Disease Proof : Disease Proof : Health & Nutrition News & Commentary : Dr. Joel Fuhrman

For those of you new to the blog, I was formerly an obese and chronically malnourished food addict who has been completely set free from all food addictions and eating disorders; including anorexia, nutrient restrictive dieting, yo-yo dieting, and binge eating disorder as result of embracing the nutritarian lifestyle that’s described in Eat to Live and Eat for Health. Here is my transformation.

This past February, seven months after making the commitment to get my health back, I was recovering from a major surgery that removed a non-cancerous tumor. I couldn’t drive or do much of anything for a couple of weeks, so I started a thread on Dr. Fuhrman’s the members’ center.

By that time, I had lost over 60 lbs, and my only intention was to write a few posts during the time of recovery. For lack of a creative epiphany, I titled the thread, “journey of transformation; diary of change.” Then after driving restrictions were lifted, I began to wind down my writing, but the members encouraged me to keep posting. So I did.

Well the rest is history, and here I am; a former food addict who had multiple eating disorders and “did it all wrong” before discovering the key to freedom and health through the books Eat to Live and Eat for Health, authored by Joel Fuhrman, MD.

Throughout my writings on here, I will be sharing random excerpts from that thread, and success tips that I learned along the way in getting my health back.

I encourage those lost in the confusing maze of food addiction that results in chronic malnutrition and disease, complete freedom is totally possible.

If you are serious about getting free, you must make the time to read and understand Eat to Live and Eat for Health, especially the sections “Changing How You Think” and “Understanding Hunger” in Eat for Health; plus listen to the overeating teleconference on the members’ center.

There are no quick fixes. There are no short cuts. You must do your homework.

Correct information, not willpower, will be the key to unlock your captivity.

Change the mind. The body will change.

You will never regret getting your health and life back!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (33)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

For those of you new to the blog, I was formerly an obese and chronically malnourished food addict who has been completely set free from all food addictions and eating disorders; including anorexia, nutrient restrictive dieting, yo-yo dieting, and binge eating disorder as result of embracing the nutritarian lifestyle that’s described in Eat to Live and Eat for Health. Here is my transformation.

Ever since I started the journey to get my health back, many have volunteered to share stories with me about their own struggles with food addiction, and the pain and misery that it has created in their lives.

Losing weight primarily to fit into a pair of skinny jeans is a thing of the past for most.

Lives are literally being destroyed, and families are falling a part due to toxic food addiction and chronic malnutrition. Homes are in disrepair. Finances are drained. Marriages are on the rocks. Children are neglected. It’s a sad scene.

Food addiction may seem insignificant to many, but it’s sabotaging one of the core values of America which is liberty and justice for all.

As a culture we have become captive to high fat, high salt, low nutrient, processed foods. This generation of youth is being raised on sweetened cereal, macaroni and cheese, and chicken nuggets, which will only perpetuate the continual cycle of addiction.

The following quote was posted on a bus hut sign in front of a large children’s hospital:

"Are we feeding our children to death? This may be the first generation of kids not to outlive their parents."

As a nation, we are in a malnutrition crisis. The Nutritional Research Project is a foundation that has been established to promote scientific research and public education, including educational outreach to children, to prevent dietary-caused disease resulting in chronic illness and premature death.

Please take a moment to check out this important work for the future health of America at NutritionalResearch.org.

The change of one person is a transformation. The change of many is a revolution.

For the sake of our children and future generations, let’s all be a part of the change that it’s going to take to support optimal health and well-being for all.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (11)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

For those of you new to the blog, I was formerly an obese and chronically malnourished food addict who has been completely set free from all food addictions and eating disorders; including anorexia, nutrient restrictive dieting, yo-yo dieting, and binge eating disorder as result of embracing the nutritarian lifestyle that’s described in Eat to Live and Eat for Health. Here is my transformation.

Neil Steinberg used “lubrication” to describe alcoholism in his book, Drunkard.

Steinberg was referring to alcohol as "lubrication" for the continual stresses in a day.

