Chewing Guide to Raw Food Success

How do some manage to stick with the raw lifestyle for the long-term? And why do others revert, even after initial considerable success? Just eating raw, I believe, is not quite enough to achieve optimal health. How you eat is equally important.

The Chewing Idea Comes to America

Horace Fletcher (1849—1919), known by the nickname—“the Great Masticator” taught and religiously practiced chewing food until it “became liquid and swallowed itself.” According to Fletcher, following this practice would not only increase “the amount of strength a person could have,” but also considerably “decrease the amount of food that he consumed.” Read the rest of this entry »

What is cellulite? Cellulite is what happens when fat that’s just under the skin protrudes into the skin’s dermal layer, resulting in that undesirable hills-and-valleys appearance. Changes in metabolism, hormonal and genetic factors, stress, weight gain, sedentary lifestyles and possibly certain toxins—they’re all suspected culprits in bringing about this condition. For many who endure cellulite, probably several of these suspects are conspiring together. So what can be done?  Read the rest of this entry »

These days  Sensa is on the news, TV talk shows, in big-time newspapers.

So what is Sensa?

It’s a patented blend of crystals you shake onto your food. The purpose: to lose weight.

How does Sensa work?

Here’s the idea…It works with your sense of smell. Certain smells are known to turn off your body’s “hunger switch.” Shake Sensa onto your food…and the crystals’ aroma makes your body react as if you’ve eaten more than you actually have—one hamburger instead of two, for example. Use Sensa on everything, the company claims, and you can lose up to 30 pounds in six months—all, of course, “without dieting” or “changing your lifestyle”. The mechanism: tripping the satiety center of your hypothalamus gland. Read the rest of this entry »

What is dry fasting?

It’s as simple as the wet-dry distinction. Wet fasting: Drink water, but take no food. Dry fasting: a total abstinence from both food and water for a defined time.

There is one more level of dry fasting called Absolute Dry Fasting. Some suggest to reach the deepest level and realize the full benefits of dry fasting, it’s better not to let any water come in contact with the body through the skin or mucous membranes. You heard that right: no showers, no swimming, no brushing teeth while dry fasting. Read the rest of this entry »

Having a new baby. Often it’s the happiest time of your life. You’ve counted the fingers and toes, verified he or she is healthy, and probably pronounced your child as the most perfect in creation. At first, you don’t even care about that lingering “baby bulge,” you’re so happy. But time has gone by, the worries of childhood are behind you and now you want to move heaven and earth to get rid of that baby bulge. Read the rest of this entry »

In my local gym I frequently see these two lanky youngsters who constantly climb onto the scale. They weigh themselves, do a few sets, then immediately head straight to the scale to weigh themselves again. Some raw foodists just as badly want to gain some muscle. We all know that muscles are gained in a gym, laboring hard at the weights, not in a kitchen. But what you eat, and especially when you eat it, can be powerful determining factors in your success in gaining muscle—acutely so for raw foodists.

To maximize growth, you must activate the hormones that stimulate growth. Hormonal stimulation is the switch that turns on the anabolic process, and this very switch gets flipped whenever you fast. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s very common for me to hear from people who have lost too much weight on the raw food diet and cannot gain it back. Desperate emails reach me, begging for help to put on a few pounds.

“Denise” writes:

 Dear Tonya…I think raw food is great, but it isn’t for everyone. I tried raw and juicing for 6 weeks and lost way too much weight. And I was thin to begin with. Read the rest of this entry »

I received this email recently:

Some raw food leaders are “coming out” that they are a little non
vegan here and there or a bit “cooked” during the winter. I have
been trying this too. I am very happy with the couple of needed
pounds I put on and with my new level of energy. I would be
interested to hear if you have treated this ground as well, Tonya.
I will still love you if you have! Read the rest of this entry »

Hot yoga is as crucial to my health routine as raw foods and juices, sunlight and air. If you are not familiar with the array of benefits hot yoga can provide, I suggest you take a look at my most recent Raw Food and Hot Yoga. In all my travels I’ve always been able to find a studio somewhere nearby. But occasionally I do hear from people who, for various reasons, don’t have access to a hot yoga studio. Read the rest of this entry »

by Kelli Haines

“I had tried ‘going raw’ every way there was and could never see it through or stick to it. Before the raw food diet came along I was a die-hard Atkins girl; again and again and again. I was the epitome of Yo-Yo dieting, and was battling a binge/purge mentality.

Read the rest of this entry »