My Story (or Why I Became The Raw Bombshell) ‘Can’t be bothered’; ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’; ‘I’m tired’….
Sound familiar statements? This was me before my raw food discovery. Life was just difficult. Getting out of bed was daunting, having to face a day of yet more emotional trauma with my head being clouded and befuddled. Making a decision or an action became harder and harder. I had no energy, I was unhappy with my body, I was really in a sorry state and feeling pretty miserable about life.
This was my reality. But why?
I had always been a vibrant happy gal. I grew up in various parts of the world and in contrast to many of my peers our family ate very healthily with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. One of my favourite childhood food memories is of the paw-paw (papaya) trees at the bottom of my garden in Nigeria and to this day it’s still my favourite fruit. Like any kid though there were times when I got down but the glass was always overflowing, the world was still mine to take!
I became a very strict vegetarian at the age of 19 with loads of fresh raw produce in my diet. Hell, I was the freak who craved salad with her chips!!! I always ate loads of raw produce - fruit and vegetables - my lunch box always used to be a talking point at work... I had no idea of the raw food diet though. It was just a natural way for me to eat. I never struggled with my weight, yet I was obsessive about being slim and I pushed myself in the gym, the pool, with aerobics, skiing and dancing. I also worked hard as a research Biochemist in London and also partied hard (well it was London!). I had a great time. Then depression gripped me in my mid-twenties. Was it the lifestyle catching up? Too many parties? Too much drinking? Excessive clubbing or drug taking? It’s hard to say, my reaction was too isolate myself in the countryside, hole myself up in the middle of nowhere and to surround myself with booze and dope. Quite the contrast to the busy life I had living, working and playing in the centre of London.
As the depression sunk in deeper the alcohol became my crutch and took its toll - I became bloated and combined with munchies and access to fresh produce reduced to a supermarket miles away, my diet came to reflect my lifestyle - JUNK. A move to Toronto at the age of 28, and an attempt to straighten out, resulted in a love affair with enormous bagels stuffed with cheese, Kraft packet cheese pasta and the obligatory doughnuts. I gained weight, felt more depressed and very lonely.
The pull of my partner who was still in the UK resulted in me leaving the North American dream and ensconcing myself back in the North of England with beer, pasties and dope. I left my academic career and threw myself into the world of rock n roll, by setting up a record label and on-line distribution shop. Fun? Sure! Stupor? Hell yeah!
I pulled myself round and out of the emotional stupor by falling pregnant, mmm sure there are better, more controlled ways to stop! I gave everything up and ate fantastically well. The depression lifted. Wow! I glowed. Amazing what a healthy lifestyle does…
After the birth of my first child I connected with amazing people, I ate pure fresh foods, I discovered sprouting (well, I ate my friends sprouts – does that count?!). I loved eating this way. I looked like a gym-slip mother – I was 30. I had so much energy, clarity, vision. It was a very exciting time in my life. My business was thriving and I also became involved in joint ventures related to children – a home education group, Steiner training, arts projects. But I quickly found myself with my second child. And so the chaos ensued.
My rollercoaster life went over the top and down. Sure, I had the adrenalin buzz of no sleep, a party lifestyle that I had fallen back into (all work of course) and I lost interest in preparing food so unhealthy eating crept back in, consequently I had an emotional fallout. Year after year I got worse. My relationship with my partner was strained. I was unable to cope with my life and I came to dread every day. The pressure was unbearable.
Then along came a friend who gently mentioned green juice as an elixir of life. A silent trigger was pulled in my head and a short while afterwards it exploded. I stumbled across RAW, raw foods came and sought me out to give me my salvation.
Within a week of discovering raw food, superfoods and lots of greens my life changed! I felt amazing, I looked radiant, I had untold energy, enthusiasm and I started to feel life. I knew instantly that this was the way forward for me.
As my self-esteem and confidence rose I suddenly found a strength of character that was so lacking within me before. I became able to free myself of the daily regime of alcohol and dope that I had come to rely on. I became happy! I nurtured myself with lots of self-love and I came to slowly respect myself and my decisions. I learnt as much as I possibly could about raw food and more importantly for me the raw food journey, through Karen Knowler’s work, and the effect this way of eating has on the mind. My turning point though came when I embarked upon a 40 day kundalini yoga and raw food eating program (Mini Size Me) which also incorporated a support network. It’s important to have a healthy support network around whilst you eat raw as this way of eating can be confusing, at times difficult and it really does release past behaviours and emotions.
Consequently, eating raw food has been more than just a healthy lifestyle choice, it’s one hell of an emotional journey but I love the effect raw has on me and the way it makes me vibrate with life. Overall my friends and family have welcomed with open arms my lifestyle choice as they see the positive effect it has on me, well come to think of it they have always thought of me as odd so it kinda fits into their image of me!!! I have to often be prepared to un-cook for myself when I visit family but then as I was always cooking for them anyway I find this to not be a problem but rather a joy as I get to share my food.
Eating raw just seems to open up opportunities and I want to embrace them. I love life, I love to wake up each morning and get out of bed as you never know what is waiting for you. I know my life is full of fun, happiness and I have loads of energy.
As you can perhaps gather I’ve had my ups and downs in life. I could say I’ve experienced life and for that I’m always grateful. Writing this story has made me aware of how I’ve always been pulled towards healthy foods (if not healthy lifestyle choices) and looking back over my life, the times when I’ve felt great have correlated with the times I really have eaten healthily on lots of fresh produce and conversely when I’ve not felt so good, guess what, my diet has been a lot poorer. So I can speak from many years experience of how great food can elevate your energy levels and how junk food depletes it. Of course I have to accept that excessive drinking and smoking is never going to get you to optimal health but now that chapter of my life is over, I can with all my heart say life is so much more fun without the excess. I will confess though, I do still enjoy a drink just these days I’m in control!
Personally, I am on the best ride of my life and I want you to be part of it. It’s your birthright to have this level of health and happiness, it’s yours to take. I’m so passionate about promoting fantastic health both physically and mentally I have made it my career. I specialise in enabling people to examine their emotional relationship to food, drink, and/or other substances, how to break the cycle and how to take those fantastic steps along the journey to outstanding health (and as a bonus have a strong, sensual and youthful body).
I’m here to offer you help, guidance and to cheer you along as you explore raw live food and step into your true potential. Please take some time to look around my site, see what I offer and find what is right for you. I look forward to working with you and showing you how you can release your inner bombshell.