Has anyone read the "80/10/10 diet" by Dr. Graham, about the low fat raw vegan lifestyle? 

I'm trying it now, and very happy with the results and the way i feel.    It would be very interesting to hear other people's opinions about it, especially if you have tried it.

thanks

I actually just stumbled onto some info on raw veganism.  I've heard good things about 80/10/10.  I was thinking of checking it out.  I started encorporating alot more raw foods this week, and WOW I feel great.  I transitioned to vegan about 11/2 mths. ago, and was bummed by my still low energy, but after this week I am feeling great.  Do you recommend the book?  Glad you are having good results so far!!!

I have not tried it but the girl who runs our organic co-op is 80/10/10 all the way and she is always glowing.  She runs 7+ miles a day!!!  Before going raw she was hypoglycemic and incapacitated by migraines, so something must be working for her.

yes! it is a great book.  Even if you don't follow the diet, there is a lot to learn from it. 

You definitely gotta enjoy fruit if you are gonna try it.  Majority of calories on 811 are supposed to come from fruit, some from veggies/greens and very little from nuts/seeds.   I tried eating mostly fruit/veggies and no fats and i felt great!   After a while I wasn't craving any fats and actually felt bad and sleepy after eating an avocado.    It all makes sense now!  the majority of problems with veganism and even raw veganism come from too much fat!!    Anyway, I hope you enjoy the book.

Thanks!!! I've been giving it a try this week, definitely feeling some withdraw from fats I guess.  Or maybe I'm not eating enough.  It is hard getting over that phobia of eating so much, and the cost  of it.  Needless to say, I'm going to order the book and give it a full go.  So ready for boundless energy!!!

I'm glad you are trying  it!  To really feel the difference, I would recommend a 2 week trial.  I felt great after a few days, but I think at least 2 weeks are needed to get in the hang of it and feel awesome.

After a few days, you probably will not miss fats as much, since you will be having all the tasty fruit sugar you want!    The cost isn't that great if you add a lot of bananas.  They are full of energy and you don't eat that many to get full.   I got used to eating a lot within a few days.   Number one problem that can arise with this diet is not getting enough calories from fruit and then wanting to binge on high-calorie foods.

Some examples of what I've been eating:

I eat one watermelon a day.  It's surprisingly filling if you eat enough.  First thing in the morning I eat a half of it, and then later finish it.

I eat a lot of bananas by themselves.  Yes, it gets old but it very convenient to take with you or just to snack on while watching tv or something. 

I make a lot of simple smoothies.  Mostly bananas+blueberries+OJ.  yum!

And, of course you need greens, I'm still trying to get used to eating more of those.

I'm not all the way there yet, but it's definitely worth trying a 100% 801010 for a few months to feel full results.    I noticed lots of new energy, and all my life I had low energy. 

Good luck and keep me updated!

Isn't there more to raw foods than fruit and greens?  I have seen a lot of cookbooks that incorporate a lot more and use a dehydrator like crazy!

I've been toying with the raw food idea and am trying to find a nutritionist to help me with it and the best way for me to do it - any great book suggestions?  I don't think this particular approach would work for me - am trying to gain weight  due to recent illness - but is this low fat because its aim is for you to lose weight or is it low fat because of health reasons?

 And am concerned about the tons of fruit - how does that work through the colder months?  I guess its totally counter-intuitive to macro, because you wouldn't be eating things in season or what grows around you - does it speak to that at all?  It sounds like it would work as long as it was warm out but once winter kicks in it might not feel as good since our bodies want "warmer" foods - by that I dont' mean they have to be cooked, but of a warmer nature.

thoughts?

Ann, I think if you look into other raw cookbooks they incorporate a lot of stuff like tahini, nuts, and seeds which could help with weight gain.  From other people that I have talked to about raw food diets, they don't eat only fruit and greens.  This might be a special raw diet that focuses on those foods--definitely look it up.  You should be able to "warm" up foods with different spices.

Great questions!  I'll try to answer them as Dr. Graham (the author) explains:

Yes, this diet is separate from the mainstream raw high fat gormet diet.  There is no dehydrating or creating complex meals with added fats.

This diet isn't designed for weight loss, it's low fat because of the health problems that come with eating a high fat diet.   Althought most people will probably lose weight at first because it's hard to eat enough fruit if you aren't used to it.

Per Dr. Graham, it's not healthy to get a lot of calries in your daily diet from fat.  You might say - but I eat a lot of salads - well greens are low in calories, so even if you add just 2 teaspoons of olive oil , then most of your calories in the salad come from fat, not greens! 

Fat causes many problems, one example is fat in the blood coats almost everything, making it hard for the sugar to get out of the blood, causing elevated blood sugar.  So, high blood sugar and related problems aren't caused by eating a lot of fruits!  it's caused by eating lots of fat.

