I have gained clarity (for the first time in my life since attempting the HCLF/Rawtil4 diet in 2012) on why my approach was not working. Through the content & application of knowledge learned this week, I learned that I have three areas that are not working: low zinc, low protein, low selenium, and too high fat. Also, my calories are unintentionally low some days, which has a knock-on effect later. Clarifying what was missing is essential because we cannot change anything we're unaware of. Now that I have the awareness, I can work with Zuzu to configure a game plan to meet those missing nutrients & requirements. That was the learning in terms of content & application. I'm sure there will be many additional learnings in the call tonight - and just by seeing the submitted questions, I realize that others struggle with the same issues I do. Variety & satiation are two such challenges. I have read and completed MANY raw food books and courses & even worked one of one with various raw food coaches. Each encounter was valuable, and they gave me a blueprint of what worked well for them. Only through this education process on learning which nutrients were missing for me can I now see where I went wrong. This will allow me to construct better meal plans in the future - based on my produce availability & taste preferences. The problem with cookie-cutter approaches is that a raw food coach does not have your life, preferences, climate, produce availability, level of income, etc. So as you can read, this has been eye-opening for me, and we are only in week 1 (!!!). My only wish is that I'd come across your course sooner. Not battled this on my own for 11yrs!

I was shocked to see how unhealthy a vegan diet can be (when done incorrectly) compared to an omnivore diet. I also learned why the vegan and raw vegan diet often does not work for people and why they jump ship after a year or two of promoting this lifestyle. Once again, it comes down to education - this is key to making small and sustainable changes. For 90% of people, going raw overnight and staying raw in the long haul is not sustainable. However, if you have the education and willingness to make small, consistent changes and not attach yourself to one food concept (e.g., no overt fat/overly focused on fruit, etc.), you can truly thrive. Lastly, I learned the importance of listening to my body, slowing down, and being willing to learn and tweak for my current stage of life. Arrogance and dogma do not work to thrive in this lifestyle long-term.

I liked the introduction to self-awareness. Understanding that I need to be patient and not perfectionistic is a pattern of behavior I have engaged in many times. Changing my mindset and understanding was helpful to hear.

I know the importance of understanding where I'm at and tried to keep a cronometer/myfitnesspal diary in the past but never got much out of it. After your class, I realized it's because, in the past, I didn't know what I was doing and was tracking calories which seemed a little pointless. You've taken my hand and walked me through a very important skill to master my diet.

Seeing your old chronometer report and hearing how it affected you negatively despite being wholesome food was sobering and an eye-opener!

I love the way you explain the details of these topics. As I mentioned before, I am a bit of a nerd, and I look to develop more in this area. So for me, this is "gold," as we say. It's like being in class, studying in a very organic way. I like that you take us back to the basics of nutrients; from there, we can build and create a menu plan. You, indeed, have to understand the basics before you can build further. I always use the analogy of building a house for myself. You cannot put the roof on first.

Fat isn't the "enemy"; fat is important in maintaining our skin. I always have very dry skin, particularly on my arms and legs, but also, my shoulders and back increased during a specific period, as well as on the feet. I realize this improved significantly over the last months while including overt fats in my diet. This event also strengthened me to eat overt fats in a balanced way because omega 6, the right amount, is important for our reproductive system, which currently isn't working well at my end. Fat is much more complex than we are taught and told by SoMe (..), books, etc.

Wow, I learned so much! I used to think that calories were the primary concern in raw vegan diets, but then everything made sense of why I was craving things all the time, feeling anxious about food etc.

So many key takeaways. Firstly I understood why I never felt satisfied. I've mentioned that I got into trouble by following the online rhetoric and 'what I eat in a day' by popular long-term high raw (predominantly fruit) foodies. I learned this week that there is an art to creating a balanced meal plan, and to do this; we need to understand the nutritional values of foods by building on our understanding of what is missing from our current dietary approach (through tracking it). I learned about the distinction between the nutritional profiles of certain foods, why variety is essential, and, most importantly - how to feel satiated! There is an art to this, and this course teaches you how. It's the missing part of the struggle for me.

