Give yourself a full-body reboot this spring and go raw vegan like Yovana Mendoza “Rawvana” (Instagram: @rawvana). She eats clean to train hard using the health benefits of clean protein to boost her energy and recovery. See what her 900k+ followers are talking about with her tips for raw vegan newbies.
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Henry Young / Courtesy of Yovana Mendoza
Go raw one meal at a time
No one expects you to go raw overnight. Start with one raw meal a day in your daily routine as a way to ease into the lifestyle. “Pick one meal a day and make it a raw food meal,” says Rawvana. “My typical breakfast meal is a homemade smoothie bowl.” For lunch or dinner Rawvana likes to play around with flavors and textures, like zucchini pasta.
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Pack for snack attacks
Newbies, have food with you at all times. Think fruit, veggie sticks, and coconut water. Snacking is an important secret for anyone going raw, especially if you’re looking to rev metabolism and digestion. “Always start by adopting healthier habits and incorporate them into your day-to-day routine,” says Rawvana. Staying prepped with snacks allows you to be consistent in your eating, “until they eventually become part of your lifestyle,” she says.
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Get social about your goal
Use your new diet as a reason to get out and explore new restaurants that serve healthy foods. And if you don’t know what to order at a conventional restaurant, take a look at the menu ahead of time and tell the waiter your needs when you arrive. You can always order a salad or ask for a fruit plate on the side if options are slim, suggests Rawvana. Share your goal on Muscle & Fitness Hers’ Facebook page.
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Cleanse in the morning
Ride the cleansing effects of raw veganism by adding Rawvana’s morning ritual into your daily routine. “I love to wake up early and drink a 32-oz jar of water with lemon to jump-start my digestive system,” says the vegan Instagram star. When you give your gut a chance to rest and digest with raw foods, it’s important to flush your system with fluids to help push out extra toxins.SEE ALSO: 6 Detox Drinks to Add to Your Diet
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Work in protein
You can get enough protein from a variety of plants. “I get my protein from eating a variety of plant foods,” says Rawvana. I eat certain foods for even more added protein, including mushrooms, broccoli, beans, lentils, quinoa, seeds, and superfoods like spirulina, hemp seeds, sacha inchi, or plant protein powders.” SEE ALSO:Bodybuilding On a Vegan Diet
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Boost your recovery
There are unspoken benefits to adopting a raw vegan diet and Rawvana knows all about them. “Eating raw foods keeps me feeling light and energized, which motivates me to take my body to new limits in my workouts. One of the main things I notice is that eating raw improves my body’s ability to recover after weightlifting. Since my body doesn’t have to spend much energy on digestion, my recovery time is much quicker,” she says.
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Henry Young / Courtesy of Yovana Mendoza
Stick with it
Raw veganism isn’t for the faint of heart. Challenge yourself to stick to it like you would your workouts and practice discipline. “It wasn’t until I began to eat a plant-based diet and get more into fitness that I decided to get out my comfort zone. Now I take my workouts to another level,” says the blogger. “Going to the gym, lifting weights, doing body exercises, circuits, jumping around, getting my heart rate up, sweating, and post workout meals set me up for pumped up and motivated days.”
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Henry Young / Courtesy of Yovana Mendoza
Feel the benefits inside and out
Radiant skin isn’t a vegan myth; it’s a vegan truth. “Our skin is the largest organ we have so anything we put on our skin our body quickly absorbs. Eating raw foods cleared up my skin so I started using less and less topical products,” says Rawvana. But when the Instagram star does glam up, she makes sure it’s with cruelty-free products made with natural ingredients. “The less ingredients the better. I use natural oils as a moisturizer for my skin and hair such as coconut, jojoba, avocado, almond, and castor oil,” she says.
Give yourself a full-body reboot this spring and go raw vegan like Yovana Mendoza “Rawvana” (Instagram: @rawvana). She eats clean to train hard using the health benefits of clean protein to boost her energy and recovery. See what her 900k+ followers are talking about with her tips for raw vegan newbies.
Go raw one meal at a time
No one expects you to go raw overnight. Start with one raw meal a day in your daily routine as a way to ease into the lifestyle. “Pick one meal a day and make it a raw food meal,” says Rawvana. “My typical breakfast meal is a homemade smoothie bowl.” For lunch or dinner Rawvana likes to play around with flavors and textures, like zucchini pasta.
Pack for snack attacks
Newbies, have food with you at all times. Think fruit, veggie sticks, and coconut water. Snacking is an important secret for anyone going raw, especially if you’re looking to rev metabolism and digestion. “Always start by adopting healthier habits and incorporate them into your day-to-day routine,” says Rawvana. Staying prepped with snacks allows you to be consistent in your eating, “until they eventually become part of your lifestyle,” she says.
Get social about your goal
Use your new diet as a reason to get out and explore new restaurants that serve healthy foods. And if you don’t know what to order at a conventional restaurant, take a look at the menu ahead of time and tell the waiter your needs when you arrive. You can always order a salad or ask for a fruit plate on the side if options are slim, suggests Rawvana. Share your goal on Muscle & Fitness Hers’ Facebook page.
Cleanse in the morning
Ride the cleansing effects of raw veganism by adding Rawvana’s morning ritual into your daily routine. “I love to wake up early and drink a 32-oz jar of water with lemon to jump-start my digestive system,” says the vegan Instagram star. When you give your gut a chance to rest and digest with raw foods, it’s important to flush your system with fluids to help push out extra toxins.
You can get enough protein from a variety of plants. “I get my protein from eating a variety of plant foods,” says Rawvana. I eat certain foods for even more added protein, including mushrooms, broccoli, beans, lentils, quinoa, seeds, and superfoods like spirulina, hemp seeds, sacha inchi, or plant protein powders.”
There are unspoken benefits to adopting a raw vegan diet and Rawvana knows all about them. “Eating raw foods keeps me feeling light and energized, which motivates me to take my body to new limits in my workouts. One of the main things I notice is that eating raw improves my body’s ability to recover after weightlifting. Since my body doesn’t have to spend much energy on digestion, my recovery time is much quicker,” she says.
Stick with it
Raw veganism isn’t for the faint of heart. Challenge yourself to stick to it like you would your workouts and practice discipline. “It wasn’t until I began to eat a plant-based diet and get more into fitness that I decided to get out my comfort zone. Now I take my workouts to another level,” says the blogger. “Going to the gym, lifting weights, doing body exercises, circuits, jumping around, getting my heart rate up, sweating, and post workout meals set me up for pumped up and motivated days.”
Feel the benefits inside and out
Radiant skin isn’t a vegan myth; it’s a vegan truth. “Our skin is the largest organ we have so anything we put on our skin our body quickly absorbs. Eating raw foods cleared up my skin so I started using less and less topical products,” says Rawvana. But when the Instagram star does glam up, she makes sure it’s with cruelty-free products made with natural ingredients. “The less ingredients the better. I use natural oils as a moisturizer for my skin and hair such as coconut, jojoba, avocado, almond, and castor oil,” she says.
