New & just started my 30-day challenge!

[Mary]

Hello everyone,

My name is Mary and I'm new today too!

I have been wanting to go raw for about a year now... I'm finally so fed up with my health and appearance that now's the time! I purchased Alissa's book and DVD's before the holidays, but was afraid to start then because of feeling like that would set me up for failure. Now I wish I had started sooner!

I'm a stay-at-home mom of two children with autism - one mild and one severe. I think one of the reasons I gained so much weight was my stress over my children, trying to get them the right therapies and school placements. The autism and my weight gain have been big stresses in my marriage. I'm hoping that this will be the year to pull everything back together!

I've lost a lot of weight on Weight Watcher's before, but after researching the raw diet this past year, I know that this is the only real way I'm going to take care of myself and get this weight off for good!

I think this forum is going to be very helpful and I look forward to getting to know all of you! I would especially be interested to hear if any of you are in the Sacramento area of Northern California, as that is where I live.

Bright blessings,

Mary

[Ireland]

Mary, a big, warm welcome to you. :) I'm so glad you've made the decision to join us on your journey to health. Guess what!? There's a woman who posts regularly here who also has a child with autism. Her name is Alison, and you might want to read her story, she's having wonderful results with her son!
(Alison, I hope you don't mind...)

Anyhow, take the time to read people's stories in here. You'll find so much hope and encouragement. :)

[sweetgoddess]

Welcome to the forum Mary! What a wonderful decision you have made -I hope you find lots of support and encouragement on these message boards. I agree that you will probably want to read Alison's journal over in the 30 day challenge area.
Again thanks for introducing yourself and best wishes to you on your raw path.

[SamL]

Welcome Mary :) jump right in, glad to have you join us here on this rawsome board.

[Nutcase]

Mary
We are starting this on the same day! It seems you have known about it a great deal longer than I have so I think you're going to do great. It's great that your love for your family is so strong that you want to be the best for them. Hang in there!!
Nutcase

[flutterfly]

Welcome. Good things are going to be hapening to you on this very healthy way of life.
As you are starting your 30 day challenge I am just about to finish mine :)

[askcassyfirst]

Welcome Mary! What others said about the raw & living foods diet helping with children that have developmental issues & autism is quite true. I know that there are quite a few books out on the subject, specifically about probiotics which are highly concentrated in living foods. (cultured foods specifically.)

A customer of my company, an ND in Colorado, has shared with us that he is using the whole foods diet in conjunction with a special transdermal chelation program to help with autism.

The health food store I was working at last year had quite a few customers that were working with an ND here in South West Florida, using the probiotc Primal Defense (by Garden of Life) in conjunction with a special diet.

You have come to the right place for support!:)

Cassy.:)

[SusanF]

Hello All!

Like Mary, I am also just beginning. Every night when I go to sleep I lament another wasted day of not improving my health. I am overweight, 43 and, like Mary, I have a son with autism (beautiful Christopher - 8 yrs old. I also have a typical daughter who is 10.) My husband is very physically fit and I feel the time just slipping away when I will no longer be able to join family events. Last summer I tried eating one raw meal a day. That ended with the cold weather and the resistance from the rest of my family. Has anyone successfully transformed the non-believers in their families? This is one of my biggest challenges. I'm so glad I "stumbled" upon this site. YOu all are so inspiring!

Susan

[Mary]

Greetings everyone!

Thanks so, so much for the incredible warm welcome! I truly feel this is right! I appreciate the support so much!

I will definitely check out Allison's bio regarding her son with autism. My son is a "carboholic" and his preference is for bready things right now. Children with autism have numerous sensory issues regarding food - my son especially - so I would love to be able to get him on a raw food diet. I've been able to introduce apples and grapes, which he is eating just fine. He refuses smoothies and any type of vegetable. If I could get him to drink juice, I could make super-drinks for him. One step at a time, I guess!

My husband is overweight too, but he's very much a "meat & potatoes" kind of guy. I can't even get him to eat a salad, but he likes smoothies, so I'm trying to get him to have something raw any way I can!

Reading all of your messages has really made my day! Thanks so much!

Bright blessings,

Mary

[Mary]

Welcome, Susan!

I guess we're both newbies! Both of my sons have autism - my youngest is 7 and has severe autism; my older son is 9 and has high-functioning autism/Asperger's. I believe both of them could benefit from the raw diet. My younger son was GF/CF for a while, but after 4 years on the diet, I wasn't seeing a difference. I recently took him off the diet with no regression. However, his diet is terrible due to his very limited food preferences, so I am going to try to increase his intake of raw and living foods any way I can!

I think this forum will be a wonderful place for all of us to support each other, especially those of us with special needs kids!

Take care,

Mary

[Sweet lips]

Welcome to both of you. You both have received wonderful gifts in your children. Please share with us, what gift your children have. As you jouney through this time in your life, there is much to share and receive here. Be open for change, be open for suggestions and be open for love, that is what I get here.

[SusanF]

Thank for the warm welcome Mary and SweetLips! It's really nice to be able to "talk" to others on this journey. It makes it more real and not just "another diet" (my dear husband) I have come up with. It's one thing to sit down and read books and cookbooks, its another to see real people giving this a try because they truly believe in its principles. I think this is very difficult at first, especially after the first week or so, and to have a support group is really a blessing.

Mary, on the topic of our sons, we also tried the GF/CF diet for three years and it did help him when he was very young, but as he grew older, I think he developed the enzymes he needed to process the food. When we took him off of it I didn't notice any regressions either. However, his diet is FAR from healthy! Good luck to us both!

I hope everyone has a great day!

[Amethyst_Rain]

welcome Mary...glad to have you...this site is awesome :)