the ashtangi diet

[Guest guest]

namaste-<br><br>www.living-foods.com<br><br>The

above link may help you on your diet path.<br>I don't

cook. I haven't owned a stove for 3 years. The most

kitchen work I do is cleaning the juicer or chopping

melons, which, by the way, are very yummy at the

moment.<br><br>May I suggest the local farmers market? I got sugar

baby watermelon, 4 varieties of plums, nectarines,

blueberries (peak season!), 3 varieties of peaches, & an

infinate selection of exotic melons, which are very

hydrating this time of year. A very exciting place to be

indeed. It dosen't have to be boring at all!<br><br>I

have been eating like this for 4 years, 11 years a

vegetarian. No supplements (I don't believe in them), no

calcium or iron deficencies, no protein problems.

<br><br>As far as losing weight, I have stablized at a

healthy weight, not "too skinny," because fruits do

contain enough calories. (I weigh 110-115 with a 5"3

frame) I have plenty of energy for ashtanga every day.

And my digestive system is working the best it ever

has.<br><br>Many folks get worried about gettin enough protein &

calcium. The reality is that animal proteins are very

acidic and create uric acid. It also leaches calcium

from your bones. And it is hard to digest, taking 48

hours to leave the body (animal protein includes

dairy-very mucus forming and clogging on the lymph

system-hence the need for neti pot) <br>There is plenty of

easily assimilated plant protein & calcium in raw greens

& fruit, and none of the vitamins or enzymes

(protein) are burned up in the destruction of

cooking.<br><br>I believe in eating as "God" intended-unprocessed &

uncooked, and organic whenever possible.<br>Try it for a

month. You will feel so good you won't want to eat

cooked grain because it won't taste good

anymore!<br><br>I also believe in the power of fasting and what it

can do to change your eating habits for good.<br>The

books below have helped me on my

journey.<br><br>Conscious Eating-Gabriel Cousens<br>Survival into the 21st

Century-Viktoras Kulvinskas<br>Blatant Raw Foodist Propaganda-Joe

Alexander<br>Fasting Can Save Your Life-Herbert Shelton<br>Enzyme

Nutrition-Dr. Edward Howell

[Guest guest]

Although a raw food diet works wonders for many

people, it's not for everyone, physically or

mentally.<br><br>Obsessing about food is, for me, unhealthier than any

individual food itself (OK with the possible exception of a

Big Mac). I agree with the person who just said "Do

your practice and all food is coming!" <br><br>My

mother is from India, and on several visits to my

grandparents in Bombay I was so picky and annoying. I chastise

myself on hindsight for not letting go of my food

restrictions. Into my own food, I used to sit at their table

eating what I bought instead of what they prepared,

which were lovely, fresh, delicious Indian

creations.<br><br>Know thyself. Not everyone who eats whole grains and a

mostly cooked food diet--and even a bit of cheese or

wheat once in a while--has mucous problems or digestive

problems. Listen to your body and your intuition--not

others'. Take food prescriptions with a grain of salt (any

more salt it unhealthy )Eat that damn sandwich and

smile! You're more likely to be a foxy, sexy grandma if

you do.

[Guest guest]

I just want to comment on the statement "eating

as "God" intended-unprocessed &

uncooked."<br><br>Using an electric juicer, if you think about it, is as

far from "the way God intended" than making a chapati

(which I've made on camping trips, they're so simple) or

cooking grain and veggies in a pot. I admire and respect

a live-food diet; it is attractive to me in theory.

But my husband and I have both tried a raw food diet

and it didn't work for either of us.<br><br>Just

another perspective. I love whole grains (buckwheat,

quinoa, millet, brown rice) and steamed veggies (kale,

broccoli, chard, carrot, whatever) and as condiments a bit

of flax seed or extra virgin olive oil, dulse

(seaweed), Bragg Liquid aminos, and a sprinkling of roasted

sesame seeds. Yum! For me, energizing and great for

digestion.

[Guest guest]

Brian Clement -- who runs the Hippocrates Inst.

in Florida, which is an all-raw-foods retreat/last

resort medical center -- says that if you can be "good"

(raw) 80% of the time and give yourself a break 20% of

the time you'll still be healthy and wealthy and

wise. It's also something that takes time to transition

into, one day at a time-- you couldn't get your foot

behind your head when you started yoga, could you? But

you practice and it comes. Maybe you'll get to 50%

raw and 50% cooked and find that's perfect for

you.<br><br> I also agree with Sunshine/Mike that you only

create anxiety if you start bringing your own food with

you wherever you go. Food is social and sometimes

being "good" will rob you of a wonderful cultural

experience. If I ever get to Japan I will be eating sushi and

drinking sake, and I won't be feeling guilty about

it.<br>P.S. The Dalai Lama eats meat

[Guest guest]

I love that saying "do your practise and all food

is coming". It is so true. My digestion has never

been better since I started ashtanga, and it gets

better the more I do (b'cos, as regular blonde readers

may know, I CANNA fit n hour and a half six days a

week, I just CANNA). So I notice the weeks where I'm on

five sessions its particularly good and not so good on

the thrice weekly ashtanga dose. Which means, I can

practise this fabulous yoga AND eat and drink to my

hearts' desire... still don't look like Madonna tho'...

it's that damned sixth practise innit?<br><br>Anyway,

a funy story about a supposed committed food

dictator from the city of Lalas over in blighty for a

holiday. Jamie usually runs every day for 40 mins, yogas

every day for the requisite 90 mins, doesn't eat wheat,

dairy, sugar, gluten, flesh, cooked food, doesn't drink

alcohol except for the occasional glass of champagne

(wonders why he never gets dates). So what do me and the

mates do? Give him the gastronomic time of his life for

three weeks then after such training in hedonistic

stuffing, we take him off to the Notting Hill Carnival...

By the end of the evening (4am) Jamie had consumed

the following: <br>2 vodka ices<br>2 Hooches<br>3

pints of Hoegarden<br>4 cans of Red stripe<br>2 cans of

Stella Artois<br>Plentiful swigs from two bottles of

sparkling saumur (all the above contain yeast, sugar,

alcohol... naughty, naughty)<br>2 vegetable jamaican patties

(wheat)<br>1 plate jerk chicken, rice and peas

(flesh)<br>Potato skins with sour cream dressing (fat,

dairy)<br>Pepperoni Pizza (fat, wheat, dairy)<br>Ice cream

(dairy)<br>Two chocolate bars (dairy, fat... f***in fab

tho!)<br>And it was all of his own voilition - we never even

had to cajole him a leetle bit. <br><br>Jamie now

looks fab. That tight wan little face is now blooming

with robust good health. And that stringy

undernourished body has a bit of meat on it. He's still running

(mostly for buses) and still yogaing (except, he's

slipped into the blonde regime) and he's hoping to

cultivate a teeny, tiny perfectly formed paunch by

christmas. Jamie's having the time of his life and his whole

demeanor and appearance reflects that. <br><br>So, I'm

thinking of offering NON-holistic retreats in the big old

smoke for all those poor souls who can't remember what

a cheese feast pizza tastes like and can't recall

the last time they woke up in the morning with a

mouth like an ashtray, a head like a steam train, and a

boy/girl in bed who you could have SWORN looked like Brad

Pitt/Jennifer Aniston but who is now doing a fab impression of

Benny Hill/Rosanne Barr. <br><br>Beware, this retreat

is only for SERIOUS students. It takes an awful lot

of training to reach the above standard of

excellence. <br><br>You're all still smiling arncha?