My
name is Kristen Suzanne. I'm going to start by telling you a little about my
background in Raw Foods and why I have chosen this diet for my lifestyle. Then,
I'll jump into the benefits and details associated with eating a Raw Food diet.
After that, I'm going to share with you what a typical day in the life can be
for someone eating a "High Raw" diet. This will be followed by some
tips and tricks to get started. (Please note that we in the Raw Food movement
often capitalize "Raw Food" to distinguish it as a specific cuisine
and lifestyle, with its accompanying guidelines, as opposed to referring to any
random food item that happens to be uncooked.)
My
reason for going Raw is this: Because it works. My goal was to find the truth.
I wanted to find what works, what is reasonable, and definitely what is fun.
I've been on every supplement there is and tried most of the diets out there.
My history includes competing as a bodybuilder in my early 20's, which is where
I started getting serious about fitness, as well as embarking on the infamous
diet rollercoaster lifestyle. During this time in my life, I ate meat roughly
six times a day. I worked out like crazy, preparing for bodybuilding competitions,
and I looked great. But something was wrong. I wasn't healthy.
For
most of my life, I had intense migraine and tension headaches, acne, cellulite,
allergies, and back pain. I was constantly tired and so you'd always find me
drinking 2-3 Starbucks' triple venti soy cappuccinos each day. I took plenty of
prescription medications, for both my headaches and my exhaustion.
Eventually,
I was so tired of not feeling well, of not feeling like I was at my peak unless
I medicated myself with something like caffeine or pain pills. I was living a
life of stimulated energy instead of Raw energy. I had no idea there was such a
thing as Raw Energy. And, wow, what a difference that has made in
my life!
Over
time, I tried many diets and supplements. Some worked okay, and I would lose
weight, but I would still get headaches, acne, and be tired and sluggish,
unless I was drinking tons of caffeine and taking energy pills. The benefits
never lasted long either, because your body gets used to being in that
stimulated state and then requires higher and higher dosages to maintain it.
Too many people are looking in the wrong places for the answers on how to
achieve optimal health. They're wasting their time, health, and money and they
still don't get the ultimate results they're so eagerly seeking. I was one of
those people.
Always
on a quest to learn more, and to learn the truth, I started looking for other
ways to improve my health, when I came upon the information about becoming
vegan, and then on becoming a Raw vegan at that. As I started researching more,
I realized that with the Raw lifestyle, people were doing this for life and
they loved it! This seemed to be the one diet where people were thriving on it
for 20, 30, and 40 years. Think about that; most diets are temporary. How many
diets do you know of that people stay on, gladly, for life? The true meaning of
"diet" is simply "what you eat." It's your way of life, not
something you do for two weeks and then stop. But in our culture most people
start "diets" only to quit shortly thereafter. Even worse, people
usually feel worse after having been on them, because the diets were about
deprivation or included eating foods or taking supplements that were unhealthy.
The testimonials out there and books from people who have been on a Raw diet,
or eating a predominantly Raw diet, for anywhere from 1-40 years, all have the
same things in common: They're enjoying radiant health, they feel better than
ever, and they love their lifestyle of eating Raw, no matter how long they've
been doing it.
The
information I was reading was compelling. It just made sense! So, I tried it
and was excited to do so, because it didn't involve taking pills or drinking
Starbucks, it was all natural, and again, it was plain common sense. After
trying this for only a short time, I was blown away by the changes in my body.
There was a detox period, which I'll go into greater detail later, but the
first thing I noticed was that I started waking up without headaches. My skin
cleared up and had a glow. My cellulite started to disappear and I dropped
unwanted weight immediately. One of the best things for me was that I started
to experience pure, raw energy. The kind where you almost feel giddy because you
feel so good. I wasn't on stimulants and I was saving a fortune from not
visiting Starbucks so many times. What's even better is that I don't ever feel
deprived or like I'm missing out on anything. I love my lifestyle and wouldn't
trade it for anything.
What
I realize from my own experience is that the problem people encounter is
battling through so many inconsistent viewpoints and diets. People don't know
what to do. A lot of diets out there can help you lose weight, but it's usually
at the cost of your health. Additionally, those diets aren't usually
instrumental in helping you if you have heart disease, diabetes, or cancer.
