Lot of people email and ask what I eat normally.
I decided to come clean and unloaded everything from my fridge and cupboards on my bed. Here’s what it looks like:
So let’s see what we have:
- Tons of bananas
- Mangoes
- Oranges
- Pineapple
- Watermelon
- Peaches, Asian variety
- A dragon fruit
- Few bags of greens
- Tomatoes, cucumbers and few other vegetables
At any given day those make up for the majority of my diet; though the selection of fruits changes depending on availability, season and whatever I happen to fancy.
Most of that will be gone in the next two to three days.
What’s missing from the picture are the few kilos of frozen berries occupying my freezer.
Let’s move to the stuff I eat less frequently:
- Some dried fruits, occasionally snack with these
- Tuna, sometimes add it to salads
- Olives, again for salads
- Mix of sesame seeds and seaweed, excellent stuff to sprinkle on salads
- Salad dressing
- Bottle of lemon juice
Finally we have the rest
- Instant coffee, I know it tastes horrible and is very bad for your health, but what can I say I’m hooked on coffee and have no plans to quit it.
- Green tea and herbal teas
- Natural and unsweetened cocoa, sometimes drink this in the evenings
- Salt, baking soda and honey, bought them to try some homemade skin care recipes but don’t eat them
- Instant oats, unopened for the last few months and I doubt I’ll ever open it
That’s about. When I’m at home that’s what I eat.
I have to say that when I’m out I eat more ‘normal’ food, i.e. cooked food. I usually eat one cooked meal a day, usually Thai food since I’m in Thailand. Some days I’m 100% raw, aside from two cups of coffee.
If eating like this scares your socks off, don’t worry, you don’t have to go this far just to get clear. 50% raw and the rest from natural, whole foods should do the trick.
Just so you know, I just didn’t one day decide to eat like this. It has been a gradual transition to me. Now eating mostly raw is very natural for me. It makes me feel fantastic and I wouldn’t want to eat any other way.
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Clear for Life - The lifestyle for health, happiness and clear skin
January 26th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Hi Seppo!
Thank you so much for sharing what you eat. It was VERY affirming to me. I am eating almost identically, including the coffee :). I was very excited to hear that I’m doing things correctly, and remembering that 50% raw will still get me clear, though at a slower rate perhaps.
Incidentally, the more raw I eat, the crappier I feel after I eat something cooked! Amazing. Raw makes me feel light, clean, and happy. Cooked, not so much.
How do you make your cocoa? I’m assuming with H2O and not milk? I’d love your recipe
Peace,
clearincharleston
January 27th, 2009 at 5:26 am
Exactly my experience with raw foods. They make me feel light and energized. Cooked makes me feel drowsy and gives me cravings. And the bad feelings just get worse the more raw I eat. That’s why the % of raw foods in my diet has constantly gone up.
My cocoa recipe? Well it’s not very difficult. Boil some water, mix some chocolate powder there and then drink pretending to enjoy it. Unsweetened cocoa doesn’t taste very good. It’s ok but by no stretch of imagination you could say it’s good.
I just use it as a coffee substitute in the evenings. It’s more about the good feeling I get from having a warn drink in my hands when I work or do research on the web.
January 28th, 2009 at 7:02 am
That was nice to know, I have almost the same kind of “meals” as you have everyday, especially with the coffee. Which leads me to a question. I eat fruits mostly in breakfast, but right after I tend to drink instant coffee (ouch). Though I find this works for me perfectly well, does it negatively affect the intake of the nutritional values of the fruits I ate before the coffee? Just wondering really. Thanks.
January 28th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Have to say I don’t know for sure. I don’t think it’ll have a major impact, if any. If food doesn’t digest well you should feel it as a discomfort and gas. So if you don’t get any symptoms then there’s probably nothing to worry about. But if you want to be sure you can always wait 20 to 30 minutes after a fruit-meal and then drink your coffee. It takes only 20 to 30 minutes for your body to digest the fruits.
January 28th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
is there a reson instant coffee is better than organic brew coffee such as the coffee from http://www.gobena.org/
January 28th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Seppo,
I have been reading information on your website for the past month or so, as I continue to struggle with adult acne. I am trying to make some diet changes, in hopes that they will help my skin. I know there are other lifestyle changes that need to take place, and I understand those things, but I am having a harder time figuring out this whole diet thing.
So, I have a few questions that I hope you might be willing to enterain…
I did not see any proteins in the diet you mentioned here. When I was pregnant with my first child, I had gestational diabetes. The nutritionist I met with said that it was important to always eat protein whenever eating carbs - even natural ones, like fruits. As a vegetarian, I made efforts to eat beans and nuts for protein every time I ate carbs. And I still try to do that. But, is it necessary? Do proteins fit into your diet anywhere? I saw in one of your posts that you cautioned against eating too many nuts because of their fat content, but my protein choices are a bit limited since I don’t eat meat. I’ve been concerned about sending my blood sugar sky-high if I eat fruits by themselves.
