Boot Camp For Weight Loss
This entry is for those who are overweight, sincere about wanting to achieve their ideal weight.
Here’s your chance for the healthiest and most natural method to lose weight.
If you are overweight, you are playing with fire with your life. You are forcing your heart to work harder. Your extra weight is hard on your bones, muscles, and organs. Any extra weight you carry on your body the more chance you have for disease- cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes II, osteoporosis, and others. With your unhealthy lifestyle you may be shortening your life. If you’re not already, you may need to someday take expensive medication. Keep in mind taking medication for a diet related disease, ie diabetes II, does not heal the disease- it’s like putting a band-aid on a cut that never heals, not to mention the unhealthy side affects of the pills.
If you are overweight you are dangerously playing with your longevity, risking dying at an earlier age than need be.
If you are overweight your unhealthy lifestyle/unhealthy dietary habits are a poor influence on those around you. Do you have children?
If you are overweight, it is not because you don't exercise enough. Overweight people in wheel chairs who turn to a healthy diet achieve their ideal weight by eating healthy alone. If you are overweight, you need to make some lifestyle changes- primarily what you eat and drink.
Nutrisystem, Weightwatchers, Jenny Craig - all the methods of weight loss that are out there- are unsustainable and unhealthy. These flawed methods for weight loss promote consuming small portions of unhealthy foods. Yes the smaller portions of unhealthy foods may help you lose weight in the short term, but why go hungry and at the same time put these unhealthy foods through your organs? Many people trying these systems do lose weight in the short term, but most go off the program and eventually gain the weight back and then some! Save your money and organs- stay away from these ineffective, profit making programs. Why not give up the yo-yo dieting and adopt a permanent, healthy lifestyle where you can eat as much food as you want and lose weight?
Here is what you need to do:
Become a nutritarian. A nutritarian is a person who strives to eat a diet containing highly nutritious foods. You need to learn what food and drink is healthy, and what is not. That is the main purpose of this blog.
With a nutritarian lifestyle, there's no small portions: you can eat all the healthy plant foods you want without gaining weight, without ever being hungry. You can eat all the healthy food you want and actually lose weight. That’s right- you'll lose weight! Try it! It works! Over time you will achieve your ideal weight if you eat and drink the right things. You don’t have to be concerned about portions or calories if you only eat plant foods that are nutrient rich- raw and cooked fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds and nuts. If the plant foods are cooked, cook them in a healthy way- which means either steamed or boiled in a soup. Use water, not oil to cook your foods. The fat you eat is the fat you wear. Take out/minimize unhealthy oils from your diet and watch the pounds melt away! Look at what you eat now. If it contains oil, take it out of your diet. If you can take the majority of foods out of your diet that contain oil you will be amazed at how fast you'll shed pounds. If you are overweight take it easy on animal oils and plant oils as well- cooking oil (olive oil too!), avocados, nuts, etc.-anything with oil!)
Healthy diet plus regular exercise= Healthy Lifestyle. You’ll need to supplement your healthy eating with regular exercise. Turn into a walker. Walking is the healthiest exercise there is, for your body, for your mind. Start slowly. Gradually increase the lengths of your walks. It is recommended you walk as briskly as you can 3-5 times a week, 1-2 miles or longer- whatever works for you. Exercise creates endorphins- “feel good” chemicals in your brain. You’ll eventually crave your walks as they make you feel so much better mentally and physically throughout your day, and you’ll sleep better too.
Read the first chapter of Dr. McDougall’s new book called The Solution, which means The Starch Solution- centering your meals around starches- sweet potatoes, potatoes, beans, grains, corn, and brown rice.
Here's "The Solution". It's imperative that you read this:
http://greg-foodforthought.blogspot.com/2010/03/solution_18.html
Try thinking of it this way:
Meat and potatoes anyone? We’ve grown up centering our meals around meat. We became conditioned and addicted to food from animals. When meal planning, we first think of what “meat” to have. Then we think of what else to have besides the meat dish. For example, you may think, “I think we’ll have roast beef for supper“, then you think add some type of potatoes, etc.
For one who’s grown up with making meat the center of your meals, it’s quite different to think of meal planning in any other way. It was hard for me- at first. Then I read Dr. McDougall’s Starch Solution, and since then it’s been much easier, because I’ve trained my mind to think in a different way. I turned off one switch, and turned on another. Now the logic of centering one’s meals around starches makes perfect, healthy sense to me.
