Thirty
Days
To
Freedom

Excerpt from 
EATING IN FREEDOM

A 30-Day Program to Combat

We recommend 30 days on raw fruits and vegetables. Raw food is used by sanitariums in the healing of disease because it is similar to a juice fast in detoxifying the body. The process is slower, but the effect is the same; you will be revitalized. If you stick to this program, you will experience an exhilaration that you have never known. You will feel vitally alive. As your blood clears of all addictive substances, you will feel great. Any health conditions will be noticeably improved or even healed. Your sinuses will clear of mucus and you will be able to smell even the faintest of scents. You will be able to breathe deeply, feeling each breath enter the lungs. The mental fog will lift and your mind will become more alert. Your skin will soften and feel sleek. You will feel 10 years younger and look like it.

Raw food is loaded with enzymes, vitamins and minerals. For the first time in your life, your body is functioning free of heavy proteins, milk fats, animal fats, cholesterol, mucus forming starches, trans-fatty acids, food additives and high doses of salt and sugar. You have given your body a time of rest and healing.

The first week will be the hardest, especially the first few days, for that is the time when the body undergoes the most intense cleansing. As the weeks progress, you will feel better and better.

Although juice fasting is superior in its healing effect, the challenge of a raw food diet is better than juice fasting at developing the skills to control food intake. When a compulsive eater juice fasts, he feels free from food addiction, but as soon as he starts to eat, hunger triggers all the compulsive desires and distorted thinking patterns that were never dealt with. The result is a binge. The benefit of a 30-day fast can be lost in three weeks of indulgence.

Juice fasting has more amazing benefits than a raw food diet, but first you must develop the skills to combat compulsive eating. By occasionally replacing meals with fresh-made juice, you are gaining the benefits of juice fasting while battling compulsive eating. For this reason, juice is an important component of the raw food program. Try to have freshly made juice each day.

In our book, God's Banquet Table, you will find juice recipes, fruit recipes, blender recipes and raw vegetable recipes that will make your thirty days a pleasurable experience. The book also includes raw nut recipes, grain recipes and bean recipes and, although these are healthy in moderation, wait until the thirty days are over before adding them to the raw fruit and vegetable diet.

Thirty days of raw food is a challenge that will powerfully affect your life. These diet restrictions are difficult to face, but in doing so, you will bring about healthy changes that will benefit your body and mind. Healthy changes are an investment in your future.

The raw food diet includes:

• Raw fruits and vegetables

• Fruit and vegetable juices

• Herbal teas

• Honey and natural sweeteners

• Frozen juice concentrates

• Frozen fruit

Preparation for the Program
Read the book before you start. Buy the produce you need. Buy a food processor, blender and juicer. Create some raw food recipes you enjoy. Make the 30 days a commitment before God. Spend time in prayer. Draw on the strength of faith.

Build your resolute decisions. Find a friend who will do this along with you so you may support each other. Tell those who will be affected by your decision how much this matters to you, and ask them for their help and understanding.

During the Program
Read this chapter once per day. Write out some points that you want to work on for that day. Constantly remind yourself of the reasons you are doing this. Remind yourself of what you have suffered by being a slave to food. Refuse to allow your mind to think negatively. Be intent on making each thought a positive one. Refuse to put yourself down. Always build and encourage. Ponder, pray, read, study and invest energy; the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it.

Get focused in the morning, especially with prayer. The first thing to do while getting out of bed is to do some exercise to get the blood moving. This works faster than coffee. Take a shower and at the end, run the water cool or cold. As you face the discomfort of the cold water, strengthen your mental stance for the day: "I refuse to eat donuts. I refuse to drink coffee. I refuse to be negative. I refuse to worry. I refuse to be lazy. This is going to be a great day." Start a journal to keep you objective in seeing your accomplishment and failures.

Try to feed your mind with positive input. Choose educational programming on television. Cut down on reading newspapers. Much of it can be negative. Cut down socializing with negative people. Don't read horror novels. Develop a workout routine. Go for relaxing walks to be at peace and encourage yourself. Spend quiet time outside or alone where you can be at peace with God.

Cut out the negative influences on your thinking. You need to strive at being active in your thinking process to work at fighting negative thoughts. This will take time.

During Eating
Plan your meals ahead and put some energy into making the meal appealing. We go overboard for our guests, but ignore our enjoyment by eating from the refrigerator or cupboard. Try to clean up before you eat so you will not have a chore that can be an excuse to keep eating. Wait until after the meal before you drink. Herbal tea is relaxing; it will help you move out of the mode of overeating. Look at your food before you eat it. Tell yourself how good it is going to taste. Relax, you do not have to eat right away. Wait a minute before you eat to get focused on the food.

