Out there they are so many discussions about the rawtill4 lifestyle, so I thought I could introduce my opinion on this topic.
What is rawtill4?
The first thing you need to know is that Raw Till 4 is a lifestyle (for life), not just a diet, and especially not an overnight quick fix (that doesn’t exist). It’s a lifestyle, because it includes more than just diet. It includes all the ways we choose to live our lives: diet, exercise, rest, sleep, mental attitude, ethics, etc. With a change towards true health comes true healing, and that is going to include more than just physical changes: it’s going to include emotional and mental changes as well. And all those changes will be gradual, not overnight.
Most people who begin living a RT4 lifestyle find that they begin to see themselves quite differently, with more self-love, more happiness, less judgment. Most people find they begin to see others differently as well, to see the world differently. Many also begin to make ethical connections they had never really considered before, especially those who embrace veganism fully. All these things make RT4 a full lifestyle. It doesn’t mean you have to change who you are, what you do for a living, your friends or family, but for most people the change will go beyond just diet. So, what we put in our body is certainly one of the most important aspects of health, but there are other things we must try to do as well. Health is wholistic. Healthy body, healthy mind, healthy spirit.
Here are the key principles to this lifestyle.
1. Only plant foods are allowed on this program. No animal products, no exceptions.
2. Raw fruits & greens (mainly fruits) must only be eaten until 4pm (or 2 hours prior to dinner time), then a high carb cooked dinner of high starch plant foods. No cooked food during the day. If you do have a day here and there of eating cooked vegan food during the day don’t fret, it’s ok.
3. 800+ calories from fruit for breakfast and 800+ from fruit for lunch is recommended for success, then a high carb cooked dinner of 500+ calories. Aim for minimum 2100 calories per day for women, 2800 for men.
4. Aim for as close to 90/5/5 as possible in your calorie ratio: that’s 90% of calories from carbohydrates and 5% of calories each from fats and proteins. Try to keep fat intake consistently below 10% and carbohydrate intake consistently above 80%. Some days you will go higher like on the weekend eating out which is fine, just as long as you average below 10% of your calories from daily fat per week.
5. Stay hydrated! You should pee about 8-12 times per day, and your urine should be clear. Drink a liter of water when you wake up in the morning, and a liter of water about 30 minutes before each meal for optimal results.
6. Fragmented sodium (salt) should be kept to an absolute minimum. Under 1000mgs per day and under 500mgs for maximum leanness and health. Use herbs, lemon juice, etc. wherever possible in place of salt.
7. Oil is not recommended on this program and should not be added to your meals. It must be kept to an absolute minimum if you want kick ass results. When you eat out it’s virtually impossible to avoid added oil so just minimise the amount of times you eat out. Learn to cook (& eat) without it and you will gain wonderful health benefits. See our ingredients-not-supported list for more.
8. Food should be eaten whole and minimally processed wherever possible. Vegan junk foods, mock meats, tofu and other such foods are not recommended as regular staples but are ok occasionally. Minimize these as much as possible for best results.
9. Eat organic wherever possible, it tastes much better and is better for the environment.
10. If possible, try to make one day per week a 100% raw fruit day. This will help keep the focus on high raw, and will keep your system as clean and optimal as possible.
11. Recommended sources of cooked carbs are: potatoes, root veggies, rice, gluten-free pastas, high carb ancient grains. These should be your main dinner staples, with other wholesome plant-foods as sides.
12. No fruit after cooked food or fermentation and poor digestion will likely result. If you’re still hungry after dinner (or craving sweets) you didn’t eat enough fruit during the day for your body’s needs. Eat more cooked dinner instead and then aim for more fruit the next day.
13. Big green smoothies are great for getting the calories in for breakfast/lunch. Bananas are a wonderful fruit staple throughout the day. Other high calorie fruits like dates and mangoes make great staples too.
14. Unlimited calories at every meal, no restriction. The majority of your calories each day should come from fruit. Don’t under eat on fruit during the day or “save up” your calories for dinner time. RT4 is about abundance at every meal.
15. Chickpeas, beans, lentils are not high carb choices so should be used as side dishes instead of main staples.
16. Move your body daily. Find an activity you love and make it your playful exercise. Exercise is critical to overall health and well-being; it stimulates your metabolism and gets everything flowing well. Plus it’s great for our mood! Building up a regular sweat will promote optimal health results on this lifestyle.
17. Make sure to get lots of rest, relaxation and good sleep. Learning to incorporate good rest, early nights, and regular sleeping patterns into your life will greatly improve your overall health.
18. Be sure to get some sun. Full body sunbathing is recommended, for a minimum of 20 minutes every day. Get in your vitamin D and boost your sense of well-being.
19. If necessary, supplement B-12 with either shots or sublinguals. Around 40% of the population (vegan or not) are B12 deficient, and this can greatly reduce our health results. I wrote a blog on this fact here.