Likewise, how much of our food choices, even healthy food, lubricate the stresses in our day?

It's not a perfection thing. It's a "let's be honest and face the truth of addiction" thing.

It's all about using wisdom in making choices that lead to optimal health. It's all about knowing ourselves and how we respond to stress.

I've lubricated the stresses in my life primarily with food for as long as I can remember.

When I was mothering a three-year-old, an eighteen-month-old, and a newborn the days were filled with continual stress. No sleep. No energy. No free time. No quiet solitude. I lubricated the stress with their half eaten hotdogs, macaroni and cheese, and pop tarts.

Health? That wasn't even a word in my vocabulary file.

Obesity? A year later, that word was.

We need to find other ways to lubricate stress in our day other than with food; because food, depending upon how it is used, has the power to give life or take it away.

Let’s all be mindful of the food(s) we eat, and why we eat them, because knowledge, not willpower, will enable us to live in freedom and optimal health.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (8)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

This is a recent harvest from my garden. I’m learning the fine art of growing vegetables this year, and having a blast working in my garden, especially in the early mornings when everything is still and quiet.

When I was chronically malnourished and obese, I ate a steady diet of peanut butter sandwiches, processed cereal with milk, spaghetti and garlic bread, beef and noodles, cottage cheese, meatloaf, pizza, and chicken nuggets. A garden was not even a blimp on my radar screen of desire. Now, after a year of eating nutrient dense foods, just looking at a picture of vegetables makes my mouth water.

One of my favorite ways to serve zucchini and tomatoes is to line a rectangular, stoneware pan with foil (to simplify clean-up), and layer slices of yams, cut up zucchini, tomatoes, onions, a bit of minced garlic, Dr. Fuhrman’s MatoZest, and juice from one lemon. I seal everything with a top layer of foil, and put the pan into a 425 degree, pre-heated oven for an hour. Afterwards, while still encased in foil, I let it stand for another half hour before serving, which causes flavors to blend together. I then serve with a fresh pot of lentil stew, sliced cucumbers, (also from the garden), steamed broccoli, chunks of cantaloupe, and raw almonds, resulting in an inexpensive, delicious, and nourishing meal for any family.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (6)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

I was obese for nearly twenty years, and by the time I was in my late 40's I had experienced heart disease, hypertension, pre-diabetes, hopelessness and depression, achy joints, lower back pain, “brain fog,” and loss of energy from chronic malnutrition and carrying around the extra weight.

Due to being chubby I was put on my first, nutrient restrictive diet at age six by well-meaning, but totally misguided adults.  I gradually developed anorexia that required hospitalization at the age of 17. Eventually I ballooned to 238 lbs., and attempted almost every diet imaginable on the market.  I ended up in the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting; psychological and physiological deprivation followed by binge eating episodes and more weight gain.

Back in 2002, I read Eat to Live for the first time, but put it away because I incorrectly assumed that a lifestyle of eating mostly high nutrient, plant based foods would be totally impossible to achieve in our culture.  However, after a few years of mounting medical bills, including a heart catheterization and various other medical incidents, I made the decision to get my health back, and committed to the nutritarian way of eating on July 10, 2008.

Almost ten months later the majority of 100 lbs was shed, and today I no longer have heart disease, pre-diabetes, hypertension, achy joints, lower back pain, organic depression, brain fog, or chronic lethargy. I documented the entire journey; including pictures, medical stats and how I was feeling from month to month.  To view it click here.

Because my body is now well nourished from eating nutrient rich foods, the intense cravings that compelled me to eat high fat, processed foods are now completely gone. I have literally been set free from toxic food addiction and the resulting eating disorders that developed that controlled my every waking moment for as long as I can remember.

I'm a former food addict that understands the utter despair and all-consuming pain and confusion of eating disorders. I understand a broken heart from loss of personhood and dignity due to anorexia, yo-yo dieting and obesity. I understand what it means to be so discouraged and hopeless that the desire to live fades; and I understand what it feels like to be completely free from toxic food addictions through embracing the nutritarian lifestyle while living in this junk food culture.  It is my sincerest desire to inspire, encourage and walk alongside those who want to successfully live in the same freedom.

