Karen Knowler * The Raw Food Coach

Hot On Raw - Pt. 5 ~ Stacy's Story

Today's Hot On Raw is from Stacy Stableford, 51, from Trumbull, CT USA:

I have been reading your newsletter for some time now and I am always bowled over by the fact that we seem to be on a wavelength! You are not only inspiring, a very good thing, but I also find you incredibly intelligent and realistic in your writing and your advice to others. So many raw enthusiasts and coaches are very New Age-y...it can turn off those who would like better health through the idea of raw foods but who would never be able to embrace the spiritual aspect at the start of the journey. To that kind of person, the New Age approach is enough to prevent them from ever delving into raw. You do not have that kind of effect and I'm so impressed with your smart and warm "commonsensical" articles. Thank you!

I have been raw for just over a year and I love it. I'll be 52 on March 3 and I have never been in better health nor have I ever looked this good! (I loved your comments about your dates...yes, dear Karen...at my advanced age, I'm getting "offers" all over the place...it's odd, entertaining, flattering, and sometimes a bit uncomfortable. I have four children, ages ranging from 20-27, and my sons' friends asked if I had had plastic surgery this past year because I look incredibly younger and...hot. My boys were not amused but I certainly was!)

I am convinced that raw, living foods have turned my biological clock backward and I have more energy than ever before. Although I've never had a severe weight problem, growing up in the 1960's put me in the path of all the "newest" innovations, like McDonald's and TV dinners and I've always had a 15-25 pound yo yo experience. I embraced Weight Watchers...I taught it for 5 years and was a very popular instructor. There was some excellent nutritional information that evolved from that organization but after living that way my whole life and making fairly healthful choices, I still felt sludgy...and older. I took up running and ran the New York City Marathon, 26.2 miles, iin 2004. Great for a non-athlete, did wonders for my sense of  "can-do" attitude...but foods still did not nourish me.

On December 11, 2006 I awoke on a Sunday morning feeling slow, full, and unhealthy ...although there was nothing wrong with me. I picked up the Sunday paper and read an article about a lemonade cleanse, The Mastercleanse. It made sense to me and I started it that day, attempting at least a 10 day cleanse. During those ten days, I did some research because I realized I could not go back to eating even the healthful diet I thought I had and I came upon raw, on the same www.themastercleanse.com website. Then I found you and many other raw sites...and I read until I couldn't see straight. I wound up cleansing for 40 days, lost 30 pounds, and transitioned back to solid foods, totally raw. I never looked back, I never ate cooked food again. I've never felt better. I lost an additional 10 pounds, making me thinner than I've ever been even though I eat whatever I like, as long as it's raw.

Best Regards,
Stacy Stableford

Hot On Raw - Pt. 4 ~ Jan's Story

Today's Hot On Raw feature is from Jan from Milwaukee, USA:

Dear Karen,

As a psychotherapist a Registered Nurse and a person who eats live/raw I can say that I have been insisting for a while now that “someone” look at the life and emotional issues that arise when a person decides to go raw. My life has turned upside down in a very good way when I made this transition and fortunately I will never be the same.

Working with clients I now have the difficulty of “seeing” so much more and connecting the struggles they may be having with their spiritual life, emotional, social, even sexual life with their health and their choices of what to put into their bodies. A great frustration of mine is working with other mental health providers who are unconscious to this connection and don’t take good care of themselves. Oh, yes, they exercise and “eat right” but going RAW is an entirely different level of personal work. I must do this work from a careful and very conscious place when guiding clients on a healthier road—it involves so much more than just emotional work.

I am also working on finishing my PhD and my area of research has to do with women’s experiences of their menstrual cycles. I believe strongly that there is a big connection between Raw, hormonal balances, neurotransmitter changes and sense of well-being. Just as our hormones change when we are in love so do the chemicals change when we go Raw and begin to love ourselves—THIS is what attracts others in a new way! For some Raw women this is an amazing phenomenon and can create wanted (as well as unwanted) changes in relationships, activities and available choices. I love this topic—please let me know if you’d like to collaborate on a presentation in this area!

Well, I am certain you will receive a ton of correspondence with this last newsletter—thank you for your work, it enables me to do my own work.

In gratitude,
Jan Campanelli

Hot On Raw - Pt. 3 ~ Sue's Story

Today's Hot On Raw real-life story comes from Sue, aged 60, from British Columbia:

Just read your Valentine's Day email and loved it. You asked in it for readers experiences since going raw. Well do I have some to tell.

I am a 60 year old divorced woman who raised two kids on my own and worked, worked, worked. I recently sold the family home when the kids moved out and which I'd held onto for 15 years by taking in international students and doing bed and breakfast and any number of jobs to pay the mortgage. Well, surprise, surprise it turned out to be worth $1million Canadian.

