RawRadiantWoman
06-13-2010, 01:42 AM
Hi, my name is Catherine and I'm new, I thought I should introduce myself. I'm 29 and married and we have 5 kids together.
I first learned about Raw about 2 years ago. I had actually been experiencing some health problems after the birth of my 3rd child and kept praying for help (in case you're wondering how I had 2 more so quickly, I had twins after the third). I had a hard time understanding what was going on when I tried to eat so healthy, and then I met 3 people who were absoutely glowing, they just had this amazing, naturally happy energy and it was like there was a light all around them. Nutrition came up with all 3 (due to having met them when buying food from the same farm) and they each mentioned their 100% raw food diet. Each one had been on it for awhile (one was 1 year and the other 2 were over 5 years at 100% raw). I had never heard of this before. They all looked much younger too and just naturally happy and optimistic and I just loved being around them because of their energy. At first I just thought how strange to eat only raw foods but after the 3rd person on the exact same diet with the same results it hit me that this was an answer to my prayer and what I was looking for. The 3 people said they ate alot of greens, as well as vegetables and fruit and a small amount of nuts and seeds, and that they only ate it raw. It took me awhile to be willing to try it out and look into it, I guess it's because it seemed so foreign and we've been told that cooking our food makes it healthier because it kills the bacteria (growing up in school). So, I had been dabbling with the raw food diet and reading books and everything, and then try to commit to being 100% raw but after a few days or a week I'd suddenly give in and eat cooked food with a vengeance and feel horrible. It was very discouraging. It's hard cooking for my family. I want them to all eat raw but it's still new and my husband is still unsure about it and I think he's watching me to see my results and if it improves my health. So, recently I followed some advice I read on these forums to start by adding in raw foods, so I'd eat a raw breakfast and then for lunch and dinner make sure I eat a large raw salad before anything else. This approach has been good for me; I quickly started to lose my appetite for the cooked food and just decided to grab some fruit and nuts instead of eating the pasta, or meat, or rice, etc. So, I've been very high raw now and am really excited. It has given me the confidence to know that I can do this and I'm ready to go 100% raw. Out of all the books I read and videos, Alissa's was the most influential and helpful, which is why I decided to come here for support. Reading the posts and seeing the before and afters have been very encouraging!
I didn't turn to raw for weight loss, I really do not need to lose weight, I'm 112 pounds at 5'3". My reasons for going raw is for health (hypothyroid, constipation, acne, swelling, unable to take a deep breath since I was diagnosed with a hole in my heart after receiving a vaccine as a teen, ringing in ears, painful joints, eyes starting to blur, and I'm always tired and need way too much sleep just to get by everyday, depression, tooth decay and gingivitis and a cyst in my neck that has been there since I was 16-seems to be related to when I started having thyroid problems; it seems like my body is just falling apart and it gets worse with each baby), beauty (I'm already getting wrinkles and signs of aging, I have almost 1 year old twins and I still have "twin skin", my belly went to normal but I have all of this excess skin, I also want to feel and look radiant and young, I want my eyes to glow and have that light and energy around me like I saw in the 3 raw fooders I had met), and for longevity/healthful aging (I see old people in wheelchairs, hearing aids, problems seeing, bent backs, problems walking, heart attacks, getting cancer and losing their freedom with age. I'd like to be healthy and independent and useful all my life. I don't want to slowly die or need to wear diapers or have to live in a seniors home and be forced to take meds, etc. I don't want to fear getting old and I don't want to have to die of some painful disease; I also want to be sexy and make love my whole life, I hope that doesn't sound like a silly reason; I just love spending time my husband!). We'd also like to have more children (atleast 1 more) and I'd like to give them the very best start possible. So far, I've been having a good experience with raw, I feel better, I have energy I didn't have before and I'm more patient and happier. I also noticed that I no longer have that brain fog, so I can think more clearly and my memory is improving (I used to say that I gave a part of my brain to each child). So I'm really excited about that. I've started detoxing which has been difficult, but I still feel better than before. Also, I'm breastfeeding the twins and I've noticed that my milk supply is much better, I have more than enough milk now, and my babies started teething and I didn't even realize until seeing the teeth poking through their gums (my other children would get fevers or sick and be cranky with teething).
