With a new month upon us, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you all our Evolving Wellness in Action inspirational story for the month of December – James Reno.

In getting to know James a little and his journey of health and wellness, I was delighted to have him share his story with us all. James shares how he has overcome great health problems and continues to evolve his health towards the best possible state. Through this, he serves as a great inspiration for many. Yes, we can transform our health, but we have to want to do it first. Yes, getting diagnosed with most diseases today, even serious ones like cancer, is not a death sentence. Yes, it is so very much all in our hands, and James helps to explain how he has done it.

James writes on his own site called Raw-Food-Repair.com, where he shares information about how a raw food lifestyle can literally transform our health. This springs from James’ passion for the raw food healing that took place once he started eating raw vegan.  He teaches people today how he felt “as if a fog had lifted” and everything was clearer and sharper, not to mention the energy boost he got from it.  Along with his blood sugar levels decreasing to the point that he no longer needed diabetes medicine anymore, James channelled all this excitement into building a site to help others.

Thus, here is James sharing his story of “evolving wellness” with us:

What area(s) of your health and wellness have you decided to change and why?

I have decided that I am no longer willing to take a daily medication for diabetes.  Being relatively young and active, it seemed really incongruent with who I was not to try and control my diabetes through nutrition and exercise.

It was most likely a period of inactivity and poor health – lymphoma and the subsequent chemotherapy, that led to my type 2 (adult onset) diabetes.  Now that my cancer was gone, I had no excuse not to fight.

What strategies have you implemented to change, and how have they been working out for you, i.e. are you able to stick to your goals?

After reading Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book “Eat for Health” and following DeWayne McCulley, an engineer who reversed his diabetes, I figured I could do it as well, especially now that I had the knowledge.

I decided to eat mostly raw and vegan, and have been doing so for the better part of a year.  In addition, I do some form of exercise everyday, and also try to get it done before noon, to avoid procrastinating.

For the most part, I have been successful and have been sticking to the plan.

How have the changes benefited your overall health and wellness up to this point?

These changes have indeed allowed me to get off my daily medication.

My morning blood sugar is over 20 points lower than when I was eating less healthy and taking the medicine.  It is now only slightly elevated, and often is in the normal range.

In addition, I lost about 30 lbs, and am now the same weight I was in college.

What are the next steps or goals in your health and wellness evolving journey?

My next goals are to work on lowering my blood sugar some more, so that it is in the normal range more often, if not everyday.

In addition, I am working on increasing my vertical leap.  I have always admired athletes that could jump high and dunk a basketball.  I used to be able to get up pretty high when I was in college, so I figure now that I am the same weight, why not get back the old leaping ability?  In fact, I finally reached a milestone of being able to jump and touch a 10 foot rim, something I am sure I have not done since the 1980′s.  The power of raw food, focus, and exercise!

It is this excitement which propelled me to build the site, so that others can learn about amazing benefits of raw food.   Some of the main themes running through my site are how raw food helps diabetics, allows weight loss to occur naturally, and improves athletic performance.  As the resident test subject I have experienced dramatic results in all three areas.

I strive to continue to teach and inspire others to just get started eating more raw food, and how to do so. 

What message do you have for others who are struggling or embarking on a similar journey, where their health and wellness is concerned?

You have got to stay motivated.

I’ve found that by setting small, achievable goals and reaching them is the best way.  After a while they will add up and you will see what seems like remarkable progress to an outsider, but was really just a series of small steps in the right direction.

Specifically, when trying to lose weight and/or eat smaller portions, I’ve found that drinking a lot of water helps to stave off hunger and keeps your energy levels up.