Getting Started
I follow a 100% raw vegan diet, but what exactly does that mean? Raw foods are those that have not been processed, cooked or heat treated in any way. They are an excellent way to maximise your nutritional potential because the heat-sensitive elements of the food have not been damaged or deranged. For many people just starting out on this path, it may appear a little daunting. What, no cooked food? Do you eat raw meat then? Is bread cooked? Can you eat raw pasta? In the past I have answered all of these questions and more, and I have to say that many people initially have a hard time getting their head round the whole concept. But the fact remains that in nature no other animal cooks its food, so could it be that it is we humans that are a little odd in this regard?
The cooking tradition runs deep in all of us. After all, who hasn’t enjoyed a lovingly prepared dinner cooked for us by our mother? Who doesn’t look forward to getting together with friends at weekends to share in a dinner party? The good news is that this lifestyle does not preclude any of that. In some instances there may be a bit of advanced planning required, and no one is going to yell at you if you partake in cooked food from time to time. If you eat out frequently, as some of my clients do, I stress that if you eat 3 meals a day that is 21 meals you have in total each week. Even if you eat out twice a week, that’s still 19 meals that you have total control over!
Put off by “The Raw Food Scientist” title & think I am going to tell you that you have to eat lettuce & cucumber or just boring salads? Don’t be! Yes, I am a scientist who eats raw food, but I also happen to live in the real world – I have a real job, real friends and used to eat plenty of stuff that I now no longer choose to. So, if you are thinking that you want to get healthier but you don’t necessarily want to go “all the way”, like I have, I can still work with you! There are some raw coaches who only work with people aspiring to eat 100% raw food. My clients are often more diverse, but the thing they all have in common is an open mind and willingness to change and improve. After all, I started transitioning to the way that I eat now over 20 years ago, I have made all the mistakes that anyone is likely to be able to make, and can help you get to what actually works rather than having to get stuck somewhere with what doesn’t.
If someone had said to me that to get healthier I would have to eat and live in the way that I love to do now, there is no way I would have believed that was possible, and I would never have done it! However, because I made small changes on a regular basis over a long period of time, I have found it easy to enjoy the level of health that I do now.
If you have a life-threatening illness, and want to heal yourself, then you will have to make lots of changes and you won’t necessarily have the luxury of time. However, if you just want a few “tweaks” that will take you well beyond the mainstream “healthy eating” advice, all backed up by thoroughly researched science, I am happy to work with you to help you to achieve your goals. No deprivation, no cravings, no fads, just adding and substituting – it’s what I do best!
Do make sure that you download my free e-book “Vitality Now”, which will give you plenty of insight into how you can get going with the small changes that will make a big difference. Sign up for it, and my monthly newsletter, in the right hand side column.
Not everyone aspires to a 100% living foods vegan diet – it was certainly not where I expected to end up when I first set out on my health quest in 1990. Although many of my clients want full-on raw food coaching, numerous others do not, and want to focus on more easily achievable benefits whilst remaining in the mainstream. So if this is where you are at, I can advise you on the most appropriate changes to make now that will give you the big benefits later. No quick-fix fads, just sensible, personal advice to help you to soar! What are your personal goals? Let’s talk!
What next?
