I am about 20 years late in reading Eat To Live, so maybe some will catch on earlier than I did. Some statements seem extreme, but overall, this is a new and different look at our eating habits. I gave my original copy away and sent copies to friends, then ordered my own and Fuhrman's heart book.
My experience so far includes:
- A loss of craving for desserts and junk food, even A+ chocolate candy right in front of me;
- Enjoyment of legumes (beans - for WELS graduates), fruits, nuts, and a reduction in portions;
- A surge in energy, especially compared to last year;
- An immediate but painless loss of weight.
Fuhrman's basic formula is greens, beans, fruits, and nuts.
- Large amounts of raw greens are nutritious and not weight-gaining, but weight-losing.
- Beans are satisfying and packed with many healthy components - more than just vitamins.
- Fruits have some sugar but eaten raw are delicious and healthy.
- Nuts and seeds have more calories per ounce but also have special, healthy qualities - like walnuts for the heart.
Fuhrman blames the undisciplined American diet on many of our maladies: blood sugar, blood pressure, heart problems, various cancers, and morbid obesity. We overdo meat, eggs, cheese, milk, cream and whipped cream - even fake cream and fake whipped cream.
I put it on the Google calendar, because I got my A1C (90 day blood sugar) at 8 AM and the eye appointment a few hours later. The book in my own library (in brand new condition) was 300+ pages of mirror - the mirror of the Law. Fuhrman's aids phoned me (in my fantasy) and said, "Your pancreas warrantee is about to expire. We want to help you out before it's too late."
So I read it every day and verified the claims of vegetable nutrition with various Internet sources. And I looked forward! to lunches dominated by black-eye peas, brussels sprouts, or green beans. Legumes and crucifers (cabbage family - for the Mequon graduates) are far more nutritious than meats and eggs.
I used to scoff at suggestions for fruit and vegetable servings per day. But now I enjoy oranges, apples, and prunes daily - four servings.
When I began to get hungry today, I found the almond bag and ate about 20. "Not enough. Not enough. Hungry!" But a few minutes later I was not hungry or feeling stuffed."
Some of you have been there - hungry. "Oh, one small dessert will not hurt." It has no nutritional value but sooooo good. "That was small, so I will have another." And the pancreas says as the last bite goes down, maybe because of the ice cream scooped out in goodbye cruel world anxiety - "You wrecked your goal, now I will wreck your day. Sluggish for hours, yes. Queasy, oh yes. If I must suffer, so must you."
So it is better to start having no desserts, no candy. Sassy loves to walk twice a day, and she is not letting me off the hook for winter. She loves winter. But I am also adding more gym and an indoor bike.
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