Food Affair
FALLING IN LOVE WITH FOOD
Chocolate covered fruit can't be that bad for you, right?...its fruit!
We all know how easy it is to fall in love and how horrible a break-up can be. I think breaking up with food was the hardest break-up I've ever been through. As you can see we were very happy together...until we weren't. What is it about love affairs that make our hearts race? Is it the thrill of something forbidden, something dangerous, something secret, something bad?
It is incredibly hard to see what might be bad for us when we've been told, shown, taught something different all our lives. The concept of health and wellness in this country is one of the biggest disasters of the modern world. The things we are allowed--encouraged even!--to put in our bodies are toxic substances...might as well be rat poison...sometimes it is rat poison...
My hair started falling out when I was about 10 years old and the short story about that is that it was just plain traumatizing. It was hard, it still is hard. But we didn't know why. Doctors shot me up with all kinds of steroids to treat the symptom but never once asked what caused it.
Only once since then did my hair ever entirely grow back. It happened while I lived abroad in Germany. I went from a bald head to shoulder length locks in less than 9 months. That is the first time I began to consider that maybe food had something to do with it. But I was 17 and could still eat candy bars and drink soda without gaining an ounce so the thought was really only a fleeting one.
Only 3 months!
It isn't until our weight gets out of hand that we ever start thinking about changing our lifestyles, health habits, and eating habits.
It wasn't until about a year ago that I came across Dr. Berg and his body type eating plan. I'm not trying to sell anyone on any diets or gimmicks or other lifestyle changes. I just invite you to do the same thing that Dr. Berg asked me to do. I invite you to shift your thinking for just a moment. Stop thinking about dieting as a torturous, limiting, depriving activity to lose weight, but think about my food choices as a way to create health.
Naturally I still had to give up a lot. No more fried, sugary, starchy foods. Only foods that actually give my body nutrients like raw veggies, some fruits, some protein, and a WHOLE lot of kale. I'm never starving, it doesn't cost me a ton of money (in fact, I think I spend less money on food now), and I feel almost 17 again. Sleep is better, memory is better, ability to exercise and do yoga and recover from it faster. And the BEST part is that my hair started growing. The pictures above show the difference in just three months of eating properly and creating health.
Everything tastes better fried!
During the holidays I relapsed a bit. Old habits do die hard, afterall. But it allowed me to confirm the difference in how I feel when I am eating to create health and when I am eating to destroy it. My hair immediately started falling out again and my joints began to swell and become painful. The path ahead is clear. Food is medicine and its time I learned to take it like a big girl.
How do I give it all up though? The flavors the textures, the amazing high you get after a ridiculously rich and satisfying meal?
I am here to prove we don't have to give it up. We can still be in love with food and create health at the same time. The flavors and textures and the type of high might be different, but I am determined to make it satisfying just the same! It will be a journey of discovery for me and for you, like a new lover, a first date, a secret crush...with excitement and anticipation at every turn!
Some of my recipes will be borrowed, some original, and some compilations, but they will generally all be completely healthful, nutritious, and above all tasty!
If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Berg, check out his website. It is exploding with eye-opening information about what food does to our bodies and how to treat real problems not symptoms.