Raw Food Transformation
British raw food author Angela Stokes lost around 160lbs through adopting a raw food lifestyle, reversing morbid obesity. Now a svelte 138lbs, at her biggest, the 29 year old was nearly 300lbs and her health was extremely compromised. She was constantly ill and underneath a false mask of contentment, she was also deeply unhappy and insecure.
Here is her story.
From being a very healthy and active young child, Angela's health began to edge into issues when, at the age of 11, her thyroid gland went under-active. Her metabolism slowed and she began to gradually gain weight.
The condition was diagnosed 2 years later. But even after starting thyroid medication, food had become the center of Angela's world - she was lost in cycles of compulsive overeating (primarily 'junk' foods) and the weight kept piling on as a result.
Diabetes - The Catalyst
At age 21 Angela was 295 lbs, and in 2000 a possible diabetes scare was enough to jolt Angela into awareness that perhaps there were kinder ways to treat her body. Her life took on a new direction after reading The Raw Family by the Boutenkos. Angela swapped her calorie-packed greasy carbs diet overnight for a 100% raw lifestyle.Weight Loss
The weight began to burn off at an astonishing rate - in the first year alone, she lost around 105lb. As the pounds slipped away, her body came to life. She says that every time she looked in the mirror, it was like seeing someone different. Suddenly she could see her collar bone again for the first time in years, feel her ribs down her side, long-term acne was clearing, and her clothes and jewelery all became loose.
Before / After
While obese, Angela walked with only the bottom half of her legs, as her thighs were so large they were wedged together. As the weight fell away, it was like her legs doubled in length. Every day was an adventure of discovering new activities she could now participate in more easily, like exercise and shopping for nice clothes.
Raw Food Lifestyle
In 2004 Angela set-up a website (Raw Reform) in order to share her experiences. Angela is delighted that as a 100% raw foodist, she no longer gets ill. There were points during her teenage years when she was taking up to 15 different allopathic medicines at a time to try to suppress all the symptoms she was experiencing. Now she has been through many layers of detox and says that she has never felt better.Her thyroid is now also completely naturally balanced. She came off the thyroid medication she had been on for around 13 years when she went raw (switching instead to homeopathic remedies and seaweed) and now her thyroid is completely balanced naturally, with daily kelp supplements and regular seaweed meals.
The Last Word
Angela likes to say to people 'If I can do this, I believe anyone can. It's simply a matter of choice. Just six years ago I was nearly 300lbs, morbidly obese, always ill, miserable, with no interest in my health and eating my way into the grave with junk foods. Now I'm one of the healthiest people I know. All I really did was change my way of eating, by bringing it more into alignment with nature.'Angela has spend the last 6 years exploring and promoting raw foods and natural health care for weight loss. Angela offers books, retreats, consultations and lectures internationally on raw foods. You can find her website here and blog here.
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Fascinating and inspirational story, Angela, thank you for sharing! It's interesting to read about the health benefits you saw from a raw food diet. Does anyone know of studies into this -- such as investigating whether it's really the rawness of the food, or just the extra vitamins etc from eating lots of fruit and veg?
I tend to be a pretty healthy gal which I attribute to a good fruit & veg intake. ;-) Not sure I'd ever manage "daily kelp supplements and regular seaweed meals" but I'm impressed by those who do! Still, if there are studies showing concrete benefits to a raw diet, I'd be interested.
Best,
Ali
Replywow. what a drastic and awesome change!
ReplyAwesome for her! Truly a fantastic story. I'm not a raw food eater, but the weight loss is obviously great for her overall health and longevity. Shows a lot of courage and discipline.
Reply"It's simply a matter of choice"
Truer words were never spoken.
ReplyInspiring story but i've got to agree with ALi, the seaweed is perhaps a step too far! ;-)
ReplyFantastique. Hitting rock bottom can be an extreme motivator. the first time I lost weight that certainly was the case.
ReplyDiabetes is often one of those indicators that really snaps someone into action on improving their health.
What a great and inspiring story this is. I don't know much about raw foods but i guess I better find out more.
ReplyDefinitely inspiring. Something I'd like to show every family member who tells me their health or weight is all genetic and there's nothing they can do about it. The transformation is really amazing. She looks so beautiful and healthy and vibrant.
ReplyVery inspiring, Angela. Sometimes it does take hitting rock bottom to get yourself ready for a lifestyle change. Diabetes can be a really scary disease; I would imagine that if you could control it well on a raw food diet, why not try it? I'm glad you had such great success with that program. I eat mostly raw stuff myself, but I do cook my eggs and stuff like that. Glad that you found a way of eating that works for you and helps keep your diabetes under control.
ReplyThis would be a great story if it weren't for all of the stuff about homeopathy.
Homeopathy doesn't work!
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html
ReplyOn the surface, Quackwatch seems impressive and there are surely 'some' who deserve to be there. However, an internet search on Stephen Barrett, M.D will reveal much about him and his vendettas...and he himself is a 'quack'. He claims to be a psychiatrist amongst many other things, however never passed the board exams. The wikipedia info on him was set up by himself and a collaborator.