Switching to Raw is an amazing experience because you enjoy food that is so
delicious, without the guilt or fear of eating unhealthily. Regardless of the
state of your health when you start, going Raw makes you healthier. You can
actually feel it.
The
Raw diet is not a fad. It's not going anywhere because A) it's where our
ancestors began, several hundred thousand years ago, and B) the modern benefits
are incredibly straightforward, simple, and true. What's more, they're
experienced almost immediately. This isn't "radical" as some might
have you believe, but rather, it's a growing realization that you can witness
all over the place. Restaurants and stores are beginning to cater to the Raw
Customer more and more. Even The New York Post has stated that "Raw Food
Is Going Glam." The funny thing is it's not as if this is some new thing.
It's 100% natural cuisine that has been around since animals started eating.
Our digestive systems have been around much, much longer than the
relatively recent invention of cooking. (In fact, we're the only animal on the
planet that cooks its food — that tiny little fact should raise a warning in
your consciousness that something isn't quite right with what we've been
doing.) Doctors and everyone else tell us to incorporate this
"time-tested" concept of increasing raw fruits and vegetables in our
diet. But eating Raw is more than that; it tells us not only what to eat, but
also what not to eat. Others have not been so good at telling us what to
avoid, as you'll discover below.
There
are so many benefits of eating Raw. The Raw food diet has helped many people
find health when nothing else did. It can help anyone who wants healthy levels
of blood cholesterol, healthy blood sugar levels, pain-free joints, clear
glowing skin and shiny hair, reduced or eliminated cellulite, rapid elimination
of excess weight, a permanent boost to your immune system, amazingly restful sleep,
having unbelievable energy, unbelievable sex, increasing your mental focus,
being in a happy and feel-good mood all the time, improving your relationships,
and more. Now, I ask you, what other diet out there can do all of these things
for you? None!
By
eating Raw foods, you can slow down aging so you start to look and feel
younger. People who eat a High Raw diet (about 70-85% Raw or more) or All Raw
diet have stores of energy and they feel great about themselves! A High Raw
diet wipes out any mental pollution in your head, and you're given a clear,
focused mindset that lasts all day long. Do you realize how much you can
accomplish in a day when mental pollution is cleared from your head and you
have a clear, focused mindset? It's so empowering!
If
you are sick, if you are tired more often than not, if you are carrying too
much fat, or if you want to feel better, this could help you when nothing else
has.
The
same goes for many other illnesses. It's not necessary for you to be 100% Raw
(although it is best to get as high as you can) it depends on your personal
situation. If you're battling any kind of ailment or illness, then the more Raw
you eat, the better you'll feel. But, please keep in mind that this isn't an
"all or nothing" kind of lifestyle. You don't even have to be 100%
vegan, although you'll want to consider it, because this is where many of the
biggest, most life-altering health benefits come from. (Meat and dairy are two
of the biggest sources of deadly dietary problems.) Like I said earlier, Raw
Food has recently evolved into a cuisine unto itself because of the new gourmet
Raw dishes available and recent burgeoning demand for Raw, vegan, and organic
options. So, just like Italian or Mexican can be enjoyed by vegan and non-vegan
people alike, so can Raw Food.
Everyone
knows it's healthy to eat fresh, raw fruits and vegetables every day. That
isn't breaking news and it isn't rocket science either. Eating Raw food means
eating food that it is not refined, not processed, in it's natural state. A Raw
foods lifestyle simply says that these foods should be the majority of what you
eat. You don't have to eat 100% Raw starting tomorrow, or ever for that matter.
To get started, anyone can enjoy improved health and more vitality by eating at
least 50% Raw foods. My bet though is that once you start seeing the difference
from including more fresh organic Raw foods into your diet, you'll want more,
because that's exactly where your body will direct you. And then once you taste
gourmet Raw dishes that you can make yourself, you'll wonder why you would ever
want to eat cooked food at all. When you eat Raw food, especially gourmet Raw
food (which can be very easy to make), the flavors "pop." They shock
your palate and wake up your taste buds. You get an experience that goes into
your core, like an awakening, or enlightenment. You'll feel so amazing after
eating a Raw meal vs. a cooked one. It'll be a no-brainer for you.
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