I have been a yo yo dieter all my life.  It began with watching my mother struggle with her weight  She was on Weight Watchers for a very long time when I was a teenager and food in our home consisted of at that time of liver and onions once a week.  My father who had had heart disease also was eating that diet.  He had angina quite frequently and I remember him using nitroglycerin under his tongue.  Was it because he was eating a diet that was not conducive to a healthy heart?  We will never know.

     When my husband and I were first married we were young and very active.  We probably ate anything we wanted and exercised to keep it off.  Then the children came and with each pregnancy I gained more weight.  I then, like my mother before me joined Weight Watchers, and counted points. We couldn't afford it at times so I would drop off and gain the weight back, and then down the road pick it up again.  I didn't know what else to do.  Years ago while my children were small, I started reading articles and books about nutrition.  One book in particular was Real Food What to Eat and Why. In this book the author talks about growing up on a farm, and how dairy and meat are vital to life. While I think this book makes some good points, it didn't work for me, and it didn't really feel right to be eating all that fat.

     I then started researching about eating Raw.  I tried a couple of recipes, but I missed the flour and grains and sugar.  Did I mention I have a raging sweet tooth?  Then I got to thinking, don't our bodies need more than just fruits and vegetables?  A couple of years ago, my oldest son and I looked at a movie called Forks Over Knives.  This made a whole lot of sense.  If you are not familiar with the movie, I highly recommend it.  The two doctors that made this movie; Dr. T. Colin Campbell a nutritional scientist at Cornell University, and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn a top surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic explain in simple terms why we should not eat animal products.  I didn't do much with it because I was busy working and raising 3 teenagers.

     My oldest gave me the book Engine 2 diet written by Rip Esselstyn Dr. Esselstyn's son.  He is a fireman, and helped his buddies at the fire house lose lots of weight by eating a plant based diet.  I read it, but still did nothing because I felt I didn't have the time.

     About 4 weeks ago I had a physical.  My blood pressure was up, and my diabetes had returned.  My doctor explained that if I didn't do something that he would have not choice to put me on diabetes medication.  I hate taking medications!  I have been on high blood pressure medication for a great many years, and I long to be done with them.  So now was the time.  I had to do something.  I had given that book to my son, because he has eczema and wants it to be gone so he is giving this a try.

     I have jumped in with both feet.  I have not had dairy, meat, processed food, or sugar in almost 5 weeks.  I feel better, I sleep better, I stay full, I eat as much as I want without counting calories, and I have lost 12 pounds!  Now how good is that!  I will never look back.  This really isn't a diet, it is a lifestyle choice.  The first week was the hardest, but my taste buds have changed and I love a sweet banana!  Things taste so much better!  


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