Dustin Kellogg is an amazing man! That skinny hot guy is my good friend Meredith Frantz's husband. [You remember Meredith from her website, which i've mentioned frequently here: http://www.therawseed.com/.]
Dustin and i met for the first time at Arnold's Way and we knew immediately that we were kindred spirits! Dustin and Meredith were pretty new to raw at the time, and had just discovered Arnold's Way, and had just taken a bite of some kind of special raw sushi roll i made for them, when their eyes just lit up, they started giggling, and they exclaimed, "Oh, my god! This is sooooo good!"
Since that time, Meredith and Dustin and I have shared several blissful times making raw food together, every bite inducing orgasmic responses from all of us.
[My catering partner, Susan, and I like to say about people who react so strongly to food like us, "They're ONE OF US...!" and then we smile and roll our eyes...!] Dustin and Meredith are DEFINITELY one of us....foodies who LOVE food.
What's so amazing is that Dustin got SKINNY doing just that! Whereas I turned from gourmet raw, and from raw in general, thinking i was helping myself (only to get fatter), Dustin has stood the course...and became one of my poster children for gourmet raw. He eats what he wants...and gets to be skinny! I HAD to find out his secret because since the time of our first meeting, Dustin has just transformed before my eyes. He's lost over 100 lbs in under a year and quite literally does NOT look like the same person!
Dustin agreed to share his thoughts, guiding forces, his beliefs, and his routines with us. Thank you, Dustin!!
What you will find is an exceedingly honest and open look at a man filled with spirit, love, wisdom, creativity, who will just inspire you to learn to listen to yourself...and guide yourself...like he does!
This interview is long on technical diet questions, but Part II is coming next, which will reveal more about Dustin's attitudes about creativity and the creative force that has forever changed his and his wife's world. For those of you that don't know, Dustin is an amazing professional graphic artist and tattoo artist. He and his wife recently moved to Boulder, CO, where they are thriving professionally, and in their raw life together.
You can read more about Dustin and see his work on his website: http://www.dustinkellogg.com/ or on his blog: http://www.hundredthmonkeyeffect.net/. Dustin's email is below at the end of the interview.
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Hey Michelle! Here are the answers to the questions.
Q: How long have you been eating raw and how much weight have you lost?
A: I have been eating 'Raw' since November of 2008, so that would be a Year and 3 months. I have lost 110 Pounds. (Starting Weight: 285/290 Current Weight: 172)
Q: Do you eat 100% raw? Why? or Why not?
A: I eat 100% Organic (Most of the time) Raw Plant-Based Diet (No raw sushi, No raw meat). I eat this way because it's what spoke to me and it seems to be really work well. I will note that I say 100% but I'm not a stickler... like I eat mustard every once in a while, and ketchup (I try to use the highest quality I can). I also eat agave which may or may not be Raw, depends on the source and I drink Hot Tea. I also ingest substantial quantities of cannabis, which I will smoke... some may say I am not a truly 100% Raw, but this doesn't really bother me because I don't really like labels as much.
Q: Why did you go raw? Describe.
A: I struggled with weight my whole life. I was sick of being depressed, over-weight, and pretty much everything that I thought I knew is backwards... so I was tired of being confused and I was tired of suffering. I heard about liberation, freedom and enlightenment but every where I turned I just saw more systems of slavery... and not just physical slavery; Spiritual, Mental, Emotional and Physical Slavery. The Raw Food Lifestyle, to me, seemed like Freedom it smelled of Truth. I had very little knowledge of "Raw Food" but I knew that it would help liberate me and I could finally be who I am.
Q: How important are the role of enzymes and optimal nutrition to you?
A: Obviously, Enzymes are super important in the functioning of our digestive system and I think the more clear/clean and understanding We are (in our essence), the purer our cells will become, thus creating more substantial enzymatic connections... for the "science" I will defer to people who know more about Enzymes (David Wolfe, Gabriel Cousens, Daniel Vitalis, Angela and Matt Monarch).
