Raw Vegan Weight Loss
CNN is reporting a story about a woman who found a satisfying, healthy lifestyle in raw foods:
Two summers after she reached her heaviest weight [300 pounds...] when a friend lent her a copy of a book about the health benefits of eating raw foods. Stokes, who had never been interested in diets, says she was completely “absorbed” by the approach.
She started eating raw the very next day.
“Everything in my life completely shifted. It was like a light bulb moment to be like … ‘this is what I was waiting for to reclaim my health,’ ” said Stokes. [...]
“To me, the thing with raw food is that it just makes sense. It’s simple and natural, eating food straight from the earth. There’s no rocket science, no mystery,” said Stokes. “Once you understand the simple principal that no other animal in the wild eats cooked or processed foods. That’s it.”
The raw food diet completely transformed her life [...] In just two years, she had lost 160 pounds and has experienced dramatic improvements emotionally, physically and socially and is “happier than I’ve ever been.”
Stokes, who now weighs 138 pounds, has kept the weight off for four years and authored several books on “raw foodism” lifestyle.
I’ve read many articles about the whole foods/raw foods diet and I am hooked ! Thanks for sharing your story.
I congratulate Ms. Stokes for her success!
However, I do believe the argument made in favor of veganism is misleading. Most nutritionists would probably agree that Ms. Stokes lost weight not because she became a vegan, but rather that she has removed “junk” food from her diet. Her determination to make a change in her life no doubt lead her to watch what she ate and to exercise more often.
Veganism is not a panacea. But eating a raw vegan diet is a very effective means of eliminating non-nutritious foods from one’s diet and thus likely shedding excess weight.
I also congratulate Ms. Stokes for her success!! I would love to live this lifestyle, but I can’t help wonder what happens to, or how Ms. Stokes dealt with all the “extra” tissue after losing this incredible amount of weight.