Posted by hanlie | Posted in My Long Walk to Health | Posted on 21-12-2009
Philip McCluskey used to weigh 400 pounds. Then he changed the way he thought about and responded to food and lost 200 pounds and changed his life. He’s been at his body’s perfect weight for more than a year now and I find his story very inspiring.
We have so many expectations when it comes to food, but I really like what Philip has to say on the subject:
One of the most common comments I hear this time of year is:
Don’t you miss warm foods in the winter?
I need hot soup to keep me warm.
I could never be raw in the winter.Umm…. since when has food had so many responsibilities?
We want food to comfort us when we are depressed.
We want food to be our friend when we are alone.
We want food to cheer us up when we are sad.
We want food to entertain us when we are bored.
We want food to party with us when we are happy.
We want food to warm us up when we are cold.It’s all a lie!
Food only has one responsibility, to nourish and heal us.
That’s it…. anything else is a bonus.Yes… you can make it pleasing to the eye.
Yes… you can make it tasty for your palette.
Yes… you can put your love into creating it.That’s all real, and all good.
Just don’t get it twisted.If you are replacing dealing with an emotion, with food… you are doing yourself a disservice.
Lets take responsibility and own what is really ours.
Let us be free to experience the emotion, let it flow and let it go, and be the overcomers that we were all born to be!
Wise words indeed!
Brilliant!
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yes and the word RESPONSIBILITY leaps out at me.
2009 has been a year of focusing on that for myself. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
Im not perfect by far—-but Im better than I was this time last year.
MizFit´s last blog ..MizFit & the January issue of Fitness Magazine…
To each his own.
Where does this man live? In Canada, hot soup is a must in the winter!
I never tire of great success stories like this. Thanks for sharing.
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Wonderful story! Thank you so much Hanlie. It’s so important to experience what we are feeling so we can deal with it in a productive manner.
A tremendous life turnaround to be applauded!
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Great message indeed
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Very wise words. Thank you Hanlie. I have learned so much from you and appreciate your friendship. xoxo
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Great post, as always!
And Merry Christmas to you too, Hanlie!
Thank you for the shout out. Much love. : )
God I love people like that!
I know that we each need to walk through this life in our own way, but when we start to abuse food and then suffer because of it, and then complain and then do nothing about it, that is when things get a little frustrating.
So that is wonderful to hear his words of wisdom – my favorite part “Food only has one responsibility, to nourish and heal us” … how beautifully true!
Thank you Hanlie for featuring this excerpt and the inspiring being that Philip is indeed.
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Thanks! Needed inspiring words & story right now! Wishing you and yours all the best this Holiday Season!
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Very good advice. I am 37 and just now realizing that food is fuel and nourishment. It is keeping that mentality that is hard.
Oh my gosh.
I totally needed to hear this. My concerns for going raw were about the warmth. You just helped me look at it in a new light. Thanks for posting this!!!
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And that is the honest truth of it all isn’t it?
thanks for the REMINDER!
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Randomly stumbled across your blog. I really like it. Interesting post about raw food…I’m doing an experimental short term raw diet (just a few days), and have actually noticed I feel a little colder. Maybe this is just part of detoxing? I do agree that food is to nourish, and shouldn’t be something we target for everything.
Wow. GREAT post.
I love what MizFit wrote above about responsibility and moving forward each year. Good thoughts.
If I don’t happen to catch you before – have a wonderful holiday!
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing that with us.
I just wanted to say Merry Christmas Hanli. I hope you have a wonderful Holiday.
God bless.
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I’m familiar with Philip’s wonderful success story, Hanlie. I always feel great when I incorporate plenty of raw foods into my diet.
I believe succeeding at weight loss (regardless of the method) and healing our bodies is like succeeding at anything else in life–we must make wise, informed choices and take full responsibility for our actions.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and joyous, healthy New Year!
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I like that. I think people really do underestimate the influence and impact of the food they eat on their body, minds, and spirits. It seems like so often we just eat and forget about it. Then when we start feeling crappy we look to drugs to solve the problem instead of the food we just ingested- because you know, how could that be the problem? (I apologize but I’m not including myself when I say “we”, I’m probably not including you either)
I tend to think differently. I think what we eat does impact everything. We have to look to solve that dilemma before we can truly heal ourselves.
That is really a good summary. I think that synopsis about food only being required to feed and heal us will help many people re-align their relationship with food for the better. Thank you for bring this to light.
To Your Health!
James Reno (editor)
Raw-Food-Repair.com
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well said!
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