Learning about the nutritional distinction of various fruits & vegetables - and why variety is vital to meeting satiety goals. Also, you can experience this for yourself by introducing green smoothies. I was always hungry on fruit, no matter how much I ate. Now I see what was missing. Fruit-only meals don't work for me. I used to think I was the problem (as it worked for many other influencers). Now I understand why it couldn't work from a nutritional & scientific perspective.

Adding more fat of the right kind to my diet. I am already making the dressings you posted on Insta with the hemp seeds. I WAS SHOCKED when I asked you on Insta if the dressing was for one person first. Wow 2 / 3 tbsp of hemp seeds for one person, all that fat, but now I don't think about it and make myself a great and nourishing dressing. Adding a small amount of nuts to my daily menu.

I loved both the content and the questions answered in the call. I learned so much about consistency and tweaking as we learn to listen more to our bodies and how dogma and being attached to concepts do not serve us long-term. I also learned about the raw and cooked sources of zinc and saw that this is easy to achieve on a whole foods SOS diet. I learned that bloating tells us something is too much and that uncomfortable symptoms cannot always be attributed to detox but that what we are doing is not working and may need to be tweaked. Having a learning mindset is key - as is being open to experimentation. I learned which foods fats combine best with and that I will need to shift my approach to make this work better for me.

I liked to look at food as a "biological" necessity, fuel, and medicine instead of a tool for pleasure, avoiding pain, celebration, comfort, etc. The way we approach food in this course is very natural and logical; it takes away the "emotions" surrounding food and brings it back to the very basics of it: Our body needs energy from food to run the processes in the body to survive or in the case of WFPB high carb / low fat to thrive ❤️. Love this.

I enjoyed the detailed and lecturing way of explaining the content, building the information step by step, creating logic and understanding, and adding a lot of practical/explanatory information you can use in making your menu plan, and the tables with all the nutrient information. As well as keeping the fear and the judge out. There are no good/bad foods in the WFPB high-carb / low-fat diet. It's about the right combination of foods, the amount of foods, and listening to your unique body.

A balanced and healthy diet MUST include fat in the right proportion. I was amazed to learn about the fat content in leafy greens and vegetables; I used to believe they were “just” another healthy vegetable, but I now love them more.

"I had one session with Zuzana to get feedback about my raw vegan way of eating, and she gave me a great amount of useful and eye-opening information. The format was very "hands-on," and I enjoyed it. Zuzana has a very fresh, open approach and gave me many details about improving my daily habits, with practical examples that will be easy for me to implement. Zuzana has a profound knowledge of nutrition and is very generous with it. Her positive and can-do attitude is a real asset, and I lovingly recommend her work. I will get back in touch with her whenever I need advice!"

“Zuzana is a fantastic coach, and not just that, she has become a real friend to me. She offers science-based and precise nutrition and lifestyle coaching while being an absolute sweetheart and a person you can count on when needed (she has always answered all my questions ASAP!). Thanks to her guidance, not only have I realized the importance of certain essential nutrients that my diet is lacking, but I also have been able to identify and correct recurrent mistakes I was making in my dietary pattern and food choices”.

"I had already consulted a lot of nutritionists - including those who specialize in raw vegan diets. But Zuzana was the only one who showed me a clear path that was also fun. I understood the connections between nutrition. She does it in a very loving, empathetic, and experienced way. I can only recommend her to anyone who wants to achieve health and happiness and will undoubtedly seek her advice more often - because she has extensive knowledge. Thank you, Zuzana."

“Zuzu has been a key in my health journey. She explained everything I needed to know in a very gentle way and with so much patience. She has a world of knowledge and is always happy to share it. Everything she shared with me made so much sense with the health issues I'm experiencing, and the improvements I'm already noticing in my body and my lifestyle. I have had some other coaches before and Zuzu has been the best!! An advice I could have for someone who is in the beginning of a change in their health journey is to look for help and guidance, and Zuzu is by far the best person to guide you through it. Her advice is down to earth, and the approach is very gentle and respectful with your current lifestyle, taking you step by step into a healthier version of yourself and your goals”.