This interview is an excerpt from Kevin Gianni’s Renegade Roundtable, which can be found at http://www.RenegadeRoundtable.com. In this excerpt, Phillip McClusky shares on being 400 lbs. and what saved him from gastric bypass surgery.
Renegade Water Secrets with Phillip McClusky, who lost 200 lbs. and found health and happiness in a raw food lifestyle. He is the host of www.lovingraw.com.Phillip: Thank you very much Kevin. I appreciate the opportunity to be on the phone with you and for all of your listeners as well. I’m really excited for tonight’s show.Kevin: Awesome. Well, let’s start very simply. Why don’t you just start by talking a little bit about what you went through, in your past, before you started to realize that maybe you needed to change.Phillip: Well, I had been overweight my entire life, so like you had mentioned I grew up being the “cute chubby kid” which everybody liked to pinch my cheeks and such. And then somewhere along elementary school I started to get to be fairly heavy and then junior high school I think it worked into being rather obese. And then high school and after high school I became morbidly obese until finally I reached a point of 400 pounds.
So many people ask me, “How do you get that big?” And the funny thing was is my mom never really had salt or sugar in the house growing up and we didn’t have that much junk food to speak of. But a lot of it tended to be really heavy amounts of food, just large, large portions, eating two and three times the amount that everybody else at the table had, going back for seconds and thirds and just really trying to fill some sort of emotional void that was there instead of dealing with it in other ways. It resulted in emotional eating. So that’s kind of the start of this and really where it brought me up to was an amazing place. It was
very difficult growing up that way.
Many times I didn’t even know there was an option. There were times I just resigned to the fact of thinking that I was never going to be in shape and just actually be happy, and just tried to be happy some how, some way, in shape, form, with being overweight. And I actually tried to do that for a couple of months until I really got to the place where I was like, “That’s just such a terrible attitude. There’s got to be some way…” And I had given up hope. I was researching and just like you mentioned I had tried literally every type of diet known to man. You can mention it and I’ve tried it, I’m sure. Thirty different diets over the course of the time, even some of the other types of things like hypnotism and guided imagery and water fasting and even tried vegetarian and vegan. And for some reason those things just didn’t click in for me, until later on I found raw foods. That discovery really was to be the catalyst to change the rest of my life.Kevin: So you said that you were about to consider, or you maybe even met with the doctor about bypass surgery. Is that correct?Phillip: Yeah, what happened is I didn’t have any…basically after all these different diets I didn’t have any other choice, any other option, I felt, and so I kind of just did what the media was really pushing at the time. And they were really pushing gastric bypass surgery being the only sort of answer for somebody with this type of situation. So literally living and going through all these diets and just feeling hopeless, I thought that that was the only thing for me.
So I went to the hospital and was welcomed in. The surgery was widely accepted and went through literally a month of tests to satisfy my insurance company. Probably eight or nine different tests, sleep apnea, staying in the hospital overnight, heart tests, breathing tests, everything you can think of, to sort of get this approval from my insurance company. And they finally approved it and they said, “Okay, you can have this. We’ll pay for it. You can do it anytime you want.”
I had been going to some of the support groups and had seen people that had already gotten the surgery and found that some people were having complications and there was a chance that people were dying on the table and were dying later on from complications. Even people that were totally healthy, per say, and stuck on the plan very well were still having some complications. And then I had heard about some people who had literally had the surgery and lost 150-200 pounds and then somehow stretched their stomach and gained it all back, which I didn’t even know was possible. Then I actually met a friend’s mother who had lost all the weight, gained it back, somehow convinced another doctor to do the surgery a second time, which I hadn’t even heard of, lost all the weight and gained it back again. So I kind of felt like this wasn’t the answer, but it was the only thing.
