Changing the Way I Eat

I read the most incredible book this past weekend..... Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman. A friend at work has been following the plan and recommended it highly. I was aware that the American diet is lacking in nutrients, but I didn't realize to what extent. I get very caught up in ease of preparation and time constraints with cooking. I never seriously gave a lot of thought to the FACT that what passes through our lips is either prolonging my life or cutting it extremely short!

A few things that I learned that surprised me and have been making me contemplate my eating habits:

1. Refined or extracted oils, including Olive oil are high in calories and low in nutrients. Fats, such as olive oil can be stored on your body WITHIN MINUTES!!! (Yuck!!) If my waist was biopsied and examined under an electron microscope, it can be determined where the fat came from......pig fat, dairy fat, olive oil........etc...... WOW!!! My waist is one big ring of mixed fats....ugh!!!

2. Olive Oil packs more calories per pound than butter!!! This was amazing to me as I use Olive Oil in just about everything.....thinking that this is my "healthy option!"

3. Raw vegetables and fresh fruits are the two most powerful anti-cancer categories of food. Believe it or not, I do not eat either of these things more than 2 or 3 times a week.

4. Our health is predicted by our nutrient intake divided by intake of calories. A key to permanent weight loss is a high proportion of nutrients to calories. How nutritionally sound are the Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones that I consume daily??? I think that the answer is: NOT VERY!!

5. Fiber is vital to our heath. When we consume fruits, vegetables and beans our bodies are provided with large amounts of fiber. This fiber needs to be in our diets not as supplements or power bars or Metamucil, but as fresh fruits, beans, whole grains and raw nuts and seeds.

6. Steak has only 5.4 grams of protein per 100 calories and broccoli has 11.2 grams. This is almost twice as much!! I could hardly believe this....I had to re-read this over and over!!!
7. Most calories in meat come from fat and green vegetables are mostly protein. I never knew that vegetables had protein. I really thought that this had to come from meat products or beans.

8. 100 calories of broccoli is about 10 oz of food and 100 calories of ground sirloin is less than 1 oz of food!!!!

9. Since the foods that Americans eat are so calorie-rich, we have all been trying to diet by eating ridiculously small portions of low nutrient foods. We tend to suffer from hunger but also have intense cravings because we are also nutrient deficient. I remember eating Jenny Craig foods and thinking the entire portion was about 3-4 bites for me. How could I ever sustain eating such minute portions?

10. Third world countries have a cancer and heart attack rate of close to zero. These two diseases are rampant in our country and this is because of how we choose to eat.

So, what does this all mean to me?? I am seriously going to start next week (after my 1/2 marathon) trying to follow Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live diet. I am hoping to drop some weight and become healthier in the process. It will be difficult for me as I love my soda and my meat, but my body is truly a temple and I need to treat it as such. I also need to pray for a serious mindset change. This needs to be a lifelong change and not a diet just a few weeks out of the year. The habits that I am engaging in now, are not doing my body any good. Plus the fact is that I am not getting any younger and my desire is to be here a while so that I can cherish the time with my husband, my sons and my family and friends.

I am excited about this and know that with support and God's guidance, it will be a success. Meanwhile, this week I may just pig out on some pizza and chocolate!! :)

1Corinthians 6:19-20: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.