Top 3 Highs & Lows of My Fruit-Based Diet
I first learned about a low-fat, fruit-based, raw vegan way of eating in 2002. I had been searching for the healthiest diet for decades, and suddenly, in 2002, I felt like I discovered the ‘pot of gold,’ at long last. I applied the information right away, and have now been living this uncommon way for 23 years. I stick with it because it feels so good - I feel so good - eating in this way.
I want to offer what I think is a realistic portrayal of the upsides and downsides of this way of living. I’ll begin with the upsides, just as I ask my clients to begin each session with some celebrations or revelations! This approach puts us in a higher vibration, and in a stronger, more confident mindset with which to face the hard things.
The #1 biggest high, for me, continues to be the steady energy and lightness of being that I feel. I notice how often other people complain of feeling sluggish, headachy, fatigued, congested or under-the-weather….and that reminds me that I almost never feel these things anymore. These common ailments may have become normalized, but they are NOT natural. Certainly, I sometimes have a short night of sleep, or feel acutely the stresses of modern life or injuries, but an underlying light, inspired, energetic feeling remains steadily accessible even then. I cherish this buoyancy! My natural weight is also easy to maintain with no thought about it, and all of this bolsters my confidence in my health resiliency.
The #2 high is the heart-opening experience, which deeply feeds my continuous spiritual evolution. This one is harder to find words to describe, but I think it coincides naturally with the steady energy and lightness of being. Perhaps it is a higher level of coherence than I had previously known (“coherence: the quality of forming a unified whole”). I naturally stand taller, with shoulders back and chest forward, and I quite palpably feel a beautiful, open kind of energy radiating almost constantly from my heart center. I sense quickly when that energetic radiance contracts, and my strongest desire in those moments is to return to the experience of open-hearted coherence.
My #3 high on this dietary path is convenience, and the liberating experience of true simplicity. I expend very little time or energy thinking about, shopping for, preparing, or cleaning up after my meals. Fruit is the ultimate fast-food, and I can even make a delicious dinner salad, with homemade dressing, in just a few minutes. This frees up massive amounts of time for other things in life. Though I love my delicious food, it is for nutrition and fuel, not a daily chore nor a source of distraction or entertainment. As I design the interior of the camper-van I am planning to make a reality for myself, my options open up dramatically because I don’t need a stove, a vent system, or the plethora of cooking equipment & accoutrements most people need to make accommodations for. My van-home will be simpler and safer than most.
And now, some lows on this fruity path. The lows pale in importance next to the highs I have elucidated, but it would be dishonest not to shine a light on the real challenges that coexist with the highs. The highs must be earned!
The #1 downside to a fruit-based diet is most commonly identified to be the inevitable and somewhat painful shift in social dynamics. When you radically change your diet away from the accepted continuum of norms, you realize just how much society revolves around food and drink. It is central to nearly every gathering, so you will now have to navigate this reality in a brand new way, and frequently. Friends and family may at first try to reign you back in…to keep you ‘in the club’ with them. Most people are reluctant to look very deeply at their dietary habits, because they are difficult to change, in large part due to social pressures and emotional fears. We have a primal blueprint to “fit into the group,” for survival. For this reason, people tend to be skeptical of those who make big changes.
The #2 downside is the opening up of ‘Pandora’s Box,’ emotionally. We have been taught to use food to numb the pain of our uncomfortable (or ‘unacceptable’) feelings. Fresh raw fruits and vegetables don’t work as well for this. The more popular high-fat raw food diets (with their high quantities of nuts, seeds, and oils) can mimic the numbing effect of cooked foods, but a healthy low-fat, fruit-based approach is nearly impossible to use for overeating or numbing-out. This is a GOOD thing! But it does leave us emotionally more ‘naked,’ and facing a new vulnerability. I think this and the social realities are the #1 reasons why many people are not successful in sustaining a fruit-based diet program. With the right support, these experiences can be understood and overcome.
The #3 downside is the friction felt daily, in more deeply perceiving the gap between higher and lower energetic frequencies in the world, and the painful realization that most people do not feel what you are now feeling. Most people will never feel the call to ‘come with you’ on the uncommon, socially and emotionally daring path you have chosen.
Over time, all of these intitial ‘downsides’ evolved into upsides, for me.
The new social dynamics helped me to discover who my real friends are, to find new more aligned friendships, and to clarify my most deeply held values. My ability to stand in my truth grew, and with it my self-confidence and sense of personal sovereignty.
The inability to continue numbing my feelings with heavy, toxic food and drink helped me to get to know myself better, and to begin to integrate parts of myself that I was rejecting or not acknowledging fully. I had to learn to re-parent myself, and to become my own best friend and ally. I turned to nature, God, and meditation for true emotional grounding.
Feeling so much more acutely the friction between higher and lower frequencies helped me to easily start to upgrade my environment, and to be more conscious about where I engaged my attention and energy. I became less interested in drama, conflict, and negativity. My attention naturally gravitated toward happier, more positive, uplifting or inspiring people and activities.
So, is it worth it?
I think my 23 years of sustaining this way of life reveals my personal answer to that question! Do I ever miss cooked food, or the experience of enjoying it in solidarity with others in common social settings? Yes, occasionally. Would I trade that experience for the health upgrades, and the personal, emotional, and spiritual growth and development that have become available for me on an uncooked, fruit-based dietary & lifestyle? That is an easy and absolute No, I will not go back. I have discovered an inconvenient truth, and fully embraced it in my life. I cannot un-see what I have seen, or un-feel what I have felt. In some ways this path is the easier one, as it builds health and wellness naturally, and in some ways it is the harder path, as it requires an adventurous spirit and a high degree of courage, discipline, and personal strength and integrity.
If you desire to experience the profound benefits of this way of life, but have struggled to get started or to sustain a fruit-based diet, please reach out to me and I will help you. Appropriate support is necessary for this level of personal change.
If you want to see what my diet really looks like, and find out more about the nutritional science and historical context, please refer to my book:
The Ultimate Raw Food Detox Diet and Wellness Program.
And if you’d like to hear me on my most recent podcast conversation with “Yogi and the Beachman,” you can listen here: