GETTING TO KNOW YOU

[Penni]

Please introduce yourself here and tell us a little bit about you and how you came to decided to join Raw Food Rehab. 

[Craig Newbury]

Hi everyone, I was watching one of Bill Barlow's videos and found this website. I started raw food and green juicing back on Dec 26 2011. I weighed 412 lbs and was periodically having strange pins and needles pains in my left arm and chest and I made a decision to change my life (right after Christmas turkey dinner with friends) ..Just goes to show where my priorities were eh ? 

I had been watching youtube videos on raw foods by various people but was most drawn to Dan McDonald and Bill Barlow's videos. I thought about Dan and said to myself "well this guy has probably been in shape all his life,etc.. it's ok for him to be raw and talk the talk but what about me ?"  But when I saw that Bill had lost over 200 lbs and I also need to lose at least 160 I said I need to do something .. NOW !  

So I got in touch with Bill about a week after I started Raw and juicing on my own and he's been coaching me since Jan 3. So far I have lost 37 pounds !  That's right, 37 lbs from Dec 26 - Feb 18 ! It's just a start .. I plan to rock this thing and lose over 100  pounds this year !  If Bill can do it, then I can do it ! 

I just started a youtube channel of my own to hopefully give others inspiration and to get feedback . I need all the encouragement I can get.  You can check it out here :

Looking forward to discussing things with everyone here.. Peace and Love..

Craig

[Penni]

Wow Craig - this is so exciting!  So happy you found us!

[Ayn]

WOW! You are off to a great start! I am so glad that you were able to find Bill, I really think he is going to help a lot of people with his journey and transition. Also glad you found us, if you hava a question, I am sure you will find the answer on here! This place is huge and there is so much information! Look forward to seeing you transform as well! WELCOME!!

Craig Newbury said:

Hi everyone, I was watching one of Bill Barlow's videos and found this website. I started raw food and green juicing back on Dec 26 2011. I weighed 412 lbs and was periodically having strange pins and needles pains in my left arm and chest and I made a decision to change my life (right after Christmas turkey dinner with friends) ..Just goes to show where my priorities were eh ? 

I had been watching youtube videos on raw foods by various people but was most drawn to Dan McDonald and Bill Barlow's videos. I thought about Dan and said to myself "well this guy has probably been in shape all his life,etc.. it's ok for him to be raw and talk the talk but what about me ?"  But when I saw that Bill had lost over 200 lbs and I also need to lose at least 160 I said I need to do something .. NOW !  

So I got in touch with Bill about a week after I started Raw and juicing on my own and he's been coaching me since Jan 3. So far I have lost 37 pounds !  That's right, 37 lbs from Dec 26 - Feb 18 ! It's just a start .. I plan to rock this thing and lose over 100  pounds this year !  If Bill can do it, then I can do it ! 

I just started a youtube channel of my own to hopefully give others inspiration and to get feedback . I need all the encouragement I can get.  You can check it out here :

Looking forward to discussing things with everyone here.. Peace and Love..

Craig

[Rhonda Pearsall]

I am coming to this forum to get ideas, inspiration, friendships, etc to help me on my journey to total wellness.  I have fought obesity since my 22 year old was conceived and born at the age of 36.  I am now 57 and still carrying the baby weight!!!  I started this weight-loss journey in 2006 and have tried every diet out there and end up plateauing on everything I have tried.  I have kept off about 1/3 of the excess weight and am hoping the Raw way is what will finally be the answer to my nearly dead metabolism.  I bought Natalia Rose's book a few years back and tried raw for one week.  I just couldn't put my mind around it at that time.  I have tried vegan for months at a time.  It felt right but gave me little to no weight loss.  I am thinking maybe my body can't process and digest cooked food and maybe, just maybe eating Raw will fix things and get the toxic fat out of my body.  I began about 11 days ago and have lost about  7 pounds already.  So, I am excited that a lot of STUFF is exiting my body and even though I feel like I am slightly detoxing, I am amazed I can nosh on fruit all day and feel satiated.

