Read my story about transitioning from junk-foods to a raw vegan, fruitarian diet
Check out my short introduction video on DTube HERE!
ABOUT ME
Name: Morten
Age:23
Nationality: Norwegain
Interests: Travel, health, music, sports and crypto-currencies
Instagram: Fruitbasedliving
Website: Fruitarianism.com
Diet: Fruits and occasionally some leafy greens and non-starchy vegetables.
Content contribution
- Fruitarianism
- The ethical side of veganism
- Fruits
- Health related topics
The durian fruit is known as "the king of fruits" its odor and taste is intense and its high-fat content makes it a creamy, satiating taste-experience!
My raw vegan, fruitarian journey
I want to tell you about my experiences while changing my diet upside-down from eating mostly junk food, to eating a raw vegan fruitarian diet.
How it all started?
I never really questioned my eating habits, and ate whatever was cheap and tasted good - I felt fine eating pizza together with my trusted coca-cola for most of my dinners. However, I’ve always been curious about different lifestyles and got very interested in vegetarianism after being exposed to it. I couldn’t help wondering how it would be to not eat any meat at all. Another part of me also started to question the ethical and environmental implications of our diets. After some pondering I decided to try a one-month experiment eating a vegetarian diet.
The first steps into the unknown
At the that time, I was a seventeen-year-old gamer with no cooking skills other than unpacking the daily pizza capricciosa and throwing it into the oven. I remember feeling frustrated when looking for vegetarian options, at the time there were very few meat-free options compared to today's situation.
Not only was it challenging to source out vegetarian food, but also the social aspects of practicing vegetarianism got more and more prominent as I got asked critical questions, and was met with lots of doubts, but also curiosity towards my experiment.
I’d eaten meat my whole life, and even though I decided to try a month without it, I hadn't become knowledgeable enough to give proper answers to all the questions I received. I felt overwhelmed with questions from others, but it also spiked interest within me. I started to educate myself more about the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle. I felt coincidentally better with each meat-less day and this fueled my interest to learn more and finish the challenge I'd started.
Halfway through my 30-day challenge, I could feel some benefits of the vegetarian diet and felt a certain lightness in my body and improved mental clarity. I was positive that this was a right step towards a healthy lifestyle. At the same time, I felt less trustful towards the current social and political status quo, as many of the things I had learned from schooling and growing up proved to be wrong in my own direct experience. It became more obvious that most of the experts, the nutritional sciences and governments were giving out contradicting information in terms of dietary advice. My faith in authorities faded, instead, I chose to follow my curiosity and apply whatever I was drawn to into my own direct experience.
After stabilizing into a vegetarian diet, my interest and passion for health and food kept growing and it was then I asked the question that directed my health journey for the following years: What is the optimal diet?
The search for the ultimate diet
The only strategy that made sense to me was to eliminate whatever food I suspected had less than an optimal influence on my health. I removed products like milk, eggs, sugar and bread - the more food groups I'd let go of the better I felt and the more health benefits I noticed: As one of many examples I experienced a much better sense of airflow and sensitivity to smells in addition to less mucus in my throat almost instantly after removing dairy products from my diet.
I started writing down how I felt after eating different foods as I stayed very present with it and contemplated how enjoyable it was to eat it. Did it create any mucus or bad effects? Did the food make me feel heavy or light? Aware or sluggish? These questions helped me realize what my body wanted or more precisely what it didn't want. As soon as I realized something wasn't serving me, the next step was to let it go from my diet - which didn't always end up to be an easy task.
My vegan diet was now limited to mostly vegetables, rice and fruits. I couldn’t eat anymore at restaurants, or what my family and friends ate. This also led to a certain feeling of alienation in situations where I had to expose my dietary choices, but with time I learned practical solutions and changed my attitude in a way that didn't interfere with my initial goal. Simultaneously I experienced a better sense of well-being as my diet became based around suger-free whole-foods.
I felt confident about the direction I was headed in despite the challenging aspects these changes presented. Nevertheless, I had no idea where this initial search would take me...
