I could never do that!
In the Fall of 2008, after I had dropped 40 lbs in three months, my peers started commenting and asking questions about the noticeable changes. By the next Spring, when 100 pounds were off, complete strangers such as clerks in stores would comment and ask questions as well.
Everyone’s question was, “How did you lose weight?”
Of which my reply would always be, “By following Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book, Eat to Live;. . . . basically eating lots of high nutrient, plant-based foods.”
“You mean no meat? No cheese? No pizza? No McDonald’s? . . . . Oh, I could never do that!”
Now, over 2 ½ years later, the majority still say to me, “Oh I could never do that!” in response to anything remotely related to the idea of eating meals primarily composed of plant based nutrition.
Well, the following is what I think in response to, “I could never do that”:
I could never blow the family budget on unnecessary test strips, insulin, medications, doctor and hospital bills, or bypass surgery.
I could never carry around expensive medical supplies and meds while traveling.
I could never ask a loved one to mow the lawn for me due to fatigue and ill health.
I could never turn a child away from playing a game due to a migraine headache.
I could never miss out on the joy of a wedding celebration due to obesity and depression.
I could never ask someone to drive me to kidney dialysis three times a week.
Dr. Fuhrman added:
I could never have heartburn and burping half the night.
I could never sit in the bathroom for 15 minutes trying to painfully squeeze out a hard log.
I could never watch a volleyball game at the beach instead of playing in it.
I could never have rubber bands put on painful hemorrhoids by a rectal specialist.
I could never worry about running to catch a bus, for fear of having a heart attack.
I could never have such severe stomach cramps that emergency room personnel would assume it was a heart attack.
I could never fall down and fracture a hip because my blood pressure medications dropped my blood pressure too low.
I could never be intubated in the ER with a tube put down my throat and hooked up to a breathing machine after suffering a heart attack.
I could never be in a nursing home unable to talk after a stroke or move the left side of my body.
How about you?
What could you never do?
image credit: flickr by Claudio Matsuoka and FotoosVanRobin