~~Excited to gain lots of new knowledge about the raw lifestyle from this fabulous website and all my new rawfriends.~~        Rhonda

[Natalie Garcia]

Hello!

My name is Natalie, I joined this community because I want to surround myself with positive vibes and raw food support! I started my raw food journey last summer when I went on an all raw cleanse for a month and it cleared up my strange itchy rashes on my arm and gave me a huge boost in energy. 

I always have horrible cravings for carbs and sugar and really need to cut it out of my diet. I love dates and fruit and creative raw desserts! I want raw food to be my second nature, and not even have to think about what I am going to eat the next day or even the next meal.

[Cereal Girl]

Hi, my name is Angela and I live in Northern BC, Canada. I joined to get information and support as my family has just decided to try eating raw. I'm feeling great about this, having looked around a bit and realized that it doesn't have to be a big and traumatic change for us! We've been adapting our diet to accomodate celiac disease, Crohn's arthritis, and multiple allergies for years - so we are already eating quite a few raw meals, mostly vegan, gluten-free, and are already accustomed to juicing and green smoothies. We still have a lot of changes and improvements to make, but it is so exciting and encouraging to see that someone has already forged a path! And we've already learned that diet has such an impact on our health - I am eager to start a new way of  living and eating and let the healing begin!
I'm looking forward to getting to know you as we get well together!

[Chanda Esparza]

Hi, I'm Chanda, I'm going to be 35 in May, I'm happily married and just had a son who is almost three months old. I live in Prosser, WA. I joined RFR quite a while ago when I was first getting into raw food, but since then I've fallen off the raw food wagon. I'm trying to get back on it now, jumpstarting with Cleanse America.

I'm hoping to help my health, my weight, my energy levels and my HAIR! My hair is very thin and I'm hoping that changing my diet will help it to grow and thicken up like it was when I was a kid. Will it work? I hope so!

[Suson Guitard]

Hi everyone!

What an amazing group of people here! *hugs* and love to every single one of you!

Let's see....to describe myself would be a challenge indeed because I'm continuously discovering myself and re-evaluating myself and trying to find the 'real' me.

*peering down my shirt*  she's in here somewhere, but dang if I can find her, she's really good at hiding.

I've had to be good at hiding from a very, very young age because of abuse.  Did the whole foster home thing as a teenager and that was actually a positive experience!

I'm now 37, divorced a while back, and dealing with a schizophrenic/bi-polar mum that I care for and trying to shake off a clingy ex-boyfriend who refuses to let go.

About 6 years ago, I successfuly released nearly 100 pounds, but with the SAD diet (controlling calories) and making the gym my second home.  I was JUST discovering the world of RAW food, and was greatly drawn to it but at about that time, I started dating a certain fellow (for reasons I can't fathom right now as we are as different as oil and water).

This relationship was soooooo damaging to my soul and I gained back that weight in the last two years and the 'real' me burrowed deeper into her cocoon.  I've shaken loose the ex, and am just now in a position to start this journey again. 

I'd love to do it RAW this time.  It makes sense to me, especially after reading Angela Stokes-Monarch's book.  I have a lot of digging to do it seems, but I don't mind.

Hugs to all

Suson

 

PS...forgot to mention that I have profound hearing loss and have a Deaf brother.  With a hearing aid and patience, I actually do real fine in the hearing world though and work in Health care field doing retail.  I'm fluent in ASL.

[Gina Coleman]

Hey all-

I'm still figuring out the lay of the land here, but am so glad to be here. I'm 31 years old, single, and adopting a child with HIV. My own health has not been fantastic for the last four years or so- chronic pain and chronic fatigue. I have managed to still work full-time and finish my master's degree, but I'm tired of just getting by and am ready to start LIVING. I instinctively know that raw foods are the answer, but I have had the hardest time starting a raw food way of eating and staying there. To date, I've never even lasted a full day eating raw! I am super motivated because a) I'm tired of feeling crappy b) I've recently made a number of healthy changes in my life and this would be the last one and probably the one with the biggest/best payoff and c) I want raw foods to be second nature to me so that I don't even have to think about it when my daughter comes home. She has eczema, allergies, and numerous other health issues as well, and is going to need to be mostly raw in order to be healthy. She will also come home malnourished (as evidenced by other children coming out of her orphanage in various stages of severe malnutrition). I look forward to being an active part of this community, and I'm sure it will be a godsend for knowledge and support as I go through this major change in my life!