A-ha!
I remember feeling less and less inclined to research nutritional data, and to listen to the so-called educated experts - none of it really spoke to me. It was all just words against words and I wanted something that just made sense, what if it was all just very, very simple i thought to myself. Eating is simple for every other species on the planet, they don't need to consult with their higher authorities about what they should eat or not, they just know it instinctively, could that also be possible for us?
Once I discovered raw veganism it was almost like something evoked inside of me - you know that feeling of, "A-ha! this is it!" ... In a strange way it made perfect sense to me, and I just kept following that intuition.
It really resonated with me with it its simplicity and down-to-earth logic and I couldn't wait to try it in practice since the arguments for raw veganism were presented in a more understandable and in a simpler way than I'd experienced from other dietary lifestyles.
The assumption that cooked foods improve our health and well-being was now being challenged.
Trials and tribulations
I slowly tried to transition to a raw, fruit-based diet. Sometimes I would just focus on getting most of my calories from fruit, while other times I would challenge myself further and try to eat only fruits for periods of time. I did my best, but I would often give in to the cravings for cooked food. I remember one time that I binged eat to the extent that I experienced intense cramps in my stomach, throwing-up the whole night because I completely overeat on vegan junk foods that my stomach wasn't longer accustomed to in huge quantities.
Eating raw food made me feel more and more stripped down and I discovered things about myself that I didn’t recognize before. I never considered myself a person who emotionally eats, but as the raw, stimulative-free food became the basis of my diet, it stripped me naked and revealed things I hadn’t acknowledged before. It worked as a great inner-tool for me to become more self-aware as well as leading me to greater health and well-being.
Those years were a period of challenging transitioning and detox, but even in the midst of it, I received so many confirmative benefits that kept me going; I ate all these tasty fruits and satiating salads and noticed a great appreciation because of better energy, improved digestion, mental clarity and many other astonishing benefits of my new way of eating.
Today
After spending some time in Asia - where the fruit availability and quality is amazing, I’ve really been starting to love this lifestyle. I’ve experienced immense benefits in terms of health, mental and emotional clarity as well as enjoying the simplicity of a fruit-based diet.
The fruitarian diet is for me synonymous with peace and beauty; picking and eating fruits are non-violent activities that benefits planet Earth, its plants and beings. Fruitarianism expands way beyond the benefits for the individual and is a way of life that is positive for the whole - moving towards a more vegan, fruit-based diet is a very direct and powerful action to encounter the threats of global warming, animal suffering and deforestation.
My journey started with the search for the optimal diet, but it ended up as a journey towards greater health, self-discovery and freedom, while spontaneously falling deeper and deeper in love with the beauty of fruit and it's implications on our health and environment.
“Man may live entirely upon fruits, in better health than the majority of mankind now enjoy. Good, sound, ripe fruits are never a cause of disease.” – Charles W. De Lacy Evans
Follow me for more content!
I plan to contribute as an active participator in this community by creating quality content, sharing my passions around fruitarianism and health. I will be responsive in my feedback and re-follows and hope to create many good connections with people on steemit!
When was the first time you heard about fruitarianism? What's your thought on the diet? Would you like to experiment with it?
Did you find this post valuable? please like, comment and share to anyone else you think may benefit from it in any way.
Nothing in Nature lives for itself.
Rivers don't drink their own water.
Trees don't eat their own fruit.
Sun doesn't give heat for itself.
Flowers don't spread fragrance for themselves.
Living For Others, is the rule of Nature
Fruitarianism is a way of eating, in which ethics, health and sustainability merge together based upon no harm principles, nourishment and cooperation between man and nature. Read more about the beauty of fruit.
Thank you for sharing your journey to fruitarianism! I would be really interested to know more about what it's like living as a fruitarian in Asia. Since I started this diet 3 years ago I have only been in the West, and I don't know anybody else who is a fruitarian. Is it easier to find other fruitarians and raw vegans living in Asia?
