Chris Kendall - Raw Vegan Diet Interview

In this raw vegan diet interview Chris Kendall shares some wonderful inspiration with us.

Chris is a skateboarding superstar, holistic nutritionist, yoga coach, raw food chef and reiki practictioner.

He travels around the world as a live in raw food consultant, helping others to change their lives for the better.

In this remarkable interview with Loving-It-Raw in April 2011, Chris shares his wonderful story. His dedication to helping and inspiring others comes across so clearly it almost seems to sparkle right off the page.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Tell us about yourself? How old are you, where do you live, your occupation, attached or single, etc?

Well well well, I am 30 years young but feel as if i'm 13 years old. I live wherever need takes me and do firmly believe the whole universe is my home, thinking and hoping that one day we will all see that.

WhIle I feel I am retired and have been for years, I flow full time as a raw vegan lifestyle coach, a yoga teacher and low fat raw vegan chef. Often I am full time as a live in raw lifestyle coach, helping others with the raw lifestyle along with yoga and meditation whilst helping facilitate integration of all healthy lifestyle factors. Busy all the time but loving every single minute of it. Skateboarding is one of my many favorite pastimes, as is time well spent with loved ones.

Attached? I do hope not ahahha, it's hard to be when one travels so much. I truly love everyone and enjoy being in meaningful relationships, there is such growth in coming together, to see we are one.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: How long have you been on a raw food diet?

This spring it will be 7 years that I've been on a raw food diet. I went 100% 811 rv the day after I met and talked with Dr Doug Graham at a vegan health festival in Vancouver.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Can you tell us a bit about your journey to raw foods? Did you transition slowly, from vegetarian to vegan to high raw etc?

Well my journey back into health started when I was 18, by then I had already taxed my body so much with crappy food, partying and under recovering from my skateboarding, that I really needed to change, and fast. One day a book called Fit For Life found me, literally it jumped out at me glowing! From that book I started food combining as well as eating fruit for breakfast. I still ate animal products for a year or so after reading it, but consciously moved toward a vegetarian flow with a few slips. Progressively over the next 4 years I cleaned up my diet more and more, drank and partied less, ate more whole foods and more raw foods. By 22 I went vegan, then to high raw vegan and after meeting Doug 100% overnight, never looking back beyond a few common bumps n slips.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: What was your health like before raw foods?

Right before raw foods I thought I was feeling pretty darn great, although I did have some candida issues as well as joint pains. This was minor compared to how I felt 5 years back before starting to change my diet. As I had gone through 5 years of cleaning up my diet and focusing on many aspects of health, I was in a much better place. That said, when I took the plunge and went 100% overnight I felt better than I would have ever believed, pretty much immediately.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Why did you decide to embark on a raw food diet?

While it really was a multitude of reasons why I went raw: health, animals, ecology, and I simply loved the whole concept and really vibed with it. In truth, the biggest reason at the time was to improve my health/fitness/recovery for skateboarding. At the time, my highest focus and purpose was to be the best skateboarder I could be, I knew raw foods could help take me there, little did I know it would open me up to a higher purpose.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Did you ever eat a high fat raw diet? If so, what was that like? What led you to a low fat, high fruit, raw food diet?

For sure I ate a high fat diet - I used to love love fast food, the greasier the better! I remember commonly eating 4- 6 meat eaters pizza pops in a sitting, followed by a liter of ice cream. Boy oh boy did it taste good at the time, but progressively I felt worse and worse, body mind and spirit. Fortunately as I shifted into eating more consciously, the whole low fat flow really just meshed and vibed with me. I knew a few nutritionists and health fanatics whom ate tons of fat but that never really appealed to me unless it was horrid fats ahah. The first book on raw I read was Natures First Law, I vibed with it but it really didn't give one solid starting point beyond "cooked food is poison" ahhaah. When I met Doug everything fell into place and I fell full in to the low fat high fruit diet. It was like returning home.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Did you have any challenges in transitioning to raw foods? Did you experience yo-yoing between cooked and raw foods like many others experience?

In truth I don't feel I had much challenge in transition as a whole but rather in a few times when new life scenarios came up. Looking back I had a few major yo-yo's of a few days as well as a few little slips here and there of a meal or two. My first month went smooth beyond a handful of granola ahahah. After that I went 8 months with ease, sure I would never slip off; raw for life! Enter my first skateboarding road trip, raw on a budget and with friends whom lived my old lifestyle with gusto. Yep I fell hard. After that I stuck it full on for well over a year slipping again at a huge emotional upheaval. Looking back it seems it was learning to flow with raw during those first times of change, pressure, upheaval or trial that brought challenge. With each slip and then conscious success it gets easier and easier until it becomes a simple joyous choice.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Are you now fully transitioned, or is there anything you still struggle with?

