Matt Goes Raw
April 22, 2008 at 7:25 am 19 comments
When I went raw the first time, Matt did it along with me when he was at home…but he never fully embraced the entire deal 🙂 He enjoyed the foods I made, but he continued to enjoy his favorites. Those favorites included Dr. Pepper, Snickers, hamburgers, and all kinds of other non-raw stuff 🙂 He was always a vegetarian at home as well, but ate whatever meat he wanted when he was out.
Fast forward to February. He started to realize that he was gaining more and more weight…and that his diet left much to be desired. So, a few weeks after I went raw…he joined me on his own accord. It started out with a few green smoothies. Then, it was a green smoothie every day…sometimes more than one a day. It didn’t take long before he was sold on the raw lifestyle…and after we came back from our Christmas break, he went for it.
He started to lose weight…easily. Without working out, he lost 16 lbs. in one month. He went from a pants size of almost 40 to a comfortable 36. In 2 months, he has lost 36 pounds and none of his clothes fit him anymore! 🙂 Wooooo! His cravings subsided. He started waking up refreshed in the mornings…and without much sleep at all. His energy level went up, along with his mental clarity/energy.
When we are out and we choose to eat a cooked meal, he orders TOFU. Now, for those of you who knew pre-raw Matt…you understand that this is a huge step 🙂 He would always have a little taste of the tofu I made at home, but would never order it for himself. It says a lot about how the raw diet changes your taste buds…and how you look at foods. To even think about putting factory farmed, hormone-laden beef or chicken in your mouth after you’ve been eating so clean…well…it’s gross 🙂
The added benefit of having your entire family eating raw, is that you aren’t tempting when you’re cooking their cooked food meals! And one of the best things about eating healthy and clean is that you never have to tell your child “no…you can’t have what mommy and daddy are eating!”. There is no guilt and nothing is off limits.
It’s so exciting when your spouse is on board with raw…and it’s downright sexy when he asks me to make him a big plate of fruit for lunch..hee hee! 🙂 I know that many of you are on this raw food journey alone, without the support of your spouse. And I would guess that some of you are even having to deal with ridicule and taunting from them as well. BUT…hang in there! I never thought in a million years that Matt would go raw, so miracles do happen! Keep on track with your own eating habits…and don’t worry about his. He will see the positive changes in your life and eventually it will “click”.
I’d love to hear your story!
…is your whole family raw?
…have you had a hard time with a spouse who doesn’t “get it”?
…do you have a spouse success story?
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Happy Foody 
1.
Jen. | April 22, 2008 at 11:29 am
Yay Matt! So glad he’s feeling energetic and healthy!
We’re not fully raw although we do have green smoothies regularly – even Lauren is drinking them now! But, we’ve been eating vegetarian for almost a year. Patrick’s like Matt was, he still eats meat when he’s away from home, but has been mostly veg since the kids & I started back last May. At his last physical, his cholesterol had dropped from 239 to 196! That’s the lowest it’s been in 20 years!
2.
Laura O. | April 22, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Ok, so I knew he had lost weight, but I didn’t know how much 🙂 This is totally awesome! He looks so great and yes, like you said….tofu???!!! Matty, that’s amazing. Keep it up!
3.
Kristy | April 22, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Way to go, Matt! I’m actually the success story in my family…my husband was always the healthy eater. He introduced me to a whole new way of looking at food and what I was putting into my body. Neither one of us is totally raw and we don’t really have any plans to be right now, but we rarely eat meat and the longer I go without it and learn more about the different ways I can get what my body needs…my cravings (salt, sweet & iron) continue to become less and less. I did OK for awhile and then I kind of got off track. The green smoothies are awesome and I’ve been going through a bit of a detox using only fresh, raw foody goodness for the past several days and I feel almost lucid, I think clear would be a better word. I don’t feel like I’m walking in a haze anymore. My entire perception is heightened and I feel great. Thanks for all the information you share! Cheers, Kristy
4.
flipflopmamma | April 22, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Since you started the green smoothie challange, and we started going more raw (still not totally, but mostly) I’m down to a size 2…mind you I’ve had 3 kids(I was a 8/10 before I had my 7 month old)! I haven’t been this small since high school, and I’m not unhealthy at all. I feel great and I’ve had several people ask me what I do to have such smooth skin (I’ve stopped wearing makeup, and I have no blemishes anymore.) My husband had started losing some weight and then plateaued, he cut out sugar completely and went mostly raw and he’s lost that last 15 pounds and has lost 42 in all!! He thought he wanted a burger, so I bought him some organic beef and he did not like the taste at all!! You’re right, after eating so much live food, dead food just isn’t tasty anymore!
