Permanent Weight Loss with Raw Food Diet

Man Loses 100 Pounds the First Year Without Exercising

Major weight loss, and permanent weight loss, are possible with a raw food diet, says Philip McCluskey, 31. At 5-10, he used to weigh in at 400 pounds and tried many diets and other weight loss attempts; none worked until he tried a raw food diet for weight loss. In a little over two years, McCluskey has lost 200 pounds of fat. He is now a raw food coach and motivational speaker, and CEO of lovingraw.com.

The secret to overcoming obesity, and experiencing healthy weight loss, is the raw food diet, says McCluskey, of Danbury, Connecticut. He'd been overweight his entire life: "going from chubby to overweight to obese to morbidly obese to 400 pounds. I was never trim." Previous attempts at weight loss include: Weight Watchers, the Atkins diet, blood type diet, and diet pills. "Diets are designed to fail," says McCluskey.

He had also tried a vegetarian and even vegan diet, nutrition counseling, hypnotism, exercise videos, personal training, martial arts and gym memberships. I asked McCluskey some key questions about his raw food diet weight loss success.

Did you ever consider gastric bypass surgery?

I thought the only thing for me would be this surgery. I went through a month of tests to satisfy my insurance company to have this done. Literally every heart test, kidney, overnight sleep apnea, etc. I finally got approved to have it done and at the last minute something inside me say, "Don't do it." I decided to listen to that voice.

How did you come to try a raw food diet?

I read something online about raw foods. So I googled it and found a book called "Raw Family," which showed how four family members all overcame disease with this diet. I decided if they could do it, so could I. I literally went from a fast-food lifestyle to a 100% raw foodist overnight.

What exactly is the raw food diet?

Raw vegans avoiding all meat, dairy, eggs, breads, and pasta from their diet. They also do not eat any cooked, processed, and often conventional produce as well. My diet is basically uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and seaweed. That's it!