Wow, how can you tell that reports are done, the sun is shining and Melinda's never at home enough to blog...but finally I'm going to talk a little bit about the talk that Paul Nison gave in Vancouver at the end of June.
In a few words...inspiring, amazing, incredible! I am always buzzing after a raw food talk but never like I was that night. Filled with new information and ideas I actually ended up driving another attendee home and we talked the whole way about how we'd incorporate some of Paul's ideas into our lifestyle.
I had an number of favourite moments...like the one where he just "happened" to move to West Palm Beach Florida so that he could get healthier. He talked about a van with a word he didn't know how to pronounce and I knew immediately he'd moved near to the Hippocrates Institute. No coincidence there, me thinks! The universe was obviously working towards getting Paul close to the institute so that he could heal and then help spread the Raw Food Word!
I also appreciated the "knowledge without action means very little" comment. It has been ringing true even before this lecture, but especially since I heard him say it. It's one thing to think it but a whole other thing when someone puts it directly to you. Acting on new knowledge is so important. Making sure our values and beliefs are in line with our actions helps to bring balance to our lives. I've been noticing this in all areas of my life in the past year, not just in eating but in relationships, and much more.
He also hit on a couple of other pieces of information that I have been thinking a lot about:
Overeating
Undersleeping
Even eating a mostly raw food diet I still tend to eat too much and too late in the day. I have more energy so tend to go to bed later. I also have trouble sleeping if I eat nuts or seeds late at night due to the energy they give me, but pay for it the next morning when I have more of a "roll over day in stead of a roll out (of bed) day". I wasn't listening to my body really well in this area until this information was brought to light for me, again, by Paul that night.
So here are some things I have tried to incorporate into my life since that night.
I now subscribe to Paul's Blog. You can too...click here. There's a subscription box on the top right.
I am eating less than I did before, and trying to be more consistent in this area.
I am not eating late at night and will try to bring the time back from 9pm, to 8pm to 7pm each month. Paul actually only eats two meals a day. One around 9am and one around 3pm or a bit earlier each day. He calls it the NDD or No Dinner Diet. It gives the body's digestive system a break and allows the body to do the cleansing it really needs to do. I tried it for two days and noticed a HUGE exit of toxic buildup from my body and decided that it was too fast for me, plus emotionally I was not ready for such a drastic change so I have gone back to eating dinner and a light snack around 8 or 9pm. 9pm is still too late for me. When I first made this change, I saw a difference and now, a few weeks later I have to be careful about what I eat at that time or it keeps me awake. So I may try 8:30pm for a while and see how that goes.
I'm also eating slower, chewing well and trying to eat in a calm state. This is challenging with a 5 and 3 year old at the table but doing my best. It is also good for them to see slow eating. They tend to inhale their food and not chew well but with practice we're making some headway!
The fact that it is summer means that I am eating simpler meals as well. I am blending, not juicing as much as I would like but am working towards one or two juices a day as I feel best doing that...especially after the 30 day juice fast I did in last fall.
I am cutting back my sugar intake. I used to think that eating six bananas a day was fine...and I could get away with that when I first went raw as I was no longer eating the processed sugars...but I have found some health issues creeping up this last six months and I believe it's because I got so clean with juicing for a month that all the natural sugars I was intaking has been a burden to my body, so I am again listening to what it's saying and also to Paul's suggestions and realizing that this must happen for me to live a long and healthy life. I am addicted to sugar and I just substituted refined sugar with dates, bananas (and other high sugar fruits), honey, and agave syrup. So I do indulge in these occasionally but not for every meal as before!
I am also going 100% raw again as I have not been as rigid with this in the last six months and also feel the effects. I am about 80 to 100% raw depending on the day and really feel much better after a few days at 100% so I there is the knowledge that I have to act upon!!
In health and happiness,
Melinda
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