I tried not eating any fat for 2 weeks, and felt great!  Did  you know there's plenty of fat and protein in fruits and veggies?  in perfect proportion, just what humans need! (as opposed to what we are told by the industries).  for exampls, 90% carbs, 5%protein, 5% fat.   Carbs (good) = energy.  I feel so much more energetic when eating 801010.

801010 doesn't included oils, spices, salt, added sugar, vinegar.  It's basically what humans would eat in nature. 

I have thought of this for long time, if we are 99% the same as apes, why not eat 99% like them?  Chims get most of their calories from fruit (and they are strong!!) and some greens.  They do eat eggs, worms, meat occasionally, but all that is only 5% (!) of their diet.

continued....

What Dr Graham says about seasonal diet:  we are all originally from the tropics, just because we moved north doesn't mean we should change our diet.  Monkeys in zoos in Alaska, eat their natural tropical diet.   We brought our tropics with us (heat, clothes, blankets), so unless you are homeless sleeping on an icy street, there's no need for warm food.    We can warm up in other ways.  

It makes so much sense, similar thoughts about our diet have come to me many times, but this is the first time I read something that puts it so clearly that there was just no going back for me after reading 801010 book.   Unlike many other raw food gurus, Dr Graham isn't trying to sell green powders, mixers, suppliments, etc....  His way is simple - eat mostly fruits and veggies.   There are other aspect to the lifestyle (sleep, exercise, etc...) but you can read the book for that.

I would greatly recommend reading 801010, even if you don't like the diet, you can learn a lot about food, especially the misconceptions about sugar, fruit, carbs, fat and protein.   You can also watch his youtube videos.

good luck and keep me posted!  :)

I "mostly" follow 80-10-10 during the summer months, but it's not exact as I don't eat as many sweet fruits as needed to sustain it. I'll get *some* pineapples, bananas and mangoes, but I do try to mainly stick to local fruits and veg (I'm in Canada). While I get Dr. Graham's thinking (re: we're a tropical species), there's more factors that determine my food choices than that. It's important to me that I support my local organic farmer and to cut down on the cost (environmental, $, etc.) of shipping food in. In the summer, I'm spoiled with local peaches, cherries, berries - there's even watermelon! But the winter is a different story...

In the past in the winter, I tried to stick with 'gourmet' raw foods - higher in nuts and stuff, more sprouting - but it felt a bit heavy at times, and downright unappetizing on occassion (which led to massive slips in how I ate). I'm hoping this winter to eat more TKD style. I was eating this way in the spring and really enjoyed the foods. I think when you're in a cold climate, there really is something about warm foods that aren't just body nourishing but 'spiritually' nourishing too.

Just my humble opinion!

Jen, I agree.  I find the best thing is to listen to my cravings as long as they are reasonable.  Doing so has helped me to kick all my junkfood habits and rely more and more on fresh produce.  But I cannot do a completely raw diet, and worry a lot about the impact of eating foods that come from so far.  Of course, living in TX, more tropical foods are available here, even year round without a huge issue of shipping, and I do eat as much local as possible.

Also, Alicia's post about nuts was very helpful yesterday(or the day before?)  I seem to have a higher protien need than I can achieve on a completely raw diet, and really need beans and whole grains to achieve full satisfaction.

Hi everyone! Let me start by saying how much I am loving this website?! Its SO nice to hear positive feedback from everyone about being vegan period. All of my friends are alwaysss saying this same line and it makes me SICK, 'I eat meat because God put them here for that purpose." Absolutely drives me nuts! So anyhow, great to be here and have so much positive energy around!

My question is: everyone is talking about this 80/10/10 book. I am not even Vegan yet, but I've been flirting with the idea for about 2 years now. I just got The Kind Diet book today in the mail and have began reading it. I went and investigated.... so should I start out with The Kind Diet book FIRST, and then if I can do it and I feel I can move on, try the 80/10/10 diet? Or vise-versa?

Thanks!

OK, so since August, I have discovered that I have candida overgrowth.  I know 80/10/10 addresses this in the whole eating low fat allows the body to process natural sugars/carbs better so that candida doesn't have time to bloom out of control.  Fats, as cat said, slow everything down and this is the cause of the problem for most people. 

But most anti candida info says to avoid fruit like the plague!!!  I am so confused...

I just finished the MC, to get a 'clean slate' in my gut, and now am eating raw for the time being and taking loads of probiotics to hopefully avoid another overgrowth.   Yesterday I had nothing but a smooth blender gazpacho of raw veggies and tomatoes all day until dinner when I had a bowl of it with a nice salad and some low fat ginger carrot dressing. And I felt great all day!

This morning I had  a big salad with the same dressing, but added lemon juice and a bit of oil to make it go further because there wasn't much left.  And I added a handful of raw pumpkin seeds.  And now I could fall asleep right here if I sat without typing for a minute!  So the fat does seem to be a problem, but I can't imagine drawing a definitive conclusion based on one salad...

Any advice is appreciated!