"Optimal Nutrition" to me is not just about what we eat... Optimal Nutrition is Ultimate Heath... combing the four corners of Creation... Spiritual, Mental, Emotional, Physical symbiosis. I am not as concerned with "Optimal" as I am with living the Dharma... or Living the Middle Path. Optimal, to me is a positive word but it seems competitive... as if I am in a "better position" than you because I eat "such and such" a way... that seems silly to me because the extremes of polarity are always fluctuating and expanding... so what is "Optimal" to One may not be to another.... I guess I would say that I am concerned with Individual Optimization... not compared to anything other than my own expression... I am a Optimal Agnostic... haha.
Q: Was losing weight your main motivation to going raw? Or was it just a wonderful byproduct of the diet?
A: I would be lying if I said that I didn't have fantasies of being a super-fit dude with abs and a collar bone... But I feel like my motivation came more from a place of wanting to be accepted and listened-to. I felt like I had something to say, that I had an expression to share with the World, with You... and I was held back because I thought people didn't listen to me because I was fat (a product of my individual psychosis). I know now that people don't listen because they are afraid of what they might hear. So I was motivated to lose weight because I thought if I was beautiful on the outside then people would finally be able to see the beauty on the inside. I was motivated to lose weight, I don't think anyone likes being 'over-weight'... but we get used to... we accept that we can never be anything more than "Fat", so it become comfortable. Losing weight is definitely more of a byproduct of the Raw Lifestyle, to me, because the Spiritual benefits have out-weighed (pardon the pun) the Physical benefits... although they are wholly connected.
Q: What was your attitude toward losing weight during the process? Did you give it much attention? Did you weigh frequently? Were there frustrations with your progress, or was your attitude easy going and full of gratitude? Describe.
A: Okay, I'm going to be super-honest here... I have very little choice in honesty these days... so Losing Weight Blew My Fucking Mind (excuse the language, it was just that intense). A month after I went "Raw" I got in a really bad Bike accident and I sprained both of my elbows. My left elbow couldn't move past a 45 degree angle for over 3 months. In the first 3 - 4 months, I lost 50 pounds... I was literally shedding the weight.. every day I woke up, I had lost weight, literally!!! And for the first 4 months of being "Raw" I sat on my couch, and ingested high-quantities of Cannabis... and I watched a lot of internet television. But my mind was blown because I lost 50 pounds and all I did was sit on a couch, smoke weed, and eat the most amazing food on the planet... although I couldn't move my arms for three months... I couldn't believe the transformation. I have completely lost any sense of physical identity... Now, I have very little self-consciousness (in terms of physical negativity). I have had people tell me I look great, or that I am beautiful, and although this is waaaay better than being ridiculed for being "fat", I don't even care how other people see me... and not in a negative aloof kind of way, but I just don't trust other people's sight these days... I listen and take it into account but my physical appearance is more fun to me these days, I take it less seriously. I am finding that I can have more fun with my body then I ever thought I could.
I would also like to add, and I think this is integral to the Raw Psychological Transformation, that can occur. I watched the show "The Biggest Loser" while I was losing all of the weight... and is was uncannily synchronistic that the characters on the show were losing the same amount of weight that I was losing... so rapidly... watching their transformation helped me understand mine. To be honest I think the show is a little backwards in it's understanding and commercialism but what the People go through on the show is Real... and it gave me incredible insight into the nature of Food Addiction, Suppressed Emotions and Psychosis. I cried a lot, and I still do. I cry now more than I have ever cried in my life... it feels so real and I feel so alive to finally let the emotions out. I saw, not only on the show, but in my Non-Reality-Television Waking State, that all my weight was actually a physical manifestation of Emotional blockages, which is actually "Stuck Energy"... when we remove the Stuckness, we allow the energy to flow freely, so the "Weight" will not gather on the body... it's flowing.
