Dropping Pounds and Gaining Hope on the Raw Food Diet

We have been so touched by Tammy’s regular updates about her progress. There’s more good news to come, but meet this incredible woman and her courageous family making some tough changes on the road to better health. -t.w.

- By Tammy Evanko

Are you ready for a drum roll?    Tadatadatadatadatadatadatadatadatada,,,,

Today marked 2 weeks of 100% raw with a release of 14 pounds so far!

It’s an accomplishment to be proud of just for myself, but I’m also happy to say that my experience is already touching others.  I felt inspired a few days after I was eating 100% raw to ask my husband, “If I could outline a protocol for you for the next 30 days that could almost promise a drastic decrease in your PSA (prostate cancer score card) score, that would help you lose 15 to 20 pounds, that would give you energy and vitality and energize you, would you do it?”

It took him awhile to answer me, but finally, he too agreed to 30 days of raw! Without hesitation, I started him raw the first day, and the next day I began him on a cleanse from the Young Living company.  For breakfast every morning we are both doing the “ginger blast drink” I learned years ago from raw foodist, Lou Corona.  The reason I wanted my husband to drink the ginger blast is because it helps to alkalinize the body.

You see, I think he has an over abundance of yeast in his body.  I remembered that Donna Gates (from the WISH Summit) wrote in her Body Ecology Diet book (and I’ve seen this idea from a couple others since then) that she thought cancer was related to Candida.  I figure, “Cure the Candida and the cancer will cure itself.”

The other benefit with this plan is that drinking the ginger blast keeps us from over-eating because of the “heat” from the ingredients in the drink and the alkalinizing properties that help balance the body pH and releases our sugar cravings.  Just as it was for me, in three days the puffiness from my husband’s face left and his skin looked so much healthier.  Anyway, I don’t know if you have heard of the ginger blast but it has 3 levels starting with:

1 lemon peeled
1 to 2 inches fresh ginger root
pinch of cayenne
8 oz purified water

They also call for 2 apples but because I would rather save my fruit to eat later, I drink it without them.

My husband also likes several cups of dark leafy greens, (but I recently read that spinach slows the Thyroid down, so I am experimenting and decreasing that ingredient to see if there’s any change).

The idea is that as you get your metabolism up, you increase the heat.  I am currently at:

1.5 lemons
5 inches ginger root
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

In case you’re curious, cayenne has a Scoville heat measurement (a measurement for spiciness) of between 30 000 – 50 0000.  Understandably, the drink is hot and it can take awhile to get it down, but it is working to control the yeast of the Candida in my body, and as I mentioned, I am able to eat more fruit later in the day.  I also keep my fat percentage down by checking it at Fitday (a free online weight loss journal site).  If I eat too much fat, my feeling is that it feeds the yeast and I cannot get my weight to drop.  I think our ginger blast routine is also helping my husband because his “belly” is really slimming too.

Everyone in my family is taking part in this change in some way, whether it’s exercising or making recipes.  Each of us is taking steps forward.

My husband walks miles every day, and in the evenings we walk together (almost every day).  The walking for me is slow at first.  I am sure you can imagine how difficult it is on the body to move 256 pounds around.  Since I cannot walk fast, I try and remember many times during the walk to tighten my stomach muscles and pull in the ever shrinking skin there.  But it’s about celebrating the day-to-day wins. Today I walked 3 miles plus some extra walking while shopping at Goodwill thrift stores!

My 11-year old daughter has the same problem I did at her age of packing on the pounds.  She too is discovering the weight loss benefits of just adding more raw food to her diet by cutting down to 1 cooked meal a day.  Her face lost a lot of its puffiness, she is feeling less moody and, without even dieting, she is slimming down a bit.

My 7-year old had a blast watching the videos of the Raw Divas easy recipes.  Seeing kids making their own food gets her excited about eating more raw food.  Of course, she still begs for cooked food all day long, but she also is only getting 1 cooked mealtime a day.  She is starting to remember some of the raw treats I used to make.  For instance, while most recipes show pictures of fruit pies with thick (calorie heavy) nut crusts, we eliminate the crusts and just sprinkle nuts blended in the food processer with cinnamon, vanilla and raisins on top:

1/2 cups pecans
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon flavoring like vanilla or maple
sprinkle of cinnamon

Blend in food processor until crumbly and sprinkle on top of fruit.

