In my last ‘Why Eat Raw’ article I shared four reasons for eating raw (if you missed that article, you can read it here). When I started eating raw, these four reasons were more than enough to keep me going. But over the years, my reasons for eating raw have evolved.

At first my primary reasons for eating raw were very physically based. I didn’t feel good, I wanted to feel better, and eating raw helped me to do just that. In fact, I felt amazing without feeling deprived or like I was neglecting my desire for beautiful, delicious and satisfying food.

But as my health has improved, the physical reasons for eating raw have faded into the background a bit more. Of course I still feel my best when I eat raw, and I’m very selective about the cooked foods that I do eat. But, I discovered a whole new world of reasons to eat raw that only revealed themselves to me over time.

1)  Energy levels skyrocket. Most people who decide to eat at least 50% raw feel a significant increase in their energy levels. This can look like an overall increase in stamina and endurance. It can feel like needing fewer hours of sleep to function at your best. It can appear to others like you’re beaming with positivity, exuberance and a newly found appreciation for life.

More than anything, I felt like I had more energy to take on the daunting tasks of my day, week, month and year. I stopped feeling like I needed to take a nap in the middle of the day, or that I had to have a caffeine or sugar fix in the late afternoon.

I felt so energetic that there were times when I didn’t even know what to do with all of the energy I had. In my opinion, this is a good “problem” to have! This increase in my energy levels over time has helped me to build two successful businesses, travel the world, complete several coaching certification, become a gourmet raw food chef, start writing my book, create art, and grow as an entrepreneur, a wife and a woman.

The incredible energy my body has today surpasses the energy I had in my 20’s. If that’s not an amazing reason to eat raw, I don’t know what is!

2)  Mental and emotional clarity become the norm. It’s amazing how exhausting it is to be on a constant rollercoaster of emotions and negative thoughts. My moods and thoughts used to swing quite suddenly (and even violently) before I started eating raw. One moment I’d feel one way, and the next moment was a complete unknown.

I used to think there was something “wrong” with me – at a core level – and that was why I couldn’t control my moods or think positive thoughts more often than not. I’ve since learned that my former diet was causing all kinds of blood sugar imbalances, food sensitivities and nutritional deficiencies – and all contributed to my mood swings and negative thinking.

It’s been such a relief to find that there’s nothing inherently wrong with me. And it’s been incredibly empowering to discover how to consistently create opportunities for my best self to emerge. Since eating predominantly raw, my moods are even, predictable and positive.

Even when challenges arise I respond differently than I used to. I feel grounded in my knowing that everything will be okay, and that I am capable and strong. I can see through the chaos of nearly any situation and find a place of calm within myself.

In the past I’d get swept up in any unexpected scenario as if there was a tornado winding its way through my life. Today I am able to find the gifts within the challenge, maintain a buoyant mindset and not get caught up in the worry-fear-anger-pain cycle that used to paralyze me and keep me stuck in less than ideal scenarios.

Eating raw has helped create an internal environment of health, optimism and resilience inside of me. This was completely unexpected, but it has made all of the difference in my day-to-day reality. And it is a very big reason why I eat raw today.

3)  Former limiting perspectives and beliefs fall away. I used to believe my physical pain and health challenges were normal – it’s a part of the aging process, right? I thought I’d always struggle with my weight, my body image and with food – I’ve been at war with these things for decades, and it’s always going to be this way. I saw myself living an unsatisfactory life – for the rest of my life – and really felt I just had to make the best of it.

Raw food transformed all of these limiting thoughts and beliefs into something quite unexpected, expansive and profound. As my beliefs around what was possible for my physical body began to shift and change, all of my other beliefs did the same. The narrow parameters that I had accepted as my reality were widened, and then disappeared altogether.

As the health of my body has evolved, so have my beliefs and my perspectives on what is possible in my life, and in the lives of others. Eating raw has opened my eyes to what’s really available to me at any given moment. When you don’t know that something is even an option, you can’t include it as a choice. Eating raw has shown me that there are more options than I can potentially imagine in any given moment. And the choice rests with me.

I now know that anything is possible. If I can think it or dream it, it already exists. All I have to do is ask for guidance and take the necessary steps to move toward it. This is a far different way of living life because from this vantage point and perspective there are no limits.

I love living life from a “limitless” place. Raw foods have afforded me the health, the energy, the positivity and the broader perspective I know I require to live the quality life I truly desire. Without these gifts that eating raw have given me, I know my life would look and feel very different. I would be a different woman, and in all likelihood, you would not be reading this today.