Joy's Story
Hello! I am happy to share my RAW journey with anyone who cares to read about it.
My name is Joy and I have just turned 50 and am currently working in an office doing customer service for wholesalers in the distribution supply chain. I live in Sydney.
A few years ago I read a magazine article about Elaine Hollingsworth, the director at Hippocrates Health in Queensland. At 77, she radiated good health. I kept the article and every year would look at it, until finally 3 years ago I decided to go for a week to see if I could heal my thyroid and work on looking that fabulous. That week changed my life. It was the first time I had even heard of raw and being a person who grazes all day long, I was not impressed with juice fasts, lack of nibblies and a good dinner. But you know, something resonated under my analytical, panic-stricken brain. I did not have to give up my food or my constant grazing. All I had to do was substitute some things for healthier options.
Before that week I weighed 74kg and hated the heaviness I felt in my body, the rolls around my middle - my father always said it was puppy fat! Well, here I was at 47 still with the puppy fat. I have a small face and mother always said I looked like a Ôpea on a drumÕ. Great self image. I focused on healing my thyroid and did not even worry about the weight. I made sure I ate whenever I wanted to but now instead of wholemeal toast, hummus and tomato for breakfast I ate LOTS of fruit.
Experimenting in the kitchen and using my raw food books and the Internet, I made myself date & nut treats, dried nut mixes and dried fruits. Lunches were big salads with yummy, colourful veggies and dressings. They used to be leftover pasta/rice/potato dishes with overcooked veggies warmed up in the microwave. Dinners were similar starchy overcooked foods sometimes with meat. My ÔrawÕ dinners were tomato crackers, lots of avocados and sometimes I added boiled eggs, tuna fish and grated cheddar cheese. I made myself frozen fruit cubes for dessert with lactose free chocolate sauce. I followed the Hippocrates suggestion of one day off a week to eat as I used to and this worked well for me. I am still about 80% raw and 20% everything else, which includes the ÔnaughtyÕ stuff like cappuccinos, chocolate, alcohol and cooked food.
In the first year I lost 2kg in that first week at Hippocrates and then another 12kg, approximately 1.2kg a month was disappearing off my heavy body. I kept a health journal of my progress and I highly recommend this. After a few months we feel that nothing is really happening but on looking back realise that small changes are occurring. I did a weekly run down starting from the top of my head to the tip of my toes and now I do a 6 monthly journal. Changes that happened for me:
- Weight loss! I never focused on it but it is SO good when it does come off. I love my new body, the clothes I can wear, and the way I feel. My self-image is great. I now weigh 55kg and have been that weight for the last year.
- I gave up smoking and have felt no desire since then. Previously I would stop and start over and over again.
- Joint pain. I had cracking noises and pre-arthritic pains in my knees and RSI in my elbow, all that has disappeared. I am flexible again.
- Postnasal drip and irritating cough (phlegm in the throat). This has been an annoyance for myself and those around me all my life. I now know that if I have dairy, the drip comes back and if I eat wheat/gluten the phlegm in my throat comes back. Being able to talk on the phone for an hour and not clear my throat once is like winning something, the buzz is huge.
- Getting the ÔdizziesÕ. Often I would feel dizzy and shaky and needed a quick sugar fix to feel better again. I didnÕt realise my blood sugar levels were being erratic. Now with lots of sweet fruits in my diet, this has stopped happening. I only felt a bit light-headed in my first year of raw.
- My hair stopped going grey, a few strands had appeared but in the last 3 years, nothing more.
- Tummy rumbles. Another thing I have lived with all my life. Much to my daughtersÕ embarrassment, my stomach would ÔtalkÕ loudly at all sorts of inopportune moments. I always associated this with ÔI am hungryÕ. But it was just my intestines fermenting and saying NOT happy Jan! Now I have a peaceful happy digestion except for the days when I choose to eat something which I know will upset me. None of us are perfect.
