Raw Food Diet Testimonials - Alison and Jaye's raw food success stories

Raw Food Diet Testimonials - Alison's Story

I was drawn to a raw diet because of a number of factors, but finding a way to be slim WHILE actually eating according to hunger was way up top of the list.

I was sick of having to restrict calories in order to control my weight. If I ever just ate according to hunger, my weight would just climb and climb and it would look as if there was no end to how high it COULD climb.

I was always very weight conscious so I never allowed it to climb too high, but I found it incredibly frustrating that I was nearly always under-eating (I started to consciously diet and restrict from age 13), nearly always dieting, YET there were times when most people would have assumed I was doing some midnight snacking or something, as my figure did not always reflect how little I ate, unless I was enormously strict!

With ruthless control I spent most of my life very thin, but now and again I would lose control and the weight would climb very fast.

Bingeing and purging caused my metabolism to slow and my weight became ever harder to control

In addition to weight difficulties, I also had hormonal issues, chronic PMS, recurring shoulder pain, recurring terrible pain in my leg muscles, terrible constipation and pain and bleeding with bowel movements, endometriosis, constant allergies that I was permanently on medication for, indigestion, fatigue, headaches and frequent colds and flu.

When I first switched to a mostly vegan and high raw diet in 2005 I instantly said goodbye to the constipation and bleeding, the allergies, headaches, leg pain and fatigue.

I also saw improvement in some hormonal issues such as facial hair and pigmentation, and my colds and flu lessened, but I would still succumb a couple of times a year. From 2005 to 2008 we were 98% vegan, occasionally eating small amounts of dairy if a restaurant dish included it. By early 2008 we were 100% vegan and continuing to experiment with different versions of a vegan diet, always including lots of raw foods, but eating cooked vegan items on a daily basis.

From December 2008 we continued to be 100% vegan and began to be MOSTLY raw, eating cooked vegan foods a couple of times a month.

Raw Food Benefits

Since switching to a mostly raw diet I have been able to get rid of the last of my health complaints, the recurring shoulder pain is gone, and so is the endometriosis pain and PMS. Provided I combine my foods fairly well and don’t overeat on fat, so is the indigestion.

I haven't had a cold or flu since going mostly raw!

My weight has continued to fluctuate a little (within roughly 5 kilograms), but overall I am thrilled to have found a way of eating which allows me to eat as much as I want. Truly as much as I care for! I am also thrilled that I now have the energy to achieve my fitness goals, and do the exercise that is necessary in sculpting my body.

I don’t need to worry that if I ‘relax’ I’ll suddenly weigh 200 pounds, which is how it felt to me before.

I am thrilled to be able to eat in a way that nourishes me and truly satisfies me!

There is nothing more satisfying than a large jug of banana, date and coconut water smoothie!

To find out more about my top tips for weight control, which is really about giving the finger to dieting and resolving to NEVER restrict your intake again - see Alison's Raw Food And Weight Loss Tips Ebook

Other raw food benefits I have experienced are massively increased energy, an often UNSHAKABLE happiness, clear focus and a feeling of spiritual connectedness.

I am thirty three years old now, and I don’t have wrinkles!

And considering that I spent much of my teens and twenties a heavy smoker, heavy drinker, heavy on the caffeine and heavy on the recreational drugs, and have always LOVED the sun, it seems likely that if I had not begun to clean up my diet, I would have been amongst those women with lots of wrinkles!

I am excited to see what the future holds for me. I look forward to getting older, I don’t fear any diseases, I don’t fear sagging or wrinkling or any other forms of degenerating.

I believe my best years are still to come!

When I think about my late thirties and forties I feel excited! I expect to look BETTER than I do now! With a low fat vegan and high raw food diet, you just get better and better. And there is nothing to fear, only wonderful blessings to anticipate!

This is a raw soup made with mangoes, tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, celery and cucumber, with chopped vegetables as croutons, and raw vegan sushi made with sprouts, carrots and avocado, and a rich tomato dipping sauce for the sushi made with mango and sundried tomato.

This lifestyle ROCKS!

You get to eat the best food, the food that makes you feel amazing, and you get to eat as much of it as you like!

And the pay off? You get better looking, you get younger, you feel more and more amazing!

Raw Food Diet Testimonials - Jaye's Raw Food Success Story!

Raw Food Diet Testimonial - Jaye's typical menu growing up

A typical breakfast would be cereal, porridge or eggs on toast. Lunch would be sandwiches with left over meats from the night before, or egg mayonnaise, and often included raw vegetables and dips or fresh fruit.

Dinners were roast chicken or beef, roast potatoes, vegetables, rice, gravy, but always served with a salad. Desserts such as cheesecakes, chocolate brownies, milk tarts or doughnuts were served about three times a week.

Being highly athletic, surfing and playing basketball daily, Jaye burned through calories at an enormous rate and so ate a huge amount of food.

Between meal snacks consisted of chocolates, chips or cookies.

Raw Food Diet Testimonial - Jaye's favorite four course restaurant meal growing up

If he went out to a restaurant in his teens his favorite meal was a large garlic bread starter drenched in mozzarella and cheddar cheese.

This was followed by garlic snails with bread to dip. Then a 500g T Bone steak with french fries and pepper sauce. He washed this down with a double thick chocolate milkshake and finished off the meal with chocolate mousse. He would leave the restaurant with space to spare! If he was at a buffet he would start on one side and gradually make his way to the other side: eight or ten huge plates of rich food would not be unusual.

Raw Food Diet Testimonial - The effects of a rich diet start to become undeniable

In his twenties, he found his energy levels weren't keeping up to the standard of his teens, and to maintain his active lifestyle of daily surfing, martial arts and gym training, he started to do the 'healthy' smoothie thing: eggs, protein powders, peanut butter, bananas, milk, all blended up into a smoothie.

His lifestyle and work schedule left little time for cooking and convenience foods also started to predominate, take out pizzas and pastas became common.

Throughout his life he suffered severe blinding headaches about once a week. He also suffered regular colds and flu along with everyone else. He had random asthma attacks and allergy attacks. He often had either constipation, or diarrhea. He suffered from frequent nose bleeds.

Jaye's Raw Food Diet Testimonial - Initial rapid weight loss caused many to think his new diet may be harmful

When Jaye initially began to clean up his diet, he rapidly lost a lot of weight, leading many to question whether he was on the right path. However, the weight loss was short lived, and he was soon able to put on all the weight he had lost with healthy lean muscle mass.

His symptoms rapidly began to clear up, he still got the odd cold or flu but it was never severe, his allergies cleared up, the nosebleeds ceased and so did the headaches. His stomach problems lessened considerably.

When he adopted a mostly raw diet in 2008 Jaye saw further massive improvement in the way he felt and now seldom suffers from any of these symptoms. If he does, it is easy to pinpoint the cause, i.e. cooked food that his body is rejecting as it becomes more sensitive. He never gets sick now. The 'normal' colds and flu are a thing of the past. His stomach works perfectly and he never gets headaches.

He has tons of energy now, and easily copes with a demanding job, loads of exercise and has energy to spare for side projects that interest him.

Jaye's Raw Food Diet Testimonial - Next stop - tropical paradise!

Going back to daily cooked food is just not an option. The rewards of a mostly raw diet are too great to ever give up. He looks forward to moving to a tropical paradise in future where he can surf and eat durian all day long!