All the fruitarians and raw foodists are moving to Thailand and Indonesia because you can get really cheap fruits there. I live in Canada, so fruits here are more expensive than drugs. I'm eating fruits and nut as my first priority. After that, I eat a bunch of cook plant-based whole food. If you go to Thailand, almost all the white people are there for the fruits or dentists.
Yes, the fruit price here is awesome - I would also like to add another hidden gem both in terms of fruit quality and price and it's the Philippines, more specifically the city of Davao. They have exotic fruits like durian, and marang all year round, but best to visit in season around late summer.
Thank you so much for your reply! Yeah, I really need to visit Thailand, it's crazy that I've still not been yet. I've been wanting to go for years but putting it off, but I'm going to commit to going at the end of 2018, in the winter.
Maybe we'll see each other next winter then. I'm heading back to Norway soon, but will definately come back at some point. The best part about Asia is tropical fruit and sunhine, and there is also a great place to find like-minded people, have a lot of raw vegans and fruitarians on my travels! If there's more specifics you would like to know don't hesitate to ask!
I live in London, UK, let me know if you're visiting bro and we can hang out! Yeah, I think this winter I'll definitely head to Thailand. I've just been putting it off because there's so much money to be made in crypto now, I don't want to stop investing!
I see, yes valid point there. If it all goes well you might be able to live here for the rest of your life. UK is one of the few places I haven't been yet in Europe, but will speak up if I ever put my feet there!
Hey, welcome to Steemit!
thanks, mate!
Hi, welcome to steemit how are you? Nice introduction btw with your journey to being a vegan. =)
Hi! Thank you, nice to hear from a fellow vegan, will follow you!
such a great intro post @fruitarianism! What a change indeed, to go from junk foods to your current diet! And I'm impressed that you started so young! It was a brave choice when I'm sure everyone around you was different. What did your parents say at the time?
My sister already made the road quite effortless for me, having her periods on raw foods, and also an early vegan. So I've been quite lucky in that regard. However, After eating strictly a fruit-based diet is when I've had the most resistance, which is very understandable because most people are very conditioned and determined that it is not a healthy way of living. I'll probably make a post about the social and family challenges and such later on, It's a very interesting dynamic when seen from different perspectives.
Hi there :) great post! So with you on this, even now I´m still figuring out about what actually is the best diet for me...I think the "I started writing down how I felt after eating" really got me & I´ll exactly do this now. Thank you so much!
It works very well, just be patient and you will at some point get clear about what works and what doesn’t food, by food...
Nice work Sir and welcome to Steem:)
Thanks!
Beautiful intro, and welcome to Steemit! I did find your post very beneficial, and think the diet sounds great, if it's possible. Replacing meat can be a tricky business, but I know you posted a photo of the durian fruit. I've never tried it, but often wondered if it could replace meat, seeing as how you say it's satiating. Realistically, it's a tricky fruit though seeing as how it's so pungent in smell. Don't know if I could get away with that one because I live in an apartment building. Anywho, loved the post. Upvoted, following, and resteemed.
Thank you for your appreciated post. Durian is very filling, but also other fruits lie jackfruits and avocados can have a similar effect. However, I think the most useful strategy is to not try and recreate the satiating feeling meat usually gives, rather give ourselves time and possibility to "wean" of meat so-to-speak. It will feel less satisfying for a little while, but when we are consistent with different food choices; that "craving" for meat will dissipate and fall away, at least from my own experience it turned out that way. Whatever is high in protein and fats are usually good substitutes in the beginning, have you tried soya-products?
Thanks for the tips! If you mean soy products, I try to stay away from them, because they supposedly contain estrogen.
yes, phytoestrogens...isoflavones which can mimic estrogen in our bodies. i stay away from soy products too! i don't eat a lot of meat, and i will second the jackfruit recommendation for something that mimics meat if you need that in the beginning. also, EGGPLANT! and mushrooms...even bell peppers...all of these are great substitutes for the taste and feel of meat depending on the recipe. as far as nutritional content, quinoa, chia seeds and spirulina are all complete proteins...but anyone eating a whole foods diet will be getting enough protein as long as they are consuming enough calories. sorry to butt in, lol! just thought i would share!