Eat predetermined quantities, no more. Chew your food well. Slow down and relax. Do not think about problems. Be present with the food. Feel content as you eat. Enjoy your food to the fullest, savoring every bite as though it is the last. Imagine all those nutrients going to your happy cells. Be thankful. Feel satisfied as you finish the meal. Create revulsion if you are still hungry. Visualize yourself enjoying your next activity, then get motivated.

Get Hungry
You can face hunger and be at peace. Ignoring hunger can cause feelings of being deprived that stir up uncomfortable emotions. It may take some prayer to be able to face hunger. For the next thirty days, make it your goal to eat one bowl-full or small portions of food, then wait until you are hungry before eating again. It is better for you to eat several small meals each day than three big ones. Larger meals have a tendency to overload the body with calories that can be turned to fat.

Eating while hungry reduces fat production. If you eat when you are not hungry, the blood is filled with calories and you are adding more, so the excess is turned to fat. When you eat when you are hungry, the body needs calories so there is no excess. If you want to be thin, eat smaller amounts when you are hungry. Put a check mark every time you have waited till you are hungry before you eat. Put a number beside the check mark. Five is really hungry and one is a little hungry. Look at your successes and feel good about them. Each time you face hunger and win, you are conquering food addiction. Hunger prepares the stomach for food. It makes it tastier, and lets the digestive systems have smaller portions of work to do. Eating this way will give you a blast of energy better than that of coffee. Expect more energy. If you lose the desire to eat, you have started to detoxify. If so, you will feel weak for a few hours or days. Drinking freshly made juice will keep your energy up during these times.

Urge Fighting Skills
This battle is for freedom; refuse to fail. You can feel intense emotions and choose not to give in. Tell yourself, "I refuse to quit. I refuse to give in. I refuse to fail." During the emotional windstorms caused by temptation, ask yourself, "what do I really want?" Eating to relieve stress is not what you want. What you really want is to be at peace. Eating out of anger is not what you want. What you want is to resolve the issue. Eating to relieve fear is not what you want. What you really want is the courage to face it. Eating in the place of boredom is not what you want. What you really want is a challenge that will stir some excitement within you.

Do not fight obsessive thoughts, but deflect them into positive thoughts and activities. Use mini-breaks to change your mood and break cycles of obsessive thinking. Do something you enjoy for a few minutes until the emotions diminish. Play an instrument, exercise, go for a short walk, or do some stretching. Not only will you be fighting obsessive thoughts, but improving your life one mini-break at a time. Do not give in to an urge; each time you do, the pleasure will create a craving to repeat it. Remind yourself that junk food is artificial pleasure that steals from your body. If you do not feed a craving, it will die. If you become anxious, take a slow, deep breath, holding for one second, and then release, think peace. Let go and let God.

Create the feeling of revulsion to the point of nausea: finger nails scratching a blackboard, a hair in your soup, dog vomit on your carpet, a wet fur ball on your bed, or a bug in your shoe. Find what image best works for you. Use negative labeling. Bacon is burned strips of cholesterol and fat. Make up your own negative labels for the foods you are trying to quit. Play the mental tape to the end; look at the big picture. Don't look only at the pleasure, but focus on all of the negative consequences.

When we discipline ourselves, we feel as though we have lost something, and feel deprived. Fight that feeling with the fact that you have what you need to be happy. Challenge the feeling of loss.

Remind yourself of the bad qualities of the food you hate. Refuse to eat them. Avoid triggers like donut stores and bakeries. Avoid spending time in the kitchen or at the dinner table when you start to feel tempted. Plan your meals. Have fruit or vegetable snacks ready.

The first few days can be the toughest. If you feel weak and out of it, it will be difficult to discipline your thoughts. Discipline is work, and feeling toxic creates an ‘I don't care feeling. It will pass once the blood clears of toxins. Do the best you can during these times to remain resolute.

Be Resolute
The longer you focus on a temptation, the weaker your resolve will become. You are sending thoughts into your subconscious that are weakening your decisions. In the face of temptation, be firm. Accept that you are being tempted, but refuse to give in. Be stubborn. No arguments allowed. Your decision is final.

