Brooks - Squeeze life: your body to the best bare body at any age

Copyright 2017 by Karliin Brooks Foreword copyright 2017 by Russell Simmons All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. Cover design by Laura Klynstra Cover photo by SALT ISBN: 978-1-5107-2502-7 Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-2503-4 Printed in China PHOTOGRAPHERS Layla Love PJ Spaniol III (Cover) Vienna Rye Demetrius Fordham Aja Kermit Mercado Ashja Moore Brooke Fleming Julia Corbett Jason Nastaszewski MODELS Sarina Kalmogo Kimberly Brooks Lucy Ageeva Cameron McCartney Brooke Fleming Samantha Erin Schrode Aesha Waks Rebecca Schecter Devan Dubois Lily Brodsky Sabine Adam Aye Alexis Germaine Camilla Noelle Samantha Lubrano Tai Walker Nathaniel Sol PRODUCERS Rebecca H James Paul Wharton CLEANSE AUTHOR (editor) Katherine Krauss PRODUCTION CREW Trevis Wimer Dane Wimer GRAPHIC ARTISTS Peter Blossom Marko Radojevic Matt Occhuizzo Hillary Ramos Nicole Richards Brian Holder PROJECT MANAGER Vienna Rye ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER Katherine Browne Brooke Fleming ART DIRECTION Vienna Rye Peter Blossom
Layla Love
Jonathan Irons WARDROBE Pia Malatesta Marrya HAIR Jose Lopez Jezz Hill MAKEUP Deshawn Hatcher Lauren Caputi Jezz Hill FOOD STYLISTS Frenchie Jonathan Irons Rebecca Schechter To my loving parents, who thought I would practically die of malnutrition as a vegan teenager. Look, I made it! Alive and healthy. To Scruffy, my very first four-legged companion, who taught me compassion for ALL creatures.

To my dear friend, detox guru Gil Jacobs who taught me everything I know about outstanding cellular health. CONTENTS I was a normal American broad who grew up eating what everyone around me was eating. I loved Ding Dongs, pizza, pig lips and assholes, affectionately known as hot dogs; I was into anything that came from a box or an industrial deep fryer and devoured it down with gusto. I saw a PETA video on factory farming my sophmore year of high school. I bawled my eyes out, and I thought, Im going to die if I dont do something to help these animals . I became vegan overnight and started the first animal rights club in my high school.

It occurred to me that humans very much love animals and dont want them to suffer, but they also dont want to sit there and read about their suffering, their pain, and how human involvement is contributing to that. I did not know how to approach people in a way that would inspire them to throw down for animals, for their own temples, and for the planet at large, so that they would willingly sacrifice animal products from their diets. For twelve years I worked in TV production, whooping it up in NYC and turning my loft into a no-kill shelter. Having a complete inability to turn my back on a four-legged friend in need, I amassed a gaggle of animals that could have had gotten me cuffed and stuffed by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. All this, after a recent move from an apartment from which I was evicted due to harboring homeless animals in violation of my three-animal-max lease. I had also recently divorced my partner of nine years.

During this period of career-building and armchair activism (a very, very hands-off way of contributing to the cause of animals rights) the one thing I overlooked was my healthbeing a stress case and a junk food vegan wreaked havoc on the ol mind, body, and spirit. What eventually got me hooked somewhat obsessively on health was a battle against osteoporosis, Graves disease, and amenorrhea, the result of a decade of total psychic and physical neglect. This was my mega call to action and hence my journey to radiant health commenced. I decided I had to get out of the bleachers and play full tilt boogie. Standing around a friends kitchen island during one of the 21-day vegan challenges I had launched in NYC, a few like-minded vegan dames and I came up with the Squeeze concept. I dumped my production locations company, my boyfriend, and that little nay-saying voice in my head on auto spin, and built New Yorks first raw vegan food truck.

It was high time I began to put the kind raw food detox lifestyle on blast in an effort to mobilize people to take care of themselves and the planet by way of a rolling ready juice truck. I have been a catalyst for many peoples health journeys. There are few things that you can do to impact a persons life more powerfully, profoundly, and permanently than changing their diet. I attribute everything good in my life to this raw foods dietary shift. Every smidgen of food you eat has a direct impact on your body, mind, and spirit. I feel younger, happier, healthier, more vibrant, hotter, and more bad-assy than I did in my teens.

Its taken a shit ton of work to reclaim my great health and my bliss, but I wake up every morning feeling energized, upbeat, and healthy. Pleasure and health go hand in handYou cant have one without the other, like Sinatra in 58. My autoimmune diseaseGravesis gone. Osteoporosisgone. If doctors advocated for a raw diet and recommended it to patients there would be virtually no degenerative illnesses. So cmon, lets get to elevating your nutrition, kitchen, and ethics game.

I need to arm you with a bunch of info so that you can kick a bunch of ass on your own and be the baddest motherfucker in the kitchen. I got your back. Veggies got your back. Lets stretch you beyond your comfort zone. I do my best to live my life according to that mantra, which is why Im a mindful eater. I practice mindful eating by being a thoughtful vegan, which I have been for over a decade.

I can honestly say that what you put into your body greatly impacts all aspects of your life. Not only are there incredible health benefits, but the peace and joy you feel from no longer contributing to so much suffering is remarkable. Im constantly striving to improve myself by practicing yoga, by finding time for meditation, and by keeping myself focused on the things that truly matterso, to me, it only makes sense to bring that balance into my diet. I dont want to eat foods that will decrease my quality of life, or that will cause suffering to othersand that includes animals, as well as people. I simply refuse to support an industry that condones animal abuse. This choice has changed my life.

This lifestyle doesnt only do me good, though. Its far beyond personal gain. The meat industry contributes greatly to climate change; animals raised for food account for more greenhouse gases than all the planes, cars, and trucks combined . A worldwide mindful diet would also resolve so much of the worlds hunger. If we stopped growing crops exclusively for animals that will just end up on someones dinner plate, we could feed the planet seven times over. We could feed hungry PEOPLE with the crops were growing for animals that we kill.