What is “Raw Til 4”
A question that pops up in my dm’s a ton is “what is Raw Til 4?” Put simply, raw til 4 is a lifestyle switch in which all your fuel comes from raw, plant sources up until your last meal of the day. Some of the main points of focus are:
Food combining and eating for optimal digestion
Embraces the high carb, low fat plant based lifestyle
“80-10-10” principles- where about 80% of your nutrients come carbohydrates, 10% from fats, & 10% from proteins. (I don’t follow this super closely, just my preference!)
Lifestyle switch more than a diet plan. Encourages an active lifestyle, lots of hydration, limits excess salts & cooking oils.
No restrictions on how much raw, plant food fuel.
Why I Chose “Raw Til 4”
The reason I was drawn to “Raw Til 4” was for a few different reasons. First, I am someone who has struggled with digestive issues and severe bloating since high school. The idea that this way of eating was inline with how our body breaks down food the best & was so gentle on our bellies was super attractive to me. The second reason was because of the lack of restrictions it imposed. As someone who has struggled with eating disorders, anything restrictive can be triggering for me, so I try to avoid that at all costs. With this lifestyle, the focus is on fueling your body with the purest form of nutrients- filled with fiber, vitamins, minerals, & everything our body thrives off of. It’s really hard to overeat when greens, fresh fruits, nuts & seeds compose the majority of your “diet”. With that being said, it’s important to get a large variety in our systems so that we make sure we are getting the best nutrition possible. Try to keep a journal for the first week or 2, & see if you can get 20-30 different plants in your system a week!
One thing to remember with this lifestyle switch, everyday is a fresh start, fresh energy, and a chance to try again. There are some days when I just want coffee and sourdough toast for breakfast & so that’s what I have haha. After my first month of doing this, I became so much more in-tune with my body & realized that I started craving the things that my body actually would thrive off of majority of the time. So the off days? They don’t affect us as much!
My Ideal Routine
32oz water with the juice of 1 lemon, 1 tbls ACV, and some molasses for extra iron, fiber, & nutrients.
Coffee w oat milk (this doesn’t fit inline with Raw Til 4, but coffee is normally a non negotiable for me haha)
BIG green smoothie. (On an average day, looks something like: kale, 2-3 bananas or mango, pineapple or wild blueberries, cucumber, ginger & coconut water)
If a need a snack: more fruit usually
Lunch will be a biiig bowl of greens (spring mix, green leaf, butter lettuce), 1 small avocado, chopped cucumber, cilantro, lime juice, maybe some black beans, tomatoes (I love Mexican themed anything and this salad is my favorite hands down.) then, I might add in some sweet potato or golden potato is i need more fuel.
Snack will be a small protein smoothie. Normally ! banana, handful of wild blueberries, TBLS of Cacao, 1 scoop of Sun Warrior Raw Vanilla Meal Replacement OR ½ packet of Young Living Slique Meal Replacement.
Dinner is whatever plant based meal I’m cooking that night haha. I aaallllways go for simple!
I hope that helps you all! I also supplement with Super B (Vitamin B Complex) from Young Living, 20 minutes of sunshine at least pr day (or else you should be supplementing with D2 or D3), and I am looking for a good marine algae Omega-3 supplement right now! Those are normally the things plant-based human lack due to our soil lacking a lot of the nutrients it used to have, & our bodies ability to convert certain long chain fatty acids (too science-y, sorry friends haha!)