When meal planning now I first think of what starch to make as the center of my meal- either sweet potatoes, potatoes, beans, grains, corn, or brown rice, and sometimes I combine more than one. For example beans and rice with a little salsa or guacamole, combined with a good size salad and a steamed vegetable make a wonderfully satisfying meal.
Effort will have to be put into your new meal planning. Since you’ve taken so many foods out of your diet, at first it may seem like you don‘t have that many foods to choose from- that your diet may seem mundane. Blame this on unhealthy food withdrawal that will go away with time. It is quite the contrary- you will have many healthy foods and recipes to choose from.
Look at it this way: With your new healthy diet regimen, you will be depriving yourself of disease promoting food and drink. Instead you will be giving yourself the gift of health through health promoting food and drink.
With a little creativity and effort you can turn into a healthy meal planner. There are great cookbooks out there. Both Dr. Fuhrman and Dr. McDougall offer them. There is a plethora of dishes and foods to choose from with your new nutritarian lifestyle.
The most important/healthiest part of your meal? Have a good size salad with as many lunches and suppers as you can, with a minimum of dressing- the unhealthy part because of the oil/fat. Raw veggies contain so many more nutrients than cooked- that’s why your salad is the healthiest part of your meal. Combine as many different types of raw vegetables in your salad as you can.
Most salad dressings are unhealthy- full of fat and sugar. Try eating without, or only adding a small amount, or learn to make your own healthy dressing. Sometimes my wife Bev and I have a mixture of plain raw veggie sticks instead of a salad i.e. carrot sticks, red or green bell pepper strips, cucumber sticks, cabbage wedges, pieces of cauliflower, broccoli, etc. that we dip in hummus or some other veggie dip.
If you do not like salads, it’s all in your head. You are not used to eating them. Keep giving them a try, in small amounts at first. If you were on a desert island and all you had to eat were salads you would come to love them. Getting rid of excess sugar and salt in your diet will help you to fall in love with salads. As your taste buds recover from being used to the strong tastes of sugar and salt, you will start to appreciate the wonderful, subtle tastes of what you put in your salads. Raw red bell peppers for example add a great taste. After awhile you will crave your salads. Just knowing that plant foods are healthiest for you will feel good mentally when you eat them, as well as physically.
Sugar and salt addiction has been compared to major drug addiction, like cocaine and heroin. If you succeed at giving up the majority of sugar and salt in your diet, only then will you know the incredibly wonderful tastes of real, whole, natural food and drink.
If you give up the majority of sugar and salt in your diet- fruits, melons, and berries will taste like nature’s candy and provide you with all the “sweet treats” you need, including all kinds of dates, and don’t forget moist, sweet flame raisins, which are dried red grapes.
I offer you a challenge: Try to take as much processed sugar and salt out of your diet that you can- for one month. Sugar and salt are such strong tastes which deaden your taste buds. Sugar and salt in excess are unhealthy. By taking them out of your diet you’ll be amazed at the difference how healthy foods taste. It’s nearly impossible to not have any sugar and salt. I’m talking about making a concerted effort to not eat candy, pastries, chips, cookies, ice cream, etc. Don’t add any extra sugar or salt to your food or drink, for one month.
I do have some things that have sugar and salt. To name a few, I occasionally use Paul Newman’s Tomato and Basil sauce, which has sugar and salt. I occasionally eat store bought salsa that has salt. I have stopped eating catsup and jellies, even fruit sweetened. I’m not perfect with this, but I think you get the drift. Give it a try. Take out as much sugar and salt as you can. After a month, then try some ripe, fresh pineapple, or a ripe banana, apple, pear, mango, orange, melon- any ripe fruit or vegetable. I think you will be amazed at the tastes!
After you switch to a plant foods diet you will start to lose weight naturally and start to feel better. You’ll have more energy. I’m going to repeat this because it is vital: Keep in mind you can eat all the healthy food you want. You don’t have to be concerned about calories if you only eat plant foods that are nutrient rich- raw and cooked fruits and vegetables. Again, if cooked- cooked in a healthy way.
The milk from a mother cow is intended for its calf, not a person. Goat’s milk, same thing- for a baby goat.