I also eat some soy products. Any thoughts about those?
Finally, I have incorporated a probiotic supplement into my diet, as well as some ‘green food powder’ from my local health food store. I eat salads every day, but I thought it couldn’t hurt to get some extra greens in my morning fruit smoothie. Any thoughts?
I apologize for so many questions, but I am definitely grateful for your time and for any light you can shed on my questions.
Thank you!!!!
~Michelle
January 28th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Erica,
Where did you get the idea that instant coffee was better that the one you mentioned? It’s definitely not. The organic coffee you mentioned is probably much better than the instant variety. Well, both are bad for you but, the organic brew coffee is probably less so.
I just use instant at home since I don’t have a coffee maker here, and I usually have my coffee outside so can’t be bothered to buy a coffee maker for the few cups a week I drink at home.
January 28th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Michelle,
Protein is probably the most over hyped nutrient in the planet.
Every whole food contains protein. As long as you meet your caloric needs it’s impossible to not get enough protein - assuming you eat whole foods not just refined sugar. Even if you eat nothing but white rice or bananas you’ll get enough protein.
So the protein thing really takes care of itself without you needing to go out of your way and eat enough protein. And this is true even for athletes. Athletes and active people do need more protein than sedentary people do, but they also need more calories. And when they eat more food they also get more calories.
Sorry to say but the nutritionist you met was a bit nuts. Yes, when you eat proteins together with carbs that slows down the absorption of glucose. And if you eat highly refined carbs that could be good.
But, as I’ve mentioned in many posts, the root cause of blood sugar problems is not how fast sugar goes into the bloodstream it’s how fast your body can clear it out. Without excess fat and other factors in insulin resistance your body should have no problems in keeping blood sugar levels under control.
The notion that eating fruits alone sends blood sugar levels sky-high doesn’t really square with reality. It’s always funny to read such fear mongering posts while munching down a big pile of bananas. If those articles were true then I should be lethargic, have no energy and be constantly irritable and sleepy. Funny but I don’t see that happening. I have tons of energy. I’m positive and active throughout the day and my health is getting better and better. And it’s not just me. I get emails saying the same from my customers every day. This bit is from an email that got in today:
“I sleep pretty well. I find that I need less sleep then before. My energy is thru the roof and honestly, that’s my favorite part.”
This person follows a diet very similar to mine.
Thanks to the mainstream nutritional nonsense people have this blood sugar thing upside down in their heads. I’ve written quite a few posts about it. Here are two recent ones:
Acne victims: To fruit or not to fruit?
Low-carb vs. low-fat diet for acne
Soy? I don’t know what they’ve done to the soy in the US and Europe, but they’ve turned a perfectly good food into something not so good. It’s better than dairy, but I wouldn’t use it as ‘food’. A bit of tofu or soymilk every now and then is ok, but don’t’ use it heavily.
Extra greens never hurt. Of all the foods you can eat they have the most nutrition and are the healthiest for you.
January 29th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Hello seppo!
Iam also a vegitarian! What kinds of products are better? Quorn? soy-products? beans?what do you think is most healthy for my skin and digestive system? and how would you “grade them” on a scale? ( I mean vegitarian products)
Sincerly/frida!
February 1st, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Frida,
Big questions there. You basically asked me to grade each and every product food product out there. Could take a while.
Anyway, if you want to inconvenient truth then fruits and vegetables are the optimal human foods. Anything else is condiment and to some degree harmful for you.
Raw, natural and whole foods are the best and further away you go from them the worse the foods get.
I wouldn’t go crazy with soy, especially the soy they use in Western countries. It comes with quite a bit of nutritional baggage.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Being an active person and somewhat into muscle development i need protein.
I was wondering how you can live off of just vegetables and fruit. surely you need nutrients from many other foods to have a stable diet, mine is a bit different where i have carbs and fiber for breakky and i eat tuna and veggies religiously for dinner but i do find that i get sugar cravings a lot so reading your first lesson has helped me realised that but im confused when it comes to your eating habbits
May 8th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Benoz,
There’s actually no evidence to support the claim that you would need lots of protein to build muscle. It’s just hype.
Plenty of athletes and bodybuilders out there who eat what normally would be considered a low-protein diet.
It’s not like you have to eat just fruits and veggies. As long as you stick to whole foods you have a wide variety of foods to choose from. I would still get most of my calories from fruits and veggies simply because they give you the most nutrients.
May 3rd, 2010 at 3:28 pm
hey
I remember you posted that you got acne from eating fruits.
so I decided to not eat any fruits for 30 days :((( (and I will see the effects).
I’m a big fruit lover! I was eatting almost only fruits for days. But recently I didn’t ate any fruit for 14 days and I saw a difference in my acne. I think it cause the same effect on me
my question is, how is it, that you can eat fruits now? :O