I am extremely grateful... every day... and I would say that my attitude was and is more of an " in-Awe" than anything else.
Q: Did the law of attraction, or a positive mental attitude figure into your weight loss? Please describe!
A: I think it's apparent that the Law of Attraction is built into the Fabric of Our Consciousness... the law of attraction, to me, is a mathematical foundation for the form of our individual/collective reality. I think it played a huge role. One thing that I didn't share above is that when I was 285 or so, I got on the treadmill ( about a year before I went Raw) and I would just repeat while I ran: "I'm 200 pounds, I'm Happy, and I'm Healthy"... less than a year later all of my dreams had come true and so much more. I think Mantra is a integral part of the Law Of Attraction... if we want something we ask for it, and then we do everything in our power to receive it. I do not put "faith" in the Law of Attraction... I grab it by the horns and I rangle it to the ground.
Q: Do you feel like weight loss has been a spiritual gift? A manifestation of a right spirit? Or is weight loss a practical matter of what and how much you eat?
A: I think I answered this question above but I can elaborate. I think one can be Enlightened and not a Raw Foodist... but I see that our Diet, what we eat, is what we Are.... I think "Spiritual" is a weird word because it kind of implies a Hierarchy to some people... but when I say Spiritual, I mean a connection to all that Is... no Gods, no Goddesses, no Rules, No Dogma, No Bullshit. Each individual's spirituality can be different from another's but we can understand each other a bit more by connecting our Spirituality into Cosmic Consciousness, then Divine Consciousness, then we become all that Is... all that I Am... Spirit. Weight-loss, for me, was a physical gift... Raw Food was the spiritual gift.
Q: How would you describe your diet? Gourmet raw? Simple Raw? 80-10-10? What does that mean to you?
A: If I had to label it (I just have a hard time with labels, I'm working on though, trying to have more fun), I would say I am a Mystically RAW Anarchist... I follow my intuition and I have a handful of people that I turn to in times of confusion. I am open to all Forms of all Lifestyles, if they bring about the desired results, i.e whatever we want. I think the labels and categories that what we put on Raw Food are Silly... to be honest.... like Vegan, and Vegetarian even Raw Foodist implies separation maybe even hierarchy. I try to eat what is best for me ... I tend to drink a lot of fruit/superfood smoothies. I drink Green Juices (all shapes and sizes) and of course Meredith makes the most amazing "Gourmet" Raw food... so I eat that a lot as well. I eat a lot of Cacao.
I think humans tend to make more chaos out of not only Raw Food, but Life in general because we like the Drama... without the drama things seem boring... but when we learn to silence the mind and bathe in Consciousness, nothing is boring, no thing is mundane... Everything is a Miracle... I use words, labels, concepts and abstracts as pointers to truth... to healthy living... but words, labels, concepts and abstracts are Nothing if they don't point us to Everything.
I also smoke and eat Cannabis ( I prefer to eat it, because I cough a lot less but I love smoking as well... I think Smoke is bridge between the Here and the Now, so I connect to it). ... I know this a point of contention amongst the Raw Foodies, but I don't pay attention to that as much... I do what is best for Me, and the only person who knows that is Me. This may be radical for some, or maybe it seems arrogant... but Intuition is a powerful force and when we devote our selves to an expanded mode of being, we can open our selves up to trusting this intuition more and more.
I love fruit... I love vegetables... especially carrots, cucumbers and spinach. I basically eat whatever I want, when I want, and my digestion varies a bit, but overall I have remained in a relatively peaceful stage of being since going Raw. If I was being the most honest I would say that Allah created Raw Foodism for Me... as soon as I started, I had no idea what I was getting into but it just resonated with my Being... it was a serious missing piece in my development... and it has helped me move past judgments. If Our Intentions our Pure, then we could eat McDonalds everyday and become what we've always wanted to Be... it just depends on one's journey, what they need to go-through in order to see Their Divinity. It seems like we have a hard time accepting that we are Divine, instead we created Boxes, Labels, and Judgments.