No need to be sorry, thank you for the input! That's two votes for the jackfruit. I might have to try that at some point. ty!
Welcome to the steemit family! You are exactly in the right place to feast on fruits. Though I miss my berries here in Asia, you get so many other things in return. I am happy to hear that you found the perfect diet for you. I tried raw in the past and it wasn't for me... thriving on a whole food vegan diet though. Keep up the good work and if you come to Cambodia let us know... we have 2 hectares of different fruit trees to feat on ;)
Hello! nice to hear from you from Thailands neighbor, Cambodia. What fruits do you have their for at the moment?
Egg fruit, a lot of mango, a strange kiwi-like fruit I do not know the name of, papaya, tamarind, coconut, bananas, jackfruit, custard apple, pomegranate or guava (not sure yet), etc... love it!
Awesome, I would come for the custard apple alone, but already booked my ticket back to Norway
Too bad. Coming to Europe in April or May so might bring you some. Custard apple is so yum, though I prefer the soursop... fewer seeds hehe. take care ;)
I love this post! I had the same journey but i did not begin my vegan journey until much later in my life, I grew up on a farm. My learned behaviors followed me until my adult years. After health complications I decided the change in diet was best for me. It was a gradual change for me, I started with eating just white meat, then went to vegetarian and then finally after three years of progress I began vegan.My health problems are now nonexistent and I feel great, mentally, emotionally and physically. I resteemed and followed, I am excited to follow you through your journey. Love and light
Good to hear, the dietary implications on our health and well-being is greater than most people imagine! Happy that you changed it up and are feeling good in your body.
love and light!
Hey buddy, I have been waiting for your introduce yourself post. Nice work! I think fruitarian are too extreme for meat eaters and for cold countries costing too much money. So a scale down of Fruitarian + plant-based whole food with some cooking would be the perfect diet for our planet. Bread are actually not vegan because it is yeast + flour. Yeast is a simple life but it function a lot like full blown animal.
Interesting point there about the yeast, haven't really thought about that before.
Fruitarianism might be to much for some people and I completly understand that, it's not something lightly, easily done and I totally agree with you that a fruit-based diet in addition to plant--based vegetables, optimally fruits similiar to the nutritional profile of fruit is the best.
I've always heard about someone being a vegan, I'm certain I've only heard about fruitarianism because of you. And wow, your curiosity really worked wonders for you, it may be hard for me to follow the same lifestyle, but I'm glad you've discovered it for yourself :)
Anyway, welcome to steemit and have a great day :)
Thanks for a warm welcome, happy to bring a new idea to you and have a great day!
Congratialation! I wish I had discovered that at the age of 17 already. It took me a bit longer, but better late than never, right? I'd dare to go even further and say that the so-called experts are responsible for a lot of problems in the modern, ‘highly developed’, western society.
I do think, though, Thailand is a much more fruitarian-friendly environment than Norway, not just because of the price (as @watermelonprince has already mentioned), but also because of the abundance and variety of locally grown quality products.
Yeah, I try to avoid buying fruit when it is out of season because it is bad for sustainability.
Hey Morten! Welcome to Steemit! 👋 . You will love it here, the vegan community is very supportive and is growing every day! 🌱
I love fruits and we also love to make a lot of raw vegan meals because a lot of the time it's easier and still tastes great! ⭐️
If you have any questions about the Steemit platform feel free to reach out
Thank you! What is your favorite raw vegan meals? will follow you for some vegan content!
The raw food diet is a powerful part of a conscious diet. Thank you for sharing!
Indeed, thanks for reading mate.
"peace and beauty; picking and eating fruits are non-violent activities that benefits planet Earth"aww such an inspiring story! Love to see more from you! #govegan 💕
One of the essentials for me is just how beautiful fruitarianism is, read more about my thoughts on it here
https://steemit.com/health/@fruitarianism/the-beauty-of-our-relationship-with-fruit
Appriciate your feedback!
