Eating to Live

Eat to Live – It really is the simplest way to say it. The way you eat directly effects how long and how well you will live.

The problem is, most of us know very little about nutrition. We hear things here and there, new reports on what’s good for you or bad for you, and often this information will conflict with other information we were told in the past. So you end up not really understanding what’s good and what’s not and for many people they just give up and eat what they want.

It’s also unclear just how powerful an effect food has on the body. Even foods recommended and approved by our own government slowly degrade your body and cause all kids of health conditions, including cancer.

We’ve all heard that knowledge is power. For me that’s especially true when it comes to making big changes that are otherwise challenging. If I can understand the details of why I need to change, or what harm may come from not changing, I can usually change on a dime and stick with it. I predict such will be the case with the new diet that I’m on with Brenda, based on the books Eat for Health and Eat to Live.

I can say without a second thought, that these two books are the most important books I have ever read. They will have a direct effect on the number of years I spend on this earth and the amount time I can spend with my children.

As you read the book, very quickly you get an idea of just how bad the American diet is in general. Virtually everything we eat is killing us, and we don’t even realize it. The health problems that are so prevalent in the US are not in other parts of the world, where diets vary widely. Everything is problematic, from guidelines that the USDA and American Heart Association put out, to the information on the boxes of the food we buy. Food is made to taste good and satisfy us in the short term, with no attention paid to what the long term problems will be. I have to admit that the information presented in these two books has really made me suspicious of the entire food system in our country.

One of the main points in this book series is that you medicine should only be used to treat illnesses only after nutritional deficiencies have been addressed. Drugs are secondary, not primary. How many times have you heard a doctor tell you that? It’s just too easy to subscribe drugs, when really the problems are rooted in what we eat. Without changing our diet, we continue to hurt our body while the drugs just treat the symptoms.

I decided to make the change after way too much time being spent tired, mentally cloudy, achey, and having a general feeling of poor health more often than not. I shouldn’t need caffeine just to function and not have headaches. And the fact that I’m diabetic means that I need to really keep my health front and center if I want to live past the age of 50 without having a major cardiac event. I was almost done with the first of the two books, and Brenda had started reading the first book as well. I had tried a few weeks earlier to get on the diet, but after a few days I feel off the wagon. This time was different. I was more determined, more educated and also decided not to take baby steps, but to go from crappy eating to good eating overnight.

To help each other out, Brenda and I decided to do the diet together. Letting yourself down is sometimes too easy, but if you know somebody else has been struggling right along side of you there’s more of an obligation to that other person. You don’t want them to be disappointed in you. It’s a powerful motivator.

So based on what I had read in the book up to that point, we agreed on a diet. To avoid any confusion later, we put it in writing and both signed it. It will help keep the details of what we agreed to in focus but it’s also hanging on the fridge as a reminder of what we’re doing. We’ve agreed to stay on the diet for 60 days, with no exceptions. None.

First stop after checking into the hotel was the local grocery store.

For example, I’m traveling this weekend and that’s normally a difficult time to stay on any type of good eating plan, but I don’t have a choice. I’ve already thought through what I am going to do while traveling to make sure I’m eating right, and not tempted to cheat because I let myself get too hungry.

We started the diet on December 30th, so it’s been just over a week now. The first several days were difficult, and to be honest the first day I really started to feel good is yesterday, the first day of week 2. It can take a few weeks for your body to completely detoxify itself.

Some of the benefits I’ve seen after the first week are …

• Need less sleep
• For the first time in a long time, I dream and remember my dreams
• I have stopped taking my insulin shots with meals, and have better glucose control
• My vision is sharper
• I wake up very easy, instead of feeling very groggy
• I’m feel like I’m a sharper thinking, especially when working. My brain just feels supercharged
• I don’t get tired as early as I used to (it used to be around 7pm, it’s now closer to 10-11pm)

Some down sides of the first week while detoxing…

• VERY IRRITABLE. I’ve never been so trigger happy crabby in my life.
• Several days of headaches that just wouldn’t go away (but are now gone)
• Very, very, very tired. At times it seemed like I just couldn’t get enough sleep.
• Body aches. I actually felt like I was getting the flu (this is not uncommon).
• Breaking old eating habits are more difficult than the diet itself.

As the weeks go on I will post progress updates. But more than any other time in my life when making dietary changes, I feel like this is a change that I will keep for the rest of my life.

If you are tired of being tired, having aches and pains, managing a chronic condition or just want to feel younger and more energetic, I would strongly encourage you to read the books. I was hooked right from the beginning, and I think you will too.

What’s that? You don’t have time to read books? NO EXCUSE… because it’s available in audio form as well. Download it and play it on your computer, iPod, iPhone, Android phone, or any other MP3 player. Listen while you drive, grocery shop, clean house or work out. There are always times throughout the day that you can put on a pair of headphones and listen.

If you have read the books yourself, feel free to email me with your thoughts. I feel like this is a book I want to give to everybody in my life to help them live longer and better.