'Fully Transitioned' is a funny phrase I do think, I do as we all have room for improvement, but the struggle, I've totally given up. While I know I could eat a bit simpler at times, I have let go of that in the moment as I have been developing a Transitional Recipe Book "Low Fat Raw Gourmet: Cravings Busters Transitional Recipes" as well as cheffing with both Simple hygienic and Transitional fare. At times I find this a bit hard, as I do prefer very simple hygienic meals (usually mono) but know if it becomes a struggle, I can always shift to choosing not to partake in the food, only the offering.

I really think "transitioning" is overly focused on, have fun, enjoy the process at the speed that suits you, and most of all be easy with yourself. I feel its just as important to put focus on a "transition" to a full on healthy lifestyle including loving relationships, loving self, positive self talk, enjoying fitness activities, getting enough sleep, stress reduction etc as it is to focus on diet.

IN the end we are all transitioning on some level all the time, I don't think I know anyone who thinks they couldn't improve some aspect of their game.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Are you 100% raw or do you include any cooked food items? If so, which ones?

Beyond the occasional shake of cinnamon that may or may not be dehydrated at the "acceptable" temperature, or when a friend has given me a recipe with roasted nuts not knowing until after (Thanks Brother Bram now im not 100%), haha I maintain a 100% raw diet.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: What benefits have you experienced and continue to experience with this way of life in terms of your physical and spiritual health?

Oh my, what a doozy, suffice to say, I have felt an opening up and expansion of every aspect of my being. While I wont solely place raw foods as the cause, it for sure has been integral in my physical, spiritual and emotional growth. Always expanding and improving, enjoying it all with much more fun to come!

Physical.... more energy, stamina, strength, flexibility to play all day while recovering much faster.

Spiritual..... enjoying a calmer center, seeing the interconnectedness of all much more clearly, integration of passion and purpose, flowing in love knowing self as simply that love.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Can you tell us about your athletic adventures/pursuits?

Well, I've been skateboarding since I was 5 years old, and still love it to this day. For many a year, skateboarding was my life, to the extent that I felt I had no identity without it, this was a huge moment of growth, when I let that go. While I am still an amateur and do believe I could go pro in the future, my attachment to this goal is gone. I love love love yoga, climbing, running, hiking, biking, calisthenics, playing ahhaha all manner of fun. Bringing adventure to my athletic pursuits, always switching it up keeps it extra fun.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Has a low fat raw food diet improved your sports performance? In what ways?

From above... Physical.... more energy, stamina, strength, flexibility to play all day while recovering much faster.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: How much exercise/training do you do in a typical day?

I try my best not to have a typical day, the joy in activity to me comes from switching it up!

Ok well on average I would say 1 - 3 hours of activity (yoga, skateboarding, calisthenics, jogging, weights, climbing, playing). Sometimes more sometimes less, I really don't stress it instead prefer to move as much as I want when I want. Inactivity easily turns into activity, inspiration comes like a gust of wind.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: What do you eat in a typical day? How many meals etc, as much detail as possible!

Well this is a typical days worth of food for me: here I go! ahaha, usually I eat 2 big meals a day, lunch a big sweet meal, usually mono (banana's, persimmons, mango, grapes, cherimoya... whatever is in season) and dinner a big subacid/acid fruit meal followed by veggies/stew.

On average I eat 8 - 12 lbs of food total per day, it all depends on what's in season and available.

Lunch is usually mono and dinner is often a recipe from or similar to the ones in my ebook "101 Frickin' Rawsome Recipes" (available by donation with half of the proceeds going to a new charity every 2nd month).

The days I eat 3 meals, I usually start with a big sweet juicy fruit meal, often melons, then continue on as above.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Do you tend to keep track of how many calories per day you eat like many others following a high athletic lifestyle? If so how many calories do you generally eat per day?

In the first few years, I did for sure at times take note of my calories/nutrients, often using fitday.com to make sure I was getting enough. With time, this became redundant as I found it much simpler to simply eat till satisfied at each meal and then repeat when hungry ahah. On average I eat 2500 - 3500 calories per day, sometimes more sometimes less. I really don't believe in a cookie cutter static # of calories day in and out as our needs fluctuate with each day.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Did you ever struggle with excess weight? If so, when, how did this resolve?

I wouldn't say I have ever struggled, although I have for sure been much heavier and lighter than I am now. I now sit at 160 - 165 quite comfortably, at my heaviest I was 204 and at my lightest 145.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Do you take any supplements, i.e. B12? Why or why not?

I haven't taken any form of supplement in over 7 years, quite simply because I have had no need. The last three years I have gotten full spectrum blood tests, my doctor actually said "these are the best blood tests I have ever seen" more than once. I am not against supplementation by any means, but do not believe in taking things "just in case". If one has clear symptoms of deficiency then supplementing while at the same time looking to and correcting the cause, not just dealing with symptoms, is the best call imho.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: What would you say is the best thing about eating raw foods?

