Many people have asked me recently what my lifestyle looks like in terms of nutrition and fitness, so here it is!
In terms of nutrition, my lifestyle has been a big and long roller-coaster ride! I took the first steps toward a healthier lifestyle when I began running consistently, in 2008. I started eliminating meat, sugar and flour and ate more salads, fruit and overall light meals. In 2012, I went vegan overnight after watching a documentary called ‘Earthlings’. It shook me to my very core. I can’t recommend this documentary highly enough; I think it’s a must-see for everyone.
A couple of months later, I came across a book about fruitarianism: 80/10/10 by Dr. Douglas Graham. Intrigued, I further researched this topic and that summer in 2012, I ran a half-marathon as a fruitarian. I lived this lifestyle for about two years.
Then some major events happened in my life (which I describe in my upcoming book ‘Unveil the Light‘ – coming soon!) but I won’t go into detail right now.
Long story short: I’m still eating a mostly fruit-based raw vegan diet, I am still running 5-6 times a week and also fast regularly. Whenever I crave a cooked meal, I will do so (as long as it’s vegan, of course!) and usually this is a soup or pasta. But when I’m back in Belgium with my family, this can also be a big serving of French fries: my country’s specialty!
On a normal average day, my meals are light and I fast about 16 hours a day. I think fasting has played a big role over the past few years that I introduced it into my lifestyle. When I ran my first half-marathon, I ate a TON of fruit. And with a ton, I mean 20 bananas for breakfast! I realize now that this was way too much. In comparison, I ran 5 km back then in 30m:44s. Almost 8 years later, I run 5 km in 26m:40s! And that only took me one month of vigorous training 🙂
So this tells me that this way of living is right for me. What’s right for me is not necessarily right for another person. It took me more than a decade to figure out what my body needs and how it can perform the absolute best. I do however think that we as a species eat way more than we are being told, and eating less and maybe even a little fasting here and there definitely can’t hurt. Quite the contrary; eating too much can cause potentially more harm to your body than not eating at all.
I have done a lot of research on this and own a big personal library of fasting, fruitarian and health books. If you are interested, this is my recommended list:
– Man’s Higher Consciousness – Hilton Hotema
– The Facts of Nutrition – Hilton Hotema
– The Science and Fine Art of Fasting – Herbert M. Shelton
– Return to the Brain of Eden – Tony Wright
– The Mucusless Diet – Arnold Ehret
– Rational Fasting – Arnold Ehret
– 80/10/10 – Dr. Douglas Graham
– Fruitarianism: the path to paradise – Anne Osborne
Annelies Wetzelaer 