We all have a stubborn part of our character that digs its heals in and says, "no, I refuse." It can get us into a fair bit of trouble. It can also be used to form resolute decisions. Certain thoughts stir that stubbornness into activity. If you were told to rob a bank or run naked down the street, you would stubbornly refuse, even at gun point. Imagine if you refuse to eat junk food with that same power of conviction.

It is easier to refuse to do something than it is to try to do something. Which statement is stronger, "I will try to eat better" or "I refuse to eat junk food." Stubbornly refusing to do something has power. It is absolute refusal that makes decisions resolute.

The second part of a resolute decision is being intent. Being intent is to be fixed on something. Like an athlete preparing for the challenge, be fixed on what you intend to achieve. Do not become distracted. Be connected to the victory, just as an archer aims for his target. All that he can see is that target. Once he has fired his arrow, he relaxes and gets ready to become intent again. The focus is exhausting. It requires 100% attention. Be like that. See the goal and become totally fixed on it for periods of times during each day, especially just before you eat or face temptation. Once it is over, you can relax till the next target comes up.

Resolute decisions end mental wars. Weak decisions are useless. Inevitably, you compromise, then feel like a failure. Make your decisions resolute. Pull out that part of your nature that digs its heals in when it is told to do something it does not want to do.

If you have made the decision to eat one bowl full of food per meal and wait till you are hungry before eating, you have to think of that decision, then create a storm in your soul: "I am not getting pushed around any more. I refuse to be controlled by food. Cravings, do your worst. I will not budge. I am standing firm. My decision is unchangeable. I will not give in." This is war. How long are you going to let this problem go on in your life? Till the day you die? Feel it! A resolute decision is forming.

The three important decisions you will have to be resolute about:

• Refuse yourself permission to eat anything except raw food. Be intent to finish the 30-day program. Refuse to fail.

• Refuse yourself permission to overeat. Be intent on eating one bowl of food or a small portion, and wait until you are hungry before eating again.

• Refuse to think negative thoughts. Be intent that you will think only positive thoughts.

These decisions are paramount to the success of the program. Each day you have to go over the reasons as to why you have made these decisions, and strengthen those decisions by reaffirming your intent not to give in: "I will not bend regardless of how I feel. My decision is final." If you feel weak, go down in the basement, plant your feet firmly on the floor and shout with all your strength, "I will not give in. My decision is made and that is it."

As soon as you weaken in your decision, the battle starts. Pain comes in, emotions stir to a storm: fear, insecurity, anxiety, feeling empty and deprived. These feelings will not exist if your decision is resolute. They come because you are allowing yourself to consider breaking your decision. Even if you do not break, those feelings will have weakened your decision and you will need to rebuild it. If you do not, you will fail.

Make a list of your resolute decisions and read it daily. Make your diet a commitment to God, then refuse to go back on that commitment.

Leave The Past
Quit living in the past. You can't fix it. Let it go and decide to move on. Live your life to the fullest. Feelings can be a lie; learn to challenge them by asking questions. "Why am I feeling this way?" Accept what needs to be accepted. Trust God where you need to trust. Let go and let God. Loosen up. Have fun. Allow yourself to be like a child. Don't let the past ruin your future.

Be Motivated
Your thoughts determine how you feel. It is time to change those self-defeating thoughts. Stop all self-criticism. Do not use "should" statements. Do not blame or make excuses for your behavior. Take responsibility, accept and love yourself. Feel good about your accomplishments. Do the worst tasks first.

Refuse to worry, especially during eating. Get the problem down on paper. Be objective. Make your decisions, then stop worrying and do something positive. If it can't be changed, ask the Lord for the strength to accept your situation. Make a list of your priorities and goals. Make a list of positive statements to say to yourself forencouragement. Learn how to create the feeling of joy and peace.

Your brain is filled with negative thoughts. It will take work to change the programming. When you do, discipline becomes easier.

Facing Failure
If you fall off the track, do not quit, but be sympathetic to yourself. Allow yourself to fail; it is an acceptable part of learning. Don't make a big deal out of it. Focus on the goal, not the failure. Examine what caused you to fail and come up with ideas to prevent it from happening again. Do not beat yourself up with guilt. Feel regret, then build the desire to change. Feel bad about the decision, then make a decision and move on to your goals. Encourage yourself. Think of the things that you have accomplished.

Blowing it is part of the process of learning how to do it correctly. You are not a failure. You have come so far and accomplished so much!

Fight those feelings of worthlessness. Consider God's love for you. Feel the forgiveness of a Father's love. Forgive yourself. Apologize to God for being so miserable and not asking for His help. Thank Him for your failures and the chance to learn.

