What one thing helped you to succeed on 80-10-10?

What is the one distinction, tool or "secret" that helped you to succeed on the 80-10-10 lifestyle? It seems that a lot of the people on this forum (me included) struggle to eat 100% 80-10-10. I was able to go vegetarian in one day in 2001, and I did the same thing when switching to a vegan diet a few years later. However much I have tried to eat 100% 80-10-10 in the last 3 years, I am having a difficult time making it stick.

I would really like to know what it was that helped those of you who have been eating 80-10-10 for more than a few months conquer the lifestyle.

Tags: 80-10-10, Raw, fat, low, raw, vegan

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nadia on September 16, 2011 at 2:09pm

I'm at the 10 month mark of eating/living 100% 80-10-10 raw vegan (with the exception of fresh red chillies - they still creep in - i haven't ended my love affair with them just yet!!!) and hands down counting calories and eating enough is what has done it for me. Prior to that I had many a false start and would last a while, even months only to crash and burn big time!!!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Doug on September 16, 2011 at 2:12pm

Thanks Nadia. I am using Cron-O-Meter. I have learned to eat as many calories as I can by noon. That has helped, but I just lose it at dinner time and eat cooked vegan food, usually rice and beans. I will keep trying to get those fruit calories in.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by oriana on September 16, 2011 at 2:13pm

How many calories do you eat and what does a typical day look like for you?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Doug on September 16, 2011 at 2:17pm

Until recently, I was only eating about 700-800 calories by mid afternoon. Sometimes, I would go on a long bike ride and bonk (what a surprise).

This week, for breakfast I have a smoothie with 3-4 bananas, 10-12 dates, blueberries and spinach/romaine. For lunch, I usually eat melons and oranges. If I go bike riding, I will have dates on the bike. Today, I had 2400 calories by 2 pm, but then broke down again at supper.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Doug on September 16, 2011 at 3:06pm

I just read your blog from your 30 days of mentoring with Freelee in 2010. It was really helpful for me. It all seems to boil down to gorging on fruit until I consistently hit 3,000+ calories daily. Yes, I know DR and Freelee have hammered that point all over this site and on their videos. I am just having a hard time believing it will work to cure my nighttime cooked vegan binges. I guess I need to stop thinking about it and just eat the fruit calories and see what happens.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Nadia on September 16, 2011 at 6:02pm

Even after my mentoring with Freelee I still had another 'falling off the wagon' episode!!! It took that last time to really 'get' the whole 'you can not eat too much fruit' thing. I may have forgot to mention one other thing I did this time...on the 19th November last year - yet another 'Day 1' for me (and the last Day 1!!!) after a particularly bad junk food pig out episode the night before and feeling puffy, bloated and just plain yuck, I had 'Raw Vegan' tattooed on me. It's my first and last tattoo and it's pretty ugly actually, as I just went in and said I need you to tattoo Raw Vegan on me. I put no thought whatsoever into it!!! Luckily it's quite tiny!!! Anyway, I would say that combined with eating enough has definitely been the key. I can't destroy the integrity of my ugly tattoo now!!!

800 calories by mid afternoon - gosh - i'd be starving even if I hadn't done any exercise at all!!! I have more than that for breakfast!!! When you feel the 'pull' of cooked food, perhaps try having a 1000 calorie smoothie first and then gauge how hungry you are for that cooked food...

I think really what it comes down to is - If you are hungry for cooked food, you really have not eaten enough sweet fruit. Sweet fruit truly is the cure for cooked food cravings!!!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stacey on September 16, 2011 at 7:37pm

I have been thinking this week about getting lfrv tattooed on me. It came on really strong in the past 2 days wanting to do it, but I have been trying to hold off, because I feel like getting a tattoo will change my mindset. But I am soooo tempted. I was experimenting with fonts right before I came to this discussion haha.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Theodore G. Cajuste on September 17, 2011 at 6:55am

you mean HCRV tattoo ;-)

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Doug on September 17, 2011 at 1:38am

Your insights are very helpful, Nadia. I clearly need more calories than I think. I've been thinking of 3,000 calories as a target, not a minimum. I probably need more fruit calories with the amount of exercise that I do (bike riding 15-50+ miles). I will tatoo Raw Vegan on my mind. As Yogi Berra said, "It's 90% mental - the other half is physical"