Here just a few links about this strange man:
http://www.quackpotwatch.org/
http://www.quackpotwatch.org/opinionpieces/Met%20Stephen%20Barrett.htm
"Barrett exposed in numerous court cases:
http://www.canlyme.com/quackwatch.html
and regards to his attack on homeopathy:
http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/editorial/quack.htm
If you are basing your opinion on homeopathy on Barrett's assumption, please search deeper. Homeopathy, like any other method including allopathic chemically based 'treatments' (which usually just surpress syptoms and trigger others) is not a one shoe fits all answer. It works for many, otherwise it would not be still around. It may not work for you, but 'somehow' it works for many, many others. :>D
ReplyHomeopathy, like many other forms of health care works very well for some yet not for others...but it does work for many, many health problems.
If you are basing your opinion on Stephe Barrett's Quack Watch, then have an internet look on him. He is a de-licensed doctor, who also claimed to be a psychiatrist. No doubt there are a few who deserve to be on a quack watch, however, he seems to have a vendetta against all non-allopathy practices.
here is one:
http://www.quackpotwatch.org/quackpots/quackpots/barrett.htm
http://www.quackpotwatch.org
http://www.canlyme.com/quackwatch.html - about how he was exposed in court
There are many other links about him...and the wikipedia entry on him was in collaboration with a 'collegue'.
ReplyThat is huge. She does not even look like the same person at all. My wife and I started a website thekorths.com, to attempt to do something similar. Congrats to you. Wish us luck.
ReplyIt's nice that raw food worked for her, but not all of us were obese to begin with. It's not a necessary or required diet for long-term health. However, overly charred meat is carcinogenic. Which is why one should limit their BBQ consumption to a bare minimum.
ReplyVery impressive.
ReplyI'm still trying to reconcile the two images and Im having a hard time believing that its the same person in the two photos. Keep it up!
ReplyI'm not even gonna comment on the "her thyroid is now balanced naturally" part. You wouldn't believe how many people in thyroid groups repeatedly harm their health by coming off thyroid medication and taking various "natural supplements". Then the symptoms return, and they take supplements for that too. *sigh*
ReplyPraeteritio, huh? :)
ReplyThyroid things can be weird though.
I was diagnosed hypo years ago and it soon became clear -- Mine switches back and forth between hypo and normal and I go without meds because they make me feel like crap and can somehow cause the numbers to go in the opposite direction. My mom had Graves disease (every female in my family has thyroid issues) and I'm more scared of hyper than hypo. The doctor doesn't say much because I stay at the normal range (albeit at the low end) as long as I don't do strict dieting. (I don't know why strict dieting makes the hypo symptoms and numbers return, but that's the way it has always been with me. *shrug*)
My doctor says it's fine for me to not use medication as long as my TSH levels stay in the normal range... and if I can do that naturally (now I don't use supplements so it absolutely is natural) I rather would do that than ingest something.
It is different when you are still in the early stages of Hashimoto's, where it can mean alternating between hypo and hyper. Also, TSH is incredibly flawed, so get free T3 and free T4 tested. Those are the ones that have to be normal. Sometimes, especially if the person spent a long time swinging back and forth between hypo and hyper, the TSH will not reflect the hormone levels, or if there is a pituitary issue going on. My TSH was 3.8 at its highest, "not enough to medicate", but my free hormone levels, which were supposed to be 8 or more, were 0.0000000000003. Trace numbers. Neurological symptoms had set in already, coma was next to come.
But no. These are people who have been on full replacement thyroid dosages for years. So they are not just "waiting to medicate" or afraid their thyroid might work again by itself. They just don't want to live with the knowledge that they have a chronic illness, and prefer to buy into whatever non-prescription snake oil they can, cause if it is non-prescription, they are not ill, right? Then months later they come complaining of going bald, having heart problems, or other terrifying hypothyroidism symptom.
ReplyI'm thrilled for her. She looks great, and she's found a way of living that's worked for her. The raw food diet seems like a healthy one.
It's not for me though. I can't believe it's the only way to be healthy -- and living on raw foods during upstate NY winters sounds neither appealing nor sustainable to me. I know people who do it here, but I'm not interested.
Replyi doubt i could do the raw food only diet but i will be adding more raw foods into my diet. the only thing i dont get is how does one walk with only the bottoms of their legs? sounds impossible.
Replyvery obese people with large thighs kind of waddle, using mostly their lower legs to do the work...that's how i read it, at least
ReplyWhy is the before picture taken in 1962?
ReplyRaw food can definitely be very effective in losing weight. I went almost completely raw over Christmas/ New Year and lost nearly a stone (and I'm quite thin normally!)
My two pieces of advice are to make sure you get enough calories - a raw vegan diet can encompass plenty of essential fats and protein (no need to chew on straw all day) and if you are going totally vegan you must take a Vitamin B12 supplement.
B12 is only available from meat, dairy and eggs. If you have a B12 deficiency this can cause life threatening conditions - vegans - you have been warned!
www.rawfoodideas.com
ReplyI once did the raw food diet years ago for about 3 months. I did lose weight, but it was very hard to keep it going for longer than 3 months because you need to plan all the time and be very dedicated. I am very happy being a vegan, eating a high plant-based diet and high raw, just not 100%. Angela was able to be incredibly determined because she had hit rock bottom.
ReplyThat is such a great story. I like how she said it was a choice, because really when it comes down to it, it always is. You can always make a choice.
ReplyCongratulation! You can when you believe.
Reply