People ask if my rapid weight loss of over 150 pounds is because I’m 100% raw. Let me be perfectly clear: I am not 100% raw. An exclusively raw food diet is not the goal here. Healthy, clean cells are. Feeling vibrant and alive is the incentive. I succeeded in changing my relationship with food. I used to live to eat and now, I eat to live.
Sure, there are days when I consume nothing but raw food. The people I know who are in perfect health and do eat 100% raw, consume very little food. Surprisingly little, actually. Why? Because they simply don’t need too. Their bodies are like finely tuned engines, operating at optimum capacity. Clean cells can easily absorb vitamins and minerals, so their bodies get adequate nutrients from the fresh fruits and vegetables they consume.
When I began transitioning to a raw foods lifestyle, I was consuming a lot of food. A lot. So how come I began losing so much weight? What’s the secret?
Ah, the secret. I spent years trying to figure that one out … Weight Watchers, Diet Center, Slim Fast, Protein Power Plan, Atkins, Sweatin’ to the Oldies with Richard Simmons, Dexetrim, Somersizing … and the list goes on, and on. Sometimes, I actually succeeded at losing weight. But, I always gained it back, and then some. What I didn’t know then was that, despite my best intentions and most valiant efforts, I was poisoning my cells, tissues and organs with synthetic indigestible food.
Today, I consume mostly whole, organic when possible, living food. If I do purchase a packaged food product, I first read the label. I’m not interested in the calories or the fat grams or the carb content. I read the ingredient list. If it’s unrecognizable, I don’t eat it. It’s not food. Simple.
Raw foods contain something that can’t be found in any other food ~ live enzymes ~ and that my friends, is the secret. When you start feeding your body active enzymes, your engine will start revving up and your metabolism will naturally increase. Not only that, but these wonderful little guys will start to work overtime for you, cleaning out all the toxic build-up in your cells. And that’s when the weight starts to disappear.
Take out the garbage, take off the weight.
How do I flood my body with live enzymes?
Well, for starters, I consume nothing but fresh fruit or fresh juice before lunch. I might have a quarter of a watermelon at 8:00, a couple of bananas at 9:30, and half a cantaloupe around 11:00. What I eat and how much might vary from day to day, but you get the idea.
I never feel light-headed because I’m infusing my bloodstream with an ample amount of natural sugar, and I’m allowing my body to direct all of its energy toward healing and cleansing rather than having to work overtime on trying to digest heavy foods. Here’s the thing with fruit: it spends no more than 30 minutes in the stomach, so it’s best to eat fruit alone and on an empty stomach.
Sure, there are days when I consume nothing but raw food. The people I know who are in perfect health and do eat 100% raw, consume very little food. Surprisingly little, actually. Why? Because they simply don’t need too. Their bodies are like finely tuned engines, operating at optimum capacity. Clean cells can easily absorb vitamins and minerals, so their bodies get adequate nutrients from the fresh fruits and vegetables they consume.
When I began transitioning to a raw foods lifestyle, I was consuming a lot of food. A lot. So how come I began losing so much weight? What’s the secret?
Ah, the secret. I spent years trying to figure that one out … Weight Watchers, Diet Center, Slim Fast, Protein Power Plan, Atkins, Sweatin’ to the Oldies with Richard Simmons, Dexetrim, Somersizing … and the list goes on, and on. Sometimes, I actually succeeded at losing weight. But, I always gained it back, and then some. What I didn’t know then was that, despite my best intentions and most valiant efforts, I was poisoning my cells, tissues and organs with synthetic indigestible food.
Today, I consume mostly whole, organic when possible, living food. If I do purchase a packaged food product, I first read the label. I’m not interested in the calories or the fat grams or the carb content. I read the ingredient list. If it’s unrecognizable, I don’t eat it. It’s not food. Simple.
Raw foods contain something that can’t be found in any other food ~ live enzymes ~ and that my friends, is the secret. When you start feeding your body active enzymes, your engine will start revving up and your metabolism will naturally increase. Not only that, but these wonderful little guys will start to work overtime for you, cleaning out all the toxic build-up in your cells. And that’s when the weight starts to disappear.
Take out the garbage, take off the weight.
How do I flood my body with live enzymes?
Well, for starters, I consume nothing but fresh fruit or fresh juice before lunch. I might have a quarter of a watermelon at 8:00, a couple of bananas at 9:30, and half a cantaloupe around 11:00. What I eat and how much might vary from day to day, but you get the idea.
I never feel light-headed because I’m infusing my bloodstream with an ample amount of natural sugar, and I’m allowing my body to direct all of its energy toward healing and cleansing rather than having to work overtime on trying to digest heavy foods. Here’s the thing with fruit: it spends no more than 30 minutes in the stomach, so it’s best to eat fruit alone and on an empty stomach.
I always make a point of beginning my day with a fresh green juice. There is nothing more loaded with enzymes than fresh vegetable juice. And I’m not talking about a V-8 or even a Bolthouse or Odwalla. Pasteurization kills live enzymes. Fresh juice contains organic water from the plant and is rich in oxygen, vitamins, minerals and enzymes. I usually start with a 12-ounce glass and try to consume about 36 ounces throughout the day.
It’s fun to experiment and come up with your own concoctions. Here are some of my favorites:
It’s fun to experiment and come up with your own concoctions. Here are some of my favorites:
Green Lemonade
- 1 head romaine
- 5 stalks kale
- 1-2 Fuji apples
- 1 lemon
- 1-2 inches fresh ginger
- ½ pound spinach
- 2 cucumbers
- 2-3 stalks celery
- handful of sprouts
- ¼ inch fresh ginger
- 3 cucumbers
- 3 stalks celery
- handful of parsley
- handful of mint
- 1 gala apple
- 6-8 broccoli spears
- 1 bunch parsley
- 3 granny smith apples
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