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Tonya’s Story Tonya Zavasta was born in the Soviet Union and became a naturalized citizen in 1991. She knows firsthand what it is to be humiliated, face adversity and meet the complex obstacles of daily living with a physical disability in an oppressive political environment. She dreamed that one day she could walk without a limp AND look youthful and beautiful for the first time, even if that special moment was decades away. Pursuing her aspirations, she became interested in people who looked younger than their chronological age. While being fascinated with glowing health and attractiveness of others, she faced formidable challenges. Confronted with the necessity of extensive surgeries to enable her to walk normally, Tonya sought a lifestyle that would support her recovery and offset the ravages of multiple operations. Using the same determination and intelligence that allowed her to achieve advanced degrees in engineering and mathematics, she immersed herself in scientific data on health and nutrition. She became convinced that the solution to her lifelong quest for health and beauty was to be found in the God's Original Diet from Genesis 1:29 or the Rawsome Diet as she calls it. Tonya has been following the raw food lifestyle since 1997. She put this lifestyle to the test when she used it against not only the common "after forty" downslide but also to counter the grave consequences on the body brought on by general anesthetics and pain. In her books and workshops, Tonya comes across as an ambassador for plain looking women in their quest for physical beauty and educates people about the raw foods diet and lifestyle. The raw food lifestyle not only helped her to sail courageously through many personal challenges, brought her general health and appearance to an all time best, but also opened a new chapter in her life. Firmly believing that the roots of under-performing and under-achieving lie in feeling and looking less than your best, she is now on a mission: she wants every woman to look and feel beautiful. Tonya is convinced that by eating as God intended, everyone can look as uniquely beautiful as God envisioned. God's Original Diet was brought to the forefront as “Your Right to Be Beautiful” was named a Finalist for the 2004 Health Book of the Year Award. Tonya transformed her own life. Now she wants others to do the same. Tonya founded the first raw food support group in Memphis in 2002. She gives motivational speeches, consultations, and has started her own publishing company to further her cause. In her books and her speeches she uses humor, an original perspective and a deep appreciation for her new homeland to deliver uniquely entertaining and powerful presentations. Tonya combines genuine style with scientific research and quantifiable first hand experience as she aspires to help people to make the most of their potential. Her personal motivation and inner strength when it comes to overcoming insurmountable obstacles shows her audience that a commitment to achieve a personal best makes anything possible. Paths that bring people to the raw food lifestyle are different. Some discover it in trying to overcome serious illnesses while others come to it to enhance their spiritual life. However Tonya stumbled onto this lifestyle in her search for physical attractiveness. Now she is convinced that the scarcity of beauty among us, especially in people over forty, is mainly a result of our consumption of devitalized and denatured foods and that God's original diet has the potential of returning beauty to the human race. Her story is a shining example of how the raw food diet and lifestyle can influence people's lives. She had to wrestle with adversity for her ability to walk from early childhood. Recently after several reconstructive hip surgeries she won that battle. Tonya has been married to Nick for 29 years. He graciously allows her to share stories of their lives with her audiences about the good, the bad, and the crazy. He believes that a sense of humor is the ability to laugh at your own jokes when your wife tells them. They have one son, Nick Jr., who is 27. His assistance in preparing the featured books for publication was invaluable.
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