For many people who are overweight or obese, it can be beneficial and healthy to lose weight. If you are trying to lose weight to improve your health and strength of your heart, a raw food diet might be beneficial to you. Whatever your plan for exercise and food, in order to lose weight you need to take in fewer calories than you expend. When eating a diet of calorie dense foods, it can be difficult to stick to the lower calorie plan that you need to lose weight. With a raw food diet, it can be easier to fill up, helping you feel satisfied and possibly lose weight at a faster speed. A raw food diet requires that all food be eaten in it's natural state--that is, unprocessed and uncooked. A raw food diet is primarily composed of fruits, vegetables, nuts, sprouts, whole grains, and beans. Many raw foodists are vegans, although some will eat raw and unpasteurized dairy. Although food is preferred raw, it can be heated up and need not be cold or room temperature to be eaten. The reasons for people who choose to eat a raw food diet are varied and diverse. Some studies have hinted that some vegetables are more nutritious before being cooked, and that heating them past a certain temperature reduces their nutritional benefits. Additionally, many people swearing by a raw food diet believe that enzymes are the source of good health, and that those enzymes can be denatured upon high heating. Enzymes are believed to be vital to slowing down the aging process, as well as reducing body weight. The reasons that eating raw food diets help you lose weight can seem obvious. It is certainly difficult to eat your daily calories in just fruits and vegetables alone. By eliminating the trigger foods for many people, such as fast food, alcohol, candy, and chips, there are fewer calorie dense items to eat. However, it is absolutely possible to gain weight even on a raw diet--the bottom line is that regardless of what you are eating, you need to consume fewer calories that you expend daily. If a raw food diet helps you to consume fewer calories, while still providing you with all your nutritional needs, it can be possible to lose weight and become healthier.