Q: How big a role does fat play in your daily diet? How much fat would you say you eat a day? Describe all the fats you ate today and yesterday and the day before. Where do you get your fat from? Avocado, nuts, etc..
A: I love Guacamole and Avocados, and I eat them frequently... I would say 1 - 2 a day, but sometimes none... I'm more of a Smoothie kind-of-guy. I eat coconut oil... and hemp seed butter. I also eat a lot of nuts... Pistachios... Cashews... Almonds... Pine Nuts... Walnuts. But I would say Avocados are Key.
Q: Do you eat more than one avo at a time? Do you eat handfuls of nuts? Do you eat more than fat source per day? Do you keep track of this, or just let your body guide you?
A: Yes... Yes... Yes.... No... and I just let my body guide me.
Q: Do you intentionally try to keep the fat low, or do you use fat freely? Describe how you do this.
A: I intentionally just eat the most amazing food I can... I try not to Think about it too much... the Mind has the incredible ability of keeping us locked in patterns, so I try to operate more from a space of no-mind... but this can be difficult especially when we are trying to break out of old habits.
Q: Do you soak your nuts/seeds? Why?
A: Some of them... some of the time... Meredith handles most of the nut-soaking, so mostly in Gourmet, I will eat soaked nuts. They are easier on the digestion... I would definitely agree with that.
Q: What nut or seed do you use the most and why?
A: Pistachios... because they remind me of being a kid for some reason?
Q: Do you use olive oil daily? why or why not? If so, how much would you use on a salad?
A: Yes... because it tastes good, it's Raw, it's good for Salad Dressings and Sauces and such. When I first stared eating Raw I would use tons of dressing... now I use a moderate amount, I like everything coated in dressing but not soaking (like I used to).
Q: Do you eat bananas freely, or do you limit them? why?
A: I usually eat One banana a day in my Smoothie. I'm not into eating a lot of fruit at one time, unless it's in a smoothie. I think the most bananas I have eaten at one time... are 3 bananas... but that is when I first went Raw.
Q: Do you drink green smoothies? Describe three typical green smoothies with all ingredients. How many bananas do you put in your smoothies? Do you use dates/agave/honey as well?
A: Yes, I try to drink One a day, sometimes I don't, and sometimes I drink Two in a day... I call it "The Man Smoothie"... hahaha:
-20 oz. of Spring Water (or Revers Osmosis (Re-Mineralized "Avia-Clarity" and Re-Structured with "Sacred G") when we can't get spring water.)
-Bee Pollen (Two Scoops)
-Honey (As much as I want, I usually go-overboard because I love Honey)
-Ormus Greens ( Sunwarrior)
-Amazing Grass Cacao Super - Food Mix
-Coconut Oil (Scoop)
-X-tra Cacao Powder (David Wolfe's or Gnosis Chocolate)
-Spirulina
-Maca Powder (One/Two Scoops)
-Hemp Seed Butter or Hemp Seed Oil (I love anything and everything connected to the beautiful Cannabis Flower).
-One Banana (fresh, a little browner for a sweeter taste)
-A bag of mixed Organic Tropical Fruit (365 Brand... not the best "nutritionally" but it makes the smoothie cold, and more like a Shake)
Q: What 5 things do you attribute your fantastic weight loss to?
A: 1.) Being open to as much Information as I could handle... and it didn't matter the source or the credentials, I just listened.
2.) Shattering my Ego into a million pieces and having no desire to put them back together.
3.) Not believing the Government Lies. The Teachers' Lies. The Doctors' Lies. The Scientists Lies... and researching as much information on related matters, for my-Self and starting to trust myself.
4.) Doing What I Love (what I really love, not the "story-line" love)
5.) Self Realization
Q: Describe an entire typical day's food.
A: This is the day in the life of the Mystically RAW Anarchist named Dustin Kellogg... hahaha:
- I wake up and smoke some of the freshest Colorado Kind-bud I can find... or we make Raw Cacao/Cannabis Chocolates... which are amazingly amazing, and I will eat 1-3 of those a day.
