Currently, I am Fruitarian. But quite frankly, I have not historically even liked or EATEN fruit. I grew up on a steady diet of pizza, packaged ramen, fetticini alfredo, burgers, steak, fast food, salmon, lentils…. Some healthy, some real food… some not so healthy, some not real food. But essentially, just eating for fun. I had incredibly dysfunctional digestion issues that I kept to myself. My intake of food steadily increased as I got older. I didn’t start gaining much weight until college, when I: 1. added a steady stream of alcohol into my diet, 2. was devoid of parental influence on my diet, and 3. starting dating a hardcore foodie. By the time I was 23 yrs old, teaching English in China, I weighed 200lbs. Granted, at 6′ 2.5″ I am a remarkably tall woman, but I carried a LOT of extra padding in my hips and thighs. My height could only spread it out so much.
The uncomfortable truth of the matter is that I was very unhappy and withdrawn during my teenage years and my early twenties. I seriously had the worst vibes. Politely said, the depression I felt was a complex web of limiting beliefs I had attained and unhealthy dynamics that I attracted into my life. Is it possible to be able to travel, have plenty of money, do mostly whatever you want, and still feel unhappy? I can attest to yes, yes that can be true. And it can be internally devastating. If you’re not mature in your spirit and whole in your heart, you can still be unhappy in the brightest of situations.
For me, a big reason I was so clouded, stuck, and stagnant was my food choices. I had a deep sensitivity and strength that the food I ate kept me constantly numb to. And this is key for all of us: locked inside you is a vital, magnificent, energy powerhouse that you CAN access, provided you work past your fear of it and your fear of change. Back then, I had no idea that the food I ate mattered to the functioning of my body or mind in any way whatsoever. Thankfully, I got big into yoga after it cured a month long constipation spell for me, and I never looked back. Yoga helped me so much, years before I put any thought into my diet whatsoever.
After experimenting with removing gluten and dairy from my diet, and cooking vegan meals for about a year, I went full vegan for my New Year’s Resolution on January 1st 2018. I had the support of my vegan boyfriend at the time, who really educated me from the ground up. I ate a mostly “Level 4: Vegan Monk” diet – no salt, minimal fat, no oil. Basically oatmeal with apples for breakfast and steamed vegetables and a grain for dinner. Some fruit here and there. Even while eating very generous portions, I lost 50lbs in the first year. I got a lot of positive attention, which was a little embarrassing for me. Not everyone fully agreed with my diet, but everyone definitely thought I looked great! I gained a remarkable amount of flexibility that had not been available to me despite doing yoga for 6+ years. Bringing my own food to social events and attempting to explain myself was challenging, but I managed to weasel my way through, regardless of my lack of social graces and other’s lack of understanding.
After two years of being a Vegan Monk, I wanted more. We’d hit the pandemic and with my free time, I was pursuing Bowspring Yoga. When watching a video of a fellow practitioner doing her practice, I felt depressed that I would never be anywhere near as good as her, no matter how much I practiced. Not one to be beaten, I decided it was time to go raw vegan! The concept of plant food being more nutritious when raw and uncooked made perfect sense to me. While my first attempts at raw salads and soups were not that great, I got online, found good teachers, and got rocking and rolling in the kitchen!
Fully Raw Kristina was, and still is, a great role model for me. I also got turned onto Medical Medium from a friend and jumped into his 9 day raw vegan 3:6:9 Advanced Liver Cleanse, which was a fat-free cleanse that included a liter of celery juice daily, his Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie, a lot of apples, and fat free meals like a minced kale salad or (my favorite) riced cauliflower sushi. I loved this cleanse so much I ended up repeating it immediately, I was on a roll! The celery juice was a game changer for me at the time. At his recommendation, I included cooked potatoes in my diet for a time, but I eventually decided that they just made me tired, and so I let it go.
While looking for more raw vegan recipes online, I accidentally stumbled upon fruitarianism. I had no knowledge of it previously. I wasn’t even aware that Steve Jobs had been fruitarian! Again, I simply embraced the logic. If you look at our teeth, we are most similar to frugivorous primates. I have now been fruitarian since January 1, 2022, and I have never felt more healthy, alive, and happy. I have the easiest diet to shop and prepare meals for – once this millenial learned how to pick ripe fruit! There is some knowledge of food combining that is helpful to know. And because an all fruit diet is incredibly cleansing, there are cravings that come up, but they do pass with time. I have no embarrassment about my diet. It is the most simple, peaceful, and natural diet ever. I have no problem telling hosts that all I need is some fruit at their event and that I am happy to bring my own.
I am a skinny lady now, which feels so different from once being 200lbs with plenty of badonkadonk. I would say that I am still in a period of deep cleansing. I do practice fasting, both intermittent and longer term fasts. I always experience a lot of healing and mental clarity when I fast. Also, not eating sure frees up a lot of time! Other benefits I have experienced being fruitarian include generally feeling very light and airy, with really easy and steady digestion. I joke around that I am like Gumby, because I am so incredibly flexible, I surprise myself sometimes. I often am in a good mood and enjoy connecting with people throughout my day.
Although I certainly believe strongly in the benefits of Fruitarianism, I chose to offer a comprehensive variety of diet upgrades and cleanses for my clients. This is because I am firm believer that every human being has a right to their own journey. It is not up to me to dictate what is correct for someone else. Our health, happiness, and feelings of self satisfaction operate upon a broad spectrum of internal and external needs being met. For me personally, diving fairly deep is extremely satisfying, and for others, it may feel very alienating. I would never push someone into a lifestyle that didn’t feel right to them, and potentially cut them off from other sources of happiness. However, I am available for that kind of support for someone who knows in their heart that it will benefit them. People usually just know (AND I offer a way to get there gradually, which is usually what works best and is most sustainable: It takes time for the body, mind, and social sphere to adjust).
There’s lots of logic and reading material and youtube videos that I can direct you too, but the food journey is ultimately a journey of following your heart. It is not always logical, bursting out of the trap of addiction is never really logical to the one who is prisoner. Why leave the pleasure trap? Why indeed. I will tell you that there is a health and vitality available to you like no other when you leave aside the Standard American Diet, when you break the norms of supposed “nutrition,” and you return to the most simple of truths. We’re frugivores. Our bodies heal themselves. Let’s not put toxic substances like pesticides on our food. And the list goes on and on, because we live in a wholly unnatural world. Perfection is difficult to attain, but we can make great strides as we become more aware, and we can make our own informed decisions from there.
