The Fit Life

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The Fit Life: Scott Jackson

 

Raw-licious diet can peel off those pounds

Article Launched:03/12/2007 The Denver Post 01:00:00 AM MDT

 

Bio: Scott Jackson, 48, follows a no-cook lifestyle, eating nothing

but raw foods. He works as a sales rep in the wholesale pet-food

industry and also is active in the martial arts. The father of two

grown sons, he lives in Thornton with his wife, Marcia, and three

cats.

 

The Journey: Always a little heavy, Jackson gained about 50 pounds in

his 30s, then saw his weight balloon from 200 pounds to over 300

after his second marriage in 1995. " I was one porky boy, " he says. " I

couldn't get behind the steering wheel of my van, and climbing

stairs, I couldn't get up three steps, let alone three stories,

without running out of breath. " Worse, he was plagued by headaches,

constant heartburn, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other

health problems. He tried dieting - " the Atkins Diet, the Zone,

Richard Simmons, Weight Watchers, starvation " - but while he had some

success, the weight always came back. Finally, fed up with his

appearance and with being stared at by strangers, he decided to take

a radical approach.

 

The Strategy: In December 2005, Jackson came across a magazine

article on the benefits of eating fruit and other raw foods.

Intrigued, he read everything he could on the subject. Then, turning

his back on what he calls the " standard American " diet ( " SAD " ) of

burgers and fries, he began eating nothing but fruits, vegetables,

nuts and seeds, all in their natural fresh state. As he plunged into

such fare as oranges, berries and melons (even the rind) and yams,

cucumbers and seaweed, his weight dropped at a rate many health

experts might deem unsafe. In six months, he went from 298 pounds to

190, and his waist size shrank from 56 inches to 38 - a loss he has

documented online at www.raw-licious.com. And while it took a few

weeks for his 5-foot-6 body to adjust to the new regimen, he says, " I

felt great. My headaches went away, my heartburn disappeared, and my

stats all improved. " Inspired by his success, he went on to earn a

certificate as a raw-food chef and now is sharing recipes in a class

at Colorado Free University (freeu.com).

 

The Details: Jackson relies on organic food, and buys most of what he

eats at natural-food outlets or Asian markets. He dehydrates some

vegetables like potatoes and processes others in blenders or

juicers. " I tend to eat a lot of vegetables that are indigenous to

the area, because they're the easiest to get and they're packed with

antioxidants - especially dark leafy greens like collard and chard or

kale, with a banana or an apple to cut the bitterness, " he says.

 

He never craves his old diet of KFC and Diet Cokes, and eating out is

no problem, he adds. On a recent trip to Los Angeles, he simply took

along a daypack filled with garnishes like raw almonds and dried

bananas, and added them to whatever salad he found on the menu.

 

-Jack Cox

 

Blissed be, Annie