I Felt Untouchable from Things, like Happiness and Energy are Zooming Through my Veins: 10 Questions for Raw Vegan FarmerChelle of Chelle Goes Raw

(all pics from chelle goes raw fb or instagram)

I learned about FarmerChelle when she started posting her “What I Ate Today” photo collages in the raw vegan facebook group where I go to for all my raw vegan inspiration these days: Vegan Fruitarians. (Make sure to read the pinned post if u join).

Her photos were so incredibly beautiful and artistic, I had to know more. I checked out her instagram and her fb page and learned I was looking at a very interesting person.

Blessed with an amazingly good artistic eye, she seemed to live on an idyllic farm in Australia with her many homeschooled kids, where they crafted, gardened, raised animals, baked pies and cookies, picked flowers, went on fun outings etc….then one day she went raw seemingly overnight and her insta was filled with beautiful fruit and raw creations. There’s a story there! She seemed to be picking tons of her own food from her own gardens…what a dream. I had to interview her.

I wondered why she had gone raw. It turns out she has healed type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, lost 88 pounds at the time I interviewed her, cured her anxiety, sleep apnea, hypothyrodism and a ton of other issues. On her FB page she writes:

Here is how it happened for me (over 17 months so far). I started with going vegetarian first and ate raw till 4 and my body felt much better… my next step was to ditch all the dairy. I noticed I felt so much better…. Then I went off all grains…this is when most of the pain left my body. I stayed raw till 4 though…Then around 9 months ago I went fully raw. This is when I felt AMAZING… like I cannot even put it into words but kinda like I was zoobing on some astro level, like I am untouchable from things cause happiness and energy are zoobing through my veins.

Check out her inspiring fb page with more tips from her journey at Chelle Goes Raw. And follow her awesome instagram too if so inclined at FarmerChelle.

Please enjoy:

10 Questions for Farmer Chelle

1. Could you please say a little about yourself to get us started whatever comes to mind is perfect.

I am a mum of 7. 6 living, one in heaven. 5 of our 6 children have fragile x syndrome 4 (all the boys are also autistic).

I have a wonderful hubby. We have been friends for 23 years, been together 21 years, still madly in love.

We live on a small farm in country Victoria, Australia. We came here to raise animals and to grow organic fruits and vegetables. I love swimming, crafting, sewing, and gardening.

2. When did you first move to the farm, and how did you decide to become a farmer? Was it a big change from your life before?

We moved to this farm in 2008. It was a massive change in lifestyle. We moved from the city with a shop 10 minutes walk up the road to the country where we have to drive an hour to do the groceries.

3. On your instagram there is a sudden shift when overnight it seems you went fruity! How did you find out about raw food and how did you decide to go raw vegan?

I belong to a group of online women. We have been together for over 15 years now from all over the world. We found each other through our shared views on parenting. Most of them are vegan or vegetarian.

I was having a lot of pain in my body and they had been saying for sometime that I should get off dairy. I decided to go vegetarian (I had been vegetarian years prior before I was married) but the pain did not decrease. So I finally went off dairy.

While searching online for different dairy free recipes and looking into why dairy is bad for the body I found people eating raw foods and having success in healing their bodies. So I started transitioning into more raw foods. I started losing weight (88 lbs so far) and the pain started leaving my body.

4. According to insta, you were paleo and low carb before. How do you feel on raw vegan versus paleo? What was your experience doing paleo?

I was low carb/paleo for a while. In the beginning I lost a bit of weight, but I was still in alot of pain. Being fruity is worlds apart in how I feel. I feel alive and so much less pain (not all my issues are fixed yet) but I have only been doing this for 15 months so my body needs time to heal. Everyday I wake up I feel happy and alive and full of energy. I am 48 but I feel 20 years younger.

5. You are a mom of 7. So cool. How did the rest of your family react to your going raw vegan? Were they accepting of you? Did any of them get interested in it too?

 

My family has not been as supportive as I would like. They are meat eaters. They raise what they eat. It’s not always easy being in amongst all that meat and other parts of farm life. I can not believe I used to eat that way, it just seems so foreign now. Small changes are happening, but I am not holding my breath. But you know sometimes it only takes 1 person to show you a different way, so who knows, right?

6. How amazing is it to be able to pick your own produce right out of the garden. Do you think it makes a big difference being able to pick your fruits and vegetables right off the vine? They probably taste so much better.

In my dreaming of coming to live here, I had this imagining of me being able to walk out into my yard with a basket and being able to pick what ever I wanted to eat. That dream is a reality now. It’s awesome and yes, the food is amazing, and knowing that I picked it minutes before eating is wonderful.

7. On your instagram bio, you mention you are a fan of unschooling and natural child birth? Me too. How were your experiences with those things? 

My oldest son went to school for a short time. I never wanted him to go, it broke my heart. I had never heard of homeschooling till I met this lady. She had 7 daughters and 1 son. I asked why they where not in school and she told me all about homeschooling.

I was sold right then and there. I took the teaching lessons that were required and I have never looked back. It’s been 24 yrs now.

Unschooling has developed more over the years. Before it was all text books and it needs to be like school but at home, but as time went on I realized that I needed to be more flexible to my children’s needs and help them follow their natural calling. I see myself as more of a facilitator than a teacher.

I had my first child at 18. I went into labor, went to the hospital and did what I was told. I felt through the whole experience that I was just a number, not a person who mattered. I ended up having/being given an epidural and forcep delivery. I never felt I needed either. I found out the doctor was going away on holidays and wanted me done with. My son was born with health issues that doctor kept bringing back to the possiblity being a forcep delivery.

Birthing is big business these days. Women are told what and how it will be. I feel like we women need to take back our bodies and rights and birth in a way that makes us comfortable and safe.

8. Your photos are incredibly beautiful. How do you make them look so beautiful and have you always been artistic?

I have always been artsy/crafty. I sew, paint, draw, take photos, decorate the house. I use vintique, frame magic and rhonna designs for photo editing.

9. How has going raw changed your life (if it has)?

It’s been an amazing change for me. Here are some of the things that have changed for me:

Obese. I have so far lost 40kilo (88lbs) over 12 months.

I had sleep apnea because of being so over weight that has totally GONE.

Fibromyalgia, loss of bladder control, sleep apnea, hand and arm numbness and tingling all GONE.

T2 Diabetes. My blood sugars were at 17(306). They should sit around 5(90). The meds where no longer working. They were going to put me on a pump. The diabetes is now in full remission. This morning my base bs were 4.7(85).

OsteoArthritis/Osteoporosis. I have Osteoporosis in mypelvis and cervical spine and spondylosis. I have had a lot of pain and issues with movement. Eating Raw Vegan and doing Yoga has taken away 80% of that pain.

Hypothyroidism. I have had thyroid issues for years. I had half of my thyroid removed in 2004. The hair on my legs did not grow but after 10 months eating raw vegan my hair started growing back, also on my eyebrows too.

Also from my thyroid issues, I had adrenal fatigue and I found it hard to lose weight. Eating Raw vegan has helped so much because I am nourishing my body with real food and not having to over work my body to digest all that meat so my body can heal itself.

I am a Fragile X Carrier which has a few issues with anxiety. I have noticed since being raw Vegan that a lot of the anxiety is GONE.

10. Do you have any tips, tricks, recommendations or encouragement for those wanting to try raw vegan?

Accept that you will trip up and eat things that you know are not optimal, but just keeping going back to Raw Vegan.

Plan out the week’s food and buy only what you need, so you do not have things in the house you don’t want to be eating. Find an online support group and ask all the questions you can.

Thank you so much FarmerChelle.