Anyway, I did a lot of research in raw food. There are so many ‘gurus’ that in my opinion came across fake. Promoting cacao and super foods, yet in my mind I was looking for simplicity – something natural – and super foods didn’t come under my category of what I thought was natural. And with the promotion of chocolate under these so-called raw foods ‘gurus’ I really didn’t see myself following their advice. I have had a chocolate addiction – eating in high quantities and knowing it could not at all be good for me if it was an addiction – even in the raw form. Of course at first I was happy to think that I could potentially eat chocolate on this diet, but when looking into it I decided that my instincts were right.

With all these ‘gurus’ about that I didn’t trust I finally came across the 80/10/10 diet by Dr Doug Graham. It immediately made sense – no supplements or super foods, just a diet rich in fruits and greens. The simplicity of the diet also was attractive to me. I just needed to eat a lot of fruit and some greens. No preparation needed, apart from waiting until the fruit was ripe maybe! So for the past two months I have been transitioning. I decided not to dive head first into this one but take it step by step. I eat mainly 811rv but in the evening after fruit and a big pile of spinach/celery or whatever, I will have a small cooked meal. I intend to, starting this week add a day in every 2 weeks or maybe every month which is completely raw and 811rv. Despite still having a small cooked meal my body has been cleansing – I have had a week of a strong cough that is clearing out my lungs it seems! I have a lot of phlegm, and it is affecting my asthma currently. I felt very tired and ill last week too, but I know it was my body cleansing itself. I do feel my skin has become more vibrant (I have always been told I look yellow or sickly in some respects especially when I am tired) but I know I have a long way to go.

Also despite having the cooked meal, my cravings for cooked food or chocolate are zero. I have had a few incidents where I have wanted to have cooked food for the numbing effect it has on my emotion, but the actual craving for the food has gone. I have been quite emotional the past few weeks too, but I guess the cooked food had suppressed this in me for so long. I have come to realise the Wai diet had too much fat in it, so maybe this is why I did not experience these sorts of things on that diet. My cravings having gone means I can go shopping without buying anything that is rubbish for my body.

I have also noted that for the first time in my life I am eating consistently without effort. Food ha become a function to me, which is a positive thing. I don’t want to be emotionally attached to my food. I like to just eat because I am hungry. I eat a lot in a day, and I eat everyday this way. It is quite easy. I am working on stretching out my stomach so I can eat in two sittings as opposed to four. Despite eating more than ever, I have become skinnier – probably because I have cut out a lot of fat that may have been in the diet before, although I struggled to eat consistently and a lot anyway.

This was me in June on the left and me now:

And this is me in April on the left and me now:

I was around 120lbs (5ft7) in the first pics and I now weight 105lbs.

Some people have commented that I look ill and too thin, but I don’t think I look ill – my boyfriend even thinks my face is glowing, and if it was not he would then be worried about my weight. I do think that my weight has gone down a lot because I have been training for a marathon (but after last weeks cleansing and the knee injury I had in the beginning I think I am going to ease off my body and just do a half marathon until I have gone through more cleansing) and because of cleansing. I think I may put some on once my body has finished its job!

I feel good. I feel stable. I feel like I am going in the right direction. The tension I suffer from in my shoulders has also eased off (I know that I do need to work on posture to help this further and maybe see a physio too). I know I have a long way to go, but I honestly believe I am on the right path now. I could have never got to this point without the support of my boyfriend either – he is fab for putting up with me through my emotional upsets. Generally though I feel a lot more at rest. I look forward to posting in a few more months time and to see my progress then.

For anyone considering raw food I suggest you get yourself a copy of the 80/10/10 Diet at http://www.foodnsport.com. It is worth the time to read – it will give you a new perspective on the raw food diet and well hopefully I can show you the results every few months ?

As a mother who breastfeeds (my son is now 8 months also!) in public, I would hate to see this happen. I, so far, have had no problems feeding my son in public and would like it to stay that way. Breastfeeding is natural and can continue for a long time…not just the regular 6 months that the majority of people are told to strive towards.

Here is some information:

* The worldwide average natural weaning age for a human is between 4-7 years.
* The World Health Organisation recommend mothers breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months and continue to breastfeed well into the 2nd year.
* No healthcare professional has ever stated that full term breastfeeding is damaging. On the contrary, they state that it is healthy for both mother and child.

So why is this happening? Why can mothers feed cow milk to their children in public, when other mothers can’t publicly feed their children the milk they’re designed to have? It is ridiculous and I feel like our society moves away from everything natural and looks down on it. It is the best thing for your child!

If you too, hate the idea of thi law being passed, please sign this petition now. You must enter a valid email address, and you must be a UK resident or ex-pat.

Please forward this message to anyone who can sign this petition. It’s really important that all breastfeeding in public remains legal for children of all ages.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/breastfedright

Well lately I have been looking into areas of simple living and self-improvement - through healing myself physically as well as mentally. So I decided to finally get something sorted about my shoulders. I have had an issue with them since I was 13. They have always been overly tense and I have been told they are this way as a result of emotional stress. Some days I would be so tense I couldn’t sit still as it was more painful to be still. Anyway, recently I have started some intense training for the Amsterdam marathon in October and my shoulder started to play up while running. So I thought it was about time to rectify the issue that has been burdening me for over ten years.

I have only had a couple of sessions, and it has eased up only slightly. I can’t expect miracles overnight when I have suffered this issue for so long. But I realised that when attempting my natural vision. although one of the resources I used had exercises to relax shoulders and neck, that thbis probably was not really relaxing my shoulders and therefore I think my shoulders would have hindered me making any progress in naturally improving my eyes. I think, one I have relieved my shoulders and neck properly from the burden of tension (which i apparently extreme) I should be able to start my journey again in natural vision properly and without this hindrance.

If you cannot relax properly, especially in the shoulders and neck, this will hinder your vision. So if you are trying to improve your vision, it is much more than just about doing techniques. You have to be relaxed - and this is something I can’t do completely right as now. So once I can I shall be on my way. This is definitely the start of my journey.

I haven’t put my glasses back on since I last posted, but I haven’t been keeping up the exercises either - apart from the blinking, not staring and making sure I sun. It has been really sunny so that has beeen helpful.

I don’t feel I have made any progress - but I definitely do not need to put my glasses back on and have had no desire to.

I have also had other issues to deal with in my life, but seeing as I am having difficulty in finding a teacher nearby I will definitely be delving back into self teaching vert soon unless that changes. I have also decided to have a few lessons in the Alexander Technique.

I really like how I feel though despite my cravings. I like feeling fresh and light and I love my skin.