As I was about to actually have it done at the very last moment just a still voice inside me said, “Don’t do it.” And I knew at that moment that there had to be some other option. So that’s when I really decided to bypass gastric bypass surgery.Kevin: Wow. So take me through the thought process here. You tried all these other things, literally a Rolodex of different things that you’ve done. They haven’t worked. So you’re faced with bypass surgery, not bypass surgery, oh my gosh…You’re faced with this surgery. How did you make a decision to do what you did? And did you know it was going to work?Phillip: You know, I didn’t know raw was going to work per say, but I had to try something. The last thing I was doing was reading some books about water fasting and somebody in the book had mentioned raw foods. I did a seven-day water fast. It was a very nice experience. It was quite successful. But I heard this word “raw food” and I didn’t know what that meant. So I googled it online and just did a little bit of research and ran across this book called “Raw Family” by the Boutenkos. Each one of the four people in the family had a different disease and they all overcame them with raw food. For some reason when I read this, I mean I literally read the book in an hour, and something just resonated in me. I just felt that somehow, some way, this was the ticket for me. This was what was really going to work this time.
I had no reservations. I literally switched overnight from eating heavy amounts of fast food, basically fast food almost every meal, probably anywhere from two to three times the amount of food the average person eats, switched overnight to 100 percent raw foods. I kind of just knew that it would work and I just made the switch, made a commitment. But more than anything I really made a switch in my mindset, I think, which was the thing that really helped me to make this switch. Because it really wasn’t so much of a struggle this time around, as so many of the other diets were, it was literally like my mind was like, “Okay, you don’t eat this type of food anymore, now you eat this.” And so the process and making the choice was quite simple and I really felt deep down inside that this was going to be the answer for me. Basically I was sick and tired of being sick and tired and I had reached my low.
So many people don’t make change in their life until they’re actually standing in front of their doctor and their doctor says, “Okay, you’re dying. You have a year to live. You have to make a choice about your health.” Then all of a sudden everybody gets excited and wants to make a change in their life. But for me the day that I stepped on the scale and the needle went to 400, that was kind of like my death sentence. So I knew I had to find something and nothing really felt right, it was just what I was doing with the time.
But when I found out and heard and started reading about this raw food thing it just made sense. There was nobody out to make money off of it. There wasn’t any packaged foods I had to make or any cards that I had to move from slot to slot, or any programs or any monthly fees that I had to pay. There was not big mastermind behind this. It was just fruits and vegetables. You could even grow it in your backyard. It seemed simple and it just felt right. And that’s when I went for it Kevin.
Avoiding Gastric Bypass Surgery and Still Losing Weight
Detox Myths Shattered: the Truth About Internal Cleansing
Doctors are frantically scurrying to annhilate detox out of the sphere of influence, making claims that invalidate and attack internal cleansing methods, labeling them “dangerous,” and “ineffective.” The scare tactics being employed by M.D.’s, however, can be demystified with a little common sense. Allow me to explain why the medical industry wants to boot detox off the radar screen by addressing the three biggest “myths” told by doctors and spun by journalists:
1. The body is already capable of detoxing itself. Isn’t this a nice thought? See, this would be true if a person were in a perfect state of health, entirely free of toxins in the first place. Given that 100% of people are exposed to toxins through food, water, pesticides, cleaning products, pollution, and loads of invisible environmental toxins on a daily basis, it is safe to assume that all of us are, on some level, toxic. Doctors claim that the body is capable of eliminating these toxins effectively without the aid of a detox program. The problem, however, is that toxic overload, (which often results simply from consuming processed, packaged food over a lifetime) inhibits the body from being able to eliminate waste and other toxic material quickly enough. The result is essentially a “clogged” digestive tract that is unable to absorb nutrients properly. Furthermore, disease cannot exist in an alkaline, oxygenated enviroment. ____________ won the Nobel Peace price in 1XXX for this discovery. Given this idea, people would not suffer from chronic health ailments or disease at all unless they were internally toxic on some level. Disease thrives in an acidic environment, and detoxing assists the body in obtaining a more alkaline state.
