Hey Jenny,
I just looked around your raw food blog and I must say I really like your articles on there. I don't know so much about you though, like what you do for living and that, but it sure seems that you know a lot about raw food. It's awesome, thanks for all the info. What you wrote about grains is totally what I needed today to give me a stronger conviction that raw is the right way to go. Also, I like the way you write. You make it all very personal and you are open to state your own opinion. I like that.
Thanks,
K.C.

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Dear K.C.,
Thanks for writing. I also thank you for encouraging me to write more about myself on my blog. I will do that! I am a mother of 8. Cliff and I have 7 sons and 1 daughter, oldest is 25 and youngest is 4 years old. "Only" five sons at home now. To earn a little money to help pay debts, I have been providing child care for two girls for six months, but that is over next week. I am 100% hardcore follower of Jesus and I am 100% raw vegetarian. I know I am a strange one, but doing what God has led me to do. I am 49 years old.

My husband and sons eat normal American fare, alas. I have to be quiet and be an example and pray for God to show them and lead them. I am constantly reading books on raw, healthy living and Natural Hygiene Health Science and learning more. I hope to write books or at least booklets. I have several in the works. Some day I hope to get published.

Right now I am keeping track of my 100% raw vegetarian food intake and I will write about it soon on my blog so people can see how easy it is to eat this way. I am going to call it "Jenny's Twenty Raw Days".

Last Friday I had the priviledge to hear Victoria Boutenko speak in Portland, Oregon (which is four hours south of Sequim where we live). I was able to talk to her beforehand and had her sign all four of her books that I already own and have read and re-read. There were about 150 people there! I stood up after her talk and went up front and publicly thanked her for my victory over obesity and compulsive overeating as a result of going 100% raw after reading her books. She explains so clearly in her 12 Steps to Raw Foods that for those who have food addiction problems it is especially important to eat 100% raw. Have you seen her website? www.rawfamily.com

By the way, I'd love to hear all about YOU. I love learning from other health seekers and raw vegetarians and I'd like to hear your story/history. YES YOU! Please writel me at jennysilliman@juno.com . Also, feel free to ask questions, if you want to know more.

Love in Jesus,
Jenny Silliman
Sequim, WA

I've learned that the body can only use about 1 cup of water at a time and when you listen to it, it will tell you when you need it. I used to count my cups of water, but now I drink to thirst, about a cup at a time. Now I know if I drank 8 cups a day, I'd be drinking too much water! It is actually hard on the body to have to deal with the extra. When you eat a lot of raw vegetarian and high water content food, you don't necessarily need the 8 cups a day. Some raw vegetarians don't drink any water. That doesn't make sense to me because animals in the wild, that still have their instincts, drink water. Good pure water is essential for health. It is important for weight loss because the body uses water in the chemical break down of stored fat. Water is also SO essential for detoxing and good elimination to keep the body clean on the inside.

I started out about 85% raw with the Hallelujah Diet in the year 2000. With juicing twice a day and eating a huge supper salad every day I noticed lots of good improvements, but still struggled with compulsive overeating. I lost extra weight only to gain it back.

A pregnancy in 2002 gave me the excuse to eat and I got huge. The summer after Peter was born (March 25, 2003) I was up to a size 20. I started praying desperate prayers and I mean crying out to God. Oh God help me!

Some people can be fat and happy, but not this mama! Obesity and a wobbly double chin did not become me. Besides excess weight to the tune of 75 pounds, I counted up 50 signs of malnutrition and ill health. It seems like once I turned 40 my body started falling apart.

I struggled with depression, hypoglycemia, intestinal problems, dry skin, arthritis, and a low immune system. I constantly got sick and my teeth started decaying at a rapid rate. I was afraid of getting cancer and heart disease. I went to bed early, slept in and took naps, but I was still tired all the time. I had pain in my knees, headaches, a back ache and a tooth ache. I got sick and tired of being sick and tired and FED UP WITH BEING FAT.

I read a raw recipe book that had one line that grabbed my attention: "COOKED FOOD TRIGGERS OVEREATING AND FOOD ADDICTION." It was an exciting revelation to me to learn that my constant hunger was simply the cells of my body crying out to be nourished and that cooked food was dead and my body desperately needed living raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and greens with live enzymes, vitamins, minerals, nutrients and chlorophyll.

July 2003 I began an amazing 100% raw year. I went from a size 20 to a size 10 and after detoxing I felt absolutely high on health. WOW!

In 2004 I started to add cooked food back into my diet. I live on the far northern edge of WA state and we have long cold winters here. I first added herb tea, soup, brown rice, steamed vegetables and potatoes. If I started to gain weight I'd go back to all raw, but I didn't have the conviction that all raw was the best for me.

I've struggled a lot with overeating and have gained weight until I'm back to a size 14. I tried the Prism Diet (combined with raw vegetarian) and went to Overeater's Anonymous, but kept on with trying to eat high raw. (I also had another devastating miscarriage last fall.)

I think it has been especially challenging as I have to cook for my family and I don't have a raw buddy or raw friends for support and understanding. Sometimes I feel like I'm from another planet. I raw planet, or island--doesn't that sound good? A raw island. Finally I've come to realize, as Victoria of raw family.com describes in 12 Steps to Raw Food an overeater can't leave a window open to cooked food, even 1% cooked food, or it is a slippery slope. It is true. I start out with steamed vegetables and soon I'm sampling my own casseroles, dipping into my son's mashed potatoes, eating too much and gaining weight.

I'm back to 100% raw. April 15, 2007 I turned a new leaf. I guess I had to go around the mountain again. Alas. However, my convictions are firmer. I just had to learn it for myself or learn the hard way. Now I am in agreement with Victoria--with any kind of cooked food addiction, 100% raw is the only way to go.

It is again AMAZING to me how I do not overeat raw. I don't even need that much food to feel satisfied or experience "satiety." Maybe I'll write about that tomorrow. My raw blog can be my raw buddy for now.