Thank you for reading if you got this far! I appreciate your support and hope to be a success story with some pics (I took a pic of me recently so I'd have a before photo). Thanks!
I first learned about Raw about 2 years ago. I had actually been experiencing some health problems after the birth of my 3rd child and kept praying for help (in case you're wondering how I had 2 more so quickly, I had twins after the third). I had a hard time understanding what was going on when I tried to eat so healthy, and then I met 3 people who were absoutely glowing, they just had this amazing, naturally happy energy and it was like there was a light all around them. Nutrition came up with all 3 (due to having met them when buying food from the same farm) and they each mentioned their 100% raw food diet. Each one had been on it for awhile (one was 1 year and the other 2 were over 5 years at 100% raw). I had never heard of this before. They all looked much younger too and just naturally happy and optimistic and I just loved being around them because of their energy. At first I just thought how strange to eat only raw foods but after the 3rd person on the exact same diet with the same results it hit me that this was an answer to my prayer and what I was looking for. The 3 people said they ate alot of greens, as well as vegetables and fruit and a small amount of nuts and seeds, and that they only ate it raw. It took me awhile to be willing to try it out and look into it, I guess it's because it seemed so foreign and we've been told that cooking our food makes it healthier because it kills the bacteria (growing up in school). So, I had been dabbling with the raw food diet and reading books and everything, and then try to commit to being 100% raw but after a few days or a week I'd suddenly give in and eat cooked food with a vengeance and feel horrible. It was very discouraging. It's hard cooking for my family. I want them to all eat raw but it's still new and my husband is still unsure about it and I think he's watching me to see my results and if it improves my health. So, recently I followed some advice I read on these forums to start by adding in raw foods, so I'd eat a raw breakfast and then for lunch and dinner make sure I eat a large raw salad before anything else. This approach has been good for me; I quickly started to lose my appetite for the cooked food and just decided to grab some fruit and nuts instead of eating the pasta, or meat, or rice, etc. So, I've been very high raw now and am really excited. It has given me the confidence to know that I can do this and I'm ready to go 100% raw. Out of all the books I read and videos, Alissa's was the most influential and helpful, which is why I decided to come here for support. Reading the posts and seeing the before and afters have been very encouraging!
I didn't turn to raw for weight loss, I really do not need to lose weight, I'm 112 pounds at 5'3". My reasons for going raw is for health (hypothyroid, constipation, acne, swelling, unable to take a deep breath since I was diagnosed with a hole in my heart after receiving a vaccine as a teen, ringing in ears, painful joints, eyes starting to blur, and I'm always tired and need way too much sleep just to get by everyday, depression, tooth decay and gingivitis and a cyst in my neck that has been there since I was 16-seems to be related to when I started having thyroid problems; it seems like my body is just falling apart and it gets worse with each baby), beauty (I'm already getting wrinkles and signs of aging, I have almost 1 year old twins and I still have "twin skin", my belly went to normal but I have all of this excess skin, I also want to feel and look radiant and young, I want my eyes to glow and have that light and energy around me like I saw in the 3 raw fooders I had met), and for longevity/healthful aging (I see old people in wheelchairs, hearing aids, problems seeing, bent backs, problems walking, heart attacks, getting cancer and losing their freedom with age. I'd like to be healthy and independent and useful all my life. I don't want to slowly die or need to wear diapers or have to live in a seniors home and be forced to take meds, etc. I don't want to fear getting old and I don't want to have to die of some painful disease; I also want to be sexy and make love my whole life, I hope that doesn't sound like a silly reason; I just love spending time my husband!). We'd also like to have more children (atleast 1 more) and I'd like to give them the very best start possible. So far, I've been having a good experience with raw, I feel better, I have energy I didn't have before and I'm more patient and happier. I also noticed that I no longer have that brain fog, so I can think more clearly and my memory is improving (I used to say that I gave a part of my brain to each child). So I'm really excited about that. I've started detoxing which has been difficult, but I still feel better than before. Also, I'm breastfeeding the twins and I've noticed that my milk supply is much better, I have more than enough milk now, and my babies started teething and I didn't even realize until seeing the teeth poking through their gums (my other children would get fevers or sick and be cranky with teething).
Thank you for reading if you got this far! I appreciate your support and hope to be a success story with some pics (I took a pic of me recently so I'd have a before photo). Thanks!