Everything, I love the way I feel, I love showing my love for this planet and all the animals on it (they know btw), I love impacting others to wake up and make choices that support their highest self, their highest vibration, I love eating dessert at every meal of the day knowing I couldn't make a better choice for my health or the health of the planet, I love feeling satiated on every level at every meal, I love the natural changes in season and the bountiful gifts our mother the earth gives up. What's the best?... Loving it all, seeing the love and perfection all around us :)

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: What do you think is the most challenging aspect of this lifestyle?

Coming to love yourself so fully and openly that you can accept and feel everything within yourself while realizing its only us that project anything but love without.

LFRV is such a light expansive diet that every thing, every feeling, is there for processing and being. Best be ready to feel more deeply than ever before :)

That and the first time you meet any new event/crisis, whether social emotional or physical.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: How do you find socializing as a raw fooder?

In the first few years I was shy at times, even apologetic. Now I love it and know I need not feel anything but supercharged and happy with my choices. In the end when asked, its a great way to plant seeds, share things in common and have a great time.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: If you're single, what about dating? Is this challenging as a raw fooder?

I don't think it's challenging to date as a raw fooder, I think it's challenging to date as a transient lifestyle coach ahahha

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: How do you feel about the raw food movement as a whole?

I love love love it, all to growth to anyone and everyone on the level they feel attracted to. There was a time when I was angry at those selling nonsense while promoting an unsustainable diet, I've learnt to let that go in the knowledge that everyone is simply here to grow in the way that they feel serves them best. The lfrv flow shines so bright that those who are active optimal seekers will find their way :)

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Have your family and friends been influenced by your way of eating and lifestyle?

For sure, I feel so blessed to say that everyone in my family has improved their game, each trying 100% for a few weeks to a month, all adept at short fasts. Being far more health conscious they are able to be in the flow with their own wants, desires and needs. More than a few of my friends have moved to a vegetarian, vegan, and 100% raw vegan lifestyle over the years - it's truly a rippling effect and I see them fly wider and wider each year, Love it!

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: What would you say is the biggest factor in your success?

Coming to know what I truly deserve, what I truly want and what I truly need. I know I deserve the best every time, not just sometimes. I want to give my best to others all the time, not just sometimes. For me this is simply a joy to grow in, and that's it, learning to love yourself in the ups and downs (sure took me a while), in the success and slips, all leading up up n away :)

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: What would you say is the biggest problem most people have in sticking with a raw food diet long term?

For sure I would say under eating total calories as well as emotional eating/issues. Both come with a learning curve.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: What advice would you give to someone just starting out with raw foods?

Enjoy it!!!! Take it all, one meal/day at a time. Best to focus on fruits for calories, keeping it low fat, eating all the vegetables you want. I really think its important not to over intellectualize it, pick the fresh ripe raw fruits and veggies you love the most, buy lots of them and eat until full at each meal.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: What do you think about fasting? Do you practice water fasting? When, how often etc.

I think fasting is one of the most powerful healing practices known to all beings as animals too fast naturally as have we since the dawn of time. I have undergone about 10 or so fasts from 1 - 10 days in duration over the last 12 years.

In the past I have fasted at the turn of the season or mid winter but do not have a generic time/date or frequency. Fasting I feel is best indicated by self when followed by intuition stemming from love and the desire for growth on any level.

I haven't had a water fast for over a year now and do plan to start my longest fast to date within 2 months here in Costa Rica, at Finca de Vida http://farmoflifecr.com .I'm really excited, I will be documenting the whole thing for an upcoming video blog.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: What about mono islands / juice cleanses etc? Are you a fan of these kinds of programs?

I love love love mono island, whether for a day or a week, I have mono'd many many different kinds of fruit. Banana's for sure the most common, I would have to say mono island can only be beaten by fasting for healing of self. Being much more for whole foods than juices I prefer mono island for a great many reasons.

Chris Kendall Raw Vegan Diet Interview: Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

You are exactly in the right place right now to actualize and realize your highest potential. I so believe 100% in the perfection of the process, everything perfect in its place, your process and the worlds process. Let go, dare to love yourself as everything is perfect as it is in every single moment. Choose each moment anew to bring your highest self into being, creating a new you and the world you wish to experience. The raw diet in my mind is the single largest vortex of positive change one can invite, why not dare yourself to take the plunge into radical self growth? Dare yourself to grow, to feel as deeply and fully as you are meant to, dare yourself to be a role model, to positively impact those around you, the ones you love. Dare you to show yourself in thought action and word, the love which you soo very much deserve?

Blessings Alison I feel honored to share with you and all those whom you touch.
Flowing from the heart wishing you all much
peacelovenseasonalfruit ck

I hope you enjoyed that amazing raw vegan diet interview with Chris Kendall. I sure did, and it has given me a lot of inspiration which is what it's all about.

If you would like to be coached by Chris, or to get his recipe book or other products, check out his wonderful website: The-Raw-Advantage.com

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