King Vegetable and Queen Fruit

I recently watched the royal wedding along with the rest of the world.  This event prompted me to think about food in terms of royalty.

What would make a food "royal" - you know, really, really special.  My answer for this would be how well the food nourishes you.  Others might argue that taste would be a better gauge or maybe how the food looks - it's presentation.  Those items are important, but ultimately food is for nourishing the body and I think this is the most important.  And when it comes to nutrients packed in each bite, nothing compares with King Vegetable and Queen Fruit.

Nutrients per calorie are unmatched in vegetables and fruits.  There is no better food to eat when it comes to providing your body with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber.  I don't know about you, but I just feel better when I get a lot of fruits and veggies.

Think about it and it makes perfect sense.  Humans are primates.  What do primates eat?  Fruits, leaves, berries, roots, shoots and other plant material - this makes up the majority of their diet.

The only question remaining is are you eating enough?  Probably not.  Try this as a model for getting more:

Fruit for breakfast.  Lately I've been eating an apple, orange and some strawberries for breakfast.  It's amazing to me how long this meal keeps me satisfied.  Substitute grapefruit, kiwi, grapes, berries, pineapple, mango, banana or whatever is in season locally.

Salad for lunch.  A large salad that isn't drenched with a high fat dressing.  Make the salad so big, you can't finish it and add some beans and a handful of nuts and/or seeds.

Salad with dinner.  Another salad with dinner (or make salad the main dish!) coupled with steamed vegetables and a piece of fruit for dessert ensures by the end of the day, you've had plenty of fruits and vegetables.

I'm definitely getting more each day keeping this simple approach in mind.

K

Now What?

I know you've been here before - so have I - that place where the idea of yet another attempt at taking off the pounds presents itself.

Einstein comes to mind:  "The definition of insanity: repeating the same process over and over and expecting a different result".... or something like that.

Yesterday's post indicated the importance of permanency in whatever changes I make and, obviously, all the previous changes didn't "take" for the long-term.  Now what?

I can't answer that yet, but I must admit I'm intrigued by Dr. Fuhrman's Food Pyramid.  I continue to read his book, Eat to Live.  You should be reading this book, too.

K

Finding the Courage to Stand Back Up

Woman vs. FAT has been silent for more than a year.  In my last post, I indicated I was going back to work and for a while, I was able to maintain and keep losing.  But I'm sad to say that, in the end, my weight has crept back up and I'm now back to where I started.

How many times have I done this before?  Let's just say this isn't the first time I've lost a significant amount of weight only to gain it back again.

Disgust and embarrassment abound.  These are emotions that are self destructing if they are allowed to fester.  I won't have any of that.

So here I am, back to the blog, finding the courage to stand back up, brush off my disappointment and declare that I'm not giving up.  My longevity is at stake.

So step #1 is the recognition that diets don't work.  Whatever I do, it has to be permanent.  With that in mind, I'm re-reading a book I picked up in March - Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. .

There are two things compelling about this book and Dr. Fuhrman:

1.  The over 2000 medical studies referenced by the book and fully listed in a Notes section more than 40 pages in length

2.  Dr. Fuhrman's success rate and the case studies presented in the book.  Pretty remarkable.

Read more from Dr. Fuhrman at his blog - some very interesting stuff. 

Maybe this is something that could work - permanently.


Stay tuned... time will tell.

K