Instead of adding butter to your foods, use a healthier, non-dairy alternative called Earth Balance or Nature’s Balance. It tastes great but take it easy on it- it’s unhealthy oil/fat with lots of calories, but at least it doesn’t come from a cow.
An egg is intended to hatch a baby bird, not to feed a person. Don’t eat bird’s eggs- they’re not intended for you, not healthy. Others say eggs are healthy because of all the protein. Some people eat only the egg whites for this purpose. The excess protein actually taxes your kidneys. There is lots of misinformation out there. Who do you believe? Believe Fuhrman, McDougall, and the countless other nutrition experts who believe: don’t eat eggs. The million dollar egg industry will keep trying to convince you otherwise.
The plant foods that contain the most saturated fat: nuts and seeds, avocados, and all plant oils- olive, coconut, corn, etc. Someone who is trying to lose weight should minimize these plant foods, until you achieve your ideal weight- and you’ll know when you do.
All processed, concentrated oils are unhealthy- even olive oil- empty calories, nutritionally depleted. Plant oils are saturated fat, period. Take it easy on them. Again, cook with water. It’s a lot easier cleaning the dishes!
The healthiest nuts and seeds are those that are eaten raw, unsalted, and unroasted: walnuts, almonds, pecans, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and flax seeds are among the best. Eat with raisins or other dried fruit- tastes great.
After you’ve achieved you ideal weight you can start incorporating more of these plant foods in your diet that are high in saturated fat. For those who need to lose weight, also take it easy on dried fruits- lots of calories and concentrated sweetener.
It is advised that for insurance sake nutritarians- people who seek only nutrient rich food and drink (plant foods/water/freshly squeezed juice): take a vitamin B supplement. I think for me the jury is still out on this. Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden took no supplements, but Dr. Fuhrman and Dr. McDougall do advise this, again, for insurance sake. Dr. McDougall says he has never run across a patient with this deficiency as long as they eat a well balanced, plant food diet- organic when possible. Vitamin B is on foods right out of the garden or right off the tree- food that hasn’t been washed. Apparently we need very little Vitamin B. It is stored in our bodies, and is used when needed. You’ve maybe heard the philosophy that we don’t need to overdo using antibacterial soap to wash our hands all the time? I believe that if you eat plenty or organic produce, and don’t “overwash” it, we get plenty of vitamin B. For example I’ll pick an apple off our tree (which hasn’t been sprayed) and eat it without washing it. Pull a carrot out of the garden, frisk the soil off and just eat it.
Let’s get serious. Food is a drug. I'm messing with your drugs. If you are overweight, you are addicted to your unhealthy drugs- your food and drink. You must eventually take all unhealthy food and drink out of your diet if you are sincere about losing weight the fastest and most healthy way possible. You can do it in stages, or all at once. It’s up to you. The more unhealthy food and drink you take out the faster your weight loss.
Again, healthy eating is not for anyone. It will take a strong willed person. You can do it.
When you start to see yourself losing weight, feeling better, coming off those past unhealthy food and drink addictions, you will be so happy. You will be ecstatic to look in the mirror and see the difference. You will love the smiles and feedback from those who love you.
Keep in mind, this will not happen overnight. Compared to someone who has an alcohol or drug addiction, it will take some time before the old cravings go away. Everywhere you look will be temptations- on TV, on billboards, the unhealthy food and drink others eat at family get-togethers or parties.
You will most likely go through uncomfortable withdrawal from the unhealthy food and drink you’ve grown to love. Again, that will go away after time. Who’s the boss, your mind or your taste buds? Your mind must take control over your taste buds. You can make it happen. You must. If you give it a concerted effort, soon you will be given the opportunity to fall in love with the wonderful tastes of healthy food and drink.
If you try this healthy lifestyle, and fall off the wagon/go back to unhealthy habits/binge, it happens. It’s happened to me. Sometimes you have to slip back into old, bad habits to be again reminded of better health that’s waiting for you. Pull yourself up, go right back to eating and drinking healthy. A person who’s given up smoking cigarettes can’t stand being around the smell of cigarette smoke. With time, the same will happen to you regarding unhealthy tastes.
Food from plants is definitely the answer to good health. You must stop or wean yourself from eating all animal foods, or at the very least minimize the animal foods in your diet. There is no cholesterol in plant foods- only in food from animals. In every food from an animal there are unhealthy, disease promoting ingredients.
