Mr. Grinch, You Stole the Wrong Holiday

Dear Mr. Grinch,

I'm really not sure why you tried to steal Christmas.  Maybe you had some bad childhood experiences during the Holidays.  I heard you changed your ways and you're one of the good guys now.  I was thinking that with your green complexion, maybe you could be a new mascot for Halloween.  Why not steal all the candy and leave behind some green veggies for all the parents to pass out instead?  I know you may end up with egg on your front door if you implement this idea, but you could play an important role as a new food advocate.  And while you're stealing things, I have a couple of jobs you could take away from some people over at the USDA who are on the take.  In fact, they've all been playing the ultimate trick on our children for decades with their false food charts and their fancy claims about what foods are healthy.

I realize the idea of stealing Halloween sounds crazy but I believe you may be the only person around who understands my sinister plot to take away candy from the babies.  I'm just so sick and tired of watching all the parents stuffing our kids with twinkies, candy and cokes while not a soul tries to intervene.  Mr. Grinch, I implore you to come out of retirement and please steal Halloween.  You have my vote.  Have a great day. 

Signed,

Anonymous  

Your Body is Your Best Weapon Against Disease

The best weapon for beating heart disease, stroke and cancer is in your mirror.  You have the power within you to do what our broken health care system can't.  You can beat disease before it starts or reverse it if it already invaded your body.  Unfortunately, most of us waste this opportunity because we don't understand how to mobilize our defenses.  I stumbled upon it by accident.  In fact, I did most things wrong the first fifty-five years of my life.  And this last year when I wrote my first novel, my long hours of inactivity while typing on my computer accelerated the problem of my health decline.  My blood pressure reached stage II hypertension levels, my LDL cholesterol sky-rocketed and I tipped the scales at 185, a level considered obese for my small frame.  I had three strikes against me.  Everything changed when my cousin, a doctor who is studying why so many of us are getting sick, asked me to participate in a food experiment he put together.  This experiment saved my life.  All I needed to discover is what my body needs in order to fight disease.

Phase II of the experiment is going on right now.  Friends and family are discovering what I learned in Phase I – Your body can win the war against all kinds of diseases if you treat it properly.  The first food experiment started when our ancestors quit hunting and gathering.  It was touted as an advancement when we were told we no longer needed to "waste" our time hunting for food.  We became couch potatoes.  We planted crops that were genetically modified to increase yields.  We added pesticides to keep bugs away.  We stripped away all the good nutrients in our foods.  The experiment failed.  85% of Americans are no longer getting the nutrients they need to fight disease.  Processed foods are killing us silently.  It's time for a new experiment.  Take a look in the mirror.  There's your answer.  All you have to do is say enough is enough.  Put a sign on your refrigerator that says, "Salad is the main dish."  Go back to fruits and veggies.  Give up processed foods for 45 days and decide for yourself if your body is the best weapon against disease.  Have a great day.

Salad is the Main Dish

I said something this morning my wife never thought she would ever hear me say, "I'm so glad we got more celery."  I missed it so much in my morning smoothie yesterday that I made a special trip to the grocery store to replenish our supply.  Our refrigerator looks more and more like the produce section of my favorite shopping establishment.

I posted a new sign on the outside of my refrigerator this morning to remind me to eat more greens – Salad is the main dish.  And the best way to do that is to make irresistible salads with homemade dressing so good I won't want to eat anything else.

Phase II of the food experiment is underway and the feedback is mixed.  Some are losing weight and others are suffering from withdrawals.  I posted a YouTube video for their benefit on our group page this morning and decided to share it here on this blog for anyone interested in improving their health.  Have a great day.

Modern Day Hunting and Gathering

My modern day hunting and gathering experience started in my home a couple of months ago.  I walked over to my refrigerator, gathered up all the processed foods, and purged them forever.  Then I visited my favorite shopping establishment with a simple food list and hunted for anything without a label on the package.  Here's what I learned:

1. Eating like a caveman beats eating a western diet.
2. Living without twenty-five pounds of excessive weight is life-changing.
3. Modern day hunting and gathering sheds pounds in forty-five days or less.

I'm wild about my new food program.  It works.  My wife and I are trying new recipes and plan to share more with others who are interested in improving their health.  I recommend modern day hunting and gathering.  Have a great day.

Your Weekly Guide to a Healthier Food Program

One of the members of our phase II food experiment emailed me yesterday asking for a guide to post on her refrigerator.  I sent her something from "Eat to Live," by Dr. Joel Furhman.  Imagine you're looking at a pyramid.  The base layer is made up of vegetables and represents the foundation of a healthy diet.  You can eat an unlimited amount of half cooked, half raw veggies and not worry about weight gain.  The same is true with the next layer up – fruits, beans and legumes.  This layer has no limits or restrictions either.  Whole grains, raw nuts and seeds make up the third layer and should be limited daily.  The fourth layer, fish and fat free dairy, should only be eaten twice weekly or less.   Poultry, eggs and oils are listed in the fifth layer and should only be eaten once weekly or less.  The smallest layer of the food pyramid is at the top.  This is your beets, sweets, cheese / milk, processed foods and hydrogenated oils.

I prefer to live at the base of the food pyramid and find my body responds well when I stay away from processed foods.  For me, the top of the pyramid is my no fly zone. 

I'm happy to report that one member of the group has already lost four pounds and we're only on day 3 of the experiment.  I'm going to keep posting tips during the experiment to help the group and anyone observing who may wish to give this food program a try.  Have a great day.

Have you heard of nutrient density?

I'm a food dummy.  Even though I lost a bunch of weight and I'm healthier than ever, I really don't know why my body responded so well when I entered a food experiment a couple of months ago.  That's when the doctor who sponsored my food experiment suggested I read a couple of books to get smarter about food.  "Eat to Live," by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, helps people like me understand in common sense terms why weight loss doesn't have to be rocket science.  He came up with the nutrition equation which is H = N/C.  H is for health, N is for nutrition and C is for Calories.  When the N on your plate is large enough, meaning you're eating large quantities of highly nutritious foods, you lose weight and optimize your health.  There's no starving or portion control.  The C in the equation does need to be a small c, meaning less carbohydrates, fats and proteins.  For me, the c meant cutting out all processed foods and this helped me immensely.

I believe part of my problem before entering the food experiment is that my nutrition equation was upside down.  I consumed far too many processed foods and refrained from veggies, especially the green ones.  I loaded up on spinach, celery, kale and broccoli in larger quantities and found my appetite decreased during my 45 days living as a lab rat.  It's all about nutrient density.

I really don't need to know why I'm so much healthier today but there are a lot of so-called experts out there who want to challenge me with their theories about how to eat better and I want to prove that what happened to me was no accident.  I'm sharing today's blog with the other lab rats who volunteered to be in phase II of the experiment.  They're eager to improve their health and this story may inspire them to change their food habits.  Have a great day.

Caveman Food Experiment Enters Phase II Today

Friends and family of the caveman have agreed to participate in Phase II of the food experiment which begins today.  The goal is to measure what happens when processed foods are eliminated.  I was the lab rat for Phase I and I'm still in shock at the results.

If you would like to join the group or just want to follow the experiment, click here for the Facebook link to the group.  Members will be posting their stories and sharing their results.  I'm super excited to be a part of this.  Special thanks to my cousin who came up with the idea to help me overcome blood pressure issues which are now fully resolved as a result of following his guidelines for 45 days.  Have a great day.