- I make a Green smoothie (as stated above).
- I usually start writing, drawing, or painting... or reading something and I get wrapped up in that for hours... I try to drink water or kombucha all through the day.
- I drink 1 - 2 "High Country" Kombuchas a day... sometimes none though, I like to take breaks, Kombucha can get a bit much after a while but I love it. (JUN is better though).
- I will usually snack on some sort of Raw Cacao product throughout the day.
- I like the "Two-Moms-in-The-Raw" Granola... I think it's the Awesomeness!!
- Lydia's Crackers with Guacamole is one of my favorite meals.
- And I will eat Meredith's Raw Gourmet (when it's available, which is virutally every day when she is in the flow, but sometimes we go days without "Gourmet".)
- I will snack on some nuts here and there... and I might have a piece of fruit (This past summer, I would eat Peaches almost everyday, about 3-4). Working on the organic farm, completely changed my eating habits, I was waaaay more excited about the food I was eating... especially Strawberries... I think I was Strawberry in a past life).
- Oh! And i eat Raw cake, pie, brownies, cookies... whatevs... all day long... somedays I will have 2 pieces of cake. The other day I ate a whole small Cake... the next morning I had a huge Poop though... but I made it through... haha.
Q: Do you try to limit heavy raw desserts, heavy nut pates? Why or why not?
A: I'm going to answer this question with a question: Why have limitations when everything in nature is Infinite?
Q: Do you eat a lot of dehydrated food?
A: I eat dehydrated food on a daily basis... I wouldn't say "a lot" but I don't know what a lot is? I guess compared to Breatharian or a Liquidarian it is a lot?
Q: Do you cleanse periodly in any way? (juicing, fasting, only fruit, etc...)
A: I did a series of 10 colonics over a 10 week period... this changed my life ( i lost 5-10 extra pounds, my stomach skin tightened-up tremendously, my skin cleared and my digestive system balanced out)... I will continue to get "maintenance" colonics. I haven't dove into the Fasts/Cleanses and that sort of discipline yet... I'm having too much fun with Food right this minute... I figure as I develop I will probably Fast more... but I am not in a hurry... I think the benefits are astonishing though, Meredith is a Floating Bodhisattva when she is juice-feasting... And Angela Stokes-Monarch is a glowing Light Being when she juice-feasts. I honestly think women thrive the most off of juice-feasting. Green juice plays such a huge role in bringing about that refined clarity and extra-sensory perception... plus it helps to get at those demons that are buried deep.
Q: Do you have days when you eat lightly and days when you eat heavier?
A: Yes... it varies from day to day.... or week to week.
Q: How does eating raw food make you feel, in general? When you eat something too heavy, how do you feel? Describe.
A: I love Raw Food... it's fresh, it's alive, it's vibrant, it almost always makes me feel good (except when I'm a bit gassy)... but I generally Love how I feel.
Q: Do you struggle with compulsions to overeat or eat very fatty foods?
A: No, and I honestly can't say how or why because I weighed 285... I just think cooked-food was that poisonous to my body, it was less about "over-eating" and more about the types of food I would eat.
Q: Do you often take seconds, or do you control your portion sizes?
A: At potlucks I will take Thirds, maybe even Fourths... but when I'm home (which is most of the time) I usually just make a smoothie or a meal and stick to that. I will have 2 sandwiches or "Burgers" at a time... but not all the time.
Q: Do you often overeat or ever binge eat on raw?
A: Like I said above, to some I could "over-eat" but I never feel like I binge eat or that I can't stop myself. I have definitely eaten passed the point of hunger, to full-fill a psychological need, but this doesn't happen too often... and compared to when I ate cooked food, it's laughable.
Q: Do you meditate or do anything to control yourself while eating meals?