5.
elle | April 22, 2008 at 4:51 pm
What is up with the not needing sleep thing? I went from being vegetarian to mostly raw about a week ago and I can’t sleep. Coincidence? I go to bed, but I just can’t sleep. It is atcually kind of annoying.
elle
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beverly | April 22, 2008 at 8:33 pm
your kidding! that is so awesome. my husband did the very same thing feb. before last when at his urging we went high raw [raw all day] with a cooked vegan dinner. it made it so much much easier with us doing it as a team and it was the most sucess i have had on a raw diet, ever. i’ve tried it many times for probably about 20 years actually. my husband is [was] the biggest meat eater in the country. we had many amazing healings from our diet change also. there are some good books out there for high raw also, raw food detox has the full range of raw, websites- http://www.rawcrunch.com, tiny book and our favorite raw bars, and http://www.hacres.com a biblicaly based high raw diet with lots of books and barley green.
anyways, i’m so excited for you.
oh yeh, i was gonna tell you what urged my hubby to want to change his diet. he was completely familiar with raw cuz i have preached its benifits for so long, but his uncle that he loved sooo much became ill with cancer and he wanted him to live so bad and he kept urging him to do the diet and finally my husband said how could he tell someone to do a diet that he didn’t do and the rest is history.
7.
Yardsnacker | April 22, 2008 at 8:55 pm
That’s great news! It really does help when your significant other comes along…kicking,draging their feet lol! 😀
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Carolyn | April 22, 2008 at 11:48 pm
I am SOOO showing this to MY Matt…he is very, very far from ever trying Vegetarian, much less anything raw. He is so into bread, chips, pretzels, etc. He has made huge steps in eating less of whats really bad, but, I do wish he would at least try something beyond his daily bowl of cucumbers and peppers (although I’m thankful he eats that, at least!)
9.
Heather | April 23, 2008 at 12:31 am
Ya for Matt!! I thought he was looking pretty healthy there in your recent pictures. How are you feeling Sara? What has been your biggest change? How about Bella? I did raw for a month, lost 14 lbs, a full size and a half and felt great. I went from sleeping 4-5 hours a night to a solid 7-8. It does work, even if you do it part time.
10.
yielded | April 23, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Way to go, Matt!
My husband has always been supportive of (and grateful for) my dietary and health goals, and he even went along for the ride when I decided to go vegan three years ago.
Some changes in DH since: no more seasonal allergies and skin problems, more energy, and weight loss that he’s been able to maintain.
Our whole family eats the same stuff. We are not 100% raw- but have managed to keep the cooked food to one meal a day.
11.
Corinne Britt | April 24, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Wow, that is amazing….my boyfriend, who I live with, is a butcher by trade and I am vegetarian, since I was 17 years old (I am 43). I do not cook meat, only vegetarian so he will always have meat at lunch, but in the 7 years that I am with him it is amazing that he has become “vegetarian” at home. I have not given up yet……I am taking your green smoothie challenge and guess what, he has been drinking one every morning with me. Now that right there is exciting! My three sons are also in on the challenge and they love it. My son, Mark, does not eat anything green, but your smoothies….he is loving it. So I thank you for your blog and your inspiring posts and for your green smoothie challenge. Thank you!
12.
Umm Layth | April 24, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I have a question. I’ve become suddenly overwhelmed with trying to eat more simple things. My parents have instilled in me to make the best mexican food, and my husband loves pakistani/indian food, and so for me to simplify sometimes seems so hard. I think I overthink things so much that I end up not really doing much at all.
I’m kind of afraid of trying new things because I’m afraid it won’t taste good or something. I know there are endless possibilities with foods but I need a push to tell me to just try different topings on my salad, or to cook different style beans without fearing the spices and the outcome.
Any advice ?
13.
Jenn | April 25, 2008 at 3:05 am
First, way to go Matt! He looks so happy…
I’m working my way up to raw right now – green smoothies most days, and sometimes twice a day, usually raw until lunch, and then something cooked with lots of veggies and whole grains plus a salad in the evening. I feel really good – my skin looks better, my weight’s dropped a bit, and I feel a lot more grounded and focused than I have in a while (enough so that I’m getting lots more work done on my dissertation than I have in awhile.)
