by Frederic Patenaude
When
I first learned about the raw food diet,
it took me years to figure out how to
do it properly. Then it took me even
more years
- making mistakes and compromising
my health - until I started experiencing
the benefits I was looking for from
the start!
Let's face it, if you're going to bother
changing your diet at all, there's got
to be a reason for doing it. I would
bet you want to
improve your health
and energy, right?
But why take years to get those results,
when you can get them in months or even
weeks? Here are some of the things that
I've found can help you get faster results
from your raw food diet.
1. Incorporate Fitness
It's interesting to note that even though
a person may be fit but unhealthy (think
of all the athletes who died of a heart
attack!), it's *not* possible to be
healthy without being fit.
Until you reach the point where your
body fat is at an optimal level and
your fitness “above average”,
you probably won't get all the results
you're looking for even with an ideal
diet.
Fit people not only digest better, the
entire process of nutrition is improved
with improved fitness. This means assimilation
will be better, blood sugar will be
more under control, and much more besides.
To start improving your fitness, you
have to identify your areas of weakness
and work on improving these first. We
explain how to do this in the Perfect
Health Program.
2. Address Emotional Issues
Just like fitness, your emotions are
an integral part of your nutrition.
You've probably had the experience of
hearing a piece of bad news and suddenly
losing your appetite. This shows that
emotions are an integral part of how
your body processes food. It's an essential
part of your health.
Often people jump into a raw-food diet,
hoping that it will help them “clear
emotional problems”, when in fact
it puts these problems right in their
face and they can't deal with it!
Let's face the fact that most people
eat for emotional reasons, most of the
time. It's really easy to do so with
heavily processed or fatty foods, because
these foods literally “drug”
us and “numb” our feelings.
With raw foods, it's harder to eat emotionally.
That's why you don't see lonely overweight
people eating buckets of apples to “comfort”
their feelings. Instead, they do it
with a pint of ice-cream!
Be aware and ready to feel and face
your emotions. Equip yourself with whatever
tools are necessary to get over emotional
baggage - including self-improvement
seminars, tapes, and group support.
3. Cleanse
One of the best ways to accelerate your
health success is to go on some sort
of cleanse, such as the
Green Cleanse
or the one included in the
Body Enlightenment
System.
A cleanse should be easy to do, while
giving you results in terms of increased
energy, weight *release* (if necessary),
and increased vitality and health.
My favorite cleanses are:
- Green Cleanse: consuming only green
smoothies and fruit for 5 to 10 days
or longer.
- Fruit Cleanse: consuming only mono
meals of fruit for 3 to 7 days or longer.
- Low Fat Cleanse: consuming only fruits
and vegetables without any fat (avocados,
oils, etc.) for 3 to 7 days or longer.
While it's possible to do a cleanse
on your own, it's best if you have someone
to coach and support you in the process.
4. Find Raw Friends
Feeling alone and isolated can kill
your success with the raw diet! It's
very important to find at least one
“buddy” who can support
and encourage you on this path.
Now with the Internet, it's possible
to connect with more people than ever.
In our different programs, we
have seen the value of offering phone
coaching and support, as well as discussion
forum support.
Connect with other raw-food enthusiasts using
available resources, such as local potlucks,
teleseminars and phone coaching, coaching
programs and discussion forums.
5.
Get a Coach and a System
Besides lack of social support, the
reason why most people don't succeed
with a raw-food program is that they
don't have anybody coaching them personally
and showing them a system that works
for incorporating all of the different
elements of a healthy lifestyle.
Unless you think you can do it on your
own, you need someone to show you a
system that works!
No matter what the coach and system
you choose for yourself, you have to
make sure that:
- You find a supportive and non-judgmental
coaching environment, yet one that challenges
you enough to keep improving.
- You have enough quality tools and
easy-to-use systems to make progress
with your health, fitness and diet.
- The support you get is *constant*
or *daily*, not just occasional.
- The program or coach you choose has
a track record of success and lots of
experience in the field.
Make no mistake about it, you can either
take 2 months to put all of the pieces
of a healthy raw lifestyle together,
or you can take 2 years or 20 years!
Do yourself a favor and choose the shortest
route to success.
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Pure Health & Nutrition. Visit http://www.fredericpatenaude.com
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