If you do decide to give these ideas a try, not only will you look and feel better, you’ll sleep better knowing you are adding years to your life- your longevity- and again, you’ll be a wonderful influence to those around you.
Another reason to turn to a healthier lifestyle is your love life.
The healthier the food and drink you put in your body the more
"running on all cylinders”.
I’m going to be driving this point home one more time: Healthy eating and healthy drinking is not for everyone. Many people, even though armed with the correct information about what is healthy and what is not, still choose to make their same unhealthy food and drink choices. Taste, habit, and addiction win out over the logic of eating and drinking healthy. Will you continue to be a conventional, unhealthy eater, like the great majority? Or will you try to do what’s best for you?
This will be the third time I’ve repeated this, but it is at the center of this philosophy. The majority of people, conventional thinkers, conventional eaters don‘t get this. It is so important I’m going to put it in bold print:
If you are overweight and decide to turn to healthy eating and drinking, over time, you will achieve your ideal body weight. Again, it’s not important how much you consume, it’s what you consume, and how it’s cooked. You can eat all the healthy food you want (cooked in a healthy way), and achieve your ideal weight. If you are overweight, you can eat all the healthy food you want- never be hungry- and actually lose weight, and over time, achieve your ideal weight.
There you have it…I’ve laid out the major points for good health that came right from doctors, nutrition experts. Now it’s up to you what you do with this information. There’s a whole new world out there, just waiting for you to embrace it.
If you do decide to give this healthiest of lifestyles a try, you will feel better, look better, be a wonderful influence to those around you- have children?, and make a positive impact on the health of the earth. For example, plant based agriculture causes far less pollution than animal based agriculture.
*If you need further validation for this healthiest of lifestyles, if I were you I would order Dr. Fuhrman’s book set Eat For Health. One book is a nutrition primer about much of what I’ve shared on this blog, and the other book is a cookbook. Or a cheaper choice would be Dr. Fuhrman’s earlier book Eat To Live (which is he revising), at drfuhrman.com, or any of John McDougall’s wonderful books or DVDs at drmcdougall.com. I will be looking forward to his new book The Starch Solution. Both doctors have such a logical, easy to read way of putting things in layman‘s terms.
Here’s your chance for the healthiest and most natural method to lose weight.
If you are overweight, you are playing with fire with your life. You are forcing your heart to work harder. Your extra weight is hard on your bones, muscles, and organs. Any extra weight you carry on your body the more chance you have for disease- cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes II, osteoporosis, and others. With your unhealthy lifestyle you may be shortening your life. If you’re not already, you may need to someday take expensive medication. Keep in mind taking medication for a diet related disease, ie diabetes II, does not heal the disease- it’s like putting a band-aid on a cut that never heals, not to mention the unhealthy side affects of the pills.
If you are overweight you are dangerously playing with your longevity, risking dying at an earlier age than need be.
If you are overweight your unhealthy lifestyle/unhealthy dietary habits are a poor influence on those around you. Do you have children?
If you are overweight, it is not because you don't exercise enough. Overweight people in wheel chairs who turn to a healthy diet achieve their ideal weight by eating healthy alone. If you are overweight, you need to make some lifestyle changes- primarily what you eat and drink.
Nutrisystem, Weightwatchers, Jenny Craig - all the methods of weight loss that are out there- are unsustainable and unhealthy. These flawed methods for weight loss promote consuming small portions of unhealthy foods. Yes the smaller portions of unhealthy foods may help you lose weight in the short term, but why go hungry and at the same time put these unhealthy foods through your organs? Many people trying these systems do lose weight in the short term, but most go off the program and eventually gain the weight back and then some! Save your money and organs- stay away from these ineffective, profit making programs. Why not give up the yo-yo dieting and adopt a permanent, healthy lifestyle where you can eat as much food as you want and lose weight?
Here is what you need to do:
Become a nutritarian. A nutritarian is a person who strives to eat a diet containing highly nutritious foods. You need to learn what food and drink is healthy, and what is not. That is the main purpose of this blog.
