How Angela Stokes went from morbid obesity

http://www.naturalnews.com/029972_Angela_Stokes_raw_food.html

How Angela Stokes went from morbid obesity to a fit, thin body with raw foods
Thursday, October 07, 2010
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) Angela Stokes once weighed 294 pounds. Seeing her today, it's hard to imagine that she was once stuck in what she called a "miserable cycle of morbid obesity." That's because right now, she's thin, healthy and downright beautiful. I know because she and her partner Matt Monarch were my neighbors in Ecuador, and I had the privilege of hanging out with them from time to time over the last several months.

The question people always ask, though, is "How did Angela get so thin, healthy and vibrant while letting go of all that body fat?" And the answer to that may surprise you because she didn't do it with some surgical shortcut or chemical intervention. Instead, Angela Stokes turned to raw foods and transformed her diet. That, in turn, transformed her body, and then her mind, and everything about her including her relationships with others. As she writes on her web page, "Within just a month of going raw, I had my first boyfriend in over 5 years - I was thrilled and increasingly inspired and dedicated to my new lifestyle."

A woman with incredibly courage

I never knew Angela before she got healthy. I've only known her as a super healthy, happy and thoughtful person who celebrates the joys of life. She'll marvel at the growth of new plants in the garden, and she delights in sharing a new superfood recipe with anyone who wants to learn. She and Matt often harvest omega-3-rich "weeds" from their property near Vilcabamba and blend them together with fresh mangos and other seasonal fruits to make an amazing superfood smoothie beverage like nothing you've ever tasted before.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Angela is not merely that she overcame an extremely difficult situation with morbid obesity, but that she found the courage to write about it and help teach others to venture forward on a similar path of self healing. She has created a series of written materials where she shares her best wisdom (and secrets!) about what works to reform your health from the inside out by turning to raw foods.

The collection of her materials is actually called Raw Reform, and you can download it all right now from the NaturalNews Store by clicking here.

In her collection, Angela has a how-to guide, an amazing raw foods recipe book, how to overcome "emotional" eating addictions and habits, insights and advice on dealing with the physical changes of serious weight loss (stretched skin, detox experiences, etc.) and much more. That's what's so amazing about Angela: She's been there and done it! She has gone through the transformation and has now helped probably tens of thousands of others navigate a similar path of self healing.

I was once nearly obese, too

It's no secret that I was once borderline obese as well. Although I never got up to 300 pounds, I was embarrassingly overweight and nearly diabetic. I used principles of nutrition and exercise to get to a healthy weight, so I also know what it's like to be a heavy person who needs to unleash some self-healing in order to get to the healthy, fit body we all have inside.

I know it seems intimidating at first, because saying "no" to that donut -- or pizza, or ice cream -- can seem like the hardest thing you've ever done at first. But I also know that people who have been through it can be invaluable coaches to help you avoid the pitfalls and achieve lasting results. Angela Stokes is perhaps one of the best coaches you'll ever find in the world of health-oriented healing and body balancing -- meaning you find your correct "balance" rather than just focusing on "losing." Because, let's face it, when you get healthy, you're not "losing" anything -- you're gaining your life back!

If you're like most people who struggle with eating and body image, Angela can help you get your life back. She knows what really works; she knows what emotional and dietary traps to avoid; and she knows all about the personal transformation that takes place along the way. Reading her books may inspire you beyond anything you've ever achieved before along the lines of healthy living or weight loss. And the best part is that even while reducing body fat, you'll be increasing your nutritional density! That's because Angela eats (and teaches) a superfood-rich diet that's loaded with healing medicinal foods and superfoods.

I know this from personal experience. One time I walked over to their house in Ecuador and saw their kitchen stacked with fresh mangos. "Where did you get all these mangos?" I asked. Matt explained they found someone selling mangos at the local market in Vilcabamba and offered him a price for his entire inventory. The seller agreed, so they brought home maybe a hundred mangos which were now displayed across all the countertops of their kitchen.

Over the next day or so, they proceeded to peel and dice all those hundred mangos, then they stored the bits in their freezer. For the following month, they used those frozen mangos to blend up amazing mango smoothies mixed with wild greens, herbs and grasses. And no matter how green their smoothies were, they always tasted delicious! (They would treat me to a taste from time to time, and I was always amazed.)

Another time they had my wife and I over for a "raw Mexican food" dinner. They had prepared an unbelievably delicious meal made with raw tortillas, guacamole, salsa and even raw "sour cream" (without using dairy). We enjoyed the most amazing Mexican-style raw food (in Ecuador!) I've ever tasted. Some of those recipes are in Angela's recipe book, too.

The real McCoy

The thing is, the so-called "weight loss" industry is filled with a lot of people who aren't the real deal -- people hawking gimmicks and shortcuts that don't work. In great contrast to that, Angela is the real deal -- a genuine guru of raw food healing. She's not a saleswoman, she's not faking it, and she actually lives what she teaches every single day.

Both she and Matt are people who genuinely live the lifestyle they promote, and whether you're interested in just going partially raw or temporarily raw or fully raw, you'll save yourself countless hours by learning from someone who has already been through it: Angela Stokes.

I think that no matter what your health goal -- to lose weight, to increase vitality, to prevent disease or even boost brain function -- you'll learn a wealth of information from Angela. Her approach to things is insightful and seemingly advanced beyond her years. Perhaps because of the young age of her health crisis (she weighed nearly 300 pounds by age 21), she was faced with early challenges that many others never encountered until years or decades later. Out of that, she emerged as a role model who has now inspired countless other women (and men!) to achieve similar health breakthroughs in their own lives.

Check out her story at the link above. You'll be amazed and inspired. And you may just find that Angela Stokes can show you the very path toward healthy body weight and self healing that you've been looking for.

She's definitely earned my respect for her courage and her transformation. I consider her a blessing to the entire natural health community, and I hope that her message reaches thousands more who share in these amazing healing principles that Angela Stokes has discovered and shared.

About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In mid 2010, Adams produced NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body.