Pictures: My Raw Food Diet Transformation
Over the years I have posted a few before and after pics from my wellness transformation that I can truly chalk up to the High-Raw, Low-Allergen diet.
This Before & After collage has several pictures of me, along my path to wellness. From the start I followed a 100% raw vegan lifestyle, and along the way I’ve migrated to eating a super HIGH-RAW diet, which is where I have found my balance. I’ve journaled my story as a means of inspiring myself and others to see just how the Raw Vegan diet is capable of supporting a healthy female hormone balance in my body. Before I went raw I had been suffering from PCOS, which I outline HERE, This way you can see that I have been where you are, and my story can inspire you to gain better health!
With Raw / Low allergen foods I let go of acne, PMS, overweight, food allergies, ruddy complexion and roseacia. I also gained a sense of peace about my body, let go of what amounted to be daily/weekly anxiety attacks, and found my life’s calling for my career! For me, raw was not about how I look, however, but how I feel. If you are a woman with PCOS or other associated hormonal imbalance, you realize how abnormal, unfeminine, unhealthy, and ill this syndrome can make you feel. Eating foods which nuture me have given me the peace of fertility, feminity, faith and energy. Weight loss and inproved quality of life was just a part.
Pre- Raw 2000
this is another picture of me before I began Raw. In this picture you might be able to see that the sunshine and fresh air of my new Caribbean home was already helping me…I’m smiling, and I’d surrendered to the need of wearing less clothing! Mosquitoes have always been my nemesis, and living in the tropics I was on constant guard. I’d taken to wearing lots of linen blouses, with long arms, and long loose linen pants! A nice side affect since I’ve gone raw is that I don’t swell up anymore when I am bit. Also, I get bit less. I’m convinced my blood chemistry has changed such that they are no longer interested in this ’sweet girl’!
So, I thought I would mention were i was when this pic was taken. I was in a small town on an island off the coast of Venezuela. We were on our way to some lovely springs on the top of the Sierra mountains in the city of San Juan, when I asked the driver to pull over. There were a ton of murals in this town, it was very festive. We lived on the island from 1999-2003, and it was an experience I will never forget. We do hope to one day return. Even before I went raw, I found that the constant sunshine, the dry air, the delicious tropical produce, brought me great health. In 2003 I discovered raw and delighted fresh green coconuts straight from the trees!
If anyone is ever traveling to Margarita island, let me know and I can hook you up with some wonderful travel agents there…It is a great place if you are looking for a relaxing and yet inexpensive island to visit. Known for windsurfing due to the constant year round winds.
Flash to the future!
In April 2007 I celebrated four years of Raw life! In these days I was still eating a clean diet, rich in fiber & organic whole foods. Most days it was 85%+ raw, and I refrained from wheat, dairy and most animal products. I ate between 75-100% raw, having done some experimenting to learn how I can be raw for life! The peace I’d hoped for came slowly, but it arrived, and I no longer binge eat berries, nuts or oranges…I just eat…and that is where the wisdom of time comes in. As a nutritional consultant and wellness coach, I’ve found the key concepts which work for me, and now I help others do the same!
I have developed a taste for sushi, and Japanese foods, and though not vegan, I have been known to eat more than a few rolls of brown rice vegetarian rolls in one sitting! (Does sushi count as raw diet? In my book its pretty near close. But I talk more about that in my blog.) In the recent pictures of me you’ll see that I’m still sporting the benefits of a clean raw diet. In this picture,taken in November of 2006 in Boulder, Colorado, you can see that the clean air and healthy food has kept my skin clear and my muscles strong. Dealing as I have with PCOS I’ve learned that diet is only one part of it, but still a large portion. Give me high glycemic sugary foods and my face gets ruddy and my muscles get all soft and squishy!
Here’s one from August 2007:
Had my hair blown out, ‘look ma, no curls!’ Trying to look all calm and pristine. Did I succeed? At this time I was eating my High-Raw, High-Fiber Diet with lots of greens. My life had changed drastically, having left my Florida home to move West to be with my mother while she was treated for breast cancer. I was experimenting with new forms of exercise, including rock climbing, slack-line, and beach running. My stress levels were significantly reduced, having separated from a very challenging relationship and living situation, and it shows on my face. It was also one month before I became pregnant with my son, and I TRULY believe it was my balanced high-fiber, high-raw diet and state of mind that made the difference.
For more information on the Raw Food Diet, click the button labeled Raw Food Diet Q & A on the right hand sidebar of this page. I’ve posted numerous articles and commentary about my Journey there. Meanwhile, my raw transformation is still a work in progress, more to come…