With a nutritarian lifestyle, there's no small portions: you can eat all the healthy plant foods you want without gaining weight, without ever being hungry. You can eat all the healthy food you want and actually lose weight. That’s right- you'll lose weight! Try it! It works! Over time you will achieve your ideal weight if you eat and drink the right things. You don’t have to be concerned about portions or calories if you only eat plant foods that are nutrient rich- raw and cooked fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds and nuts. If the plant foods are cooked, cook them in a healthy way- which means either steamed or boiled in a soup. Use water, not oil to cook your foods. The fat you eat is the fat you wear. Take out/minimize unhealthy oils from your diet and watch the pounds melt away! Look at what you eat now. If it contains oil, take it out of your diet. If you can take the majority of foods out of your diet that contain oil you will be amazed at how fast you'll shed pounds. If you are overweight take it easy on animal oils and plant oils as well- cooking oil (olive oil too!), avocados, nuts, etc.-anything with oil!)
Healthy diet plus regular exercise= Healthy Lifestyle. You’ll need to supplement your healthy eating with regular exercise. Turn into a walker. Walking is the healthiest exercise there is, for your body, for your mind. Start slowly. Gradually increase the lengths of your walks. It is recommended you walk as briskly as you can 3-5 times a week, 1-2 miles or longer- whatever works for you. Exercise creates endorphins- “feel good” chemicals in your brain. You’ll eventually crave your walks as they make you feel so much better mentally and physically throughout your day, and you’ll sleep better too.
Read the first chapter of Dr. McDougall’s new book called The Solution, which means The Starch Solution- centering your meals around starches- sweet potatoes, potatoes, beans, grains, corn, and brown rice.
Here's "The Solution". It's imperative that you read this:
http://greg-foodforthought.blogspot.com/2010/03/solution_18.html
Try thinking of it this way:
Meat and potatoes anyone? We’ve grown up centering our meals around meat. We became conditioned and addicted to food from animals. When meal planning, we first think of what “meat” to have. Then we think of what else to have besides the meat dish. For example, you may think, “I think we’ll have roast beef for supper“, then you think add some type of potatoes, etc.
For one who’s grown up with making meat the center of your meals, it’s quite different to think of meal planning in any other way. It was hard for me- at first. Then I read Dr. McDougall’s Starch Solution, and since then it’s been much easier, because I’ve trained my mind to think in a different way. I turned off one switch, and turned on another. Now the logic of centering one’s meals around starches makes perfect, healthy sense to me.
When meal planning now I first think of what starch to make as the center of my meal- either sweet potatoes, potatoes, beans, grains, corn, or brown rice, and sometimes I combine more than one. For example beans and rice with a little salsa or guacamole, combined with a good size salad and a steamed vegetable make a wonderfully satisfying meal.
Effort will have to be put into your new meal planning. Since you’ve taken so many foods out of your diet, at first it may seem like you don‘t have that many foods to choose from- that your diet may seem mundane. Blame this on unhealthy food withdrawal that will go away with time. It is quite the contrary- you will have many healthy foods and recipes to choose from.
Look at it this way: With your new healthy diet regimen, you will be depriving yourself of disease promoting food and drink. Instead you will be giving yourself the gift of health through health promoting food and drink.
With a little creativity and effort you can turn into a healthy meal planner. There are great cookbooks out there. Both Dr. Fuhrman and Dr. McDougall offer them. There is a plethora of dishes and foods to choose from with your new nutritarian lifestyle.
The most important/healthiest part of your meal? Have a good size salad with as many lunches and suppers as you can, with a minimum of dressing- the unhealthy part because of the oil/fat. Raw veggies contain so many more nutrients than cooked- that’s why your salad is the healthiest part of your meal. Combine as many different types of raw vegetables in your salad as you can.
Most salad dressings are unhealthy- full of fat and sugar. Try eating without, or only adding a small amount, or learn to make your own healthy dressing. Sometimes my wife Bev and I have a mixture of plain raw veggie sticks instead of a salad i.e. carrot sticks, red or green bell pepper strips, cucumber sticks, cabbage wedges, pieces of cauliflower, broccoli, etc. that we dip in hummus or some other veggie dip.
If you do not like salads, it’s all in your head. You are not used to eating them. Keep giving them a try, in small amounts at first. If you were on a desert island and all you had to eat were salads you would come to love them. Getting rid of excess sugar and salt in your diet will help you to fall in love with salads. As your taste buds recover from being used to the strong tastes of sugar and salt, you will start to appreciate the wonderful, subtle tastes of what you put in your salads. Raw red bell peppers for example add a great taste. After awhile you will crave your salads. Just knowing that plant foods are healthiest for you will feel good mentally when you eat them, as well as physically.