My kids also loved cashews (my understanding is they are the least healthy nut, which of course means my family loves them most, but I try to only have them on rare occasions).  We find ways to still enjoy the things we love!  When I do opt for a dish containing cashews, this is one of our favorites:

1 young coconut
1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1 vanilla bean
2 cups cashews (soak for at least 4 hours)

Blend the milk and meat of the young coconut, vanilla and vanilla bean with 2 cups soaked and drained cashews.  Blend in mixer or food processor and add flavoring.  In some of the mixture I added frozen cherries and chocolate.  It was yummy and we only had about 1/2 cup a night instead of the usual 2 cups of traditional ice cream, with toppings.

Another example would be our adaptations with avocados.  We make guacamole dip every day for salad dressing.  I have a bit, but the girls have loads.  Lucky them!   The girls mix 2 avocados with Mexican spice in the food processor.

I am watching my fat so I take 1/8 to 1/4 an avocado and mix it with a cup sliced and peeled cucumber and 1/2 to 3/4 cup cauliflower and the add the Mexican spice.

My husband’s favorite is Nama Shoyu cashews, so I made him some of those by soaking cashews and draining them.  Then I add a half bottle Nama Shoyu to a drained canning jar of cashews and put on a lid.  I turn the jar on its side and turn it every time I come by the kitchen.  In 8 or so hours I drain the cashews and start another batch (in the same Nama Shoyu mixture to save money) and dehydrate the cashews until they are the consistency of crunchy my family likes.

It’s not about being perfect either.  My husband did buy a small container of dressing (he thought it was raw) from the health food store.  He managed to use it up in 3 or 4 days, and instead of being judgmental, I just allowed it knowing he was doing this raw eating for me and he would ease past his food issues better if I did not judge him or find him lacking. I told him instead that I was thankful he was trying this for his health.  He was actually eating 100% raw for 5 months about 6 years ago, so he knows what this is about.

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It has now been 3 weeks of 100% raw for me.  I now weigh 249 pounds (down another 7 lbs!).  Only 99 pounds left to release.  I have a doctor’s scale (the kind with the slidey weights at the top) and it was such a delight to place the weight the next 50 pounds down when I got under 250.  I am going strong on the ginger blast drink and still exercising.

Yesterday, I got on my bicycle and rode 5 miles.  My back was tired, but it was so wonderful to be out in the sunshine.  When I saw people outside I had a rush of self-judgment:  thoughts about how ridiculous I looked at 249 pounds on a bicycle and ego stories that went along the direction of, “Well, when I lose that 100 pounds I will show them.”   I had to work hard to remind myself, “I am the one judging myself, and even if they are judging me, it is only a reflection of what I am creating for myself by the vibes I am sending out about being in a state of judgment.  I only have this moment to be alive and feel so why am I putting off being all I could be by waiting until I weigh 100 pounds less?”  Lots of work to do to keep this shift, both physical and mental, permanent.

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Thanks Tera,
Tammy

Tammy recently sent in another update and I’m delighted to let you know that she’s still making lots of progress:

Dear Tera,

wanted to send you an update again.  This is what my weight loss looks like:

April 15, 2010 – 270 pounds  (Starting point of 100% low-fat, raw/vegan diet)

April 22 – 260 (Week 1 complete) 10 pounds lost

April 29 – 255 (Week 2) 15 pounds lost

May 6 – 249 (Week 3) 21 pounds lost

May 13 – 246 (Week 4)24 pounds lost

May 20 – 242.5 (Week 5) 27.5 pounds lost

May 27 – 238 (Week 6) 32 pounds lost

last weigh in May 30 – 236.5 –33.5 pounds lost

My goal is 120 pounds.  I am over 1/4 of the way there.  My body is shrinking and I am doing well with all the emotional changes and keeping myself at a pretty good place as far as allowing life to flow.  It has been over 6 weeks and I am maintaining the 100% low-fat, raw/vegan diet.  My exercise has been touch and go because I am having some back (self-support) issues I am working on.

That Ginger Blast is really helping to balance my pH.  My nails are stronger, my pH level is coming up (I use a paper test) and the Candida is receding slowly but surely.

My husband will be taking his prostate cancer test in 2 days.  I am so putting it out to the Universe that his 5 weeks of raw eating has drastically lowered his test score.

My 11 year old daughter has decided all by herself to go from 1 cooked meal a day to one cooked meal every other day.

My 16  year old just arrived after 5 months in Kauai and within a couple minutes of being home he was looking in the outside fridge.  I asked him what he was looking for and he said “lots of raw fruits and vegetables” and that was what he saw.  He put a bit of weight on so he was relieved to find 95% of the food in our house is raw.  That means he does not have to deal with the cooked food he dealt with where he was living.

Well, it is after 3 am so I better get going.  Hope you have an outstanding day.

Tammy