My boyfriend and I live far away for now, although we visit a lot. He’s not onboard with the raw (or the vegetarian, really), but he’s supportive of my choices. His big issue is that he has a stomach condition and lots of greens and fruits and veggies have a lot of fibre, which makes him feel horrible. I have a plan that I hope to implement though, which will hopefully get him able to eat more of the good stuff, which I’m hoping will then help to further clear up the stomach issues.
14.
sara | April 26, 2008 at 4:53 am
I have been doing spring and autumn cleanses for many years now and a couple of summers ago, my husband and I tried raw for two weeks. Although I wasn’t very educated about what I could eat (read very little variety- mostly mesculin salads and flax seeds and fruit), it was a good enough experience that I ate raw for most of last summer and learned a lot. My husband had no interest at that time to join me -though he will always eat whatever I put in front of him for dinner, so he did eat raw dinner almost every night. When I phased back into cooked foods, I quickly found that I needed to maintain at least 70% raw to feel optimal health eating no wheat or dairy. I had a bit of a hay day during the holidays and got sick and was motivated that enough was enough and have been eating pretty darn clean ever since. I got Raw Life Force Energy by Natalia Rose with my B&N christmas gift card and it was life changing for me to read. Her main principles are keeping proper food combinations and the colon free flowing with lots of raw foods, but some cooked if you want. This was a breakthrough as I convinced my 9 yr. old son and my husband to do a 21 day life force energy supercharge plan diet as laid out in her book (somehow that shift seemed less daunting to them than all raw). I started several weeks before them incorporating the green lemonade every day for breakfast and that has been a phenomenal change in my life and now my husband is hooked too! I eat raw during the day most often and have 98% of the time either vegan or raw dinner. My husband usually takes leftovers for his work lunch. My older son didn’t remain on the diet plan after his 21 days (he still eats really well though), but my husband and I like to call ourselves lifers. If I am not transitioning to an all raw diet, I am at least transitioning to a very clean diet where the cooked foods I eat are very simple like a baked sweet potato or quinoa and at this point that feels good to me. I have a lot of bulk beans and rice that we are working our way through and then we will see what comes next. I was out of town recently and my husband maintained himself well with lots of green smoothies and properly combined meals. Yea for him! I also have a two year old who loves brown rice but always drinks my green lemonade, green smoothies, bunny juice, etc. Our whole family is mostly wheat and dairy free because of me. The others may sometimes indulge with family or friends. I think I am going to focus more on incorporating dancing and yoga and exercise almost daily before I shift to 100% raw because when I did it before, I had too much energy and not enought outlets, so I need to work those outlets into my life, so that is what my new focus is. But that is my ramble for you. Thanks for reading!
15.
Carrie | April 27, 2008 at 3:57 am
That’s awesome! My hubby eats junk and so do I, but we are on the road to healthier eating. I’ve been vegetarian for close to 5 years now and I’m putting more and more veggies and fruits and whole grains into our diets. Hubby eats like this at home, the kids eat like this all the time. We’re inching our way along into healthier practices.. It’s just a slow going journey. 🙂
Your blog is inspiring, though, and I think it may speed things up. 😉
16.
christygriner | April 28, 2008 at 11:57 am
I am incorporating the smoothies into my diet (and Beatrice sips off of mine, usually). I really like them. Brian isn’t ready to jump on the raw band wagon…yet. It makes cooking dinner hard. Hmm…maybe I will share Matt’s story with him for inspiration. Thanks Sarah!
17.
Trying Hard | May 8, 2008 at 5:41 pm
I am loving your blog and feel inspired, but it is short lived. I would love a post or interview by Matt as to what motivated him, how hard it was and what he feels like now. You guys are an inspiration!
18.
Denise | May 18, 2008 at 7:29 am
My husband is a meat and potaoes man and can eat five meals yes, five) out everyday. When he eats healthful salads, it is just an appetizer. He’ll drink a small amount of shake, but certainly not as a meal. It does get very fustrating that am satisfied with one meal, I cook a day and then the fruit, salads, shakes, and nuts… and he is still planning an outing. He’s starving and craving. I am not sure what the satisfaction is to him to go out and spend more money when the fridge is full and I am willing to prepare. We have 3 boys… it’s not easy feeding them with mom and dad going in opposite directions.
19.
Ko-Shin | May 27, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Wow! I must say that all of you are giving off the RAW glow! You are so inspiring! You look beautiful.
🙂
Ko-Shin