Peace and light-

g

[Suson Guitard]

Hi Gina,

Don't beat yourself up...you sound like an amazzziznnnnng lady! *hugs*

Instead of thinking that you didn't last one day being RAW, try to do baby steps...for the first week, all your brekkies and lunch will be RAW with a SAD supper.  Then slowly grow from there.

Sending you bliss and love.

Suson

Gina Coleman said:

Hey all-

I'm still figuring out the lay of the land here, but am so glad to be here. I'm 31 years old, single, and adopting a child with HIV. My own health has not been fantastic for the last four years or so- chronic pain and chronic fatigue. I have managed to still work full-time and finish my master's degree, but I'm tired of just getting by and am ready to start LIVING. I instinctively know that raw foods are the answer, but I have had the hardest time starting a raw food way of eating and staying there. To date, I've never even lasted a full day eating raw! I am super motivated because a) I'm tired of feeling crappy b) I've recently made a number of healthy changes in my life and this would be the last one and probably the one with the biggest/best payoff and c) I want raw foods to be second nature to me so that I don't even have to think about it when my daughter comes home. She has eczema, allergies, and numerous other health issues as well, and is going to need to be mostly raw in order to be healthy. She will also come home malnourished (as evidenced by other children coming out of her orphanage in various stages of severe malnutrition). I look forward to being an active part of this community, and I'm sure it will be a godsend for knowledge and support as I go through this major change in my life!

Peace and light-

g

[Jack Kemp]

I joined January before last as maybe a New Years Resolution and over that Holiday with family chowing on Barbeque and other tailgate food, I ate greens and bananas and more bananas. I stopped by Fresh Market and bought more items for my resolution and headed home. My stomach began to hurt and by early morning I called my Company and let them now I would be able to make my delivery and then I called an Ambulance. I was in the Hospital for a week and the doctors ran every test possible and all they would tell me was I had a blockage and was being discharged and would need a Colonoscopy and I was getting older so I would need more fiber in my diet . I had that done as an out patient and then faster passing an agility test I was back on the road in February and ate what I considered healthy food and some junk, but with fiber cookies and such. In April I was picking up s load of roofing shingles in Tuscaloosa and God saved me from a tornado. Through news of the storm an old friend contacted me and asked me to travel to Bolivia with him and his family on a mission trip for the month of July. They and most of the Bolivians that we worked with were vegan and ate very simple diets. I was able to learn from them and the fruits and vegetables were so wonderful there that it made the transition fairly easy. So many varieties of bananas that I fell in love with that fruit again after thinking I might not every want one again, only now I like them very, very ripe! After returning home and returning to work I began to experiment with cooking in my truck and mastered Okra and Stewed Tomatoes with chopped spinach and I also would cook lentils and Yukon Gold potatoes, but more and more I found that I preferred simple meals and would eat a Granny Smith Apple sliced and dip them in peanut butter. Mango and bananas was another favorite and also would make hummus in a blender and peanut butter too. I opened an email from RFR and decided to have a look and see what I might learn from y'all, because I still don't have a clue and even my vegan friends think I'm getting carried away with my Vitamix and green smoothies and the looks I get making smoothies on the side walk of a truck stop are priceless. I guess it does look pretty funny and it takes a little effort, but it's worth it. I feel so much better than I did this time last year. Thanks, Miss Penni and Susan and everybody! Sorry for rambling! Glad to be here and looking forward to learning from y'all. 

[Susan Marcotte]

Just joined. Trying to live a little healthier and was looking for creative ideas of new things to eat. Glad I found the site! While I probably won't go 100% raw forever, it's fun trying new recipes, fruits & veggies and hubby doesn't know it yet, but he is eating better too ;)