So, what is this magical book I keep on about?
It’s called ‘The Raw Energy Bible’ by Leslie Kenton. I am not going to go into great detail about it here, but I can honestly recommend it as a life changing book. It certainly was for me the first time, and it is again the second time around! If you would like to know more about this book, or where you can buy it, look on the resources page of my blog, http://www.feel-great-lose-weight.com
So, what is the big deal about this book and what is it all about. Basically it’s about eating food that is fresh and uncooked. What this means, of course, is fruit and vegetables. If you follow the principles of a Raw Food Diet strictly, you will eat little or no cooked food at all. However, I have found that you can still gain many of the benefits, including weight loss, without necessarily being too strict about it.
My own version would probably be called ‘The Partly Raw Food Diet’. I have read the book, and I think I understand all the principles, but I also believe you would need to be pretty dedicated to stick to it rigidly. I am not saying there is anything wrong with doing that, but I believe for the average person that may be asking just too much. We have already seen that people regulalrly fail at dieting because they feel they do not have the will-power and discipline to succeed. They end up feeling guilty and hopeless.
Personally, I have found that by using the book as a basis for my own lifestyle, and adapting it to suit me, I achieve what I want without abstaining and therefore without putting myself in a situation where I have to use willpower to refuse my favourite foods. I allow myself to eat ‘treats’ on an occasional basis. This means I almost never put myself in a situation where I feel guilty. This removes a huge amount of self-imposed pressure. I can still eat that slice of chocolate cake, but now I don’t eat it every day and I only eat half as much.
One thing I took on board from the book is how my liver works and when it works best. As a result of this, I now have fruit, fruit juice or a fruit smoothie for breakfast. That’s freshly juiced from real fruit, not juice bought in the supermarket. You want it to be as fresh as possible to get the best out of it. Why fruit for breakfast? That’s when your liver is doing it’s best to clear toxins from your body. It doesn’t help if your liver has to stop to digest a heavy breakfast. It only takes about 20 minutes to digest fruit…………….
If I feel the need to snack during the morning I just eat some fruit or a yoghurt. Much healthier than the old chocolate bars I was eating!!
Lunch is a salad, and no that doesn’t have to mean rabbit food, but it does mean fresh food. Try not to mix starch and protein (this is explained in ‘Food Combining’ on the blog). It makes it much easier to digest.
Dinner is where I really deviate from a strict Raw Food Diet. I have whatever I want, but I do try to stick to the principles of smaller protions and not mixing starch and protein.
You can find out more about how your liver works against toxins and how you can improve your digestion with food combining in the toxins section of this blog, and of course there is loads about it in ‘The Raw Food Bible’.