2. Detox is dangerous. The only thing dangerous about detox is that it threatens the very foundation of western medicine. Think about it. If people could obtain vibrant health without the use of drugs or invasive surgeries, then there goes the billion dollar pharmeceutical industry and the careers of many doctors. Medical M.D.’s have every reason to critcize and debunk a practice that directly threatens their jobs. Yet, this claim is not only based on defending the medical profession, but also a great deal of ignorance. Typically, medical school programs spend about a day covering material about nutrition. The heart of detox is based on how foods affect the internal atmosphere of the body, and using the right foods, herbs, and natural supplements to correct imbalances. One day of nutrition out of several years of study cannot possibly afford doctors enough information to understand the concept of detox. So, why do doctors claim detox is dangerous? Probably based on the symptoms that many people experience when first undertaking a detox regime: headaches, nausea, fatigue, and other vague symptoms that may resemble a flu or cold. What is common knowledge in the Ayurvedic, holistic, and detox health community has obviously escaped doctors—the idea of the “healing crisis”. What happens during a detox can be compared to washing a pan that has crusted food stuck to the bottom. The toxic debris that get stored in our bodies is suddenly released and circulating in our bloodstream and throughout our cells before being eliminated, causing symptoms resembling illness the first few days of a detox. Often times, physical symptoms from previous diseases will surface, as residual traces have been stored in the body. Think about the dirty pan. Adding a cleansing agent like water will loosen debris so it can be washed away. A healing crisis, contrary to popular belief, is a good sign that the detox is working properly. It is no more “dangerous” than getting the oil changed for your car. The rewards of sticking it out through a healing crisis are far greater than staying toxic.
3. Detox involves eliminating food groups and deprives you of proper nutrition Only in America do people gasp at the idea of deprivation. The overly –indulgent nature of our society is most likely the cause of nutrition deprivation. Eating processed crap will certainly starve my body of much needed nutrients. The claim that doctors make in regard to detox is that it is not healthy to eliminate certain food groups. However, this is only partially true. Detoxing doesn’t always involve cutting carbs, going vegetarian, or giving up sugar. When it does, it serves an important purpose by allowing the body to restore digestive functions and eliminate toxins effectively. Certain detox regimes, such as the Master Cleanse or juicing, do involve eliminating solid foods, gluten, meat, or other things for a period of time. However, giving up steak and potatoes or candy bars for a month is not putting you in danger of nutritional deficiencies. Clinical studies have proven that vegans and vegetarians can acquire the same amount of nutrients and proteins from plant sources as meat-eaters. Additionally, detox programs are short in duration, meaning that you can’t adopt a nutrient deficiency if you decide to juice fast for a week. Granted, it is always wise to speak to a health care practitioner about your needs if you have conditions like diabetes or hypoglycemia, yet most people can safely detox and will not be nutritionally deprived. Another thing to consider about this myth is that giving up certain foods does not mean you are eliminating an entire food group. White bread, for example, can be replaced with sprouted grains, rye, or spelt. Processed sugar can be replaced with natural sugar. The protein in meat can be exchanged for nuts and seeds. Detoxing does not have to be about deprivation and starvation. If you don’t want to drink maple syrup and lemonade for 10 days, there are plenty of foods that you can eat while doing a detox that will keep you nourished and healthy.
The medical community will continue to clamor about detox. One of their biggest claims at the moment is that there is “no data” to scientifically prove that detox is effective. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it might have something to do with the lack of scientific research even conducted on the subject. “No data” simply means that clinical studies have not been performed, evaluated, and infiltrated into the scientific and medical communities. Furthermore, something tells me that they wouldn’t be made public by the very powerhouses that would be threatened by conclusive evidence in support of the health benefits of detox. In any case, the proof is in the pudding. I’ve seen tumors shrink, a diabetic go off his insulin, and many other chronic health issues vanish with detox. As ancient Ayurvedic medicine holds, all disease starts in the GI tract. Where medical doctors and holistic doctors disagree, is how to treat the disease, with the former focusing on controlling symptoms, and the latter investigating and curing the root cause of the disease. Of course it would be difficultto prove that a certain disease went away by cleansing the digestive tract and detoxing. But the process of elimination would suggest that when nothing else works, detox is the culprit of the cure.
While western medicine certainly has its place in society (if I break my arm, a detox won’t fix it), be wary of their expertise when it comes to detox.
For more information about detox, visit www.RadianceHealthSolutions.com.
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Mock ‘Tuna’…Raw, Vegetarian and Vegan!
Mock tuna fish, vegan, vegetarian and made with nuts! Delicious on raw crackers or even rice crackers! Try with Spelt grain bread as well, and layer with lettuce, tomato and onion…mmmm!
