Glenn Stewart Coles, 9251 Yonge Street, Suite 8-924, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, L4C 9T3
Text Box: It has been four weeks since I began a raw food diet and I have lost twenty pounds. Though I did stray on occasion from strict rules, my consumption habits changed dramatically. For twenty-eight days I have eaten primarily salads and fruits, with a few meals of sashimi (raw fish). The end result is that I feel healthier, slimmer and lighter. As I approach my 30-day goal, I realize that instead of ending a diet, I have gained a new lifestyle. As the month progressed I found that I really enjoyed my new eating style. I discovered that fruits and salads tasted great. Energy is absorbed much more quickly from raw food and I gained much greater awareness of how my body digests. I learned to recognize the before and after effects of a peach on my blood sugar content. I learned that I could eat whenever I was hungry and still lose weight. The discipline came primarily during grocery shopping, since a diet is easier if other foods are not readily available. I did find that my food cravings changed. Since I was getting a lot of sugar from the fruits in my diet, chocolate bars did not have the same attraction. Since there was not a lot of starch in my diet (I used to eat bread and/or pasta every day) my digestion was much easier. Also without heavy meats, my body feels lighter. Throughout the month, the shift to a raw diet was primarily easy and enjoyable. On the four occasions that I strayed from raw food (pizza twice, Chinese food, hamburger), the effect of the food on my body was very apparent. I noticed a change in body odor after the pizza dough and chicken-ball dough. I recognized that digestion took much longer with ‘heavy foods’. I also decided that the anticipation of taste was usually better than the actual taste. The times that I ‘strayed’ were very important to my progress. One challenge that I faced was shifting the social aspect of food. Throughout the month I had many meetings centered on eating. I have attended breakfast meetings, lunch meetings, dinner parties and parties with snack tables. In most cases salads or fruit cups were available. Sometimes choices were difficult and I had to pick whatever was closest to my raw food benchmark. I rationalized that shrimp cocktail was cooked but still closer to my objectives than escargot laden with butter. The prime challenge in changing eating habits is addressing the emotions supported by food. Eating has a sedative quality. When emotional feelings are uncomfortable, food can be both rewarding (a comforting treat) and sedating (slows the body to focus on digestion). Without food as a tool for energy shifting, I simply applied other methods to create self-reward and calmness. It really is quite simple. Moving forward, I plan on continuing with raw foods as a major portion of my diet. I also intend to include cooked foods but will be more selective with my choices. I will experiment with different foods to see how they affect my body; from there I will choose what to include in my regular diet. I still look forward to turkey at Christmas! Overall, the experience of changing to a raw food diet for thirty days was wonderful and my life is benefiting. © Copyright Glenn Stewart Coles, 2008 First Published November 17, 2008

Subscribe to

Weekly Inspirations

Physical Shifting

 

 

I realized that instead of ending a diet I have gained a new lifestyle.
Low Angle View of a Young Woman Running on a Treadmill
Low Angle View of a Young Woman Running on a Treadmill Photographic Print
Buy at AllPosters.com
 Buy at AllPosters.com
Elegant Glass of Red Wine Beside Tasty Gourmet Salad
Elegant Glass of Red Wine Beside Tasty Gourmet Salad Photographic Print
Buy at AllPosters.com
Fresh Fruit from the Ipanema Market, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Fresh Fruit from the Ipanema Market, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Photographic Print
Maier Jr., John
Buy at AllPosters.com
Silhouette of a Man Running
Silhouette of a Man Running Photographic Print
Buy at AllPosters.com