Eat Foods As Grown

This afternoon I needed to run to the local grocery store to buy some beans and onions to fix a vegan recipe that I like. When I picked up one of those little mini carts I noticed a woman standing at the check out line. She was obese. Her food purchase laid out on the belt for the cashier was 2 canisters of Pringles potato chips and some sodas. She is not getting any nutrition from processed foods. This is a large problem in North America today.

Do you want to know why you are hungry 2 hours after eating a Big Hamburger, a Big Order of French Fries, and a Big Soda Drink? The reason you are hungry is the body is not getting the nutrition it needs to function properly. Our body needs the enzymes, minerals, phytonutrients and vitamins that are found in a plant based diet. If your food has a nutrition label, more than likely that food is not all that nourishing for your body. Do you see a nutrition label on a sweet potato or a mango?

Many years ago I ate those same foods. I also weighed 75 pounds more than I do now. When I quit smoking in 1998, I began a series of actions that have helped my overall health. If you want to also achieve the best health you can, may I suggest that you make gradual removals and adjustments so as to ensure your success? That is how I did it. I didn’t give up all unhealthy habits at once. Some people say that if you make radical changes your chances of long term success to move towards healthy habits goes down dramatically.

After stopping smoking, I remember I had a long talk with my oldest sister. I had gained some weight as I rewarded myself with ice cream for a few years. People gain 1 pound of weight when they consume 3,500 calories that is not used up in daily living or exercise. Years of eating sweets put about 75 pounds on me. So the process of removing those 75 pounds required some changes. Here is how I began the process:

1. Eliminated white sugar and white flour

2. Cut down on amount of food I ate

3. Stopped eating red meat

4. Quit eating sweets and began having a piece of fruit for dessert instead

5. Started eating more vegetables

6. Ate oatmeal for breakfast with a grapefruit on the side

7. Ate a salad with fresh greens everyday

8. Walked in the county park at least 30 minutes every day even if it was inclement weather

9. Eat like a King at breakfast, a Queen at lunch, and a pauper at supper

10. Drink 1/2 of your ideal body weight in ounces of pure water every day

( If you weigh 150 pounds, you need at least 75 ounces )

White flour has very little nutrition for our body. Sugar is dense calories that has no nutritional value. By simply removing those two foods from my diet, I started dropping weight. Grapefruit is an excellent choice for all people trying to lose weight. Citrus fruit naturally contains the flavonoid Naringenin that signals the liver to burn fat. If you are on statin medications or metformin, you need to check with your doctor about possible issues with those drugs interacting with Grapefruit.

Many people that get their weight down to their bodies natural weight should be able to reduce many drugs. Check with your medical provider and see my disclaimer at the bottom of this website.

I then continued on and was losing between 5-8 pounds a week without any pills or potions. Here is my other set of actions that have moved me from having some white meat to being a vegan:

1. Eliminated dark chicken and turkey meat

2. Quit eating processed foods and boxed dinners

3. Eliminated caffeine from my body by gradual weaning

4. Increased consumption of fresh fruits

5. Eat more whole grains like brown rice, quinoa

6. Eat 100 % whole wheat bread

7. Eliminated dairy and eggs from diet

8. Use soy milk, soy cheese, butter alternative

9. Use almond milk

I remember experiencing quite a detox when I got off the dairy products. Dairy causes mucus build up inside our bodies. Many dairy products have growth hormones that were given to the cows to make them grow faster. Dairy products also have casein which is a protein. You can research the problems that dairy products cause to the human body at your leisure. Cow’s milk is meant by our Creator to be consumed by baby cows. Once the young cows are weaned, they graze on grass and leave the cow’s milk alone.

In just six months, I had lost the 75 pounds and now am almost at my ideal weight. I am in my 50’s now and staying active with my exercise and healthy diet is more important now than ever. One thing that I learned recently is that if you have a tone body from doing some weight bearing exercises, your body will burn more calories every day even if you are just sitting at the computer or at your office working from a chair. You can see more information about getting a solid work out by spending 10 minutes a day doing some exercises to the point of positive momentary muscular failure on my page here:

How I Exercise