Meet Kymm: Makeup Artist & Raw Food Diet Diva {Part 2}

Good afternoon everyone 🙂 Are you ready for part two of Kymm’s story?
If you’re visiting the blog for the first time today, here’s a quick recap: Kymm completely changed her life last year switching to a strict raw food diet. She didn’t do it for weight loss; she did because she suffered Irritable Bowel Syndrome. She was kind enough to answer my questions about raw foods and this major life change. Kymm also just started an awesome website, Living Ripe, which is an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning more about her story and this lifestyle.

Please, share what a typical day-in-the life looks like… What’s for breakfast? Do you eat dessert? What’s your favorite foods?

Typically breakfast would be a smoothie (Pina Colada is my favorite: coconut (or almond) milk, frozen banana, frozen pineapple and sweetener (I prefer Coconut Nectar). Lunch is a salad with my special dressing, snack is oatmeal raisin cookies with cashew (or almond) butter smeared on top with sweetener, dinner is sushi (nori wrap, avocado, miso, cucumbers, sprouts and Braggs amino acids – tastes like soy sauce).

I know a lot of people think a switch to vegan would be expensive because of all the pricey “substitutes” for dairy and eggs, etc. Was it expensive for you?

Well, I’m not vegan, I’m raw – and there is a big difference. Vegans don’t eat meat or dairy – that’s the only exclusions. I don’t eat meat, dairy, processed food (no chemicals, preservatives, dyes, pesticides, etc.) and nothing cooked over 105 degrees, which means I don’t use ovens, toasters or microwaves, only a dehydrator. The food I eat still has it’s phytonutrients and enzymes, which are normally destroyed during high heating environments. Raw food is living, therefore it is easily digested.

I don’t know why anyone would think it’s expensive to be or raw considering the cost of meat and processed foods, but no, I don’t find it expensive it all. I order many products online and my fresh food I purchase at Trader Joe’s or a farmer’s market.

Another big concern is that it will be difficult to get the necessary amounts of protein. How do you ensure you get your fill?

I have absolutely no concern whatsoever about getting enough protein; I simply don’t adhere to the belief that we need much protein, especially flesh protein. Some of the largest and strongest mammals in the world are vegan: the elephant, rhino, horse, cow, buffalo, zebra, hippopotamus, giraffe – they seem to be doing fine with just small amounts of plant protein. I do eat a lot of nuts and grains which are naturally high in protein. As a side note, after 90 days being raw, I had a full checkup and all my tests were normal, including my vitamin levels. My doctor was so impressed that he is considering going raw himself ; )

Now tell me about your workouts. Do you have a personal trainer?

After being raw for 30 days, and experiencing such incredible results, I decided to start exercising. I didn’t exercise before because I felt so bad much of the time and was in pain.

After experiencing so much success letting someone else make my food, I felt maybe letting someone else show me how to exercise would be effective too. I’m a control freak and not exactly the type to hire a trainer, in fact, I met with him and then cancelled when it was time to start. But finally I felt ready. I think finding the right trainer is like finding the right therapist – you really have to find someone that understands you and knows what will motivate and encourage you. So I committed for 30 days 3x a week. I’ve been going for 4 months and have no plans to stop, exercise is a way of life now, just like the eating plan.

I know there’s been a lot of awesome changes – from weight loss to improved energy levels – but what’s been the absolute best part?

The absolute best part, is simply removing the stress of eating choices from my life. I have also suffered since I was a child with an eating disorder, which lead to chronic dieting. Being raw simplifies the options, makes it easy to make choices. I don’t feel overwhelmed when I get hungry or panic when I need to eat. I don’t avoid grocery stores or social situations, now I am prepared so there’s nothing to be stressed about.

What your advice is for others considering this type of lifestyle. Would you recommend it for others?

I want to make a point about being raw – the definition of raw foodism is eating uncooked, unprocessed food 75-100% of the time. Anyone going raw has to decide what percentage of their diet is best to do raw, I believe you have to be reasonable with your lifestyle, if you are striving to go 100% but that doesn’t work with your lifestyle, then you won’t commit long term. Small steps count. For me, I’m about 90% raw, I choose to drink alcohol socially, drink coffee occasionally and use coconut milk from the grocery store – all those options are processed. But I am comfortable with those decisions. There are raw foodists that make their own nut milks, grow their own sprouts and juice several times a day – that just isn’t feasible for me.

If you haven’t done so already, leave Kymm some comment love for sharing so openly about her life. THANK YOU SO MUCH KYMM! I am so thankful for you, as you were one of the first people to commit to sharing your story on Fit for a Bride!

A note from Kymm: I’ve received so many requests and inquiries from people interested in this lifestyle that I will launched www.livingripe.com and a new blog: Living Ripe “primitive nourishment in a modern world” – my goal is to share ideas, tips, recipes and encouragement for people living in a modern world to reasonably incorporate these ideals into their lifestyle.