Sugar and salt addiction has been compared to major drug addiction, like cocaine and heroin. If you succeed at giving up the majority of sugar and salt in your diet, only then will you know the incredibly wonderful tastes of real, whole, natural food and drink.
If you give up the majority of sugar and salt in your diet- fruits, melons, and berries will taste like nature’s candy and provide you with all the “sweet treats” you need, including all kinds of dates, and don’t forget moist, sweet flame raisins, which are dried red grapes.
I offer you a challenge: Try to take as much processed sugar and salt out of your diet that you can- for one month. Sugar and salt are such strong tastes which deaden your taste buds. Sugar and salt in excess are unhealthy. By taking them out of your diet you’ll be amazed at the difference how healthy foods taste. It’s nearly impossible to not have any sugar and salt. I’m talking about making a concerted effort to not eat candy, pastries, chips, cookies, ice cream, etc. Don’t add any extra sugar or salt to your food or drink, for one month.
I do have some things that have sugar and salt. To name a few, I occasionally use Paul Newman’s Tomato and Basil sauce, which has sugar and salt. I occasionally eat store bought salsa that has salt. I have stopped eating catsup and jellies, even fruit sweetened. I’m not perfect with this, but I think you get the drift. Give it a try. Take out as much sugar and salt as you can. After a month, then try some ripe, fresh pineapple, or a ripe banana, apple, pear, mango, orange, melon- any ripe fruit or vegetable. I think you will be amazed at the tastes!
After you switch to a plant foods diet you will start to lose weight naturally and start to feel better. You’ll have more energy. I’m going to repeat this because it is vital: Keep in mind you can eat all the healthy food you want. You don’t have to be concerned about calories if you only eat plant foods that are nutrient rich- raw and cooked fruits and vegetables. Again, if cooked- cooked in a healthy way.
The milk from a mother cow is intended for its calf, not a person. Goat’s milk, same thing- for a baby goat.
Instead of adding butter to your foods, use a healthier, non-dairy alternative called Earth Balance or Nature’s Balance. It tastes great but take it easy on it- it’s unhealthy oil/fat with lots of calories, but at least it doesn’t come from a cow.
An egg is intended to hatch a baby bird, not to feed a person. Don’t eat bird’s eggs- they’re not intended for you, not healthy. Others say eggs are healthy because of all the protein. Some people eat only the egg whites for this purpose. The excess protein actually taxes your kidneys. There is lots of misinformation out there. Who do you believe? Believe Fuhrman, McDougall, and the countless other nutrition experts who believe: don’t eat eggs. The million dollar egg industry will keep trying to convince you otherwise.
The plant foods that contain the most saturated fat: nuts and seeds, avocados, and all plant oils- olive, coconut, corn, etc. Someone who is trying to lose weight should minimize these plant foods, until you achieve your ideal weight- and you’ll know when you do.
All processed, concentrated oils are unhealthy- even olive oil- empty calories, nutritionally depleted. Plant oils are saturated fat, period. Take it easy on them. Again, cook with water. It’s a lot easier cleaning the dishes!
The healthiest nuts and seeds are those that are eaten raw, unsalted, and unroasted: walnuts, almonds, pecans, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and flax seeds are among the best. Eat with raisins or other dried fruit- tastes great.
After you’ve achieved you ideal weight you can start incorporating more of these plant foods in your diet that are high in saturated fat. For those who need to lose weight, also take it easy on dried fruits- lots of calories and concentrated sweetener.
It is advised that for insurance sake nutritarians- people who seek only nutrient rich food and drink (plant foods/water/freshly squeezed juice): take a vitamin B supplement. I think for me the jury is still out on this. Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden took no supplements, but Dr. Fuhrman and Dr. McDougall do advise this, again, for insurance sake. Dr. McDougall says he has never run across a patient with this deficiency as long as they eat a well balanced, plant food diet- organic when possible. Vitamin B is on foods right out of the garden or right off the tree- food that hasn’t been washed. Apparently we need very little Vitamin B. It is stored in our bodies, and is used when needed. You’ve maybe heard the philosophy that we don’t need to overdo using antibacterial soap to wash our hands all the time? I believe that if you eat plenty or organic produce, and don’t “overwash” it, we get plenty of vitamin B. For example I’ll pick an apple off our tree (which hasn’t been sprayed) and eat it without washing it. Pull a carrot out of the garden, frisk the soil off and just eat it.
