What are some of the challenges you might face when first becoming acquainted with a fruit-based diet? Here are some of the problems that I encountered when first adjusting to a frugivorous diet (i.e. a diet consisting of sweet, ripe fruit as the staple and supplemented by leafy greens and/or other high water content vegetables):

Food Combining Problems:

When eating salad I have found that cauliflower does not combine well with grapes. My conclusion here is that vegetables that are relatively high in complex carbs/very rough and fibrous do not mix well with anything but acidic fruits. This means that subacid fruits, such as grapes, would not combine well. I usually get short lasting stomach pains after a meal combined like so, for about fifteen minutes. I would recommend that if you eat a salad of greens, tomatoes, and grapes, leave it at that for optimum digestion. If you decide to use cauliflower in a salad, I've noticed that apples combine well for me, but for optimal digestion I stick to acid fruits like pineapple or oranges.

The Inconvenience of Unripe Fruit or Not Having Fruit When Hungry:

How many times have you found yourself hungry, only to search through your entire 40lb crate of bananas to find that nothing is ripe. I recommend always having an entire ripe crate on hand as well as an entire green crate. This way, by the time you eat through the ripe crate, your green crate will have ripened and will be ready to eat. Any extras, or bunches that turn extra fast can just be tossed in the fridge. Worst comes to worst, peal some, toss them in a ziplock bag, and save them in the freezer for blended banana ice cream, or give some bananas to some friends or co-workers at the office.

Whenever you are going to be away from home for an entire day, ALWAYS bring tons of fruit. When I interned for a summer with a company in New York City (gone anywhere from 8:30AM - 7:30PM), I would usually bring at least 3 bunches of bananas with me (roughly around 18 large bananas). However, sometimes I would only bring two bunches for breakfast and then I would bring 3 large tomatoes, 2 mangoes, and a head of lettuce and chop all of that into a bowl for lunch. Never go away from home empty handed. It's setting yourself up for disaster.

Instead of Under Eating Problems, How About Over Eating Problems:

Be careful not to get carried away after learning to expand your stomach by eating more in one sitting and end up eating too much. This can lead to horrible stomach pains, which are not caused by the fruit itself, but it's caused by your digestive system yelling at you for over loading it. Make sure that if you decide to eat 20 bananas in one sitting that you are sufficiently hungry before hand. You can't numb emotions with fruit. When I first started a low-fat raw vegan dietary program, I tended to have the bad habit of eating out of impulse rather than hunger sometimes. So, it's important to learn to recognize true hunger signals. If you just ate an hour ago, busy yourself with something else. Pick up a book, balance the check book, or do some push ups. Also, make sure to relax and enjoy your meal. If you end up "inhaling" the fruit than you can over eat fast if you're not well acquainted with the diet, especially on calorically dense fruits, such as bananas.

Limit Yourself to One of Two Fruits Per Meal When Possible:

When first learning to consume a fruit based diet, I would often eat one fruit, and then search for another, and then yet another within the same meal. This can also lead to some stomach pains by creating disharmony in your digestive system. Try eating a mono fruit meal, and you may find yourself eating sufficiently less food. The searching through the refrigerator for something else could be more of an addictive impulse rather than one of true hunger.

Replace A Past-Time Comfort Food With A New One:

Find new joy and comfort to your new lifestyle. Try to replace the cheesecake with an extremely satisfying fruit. For example, I have found new comfort food in persimmons. Try some new fruits, and find one that works for you.

Savor Every Bite:

Enjoy your energy-filled life, and be thankful for your new and vibrant health.