             

 All the best of optimal health to everyone!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (15)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

For almost twenty years of my adult life, I was obese. (I was also “chubby” as a kid, but won’t go there today.)

Obesity not only robbed me of health, vitality, and quality of life, it literally zapped colors right out of my life; not only deleting colorful food from my plate, but colorful clothing from my closet as well.

Over the years I invested in a few pieces of plus-size garments in the color black: a pair of black, stretch pants, a few black t-shirts, a black-patterned blouse, a black sweater, and a black jacket or two. Sometimes, rarely, a slight shade of gray was thrown into the mix, creating a rather dreary palette.

In fact, I had a “uniform” for all public events that I attended; my standard outfit consisted of a pair of size 3x black, stretch pants, and a black tank top with a lightweight, black-patterned blouse thrown over it. I wore it fall, winter, spring, and summer; even on the hottest, most sultry days of summer. It was suffocating, but it shielded glaring eyes from noticing my obesity. Of course, I always adorned myself with an artsy piece of jewelry so that people could focus on it, and not my size.

Gradually, over the course of this past year, as I got my health back, my closet started to change also, until one morning this past spring, I noticed an entire palette of beautiful and refreshing colors peaking out from its hangers. Pink. White with stripes. Sky blue. Aqua. Peach. Golden yellow. Light green. Lavender.

Black is beautiful, but becomes dreary when it’s the only color. An even drearier life. Terrible grammar, I know. But I don’t care. My closet is symbolic of the pretty colors flowing in my life now, and nothing else matters. No joking.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (21)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

I was in 4H when I was a kid, and now my children are in it. It’s always fun to go to the fair soon after the judges place the infamous ribbons on the projects to see what award they received; the suspense and excitement is sort of like Christmas in July. For rural kids especially, the county fair is one of the highlights of summer.

When I was a kid, I didn’t really notice the food vendors at the fair. Cotton candy, salt water taffy, hotdogs, and snow-cones were just a part of the package. No big deal.

Now, as a bonafide nutritarian, a person who has eaten nutrient-dense foods for a year, lost close to a hundred pounds, and got my health and life back in the process, the children’s projects didn’t catch my attention as much as the many obese bellies that literally saturated the landscape. It was shocking.

As I entered the food pavilion area, one of the main attractions of the fair, the shock factor increased. I sat down on one of the picnic tables, strategically placed in the middle of over twenty, food vendor booths: cheesy-spiral-fried spuds, double cheese sirloin burgers, elephant ears, funnel cakes, cotton candy, snow-cones, lemon shake-ups, cream filled pumpkin rolls, ice-cream cones, gooey pastries, fountain drinks, foot long corn dogs, and salt water taffy, just to name a few.

It was at that moment, the 4H pledge, the one recited at every club meeting by the youth of America, came to mind:

I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.

Junk food is literally killing us. As a nation, we are in crisis. We must all band together to fight this creeping destruction of America. Unwise food choices are not only destroying our health and economy, but also our values, our dignity, and our environment.

Fast forward to five years from now…hard working farmers and 4H clubs band together to help save the lives of the American heartland. There are fresh produce stands sprinkled all throughout the nation’s county fairs that say, “Let’s save America. Get fit and healthy. Reject junk food. Support local farmers.” These stands would sell cherries, melons, ice cones made with local fruits, nourishing bean soups, little sacks of nuts and seeds, and locally grown greens made into fresh salads with a delicious, cinnamon-cashew-apple dressing drizzled on top.

Maybe we can enlist the 4H leaders and youth of this nation to help with the rescue efforts. After all, it’s their pledge.

May we all pledge clear minds and healthy bodies to better living for our community, our country, and our world!

UPDATE: Dr. Fuhrman wrote a follow up to this: Not Only At The 4H Fair But Everywhere

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (20)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link