So I bought a new home across from the beach - and needed fixing up - near my sister in a little fishing village called French Creek on the east coast of Vancouver Island. You can only get here by ferry or flying. And I discovered a tiny restaurant further up the island in Courtenay that serves raw food. I had my first raw lasagne and fell in love. Since then I have been flirting with raw food and that is how I found you. I am not 100% - yet.

So I live on a street where all the men golf and who knows what the women do - gossip and watch TV I think. I love golf and asked to join the men. They reluctantly agreed and some refused to play with me. That was last July 2007. Then I began eating raw most days. And have settled into a daily routine centered around green smoothies, juice, raw soups and salads. I have lost twenty pounds, I have energy like never before, I am always calm and I feel fabulous.

Yesterday I golfed with three men I have never golfed with before. These are the die-hard winter golfers. But I must tell you winter is almost nonexistent here. And I might have passed on this outing except I am off to Palm Springs for a golf retreat with my two sisters on February 29th and wanted to get some practice in.

Since only 8 of us showed up at the course we were allocated to two groups of four. I could tell my men were not happy. But I teed off from the men's tees right along with them. Now these men are all in their 70's and to be honest have lost their edge. One man started making excuses that I am so young.

"How old are you? Fifty?" he asks.

Political correctness obviously not in his golf bag.

I said, "No, sixty".

"Doesn't your husband play with you?" he asked.

"I don't have a husband," I said, "Just me."

One man said, "I saw a man working on your house".

I replied "I just hire them, I don't marry them!"

Well this cracked them up and they totally softened toward me.

We had a great round of golf. I laughed and joked with them. I handed out treats of Medjool dates and raw cashews - my lunch - which they raved over. And at the end of it all one man - a widower - asked me out. And another had his wife call me as soon as I got home and invited me for dinner that very night. Sorry to say I ate her real lasagne to not be rude. It tasted nothing like the raw.

I look ten years younger that I am, I feel thirty years younger and I beat the golf pants off those men who didn't want to play with and I made friends of them.

Do I love raw? You bet. It has truly changed my life. And I may not be able to get over to the UK this year for one of your courses but I promise I will be there soon.

And that was my Valentine's Day 2008.

By the way I downloaded your raw book and I live by it. Thanks for everything. ~ Sue Ronson

Hot On Raw - Pt. 2 ~ Anon's Story

This reader requested to remain anonymous, but I can assure you she is real!

In response to your raw love and what has happened to you over the past 5 days... 

What can I say?  I started my raw food journey in September - I have yet to commit to 100% but I have embraced the concept and love it!  Anyway, since that time I have left my husband as I "woke up" to the fact that he was abusing my very essence emotionally and would not let me grow!  Since then, I have had men literally fall at my feet!  I have had men tell me how beautiful I am, how I have an attitude to life that they love but cannot describe. 

I have a "boyfriend" - a man who is amazing and thinks the world of me but since eating more raw, I have decided I can use my own judgement and play it how I want, to see if it is right for me and he is still there in awe of me.  I have another "boyfriend" who tells me constantly I am beautiful and would help me along my way to release my uninhibited side, he gives me contacts, ideas (I love to dance especially with bands and he sorts it all out for me) again with no questions asked and no expectation that I should be faithful to him.

I have chatted to people and given them my number without thinking and they then ask for dates but don't get upset when I say no - they still want to know me.  I have been chatted up in nightclubs with the blokes almost cowering as they cannot believe I am out on my own and they expect my boyfriend to come and knock them out at any minute!!  And to top it all I still have my husband wanting me back even though he knows I am being unfaithful!!! 

It almost feels like I have so much love, beauty and joy that men just want to bask in it.  Plus it gives them the run for their money as they know I am uncommitted - how is that for a novelty in a woman!!!  I have been chatted up a lot in the past and I am pretty ballsy lady so I would say I know how to handle men but there is something different about the way men are approaching me at the moment, I cannot put a finger on it.  I have to say I am absolutely loving my life at the minute!!  Will it last?  I have no idea but I am trying to live in the moment and enjoy life for what it is now.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge, you are an inspiration. ~ Anon

Hot On Raw - Pt. 1 ~ Introduction

On Friday in the "Karen's World" part of my weekly eZine, I entered into some new territory, sharing about my personal life and the big man-attraction thing that's been going on for me. I must admit, it was the first time I ever asked someone to read something before I sent it, as I was a bit concerned that some people might not think it appropriate (even though it's in a very different section of the newsletter). My colleague enthusiastically said "go for it", and with some trepidation I hit send and off it went... to several thousand people - eek!

