16 the rice diet renewal
Meet my friend Doc, whose before and after photos beautifully
illustrate his choice to turn his overweight, chronic disease – impaired
life into a healthy, active, and exciting one!
When I think about how to achieve true, lasting health, another
memorable Ricer comes to mind. Charles, a sixty - year - old veteran
twelve - stepper, came to the Rice Diet Program to lose weight and
gain control over his health. My journalizing experientials usually
begin with a summary of the health benefi ts and the healing potential
of expressive writing. After a brief meditation that facilitates the par-
ticipants ’ getting in touch with their deeper thoughts and feelings,
I ask the group to write about what came up for them. I encourage
them not to try to manufacture something profound but simply to
start writing about what comes into their hearts or minds.
I followed the same procedure with Charles ’ s group. After only
ten minutes of writing, Charles quietly waited for the others to
fi nish. When the group members were offered time to share their
experiences, Charles summarized his life story. He told us that
his dad had died when he was very young, and he had to help
his mom raise the nine other kids. He was a committed Catholic,
who saw to it that his siblings went to
church and were educated. As he shared
his history, you could feel the spiritual
depth of a man who had been forced by
Doc, before starting the
Rice Diet Program.
Doc, after embracing the Rice dieta and fl our-
ishing with less weight, more health, and a
renewed spirit.