A Little of This; A Little of That

I was compelled to write this before even going out the door for my walk this morning.

Recently there was a thread on this forum about raw and weight. So many begin eating raw to eliminate excess weight. I keep seeing people talk about exercise to eliminate weight.

Well, I'm here to say, y'all are coming at it from the wrong perspective.

When I first began eating raw about 14 years or so ago, I had no need/desire to eliminate weight. It happened. As a matter of fact, it happened to all 6 of us who began at the same time.

Was it easy? Yep! At that time we didn't have books, online forums, YouTube, etc. All we had were a few basic recipes and the desire to eat raw foods.

I weighed about 112-120 (can't remember exactly) and dropped down below 100. For being almost 5'6", that was a bit low. Not knowing that eventually, if I'd continued eating raw, I'd have balanced out, I began eating cooked (vegetarian). We all lasted about 3 months; we all eliminated excess weight.

We didn't plan on it as I said; didn't even know it was going to happen. We ate raw for our health! That was it! Weight elimination was a side effect!

Now, people KNOW that it's a side-effect and they see the word "diet" which has become THE word for weight elimination and they jump on the bandwagon. Then, they jump off again. Why?

One reason is because they do raw like they've done ALL "diets".... they're not doing it for the right reason ~ health.

They keep asking questions about nuts, seeds, avos, coconut oil ~ not if they're healthy for you but will they help achieve weight loss!

When we began so many years ago, pretty much all we ate was nut/seed based crackers and burgers. We didn't know the value of greens. We never even heard of green smoothies. We just ate raw.

When I interviewed Phil McCluskey, I asked if he concerned himself with nuts, seeds, avos. His respons ~ "I ate whatever it took to stay raw". Now, he did eliminate 200# in 2 years and Clent Manich eliminated 200# in one year.

I'm not saying do not go raw for weight elimination because what I do know is, whatever reason one is drawn to raw, is a good reason.

My issue here is, when one starts questioning it and acting like it is JUST a weight loss diet, "how many nuts should I eat?" "should I limit avocadoes", blah, blah, blah, then that's all it is. NO OTHER food program is as good for health as raw! NO food program that I'm familiar with will help eliminate excess weight AND increase health.

The other issue I have here is how people use movement/exercise for weight loss. Our bodies are designed to move yet, after we reached our teen years (for many of us), our nature got lost in school and the other sex.

As I've gotten older, more and more I realize how VERY important moving is.

Movement is for FITNESS! If you don't move ~ and I don't mean just walk ~ you become old!

I'm so blessed to have my teacher. At one point, even though I'd been walking, I found myself out of balance meaning, I couldn't balance myself. We'd not been doing balancing moves and when we did them, I couldn't do them. Currently we're doing what he calls "ground engagement". Going down to the ground, moving, get up. Whew!

I've found getting down is easy enough (think gravity); getting up is tough!

Now, why do these? Go to the mall and watch people. They walk from the knees down, not from the hips. They do the mall shuffle/crawl. Do they look joy-filled? Do they look alive? Energized?

Malls now have morning walking because so many wont go out and walk for safety reasons. Understandable but my question is, when do people get out and breathe fresh air? From the car to the mall?

Air, fresh, natural air, is a necessity for great health! Even for good health! I cannot imagine a place, other than our own homes, that contains more toxins than a mall. They got carpets, clothing, building materials constantly out-gassing. They've got recycled air.

So, what to do? Get out and MOVE! Get some FRESH air! Think fitness, not fatness! Movement is about being FIT! Fat elimination happens BUT, if you don't get out and in various terrains where your ankles move, you get to inhale deeply, you can get down on the ground ~ and up again ~ as you get older, your body will stiffen, your joints become inflexible and you, become OLD!

Enough for now. I'm getting out for a fitness walk; then, coming home to make a gallon of oj and a salad.

Enjoy!

Revvell

P.S. Oh! Please, remember to vote. I'm changing my program to focus on eliminating cravings, habits and emotional eating to reflect a healthier lifestyle and would like your opinion on a new name. Thank you!