Happened upon an interesting article in the local paper today about a doctor self-treating her MS with diet and exercise. Linky.
What I find very cool is, I'm more or less doing the same thing she is (although I haven't gotten into the exercise portion much yet, but that's more time than desire, which I'll explain below).
I've adopted something similar to her eating habits, although I got my idea from Joel Fuhrman's "Eat to Live." He recommends eating organic foods in as close to their natural state as possible – aim for one pound of fresh veg a day, one pound of cooked veg, four fruits, one cup of legumes, one ounce of nuts, one tablespoon of flax seed. If you can mash all that down, then you can indulge a bit with other things such as up to one serving of a starch (sweet potato, rice) and maybe even meat twice a week (although it'd better be fish, baby). Fuhrman largely pushes the vegan lifestyle, which makes this former cattle owner, current grill owner, and total steak aficionado a little antsy. The main point is, though, eat extremely nutrient-dense foods. Bypass iceberg lettuce for romaine or fresh spinach. Use germinated quinoa (germination before cooking ups the nutrients) instead of white rice. Yadda yadda.
I love fruit. I kinda like certain veg, fresh and cooked (I've actually found I like just eating romaine lettuce leaves as a snack). It's hard to limit to one ounce of nuts, but I have been. I love me some starchy carbs, but it doesn't necessarily break my heart to give up the majority of 'em. Lovin' the quinoa, and actually I think it tastes a bit better when germinated to little sprouts before cooking. Giving up meat and other animal products, though? Yeah... I'm not doing that. I have two fat free yogurt smoothies a day (the banana in each helps me reach the fruit goal, along with my morning and afternoon apple/pear/orange snacks at work), and I'm eatin' meat with most of my evening meals. Sorry, dude, I have canines with which to rip animal flesh from the bone, I'm usin' 'em.
But you know what? I've lost seven pounds. And that's not even the most exciting part! I come home at night, and I have energy. I'd forgotten what that feels like. I can get my cooking done, play with my son, take care of some house duties, all without wanting to sit down and take a nap! My evenings haven't been like this in years. I'm stunned – a week and a half in (off and on – see what happened last weekend), and I'm lovin' life again!
My stomach's screaming at me a little bit – "Hey, why are you giving me stuff I have to digest, you bitch???" – but it's adjusting. I'm also waking up on the first alarm in the morning rather than smacking snooze. I'm dropping off to sleep quicker. I've randomly been dropping to the floor to do the plank position and push-ups. If I had more time, I'd start doing the Wii Active or my exercise bike again! A few more pounds, I might pull out my elliptical trainer (stupid weight limit on it that I'm still a tad too close to). My sex drive is up (John and I are both liking this part). And – shock and awe – I have no desire to eat the M&M's from the sixth floor vending machine!
Holy crap, is this actually working? I don't wanna be too optimistic, because I always start things out all gung ho then find myself consuming an entire bag of Cheetos Puffcorn in one go, but I'm a little bit excited here! And not just because of the weight, but because … I feel danged good!
I so hope I don't get all self-destructive on myself and blow it all over a candy bar or some crap. DO NOT WANT.
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