Hello

I have struggled with a severe food addiction for over 30 years.

 

Food was always on my mind.

 

The smallest amount of stress or frustration would automatically send me to the kitchen in search of something I never could find but always ate anyways.

 

I couldn’t get in the car and drive anywhere by myself without stopping at a fast food drive thru, even if I had just eaten and was uncomfortably full.

 

Fresh fruits and vegetables didn’t taste good because they were competing with fried, heavy processed, white sugar, white flour and/or lots of seasoning.

 

For decades my obsession with food had stolen a meaningful portion of my freedom of choice.

 

One Sunday evening I happened to notice a book on my bookshelf I had never seen before. I don’t know where it came from or how it ended up on the small shelf. (I later found out my wife does :)

 

Three words in the title grabbed my attention: “Natural Weight Control.” And the word that grabbed my attention the most was: “natural.”

 

I immediately started reading, and then skimming. The application of the ideas presented were a little too extreme for me, but the message resonated with me profoundly: “Our bodies are alive, and consist of living atoms and molecules. If we feed our live atoms and molecules with only live food, versus dead food, nature will naturally regulate our weight.” 

 

The next morning, with a high level of curiosity, I began testing the theory. Within a few days all of my insatiable cravings for dead food -- baked, grilled, fried, pasteurized, processed, canned or bottled -- dissipated. 

 

When the Christmas season presented itself with all of its deliciousness, I was astounded that I could look at all of it with faint interest, and yet have no real desire to eat or drink any of it.

 

And, since my personal experiment with live food started, I have now passed by hundreds of fast food restaurants and had no desire to stop.

 

Even more astonishing is that I began to taste, enjoy, and love eating simple live food. The amazing flavors in vegetables, fruits, hybrids like avocados, and the many varieties of raw nuts were coming to life.

 

When I started eating live food I weighed 255. I'm 5'9" with a relatively heavy bone and muscle structure.

 

In the first week of what I later defined as Phase One, I lost 5 pounds. 

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For the next two weeks in Phase Two, I lost 10 pounds.

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Then I plateaued for several weeks until I discovered Phase Three.

 

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I just finished 8 weeks since I started Phase One, and while in Phase Three now for 2 weeks, I've lost another 10 pounds.

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I am thoroughly enjoying food and I don't feel deprived in any way.

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In a week we are going on a cruise with children and grandchildren and while at first I had some trepidation that all my food cravings might come back, now I'm less concerned. Since it will be difficult to only eat live food on the ship, I've purchased a small lightweight juicer to take with me.

 

(I'll update this section of my story once a week)

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The other surprising discovery from my live food experiment was my energy and muscle condition.

 

I play a LOT of pickleball, usually 2 hours a day, five to six days a week. On some days I'll play 4 to 6 hours.

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Shortly into Phase Two I noticed that I wasn't feeling fatigued during or after playing, and my typical muscle and bone soreness had mostly disappeared. 

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Previous to Phase One I would usually fatigue at the 1.5 hour mark, and I always felt sluggish and sore after playing, especially at the end of the week before taking a break/rest on Saturday and/or Sunday.

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The apparent relationship between live food and energy appears to be profound.

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My personal reasons for writing "The 5 Phases of Permanent Weight Control" and creating this forum are three-fold:

 

1) I'm living my own personal experience with live food but hopefully this forum will allow me to learn from the personal experiences of others,

 

2) if without any paywall, others can find the same or similar newfound freedom I'm experiencing, it would make me happy, and

 

3) since I coach pro pickleball players who all struggle with energy depletion, writing all of this down made it more efficient to work with them in order to test their experiences with live food and energy.

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