A: Raw Food is meditation to me... my life is a meditation at this point... and I don't eat food in "meals" as much... I just eat when I eat... and I am mindful of most things that I do, Raw Food has assisted with that tremendously. Life seems effortless, most of the time.
Q: Do you eat slowly...or fast? Do you chew your juice? Do you chew thoroughly?
A: I eat relatively slowly... if it's Gourmet I will devoir it in One Bite sometimes... but I would say I'm a moderate chewer... at times a pay more attention (depending on what I'm eating).
Q: What self controls do you use, if any are necessary?
A: I don't fully understand this question.
Q: Do you practice any spiritual teaching? How has this impacted your raw diet, or your health?
A: If I had to label my spiritual practice I would say that I am a Mystically Raw Anarchist... but I'm not a big fan of labels, and boxes, and the compartmentalization of information. I prefer autonomy... freedom... enlightenment... in whatever shape or form that takes. I try to stay as open as I can, I won't deny that it is difficult at times with all the Misinformation/Disinformation but I try to live Life from a Unity Perspective rather than a Duality Perspective (which paradoxically implies duality???).... it's a learning process.
Q: Do you juice daily? Describe.
A: No... but I should... This summer I was drinking juice 3 - 5 times a week. During the winter I do more smoothies.
Q: What are your favorite raw foods and how often do you eat them?
A: Cacao, Honey, Bee Pollen, Spirulina, All of Meredith's Gourmet food (tacos, pizzas, desserts)... I really like peaches and apples. I like carrots and spinach a lot. I really like it all, I'm not too bias. I don't like zucchini as much... and I have moments with tomatoes, but for the most part I will eat everything and anything.
Q: What is the best part of your day, foodwise?
A: Green Smoothie Time.
Q: Do you keep busy, occupied with work/art? How does this impact your raw diet?
A: I would say the main focus of my day is to do as much stuff as I love to do. I keep busy with creative work, like drawing, painting, writing, and researching. And I don't really think about food too often, unless I am contemplating how awesome it is to eat the Best Food on the Planet. Creation and Creativity are the foundations of the Universe to me... Raw Food combines Health, Nutrition, and Creation... they all seem to enhance each other, in ways that I could never imagine.
Q: Do you ever eat from boredom or stress?
A; I can't say that I do... because I'm rarely bored or stressed? Usually when I'm stressed I eat less.
Q: How many meals do you eat a day?
A: Smoothie/Snacks/Gourmet/Dessert, in no particular order and all through out the day... I don't really eat "meals" per-se.
Q: Do you have any idea how many calories you are taking in, or what percentage fat you are eating? Do you use fitday.com or any other online supports to manage your diet?
A: No... I don't even know what calories are?
Q: Do you weigh yourself regularly?
A: When I first started, Once/Twice a week. Now.... once a every two weeks or a month... but I've been holding strong at 172-175, so I don't really need to weigh myself to know.
Q: Does your weight go up and down, or stay the same?
A: Answered above.
Q: Do you gain weight eating heavy raw foods?
A: No. I maintain it.
Q: Do you eat a lot of fruit?
A: Not really. Pretty Moderate.
Q: How has your raw diet changed since you've been raw? Has it gone through any transformations? Describe.
A: I used to eat Raw Dairy cheese, which I don't really eat anymore it just naturally stopped. I loved cheese too, it was one of my last addictions to really face. Now I can eat it every once in a while and I'm chill... but I haven't had cheese in a few months. My taste has changed, I like more Bitter things now... I like to eat something savory and then something sweet right after, where before I would go through phases of sweet and phases of savory.
Q: Are you now maintaining your weight, or still losing? Describe.
A: My skin is tightening up... so I think I will lose a pound or two here and there... but I've been maintaing for the past 5 months or so.
Q: Do you exercise regulaly? Daily? Or how many times a week? For what intensity and duration.
A: Before I went Raw, I exercised 4 - 6 times a week. Now.... 10 times a month... maybe? But I go to the Dry Sauna, the Steam Room, and the hot tub 3 - 5 times a week. I like to walk and ride my bike mostly.
