bring it up, or I'll start about how god put animals on this planet, to feed us.

Meat, that is aged, is not the same as decayed. It is being eaten by bacteria. Many cultures eat fermented meat, and it is very healthy for our bodies, because they are also much easier to digest and get all the nutrients out of. And lets not forget, that you can still transplant parts of animals/humans even after they have been cut off for hours. We are already making human tissue, that lives in dishes, far away from any source of blood or nervous system.

Also, who cares if we are getting a second rate version of what animals are getting? Other then you, who said that you can't eat both meat and veggies and fruit? Why can't both be eaten exactly? We don't need to live on 100% animal products nor on 100% vegan products. Only vegans argue for such extremes, while most normal folks, argue for a balanced consumption of everything. So your argument about going to the source, is moot, when no one is talking about NOT eating fruits and veggies.

There are so many more reasons for why what you say, is wrong, but I'll let you chew on what I've wrote thus far.

Plus, why do you care about all this, if the world is going to end?