20. Practice gratitude and peaceful emotions at meal time.
2. Raw fruits & greens (mainly fruits) must only be eaten until 4pm (or 2 hours prior to dinner time), then a high carb cooked dinner of high starch plant foods. No cooked food during the day. If you do have a day here and there of eating cooked vegan food during the day don’t fret, it’s ok.
3. 800+ calories from fruit for breakfast and 800+ from fruit for lunch is recommended for success, then a high carb cooked dinner of 500+ calories. Aim for minimum 2100 calories per day for women, 2800 for men.
4. Aim for as close to 90/5/5 as possible in your calorie ratio: that’s 90% of calories from carbohydrates and 5% of calories each from fats and proteins. Try to keep fat intake consistently below 10% and carbohydrate intake consistently above 80%. Some days you will go higher like on the weekend eating out which is fine, just as long as you average below 10% of your calories from daily fat per week.
5. Stay hydrated! You should pee about 8-12 times per day, and your urine should be clear. Drink a liter of water when you wake up in the morning, and a liter of water about 30 minutes before each meal for optimal results.
6. Fragmented sodium (salt) should be kept to an absolute minimum. Under 1000mgs per day and under 500mgs for maximum leanness and health. Use herbs, lemon juice, etc. wherever possible in place of salt.
7. Oil is not recommended on this program and should not be added to your meals. It must be kept to an absolute minimum if you want kick ass results. When you eat out it’s virtually impossible to avoid added oil so just minimise the amount of times you eat out. Learn to cook (& eat) without it and you will gain wonderful health benefits. See our ingredients-not-supported list for more.
8. Food should be eaten whole and minimally processed wherever possible. Vegan junk foods, mock meats, tofu and other such foods are not recommended as regular staples but are ok occasionally. Minimize these as much as possible for best results.
9. Eat organic wherever possible, it tastes much better and is better for the environment.
10. If possible, try to make one day per week a 100% raw fruit day. This will help keep the focus on high raw, and will keep your system as clean and optimal as possible.
11. Recommended sources of cooked carbs are: potatoes, root veggies, rice, gluten-free pastas, high carb ancient grains. These should be your main dinner staples, with other wholesome plant-foods as sides.
12. No fruit after cooked food or fermentation and poor digestion will likely result. If you’re still hungry after dinner (or craving sweets) you didn’t eat enough fruit during the day for your body’s needs. Eat more cooked dinner instead and then aim for more fruit the next day.
13. Big green smoothies are great for getting the calories in for breakfast/lunch. Bananas are a wonderful fruit staple throughout the day. Other high calorie fruits like dates and mangoes make great staples too.
14. Unlimited calories at every meal, no restriction. The majority of your calories each day should come from fruit. Don’t under eat on fruit during the day or “save up” your calories for dinner time. RT4 is about abundance at every meal.
15. Chickpeas, beans, lentils are not high carb choices so should be used as side dishes instead of main staples.
16. Move your body daily. Find an activity you love and make it your playful exercise. Exercise is critical to overall health and well-being; it stimulates your metabolism and gets everything flowing well. Plus it’s great for our mood! Building up a regular sweat will promote optimal health results on this lifestyle.
17. Make sure to get lots of rest, relaxation and good sleep. Learning to incorporate good rest, early nights, and regular sleeping patterns into your life will greatly improve your overall health.
18. Be sure to get some sun. Full body sunbathing is recommended, for a minimum of 20 minutes every day. Get in your vitamin D and boost your sense of well-being.
19. If necessary, supplement B-12 with either shots or sublinguals. Around 40% of the population (vegan or not) are B12 deficient, and this can greatly reduce our health results. I wrote a blog on this fact here.
20. Practice gratitude and peaceful emotions at meal time.
Be sure to enjoy this journey. Focus on long-term health instead of short-term results. This is a lifestyle you can do for the rest of your life, and if you focus on becoming healthy inside, you’ll end up looking healthy on the outside in time. You will come to a healthy weight naturally if you give your body a good foundation of healthy habits. Consistency and patience are key!
Source : http://thebananagirl.com/raw-till-4-faqs.php#RT4
So now to my opinion and my exeperience on rawtill4:
Firstly what I want to say, that I'm not a nutritionist or something like that, I just want to share my experience with you. For me rawtill4 was the first step into my vegan lifestyle! I was so happy to eat in abundance without feeling guilty! Also that it is very socializing due to the cooked meal in the evening. I ate 2 months rawtill4 and I felt good, but I missed more warm meals and I also felt a little bit sick to eat large amounts to reach my macronutrients.
I also had digestive problems and stomach ache , but that's normal and pass over after few weeks. But I still wasn't statisfied with my situation and I never would forced myself to something I don't want. So I came ahead the starch solution and I feel so much better, without stuffing my face with large amount of food especially raw food! But everyone has the chance to choose his/her lifestyle. But I still like to introduce some raw / rawtill4 days when I'm in mood for it :)
