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abetterlife
01-05-2007, 10:11 AM
Hi all, my daughter in California sent me this link. I joined but input the wrong email so I never got a link to activate it.

Anyway, I am 52yr old female. I take boniva for my bones since 2003. I looked back at my 50th birthday and realized I am about 10 pounds heavier. I don't feel great but I do feel good most of the time. My bones do give me some pain but overall I think mentally I am doing okay. When I took a picture of myself with my daughter on Christmas day I could not stand it. I had to turn away. I felt so fat and my double chin and in general looked fat and unhealthy. My skin did not look healthy. If my appearance does not look healthy, well what else can I say.

I decided to take the plunge and get a cheap juicer 60$. Just because some people think they have to have a top of the line juicer to juice seemed ridiculous to me. Also, since I do not have the 300$ to just go spend on a juicer I thought the wide mouth Hamilton juicer was sufficient. Its working just fine for me. Maybe later I can get better juicer.

I have been using it for 3 days now. My 12yr old daughter is drinking a mixture of fruits before school in the morning. She loves them and so far seems to be helping her perk up in the morning. Both of us are becoming more aware of what we are eating. My husband is somewhat interested as well. Its hard to change eating habits but if we work it slow for him we can all benefit from this raw food lifestyle. So meat will be a bit more difficult for us. We have several packages of meat in the freezer and this will slowly be replaced with natural substitutes. We have fish about twice a week and beef or chicken 5 times or more. So, I am going to try and just wean myself off in a few days and find the right kinds of foods to help make me feel satisfied. I grew up on a small vegetable farm in Oklahoma so I really love raw vegetables. Also, I love raw nuts, unsalted too. We eat way too much processed sugars and feel this is the main culprit in our diet.


My question to you is about the meat and processed sugars how do you overcome and resist eating these. What have been some good alternatives for you to these addictive foods?

I am a painter and do not get on and chat a lot but will try and keep all updated. Right now, I am not about to put my picture up because I am ashamed of how I look right now. This is probably a normal feeling. :(

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

What's really interesting is I paint primarily raw foods. :D . yes I do eat them after I paint them too. :)

Thank you, ABL

StudentforLife
01-05-2007, 11:15 AM
Welcome abetterlife! It really seems like you are off to an awesome start and you know what problems need to be taken care of. Raw foods will change you and your family's lives for the better.

Before raw I was eating a SAD diet,(this stands for Standard American Diet), and was a binge eater with a wicked sugar addiction. With raw my sugar addiction is gone and I'm healthier than I have ever been.

I recommend getting Alissa's book and DVD. They are the best tools in getting you started. There are tons of delicious recipes in the book too!

In the mean time, keep using this site as a learning tool. People are always willing to answer any questions you have. There is also a recipe thread here, and the search banana can help you too.

I wish you and your family all the best. :)

cheri
01-05-2007, 12:21 PM
Welcome ABL, I live in Oklahoma so appears we're neighbors. My diet for the past 10 years has been SAD, SAD, SAD!!! Three years ago my husband underwent an emergency quadruple bypass and last spring an emergency angioplasty and stint. Recent stress test did not look good and another bypass was suggested. We have been reading and researching and it appears our only hope of improvement would be a totally raw diet. We are fortunate in knowing Mary Bernt who owns and operates a wonderful vegan restaurant called "Veggies" in Ardmore, Oklahoma.....I don't know how far that is for you. Mary also teaches nutrition classes and I have attended twice. On Jan. 2, hubby and I met with Mary and began an all raw diet. This is only day 4 but we have been pleasantly surprised. There have not been any meat or sweet cravings. I am assuming the raw nuts and fruits are compensating. I am also surprised that I don't feel hungry. Hubby turned 60 in December and I will turn 60 in August. We hope to turn around some very bad habits during this year. Good luck to you!!!

carolg
01-05-2007, 01:39 PM
Welcome. I haven't had meat or any animal products in close to 30 years. We were maxing out eating the SAD lifestyle. Suddenly hubby had an epileptic seizure--healed in 6 weeks. He desired to change and this was part of with 10 days only of Dilantin. All of us are aging, but to be without the pain that many others are dealing with, is incredible reason to give up the bad and take on the good or replace the old and start now with the new. I don't have one regretful moment of being without animal products. Yes, I still love the smell, but never tempted for even a tiny taste. I can watch others eat as they please, but doesn't impact my way of LIVING. Best to you. Off to TX in 3 weeks. Near Dallas I'll be, actually Arlington visiting.
carolg

rawpriestess
01-05-2007, 09:50 PM
welcome to the board

MaryWalker
01-05-2007, 11:47 PM
Welcome abetterlife! I have 2 brothers and their families in Austin. What part of Texas to you live in?