It's just so incredible the quality of people's mind around here, i'm not a fellow vegan, but sure ik what you're talking about with the "This is it" inspiration, like finding or starting creating yourself...
Finding peace in every single detail about our life, you're quite a nice character aren't you? Haha.
It was nice reading you, i'll follow this man until the end of the earth!
I'll follow you back, glad you enjoyed reading.
Hello Morten,
Happy to meet another ethical vegan! The world we live in is changing for sure! I am meeting people almost daily with stories similar to yours, it makes my heart happy!
I will surly support you here on steemit, as I truly believe people who 'switch to a crypto lifestyle' are participating in ethical commerce. I invite you to check out my blog - Enlightenment cafe' - @robinlight-cbd
I will be sharing my introduceyourself post later today, if it resonates with you I would appreciate your fellow support.
I wish only the best to you on this incredible journey, and look forward to learning more from you.
I'll follow you on your story, nice to hear that you also notice all the positive changes happening!
All the best
Hey man, welcome to Steemit! I have never tried a durian, I have always wanted to! I too really love fruitarians, I have tried it myself but I am not strict. I have an entire fresh pineapple to eat tomorrow, I look forward to cutting it up. To me cutting fruit is a lot of fun, even mangos ; )
I look forward to seeing more of your content so I followed you.
Followed you back my friend. Fruit is always a treat to prepare, pineapple and mangoes are one of my favorites! Where do you live abouts?
I'm from Midland, Ontario. Never seen a durian in stores before, or at a farmers market.
I'm don't have any knowledge about Ontario, but generally speaking you should look for Asian import stores, in the summer they might have fresh durian - and all of them have frozen durian all year round in Norway.
i read your story ,very nice.
I appreciate that, have a great day mafi!
My experience has been great so far. Hope you enjoy being here.
I can attest to the same!
Welcome to steemit Morten! Your story is very interesting and your writing style kept me engaged and wanting for more :D Looking forward to read more about fruitarianism! followed :)
Glad to be here, appreciate the feedback. Will check out your steemit.
Thanks :)
hey @fruitarianism and welcome to steemit!!
what a great introduce me post!!
Nice to have you on board :)
Steemit is a great place with amazing people, i'm sure you going to enjoy it!
cheers
@marsell
Thank you for a warm welcome, already enjoying it!
Welcome to Steemit. :) I loved your life style. I am vegeterian but I am thinking about eating only raw food for a month. But, it is very hard in a busy city.
Thank you, always fun with an experiment, you can do it!
Welcome to steemit!! Nice introduction, i would like reed more :). Follow me :D
Thank you! I'll give you a follow :)
Excited to see more of your content, buddy. I have been on the transition to a vegan diet for a little more than a year now. It has changed my life completely. My goal is a raw alkaline diet. Slow is the way to go! :) I will follow you. Hope we can share thoughts later on.
I will also share bites of my journey. Follow me if you are interested.
Welcome, buddy!
Hi there buddy, great to hear you are transitioning to a vegan diet. Slow and steady wins the race, I'll follow you for some updates!
Sorry I hadn't answered before, I hadn't started to use @ginabot yet, so your comment went unnoticed. I had forgot to follow you too.. But I now follow you! :) I noticed you unfollowed me :( awe.. I deserve it for not following back! lol sorry bro
wow, i loved this post and all of the beautiful humans commenting on it! i'm a part time vegan myself...i have never heard of fruitarian...is it really just fruit that you eat? i don't know if i could consume only fruit...i love my veggies! i'm definitely interested in learning more about it! thank you and welcome!
I eat mostly fruits, in addition to leafy greens and sometimes non-starchy vegetables.
So how it looks like is usually that I eat one fruit per meal, here in Thailand this is simple because all of the good fruits. My first meal is usually something juicy like oranges or watermelon. Then maybe my next meal is a whole bunch of mangoes, custard apple or durian. And on days where the fruit produce isnt the best or my body craves it - I also it salads, but with mostly fruits like cucumber, tomato and of course the good old avocado.