Q: Have you been exercising the entire time of your raw weight loss?
A: NO... I didn't work-out for over a year... and when I finally went back to the gym I ran 3.5 miles... no problem... and I've ran a couple times since and I think if I trained a bit more I could really explore my peak performance. But I'm kind of a chiller these days... I paint/draw and research a lot... and I ride my bike and go for walks/hikes and such.
Q: How has exercise impacted your weight?
A: I want to eat more... but it more effects the shape of my body, rather than the weight.
Q: Do you drink alot of fluids? Has that been important in your weight loss?
A: Yes... I could totally see being a "Liquidarian"... in fact I kind of see that being more of my diet as I progress through this miraculous process called life.
Q: Do you use sea salt freely or try to limit salt?
A: Yes... I love sea salt.
Q: Do you eat any fruit you want, or try to limit fruit? Do you limit low glycemic fruits?
A: Whatever I want.
Q: Would you say you eat BIG portions...or small portions? Do you struggle with portion control? Explain.
- Do you stop eating when you're satisfied....or stuffed? How important is it to you to stop just when you've had enough?
- Do you eat when it's "time" or when you're hungry?
- How do you DECIDE what you will eat? Do you follow your inner guide and listen" to your bodies needs, and then make food?
A: I listen to my body and my needs... and I follow my Intuition. (Answer to all of the questions above.)
Q: Does a spouse or someone else prepare food for you? Do you ever want more or less?
A: Meredith is pretty much my personal Chef. She takes really good care of me, and usually makes sure I am well fed. I enjoy making smoothies and once I start juicing, I like juicing (just not the clean-up)... without Meredith I would be either working at Arnold's Way or Cafe Gratitude. I think it's important to be around enthusiastic people who are excited about food, especially Living Food. Sometimes I want more... very rarely do I want less.
Q: Do you ever push away your plate when there is still food on it, because you've had enough?
A: All the time. But I try to eat all the food on my plate, sometimes I just get full really fast.
Q: Did you always have good eating habits or bad eating habits? Explain.
A: I don't know what is good or bad... only what feels right.
Q: How often do you eat out in raw restaurants or at raw potlucks? Do you overeat? Or make sure NOT to?
A: Not often... especially in Boulder Colorado... there are no Raw Restaurants out here.
Q: Can you overeat raw food without gaining weight? Or overeat raw food and lose weight? Do you find raw food somehow "magical" in that way?
A: It's magical alright!
Q: What health benefits have you experienced since going raw?
A: I was obese, I had sinus problems, digestive problems and TMJ (Jaw Pain/discomfort) and I started to develop Migraines... ALL GONE... except my Jaw still gets a little tight sometimes. Oh yeah! And I sprained both of my elbows really really bad... and I self-healed them in 5 months, and within the year I could do 10 pull - ups.
Q: Do you eat dessert daily? (raw chocolate, raw pie, raw pudding, banana whips, etc...) Describe.
A: Yes.... anything and everything all day long... if I feel like it.
Q: Do you find raw gourmet food in the fridge CALLS to you? Do you try to limit what you have in the house, or do you exist freely with plenty of gourmet raw in abundance in the house? Does this make you feel safe or is this troublesome for you?
A: Food has less of a pull in my life... it's sounds insane because Raw Food seems "extreme" but I actually think about food a lot less... it has less of a pull in my life.
Q: Do you pack food when you go out? Describe what you might bring.
A: Yes... smoothies... raw granola bars... nuts... seeds... fruit.... sometimes Gourmet if we have it.
Q: Do you feel there would EVER be a reason for you to want to eat cooked food?