I became a pure vegetarian 3 years ago after reading a bood that I HIGHLY recommend! The Mad Cowby. Remember the man who was sued along with Oprah in Texas . . . but of course you do -- your'e from Texas! Howard Lyman wrote this book, The Mad Cowboy and it is a very fast reader! I read the entire book within 2 days. AND, in the first 30 pages, I decided to become vegetarian, and 10 more pages, I was vegan (or pure vegetarian, as we still consumed honey).

This book began the change of my life that took me to where I am today.

Alissa's book, Living on Live Food, if FANTASTIC! It is a simple approach to raw food, with easy receipes. Many of the receipes do not require a food dehydrator.

Welcome to this site and Rawk On!

luckitri
01-06-2007, 12:56 AM
Ha Ha - you "eat them after I paint them" too. Funny thing about the sugar. Seems like it was right away that the sugar craving left me. . . now fats? . . . . thats another story.

spicyfull
01-06-2007, 11:10 PM
So much great advice.......I wish you everything you need to Stay RAW....Welcome to MY World.......

Denise Nicole
01-07-2007, 09:44 AM
Welcome! :)

abetterlife
01-08-2007, 08:53 PM
Hi back everyone. thank you.

We live in Highland Village which is a neighbor to Lewisville. I have been juicing all week and having very little meat, mostly vegetables. I know if I try to go cold turkey it would be bad for all of us. I at the least got my husband drinking fresh home made v-8 juice in the morning now. I have noticed the fruit juicing is wonderful and I do not crave sugar like I had. Also, I am full after drinking a glass of juice in the morning and my coffee intake has dropped to about 1 cup instead of 3 cups. I am not having the need or thought to drink more. I just go about my day and paint. So, I am very surprised but happy about that. I did eat a slice of nutty whole grain healthfood store bread with 3 very thin slices of deli chicken. The thing about eating chicken, I was not satisfied. I should have eaten an advocato because I love them and they satisfy me.

Anyway, I will stop because I probably should be posting this in another forum :o but thank you all for the welcome responses.

ABL

katrusty
01-13-2007, 11:35 PM
My husband and I lost a lot of weight on 85% raw. 100% raw was too extreme for us and would not have lasted for over a year and a half. Nomi Shannon stated in her book, The Raw Gourmet, exercise is 75% and food is 35% of good health. I would have to agree with that. We walk early in the morning, Texas heat is to strong for later, and go to the fitness center. My husband was too heavy to walk in the beginning, so we swam for 6 months at the nearest pool.

We just started using gourmet recipes, but in the beginning we just chopped up produce. I also think a good rule of thumb is the old Jack Lalane idea - strive for 10 servings (2 oz each) of vegetables and three fruits. Breakfast is the grain servings. We eat protein with lunch and dinner. In the beginning we went to the gym every evening and are going back to that habit. All of your organs function better with exercise and it clears your head. The food doubles your health improvements. With exercise and food, almost all of our health problems went away and we feel 20 years younger. We just chopped all our vegetables, salad syle, and store them in the Food Saver bags until we were comfortable with our eating habits. Now, we are bored and looking for raw gourmet recipes. Our favorite is the sunflower seed pate - you can use your food processor.

portiz
01-13-2007, 11:43 PM
Hi! From one Texan to another...WELCOME!

It will be a difficult road to travel (especially in Texas-where steak or chicken are the main ingredient in every meal) but one that will open your eyes to other things as well, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

rawpriestess
02-07-2007, 04:35 PM
Welcome welcome welcome