Hi there and welcome! I have only just started exploring the topic of all the lifestyles and I hugely support your ethical drive. I cannot wait to see what you have to say on fruitarianism. Good luck, man.
Appreciate your warm welcome! Will follow you!
Hiya
That's a really well-written introduction. It's interesting to read your thoughts on the lifestyle choices you've made.
I won't comment on your food choices (mine are very different) but I wish you lots of luck with it and much success here on Steemit.
Bests
Anj :)
Thank you! Only one thing is better an agreement - not really caring whether we agree or not ;)
Good luck on steemit my friend!
hehehe If everyone agreed with us, it'd be a boring old world eh :D
cheers
Anj :D
Welcome to Steemit
nice! I as well this year decided to go vegan! it already feels amazing!
Awesome! Yes, it feels so good not eating meat.
Hello And Welcome To Steemit!
It is a platform like none other. You can get to know people from all over the world. If you continue to post great informative content you will grow a following in no time!
Start following some authors that post good content and upvote them as well. Follow Me! Make some friends and you will be well on your way to earning some nice curation rewards and growing your following.
Good luck
SAM
Thank you!
Wow what an amazing story about how you found your raw vegan lifestyle. I have tried incorporating more raw whole foods into my diet as well because you just know deep down how awesome you feel after it. Will follow you for some inspo! Welcome to steemit :)
Thanks for the follow, will follow you back - raw whole foods make me feel super-good too!
Welcome to Steemit Vegan Family............I have a very god friend who is fruitarian and moved to Belize to start vegan community. Unfortunately, I a have not to hear from him for long a time, because of problems with internet connection. I just hope he is okay.
By the way, you are welcome to join our #fruitsandveggiesmonday contest. It is very popular and obviously you have a lot to share with us 🍒 🍌🍑🌿🍍🍓🍇
Thank you for the warm welcome, I'll check out your contest!
My pleasure and I am happy to hear that 🍓😊🍓
Inspring. Hello and welcome to SteemIt. Following. Wow.
Hello there, right back at ya!
Thank you so much for sharing your journey towards fruitarianism! I myself experimented with the raw vegan lifestyle a year ago, when I was training for my first half marathon and got sick only a few weeks before the competition. I turned to raw fruits and veggies to improve my health and performance in a short period of time and results were mind-blowing! Since then I continued with this lifestyle, only eating some cooked veggies maybe twice a month on events where no raw vegan food was available.
I expected to see a transition in my body, but was really astonished to experience also a transition in my senses, my emotions as well as my mind.
I am currently traveling in South East Asia and feel like in a fruit lover‘s paradise, munching on all these delicious papayas, mangos, bananas, melons and other exotic fruits.
It is amazing to see how many fruitarians are already out there and I love to see more people exploring the benefits of this natural, healthy lifestyle ☺️ I am looking forward to your posts, sharing your knowledge with everyone interested in a fruity transition!
What a great and inspiriong response, will definitely follow you back!
Hi there...i'm looking forward to see how my personal journey will be from following your examples. love the post :)
Hi, there! Awesome!
nice, great to see different lifestyles from people around the world, and welcome to steemit!
I have for only short bursts of time lived on fruit as well, but found it difficult to maintain in long term here in Norway due to climate and mostly because of weight training.
Check out my story here:
https://steemit.com/life/@triviumfilm/vegan-for-10-years-why
Awesome, followed you for more!
Your journey is instresting.
wow! only wow... you are amazing! Great intro brother!
Super interesting post, thanks for sharing!
happy to meet a fruitarian here, nice to see you!
Welcome to steem! Good luck!
You are a so beatiful my dear friend
Happy to connect with a fellow Instagram/fruitarian friend on Steem! I finally made my way over to here. Happy to see you here. I am @melly_gaia on IG, from San Diego, Ca living the fruit life in Peru<3 Salud!