Rebuild your desire to try again. Look at all the benefits. Come on, you can do it!

Run Brain Commercials
Fill your brain with pictures that move you forward, inspire, and encourage yourself. See yourself successfully completing your goals. See yourself enjoying your next activity to get moving. See yourself overcoming temptation. See yourself happy and full of joy. Let God have some ‘commercial time.

Encouraging Scriptures

Psalm 23: The Lord is my Shepherd.

Romans 8:31: About the love of God.

Corinthians 13: The love chapter.

Philippians 3:1214: Forgetting the past and running the race.

Colossians 3:1217: Clothing ourselves in Christ.

Take Ten

• Take ten minutes to pray shortly after awakening "Lord help me to do this. I really want to. This is important to me."

• Take ten minutes to build conviction to your resolute decisions.

• Take ten minutes to consider your accomplishments and feeling good about them.

• Take ten minutes to do a visualization exercise.

• Take ten minutes each night to journal your day. Bring the failures into context and feel good about your successes.

• Take ten minutes to stretch or exercise.

Dessert as a Meal
Most of your meals should be fruit salads. They are easy to make, delicious, and full of enzymes.

BASE: Freeze peeled, ripe bananas in freezer bags. As they start to freeze, break them up so they will not clump together. Bananas will store in the freezer for months. If you are cutting a frozen banana that is too hard, place it in the microwave for 10 seconds. To eat them like a Popsicle, wrap the bottom with a paper towel. For the fruit salad base, use oranges, melons, grapes, peaches, or the fruit of your choice. Dice the fruit into bite-sized pieces then place in a bowl. Frozen banana slices are added next. They taste like ice cream. Chill the mixture.

DRESSING: The dressing is the most important part. The dressing will make fruit taste like one of the best desserts you have ever tasted, but it will be healthy. To make your dressing, mix applesauce and one tablespoon of orange or pineapple concentrate. Avocados also make an amazing dressing. Avocados are high in calories. Theyre perfect if you are an athlete in training or have a fast metabolism and do not want to lose weight during the 30 days. Buy ripe avocados. Test them by pressing with your thumb. They should give a little, but not be mushy. To make an avocado dressing, blend avocados with frozen orange, pineapple or apple concentrate. Frozen juice concentrates sweeten the mixture. You can also use the frozen concentrates as a topping; just mush and spread over the top.

TOPPING- Sprinkle chopped dates with cinnamon for the final touch.

These fruit desserts will never get boring. Youll feel no sleepiness or bloated feeling after eating, but a clean burst of energy. Try to make the mixture ten minutes in advance. Put it in the freezer, clean up and spend a few moments in prayer to be at peace. You will easily appreciate every bite.

Orange-Banana Shake - 1 Banana, 1/4 can frozen pineapple or orange concentrate, one cup water and 4 ice cubes.

A Bigger Mountain
Congratulations! Youve achieved the thirty days. You're high on life, flying on the jet steams of joy. Every cell of your body is bursting with enthusiasm. Why stop here? The 30 days is just a launching pad. Bigger mountains are waiting. Consider the 90-day challenge. You are already one third of the way there. Your body and mind will feel amazing by this point. Believe that it gets even better. Climbing the 90-day mountain will revolutionize your life more than you can possibly believe.

The 90-day program has three parts.

1. One thirty-day raw-food program.
2. One thirty-day fast.
3. Another thirty-day raw-food program.

The 30-day fast is mostly a juice fast, but we recommend two periods of water fasting of three days in length, or one five-day water fast during this time period. Read our book Fasting to Freedom; there are only a few health conditions that restrict fasting. It is not starving, as your body is being flooded with nutrients. Even during a water fast, the body has 3,500 calories per pound of body fat ready for use. The periods of water fasting are a time of prayer, brokenness, and humility before the awesomeness of God. Water fasting is a period of deeper cleansing. Its a time to renew conviction and hunger for God. Because your body is clean, you will find these periods easy. There will be a sense of freedom that you have never experienced. Do not expect to feel dragged out; the exhilaration and closeness to God will belie description.

The 30 days back on the raw food diet is the only way to continue gaining more of the same astounding benefits you have received. Most people break a lengthy fast over 10 days. But thirty days is even better. After the 90 days, you can return to cooked food, small amounts of grains, sprouts, raw nuts, and all the delicious recipes we have listed in God's Banquet Table.