As it happened, not only did I get many great responses, I got less "unsubscribes" than the average week [there is always some drop off every week, it's normal, and we try not to take it personally : )] plus I got some really great stories which their authors have kindly given me permission to reprint.

So... over the next few days, starting today, I am running a series of "Hot On Raw" entries that you won't want to miss!

For right now, just to fill those of you in on what I wrote on Friday, here it is reprinted so you can come up to speed. And for those of you who did read it, skip to the end where you can read what's happened since!

Raw Food In Singapore

Over the years I've been asked a few times "Is there anything raw in Singapore?". Until now my answer has been, "Not that I know of." Well, since a few days ago that's no longer the case!

I've just found out about Paul Yeoh. Paul is a Living Light Certified Raw Food Chef based in Singapore. He has a fantastic web site, and as you can see, above, is a brilliant advert for what he does!

Here's some info about Paul followed by his answers to some questions I put to him a few days ago...

About Paul 

Hello! My name is Paul and I am a raw food chef & instructor. Why? Because raw food changed my life. And I think that if I could show a few more people what raw food could do for them, then it'd be a contribution to the world I'd be proud of.

I didn't always eat hokey pokey...

Meet Dea

 

I am loving MySpace.

My first trial a few months ago resulted in as speedy deletion as it was sign up - way too many dodgy pics for my liking! I had to run to the hills!

However...

Second time around a very different story. And stories like the one below make my day and serve as a fantastic reminder/ inspiration to those who are new or considering raw foods, because, I tell you what... everyone is saying the same thing... surely we can't all be wrong?!

Over to Dea...

American, grew up in Europe and currently living there now, in southern Italy, western Sicily to be precise. Biggest news about me in 2007? I went 100% raw vegan in April this year. I needed a change, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired all the time.

Overweight, depressed, moody I prayed one night to my higher power to please give me a sign, to tell me something I could do to change my life. The next day as I was checking emails, down as ever... I started randomly searching the internet and put words in the search engine of my portal such as depression, health, nutrition and lo and behold I discovered the raw food diet movement.

I was vegan already, I devoured all the information I could get I read and read and read and at the end of March I went raw cold turkey 100%. The detox symptoms were hellish but after 2 weeks all sorts of things started happening. Insomnia gone! Depression gone! Achy tired feeling all the time gone! I was happier, I smiled, I giggled, I felt rested, people told me I glowed...Things in my life started to change...the weight started melting off, my aches disappeared, grumpiness and frequent bad moods gone..!

Now a few months later my body looks better, I feel better and my heart is lighter and overflowing with love for life in all its manifestations. I am so grateful…feeling so blessed and joyful on my path – life is great and I am full of gratitude :) Somehow I know things will work out for me, and those around me. I am hopeful, not fearful anymore and happy! I feel happy happy happy all the time! Its amazing. :))) I am into living naturally in today's world. I am a vessel and flame of pure love. As I begin to feel better and awaken, I am full of joy and want to share my joy with others. Eating a raw vegan diet has made me more generous and I want to share with others these feelings. Yay! I am living the best life ever. Eating a raw vegan diet is the first step for me towards this path and way of life. I love raw chocolate, superfoods and being blissed out on life and nature. Join me and together we can be vibrantly alive!!

I say Dea sounds like a good MySpace friend to have... What say you?!

Visit her here...

Meet Nancy!

Nancy Marmolejo is a wonderful woman! Unless you're an internet solopreneur you may never have heard of her, but that's about to change!

Nancy and I first met on a call as we both signed up to coach with the same business coach. Since then we have coached each other and also, in August, finally met in Tucson, Arizona for a business retreat with our coach, and we were room buddies! Together we gratefully manifested the best suite in the house due to some reservation mix ups, and as Nancy filled me in more on her own raw food habits, we talked raw for those two days as well as inspiring others (unintentionally) to do the same!

In the photo further down you can see that Nancy (second from left) is naturally of a very slim frame, so we had some interesting conversations around how different builds need to eat raw foods differently... one for the future!

Unbeknown to me until recently, Nancy blogged about her raw food journey and her meeting with me. I want to share it with you as I know it will be of great interest and inspiration...

Take it away Nancy!

*   *   *   *   *

Nancy says:

OK, so what do diet and eating have to do with visibility, marketing, and balancing work and life?

As an entrepreneur, your health and well being are directly tied to your bottom line. As the greatest entrepreneurs say, "You have to work just as much on yourself as you do on your business."

This post is from my personal blog, The Loca Diaries. On this blog, I share about the person behind the business. Taking great care of myself is one of my secrets to being highly creative, energetic, and clear headed.

enjoy!

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