Let’s get serious. Food is a drug. I'm messing with your drugs. If you are overweight, you are addicted to your unhealthy drugs- your food and drink. You must eventually take all unhealthy food and drink out of your diet if you are sincere about losing weight the fastest and most healthy way possible. You can do it in stages, or all at once. It’s up to you. The more unhealthy food and drink you take out the faster your weight loss.
Again, healthy eating is not for anyone. It will take a strong willed person. You can do it.
When you start to see yourself losing weight, feeling better, coming off those past unhealthy food and drink addictions, you will be so happy. You will be ecstatic to look in the mirror and see the difference. You will love the smiles and feedback from those who love you.
Keep in mind, this will not happen overnight. Compared to someone who has an alcohol or drug addiction, it will take some time before the old cravings go away. Everywhere you look will be temptations- on TV, on billboards, the unhealthy food and drink others eat at family get-togethers or parties.
You will most likely go through uncomfortable withdrawal from the unhealthy food and drink you’ve grown to love. Again, that will go away after time. Who’s the boss, your mind or your taste buds? Your mind must take control over your taste buds. You can make it happen. You must. If you give it a concerted effort, soon you will be given the opportunity to fall in love with the wonderful tastes of healthy food and drink.
If you try this healthy lifestyle, and fall off the wagon/go back to unhealthy habits/binge, it happens. It’s happened to me. Sometimes you have to slip back into old, bad habits to be again reminded of better health that’s waiting for you. Pull yourself up, go right back to eating and drinking healthy. A person who’s given up smoking cigarettes can’t stand being around the smell of cigarette smoke. With time, the same will happen to you regarding unhealthy tastes.
Food from plants is definitely the answer to good health. You must stop or wean yourself from eating all animal foods, or at the very least minimize the animal foods in your diet. There is no cholesterol in plant foods- only in food from animals. In every food from an animal there are unhealthy, disease promoting ingredients.
If you do decide to give these ideas a try, not only will you look and feel better, you’ll sleep better knowing you are adding years to your life- your longevity- and again, you’ll be a wonderful influence to those around you.
Another reason to turn to a healthier lifestyle is your love life.
The healthier the food and drink you put in your body the more
"running on all cylinders”.
I’m going to be driving this point home one more time: Healthy eating and healthy drinking is not for everyone. Many people, even though armed with the correct information about what is healthy and what is not, still choose to make their same unhealthy food and drink choices. Taste, habit, and addiction win out over the logic of eating and drinking healthy. Will you continue to be a conventional, unhealthy eater, like the great majority? Or will you try to do what’s best for you?
This will be the third time I’ve repeated this, but it is at the center of this philosophy. The majority of people, conventional thinkers, conventional eaters don‘t get this. It is so important I’m going to put it in bold print:
If you are overweight and decide to turn to healthy eating and drinking, over time, you will achieve your ideal body weight. Again, it’s not important how much you consume, it’s what you consume, and how it’s cooked. You can eat all the healthy food you want (cooked in a healthy way), and achieve your ideal weight. If you are overweight, you can eat all the healthy food you want- never be hungry- and actually lose weight, and over time, achieve your ideal weight.
There you have it…I’ve laid out the major points for good health that came right from doctors, nutrition experts. Now it’s up to you what you do with this information. There’s a whole new world out there, just waiting for you to embrace it.
If you do decide to give this healthiest of lifestyles a try, you will feel better, look better, be a wonderful influence to those around you- have children?, and make a positive impact on the health of the earth. For example, plant based agriculture causes far less pollution than animal based agriculture.
*If you need further validation for this healthiest of lifestyles, if I were you I would order Dr. Fuhrman’s book set Eat For Health. One book is a nutrition primer about much of what I’ve shared on this blog, and the other book is a cookbook. Or a cheaper choice would be Dr. Fuhrman’s earlier book Eat To Live (which is he revising), at drfuhrman.com, or any of John McDougall’s wonderful books or DVDs at drmcdougall.com. I will be looking forward to his new book The Starch Solution. Both doctors have such a logical, easy to read way of putting things in layman‘s terms.