- Libido. We all want it but donÕt always talk about it. I started taking maca powder 3 years ago and along with the raw foods have been enjoying a wonderful increase in that area of my life. And I believe this lifestyle will also help to make menopause an easy experience.
- Energy levels and tiredness. Every day I would get home from work, sit in the armchair, set my alarm for half an hour and have a nanna nap. I could not continue for the rest of the evening if I didnÕt have a sleep. I have not needed to do this since increasing my intake of fresh foods.
Crikey, sometimes I forget what a long list of improvements I have had! Life is good.
My thyroid. The main reason I started all this was because of my thyroid and the hope that I could get off my medication. I went cold turkey after Hippocrates and for 4-5 months thought I was succeeding until my hair started to fall out - oops. Then I went onto the natural thyroid hormone for a couple of years, which seemed to be successful to start with. Unfortunately it was too erratic. I am now back on the synthetic hormone and things have settled down. I still believe that with time and more years of the raw food lifestyle that I may be able to stop taking the little white pill every morning. At the moment I am taking part in a hypothyroidism trial, which is linking chiropractic therapy to the treatments. This is through the Macquarie University and I am not sure which group I am in, but am happy to take part in anything that researches the possibility of not taking medication.
The doctor told me 10 years ago that I had an under-active thyroid which is why I was tired, putting on weight and experiencing hair loss. The magic little white pill was supposed to help this but instead the weight steadily increased and tiredness got worse. I ate what I thought was a fairly healthy, mainly vegetarian diet. I exercised at the gym half an hour 5 times a week and I walked on the weekends but my weight increased to 74kg and nothing shifted it.
Along with all the benefits, my interests have changed along the way. I now enjoy my garden, which used to be empty except for grass. I have become very interested in where my fresh fruit and veggies are coming from and always make an effort to buy my produce in local greengrocers and not the supermarket chains. Occasionally I buy organic. Now I get home from work and instead of having a nanna nap I race out to my garden and check the cherry tomatoes, the peas, the cabbages and try to be friendly with all the little bugs I never knew existed. I confess to helping caterpillars and other crawlies to heaven a lot quicker than they anticipatedÉ I have a compost heap and am concerned about how much water I use, I now care about the environment and try to reduce my footprint on the world. Because of all these changes in my life, I have started my own healthy food demonstrating business to inspire people to incorporate more fresh produce into their daily diets. I am passionate about reaching children to encourage them to eat and enjoy fresh foods and helping parents implement these changes at home.
Attending the raw food potlucks here in Sydney I have met some amazing people who are all on the path to greater health. It reinforces my choice to eat and live this way when I see the benefits that all of us experience by increasing our daily intake of raw. Even if it is only 30%, 50% or more, our bodies thrive on it and say ÔThank you! Thank you!Õ
I canÕt really think of any downside to being raw except that friends and family around me are sick and tired of hearing about it. I know they are just jealous! Everyone has watched my transformation and keeps waiting to see me gain weight again so they can say Ôthere you see, it didnÕt workÕ. But 3 years later I never have time off work for colds and flu and I still look fabulous!
My tips: this is from my own personal experience and worked for me.
- Do not go 100% raw straightaway. A gentle transition allows the body to gradually release toxins and adjust to weight loss. I am still not 100% raw. My body is still letting go of stuff accumulated in the first 47 years of my life.
- Never allow yourself to feel deprived. Keep snacks, nuts & fruit with you all the time. If you do have a bad weekend, do not allow your guilt to set you back. Just get up Monday morning and start munching yummy fruit again.
- Experiment with all sorts of different fruits & veggies Ð enjoy the colours, textures and tastes. And donÕt complain about how expensive some of them are. Your health is worth it and besides; you will be buying less and less in the supermarket aisles as time goes by.
Take control. Doing something, no matter how small is more rewarding than doing nothing.
Enjoying good health is a lot less inconvenient than putting up with bad health!
Joy ÉÉfully xxx