A: Yes... for the taste. Cooked food tastes amazing... I love food... and I love tasting it... I definitely miss all the Classics: burritos, enchiladas, pizza, burgers, hoagies (Oh sweet hoagies!)... I used to eat so many chicken wings... I would take down 30 - 40 chicken wings in no time. I miss salmon, and sushi... I really miss potatoes and bread. I can't say that I will "never" eat cooked food again but I think I will turn into a Being of Light before I ever, intentionally, eat cooked food again.
Q: What keeps you raw?
A: Being Raw is Effortless at this point. No - thing keeps me Raw. I have seen the results that it has produced... there is no denying the facts.
Q: Why do you continue to eat raw?
A: Because my life is so much more amazing. I have met the most amazing people. I have had the most amazing experiences. And I plan on continuing this journey of Awesomeness... most things are literally so Awe-some now, it's almost unbearable at times. Plus, I would like to contribute to the Raw Community and the Community of Humanity, by bringing a fresh perspective to Life. I want to smash walls... break down barriers and help people open their Hearts, their Minds and their Spirit. I continue to eat Raw because it's the only way to eat... if you want to Live. It's hard to eat this way in the Land of the Dead... but once you Live there is no going back.
Q: Did you diet previously before going raw?
A: I lost 60 pounds when I was 19, because I would work out 2 - 3 hours a day... but then I broke my thumb, got really caught up in school, and I gained all the weight back. I cut out soda and ice cream at that point but I pretty much ate the standard american diet. Then I went vegetarian for two years... but I ate more unhealthy then when I wasn't vegetarian. I was a potato and pizza vegetarian. I rarely ate fruits and vegetables.
Q: What kind of success did you have previously on conventional diets? Explain.
A: Answered above.
Q: How long had you been heavy before going raw?
A: I started gaining weight when I was around 7 or 8 years old... and I exponentially got bigger as the years went on... except for when I lost that 60 pounds... but that was for about 8 months or so.
Q: How grateful are you for the raw diet?
A: I say this with the upmost respect and honesty, that the Raw Food Lifestyle has saved my life. Anything I want, I can manifest... Raw Food has helped me see that... to know that. I am so grateful for all the Beings who have brought the Light to this Dark, Chaotic, Ass-backwards world. Raw Food is absolutely a solution and if harnessed and utilized correctly it could lead us into the New Earth we all desire. I fear that people will think it is a gimmick, or a "Fad" or that "Raw Foodies" are "extremists". But, I feel as if the Raw Food Lifestyle is the Dharma that the Buddha talked about 2,500 years ago. I feel as if the Gnostics, Jesus and the Essenes lived a very balanced, spiritual life with Raw Food as a major tenet in their ethos (Gospel of Thomas). But beyond the rhetoric and propaganda of Raw Food there lies a Truth. This Truth is too deep for some to experience, so they run from it because it is too foreign, or perhaps it's too real... but if you dive in and you trust the process Raw Food can help you transition and it can help you transform from a life lived by scarcity to a Life lived in Abundance.
Q: What is the biggest advice you can give to other suffers of obesity?
A: For those of Us who have struggled with obesity I would say this: You are beautiful. You are not what people have told you, you are... you are not the fat, you are not the pain, you are not the suppressed energy and the stuck emotions. Food is not the problem. Not facing, experiencing and expressing our emotions and our past is the problem; dealing with and healing these emotions are the Solutions. Food is a tool... it is not the means to an end. If you suffer from obesity, start to Love your self, and this does not necessarily mean standing in a mirror and lying to your - self, repeating an empty mantra of suffering. Love is doing what you Love. Doing what you Love as much as you can Love doing it and then move on to something else you Love doing. Love your food, Love your Self and try to Love those around you... the more Love energy we produce the quicker we come into alignment with our True Selves. Obesity is not a disease... it is a mindset, a mode of operation, a state of being... all it takes is a shift in Consciousness and the weight will fall off faster than you can count to One.
email: dustinkellogg@yahoo.com
website: http://www.dustinkellogg.com/
blog: http://www.hundredthmonkeyeffect.net/
Thank you, Dustin,
xoxo michelle joy
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