My name is Malinda Davis, I am 46 years old and am a raw vegan. I am married  and  have three wonderful daughters who are all married.   I have been raw for 3 years now but it has been a struggle for me. Mostly because of the lack of support. I started at 225lbs and now I am 168lbs.  The weight loss has been great, but I have peaked and still have about 40lbs more to go. I have chosen this lifestyle because several years ago I was diagnosed as a type ll diabetic. I was well over 200lbs., had high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc.  My doctor wanted to put me on medication.  That was a wakeup call for me and I didn’t want to be a thirty-something woman on medication.  So I asked my doctor if I could take some time and try to get things under control myself.  He agreed but said I only had 2 months to make the necessary changes.  In that 2 month time I joined a group of women who were radically changing their lives and the way they ate.  This was my first introduction to the raw food movement.  I lost quite a bit of weight, felt better, had more energy and couldn’t believe that my quality of life went up.  My doctor was thrilled.  I attended this class for 9 weeks but the class folded and everyone else went back to their old SAD habits.  I floundered and also went back to old habits.  About three years ago I got hooked up with a health minister from Hallelujah Acres that lived a few miles from where I live.  This was great because I was able to get the raw support I needed.