Why Just a Word for 2023... how about an entire thought?!

 “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle

Whole Food, Plant Based no Sugar, Oil, Low-Salt Lifestyle

While singing is still my reason for being, quickly catching up to something else I'm passionate about is eating healthier. Specifically Whole Food Plant Based healthier eating combined with Intermittent Fasting. Not a temporary "diet" that I'm "on" for awhile, then find myself going back to eating "normal" which is, appropriately named, SAD (the Standard American Diet). This is my lifestyle.

The word diet from the Greek is "diaita = "a way of life" - and from Wikipedia "According to Foxcroft, the word diet comes from the Greek diaita, which represents a notion of a whole way healthy lifestyle including both mental and physical health, rather than a narrow weight-loss regimen."

I like that best - "... a notion of a WHOLE way healthy LIFESTYLE including BOTH mental and physical health..."

I've been traveling the veggie-head path toward what is (almost) essentially Vegan for a long time... For the past 10-ish years I have described my eating as about 80% Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB), and 20% of the time I have the processed foods, dairy and occasionally a burger and fries. Historically, the social aspect (read: fun) of eating out and trying to stay compliant took the fun out of eating out. And I don't think I've ever described how much I enjoy eating out. It's a thing. 

But I digress.

This year I've decided that 2023 will be 93% WFPB mostly SO free with low S - which is essentially the title of this post. SOS is Sugar, Oil and Salt. I've been watching and reading Chef AJ, Anne Crile Esselstyn & Jane Esselstyn, Rip Esselstyn, Jill & Jeff over at The Whole Food Plant Based Cooking Show and Forks Over Knives videos... Dr. John McDougall with the occasional dip to the absolutely delicious (but not oil-free) recipes by Nisha at Rainbow Plant Life whose book "The Vegan Instantpot Cookbook" has amazing and delicious (!) stuff! 

Some back story:
In 2011 I lost 100 lbs on Medifast (now called Optivia - Opt-ah-VEE-ah). I knew I'd be 'transitioning back' to eating real food and started researching healthier eating. I knew that Atkins-style of eating wasn't for me... I'd tried it in Scotland for a couple weeks - and for a few days it was awesome, but I like fruit and vegetables too much, and have never been a huge meat-eater. I'd also thought, since my early 20's, that vegetarianism would be a good fit for me. (I thought Vegan was a bit too extreme, but also, I liked the idea of not eating 'food that had a mother.')

So in my research for what I wanted to eat, I watched "Forks Over Knives," "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead," "Plant-Pure Nation," "What the Health," "Hungry for Change," and "Vegucated."

The first book I purchased was Dr. Joel Furhman's audio book of "Eat to Live" after I watched Vegucated.

This film had a huge impact on me because it followed three very very normal "off the street" folks who agreed to 'be vegan' for 6 weeks. It shows their struggles... not just with what food is available to eat, but how socially difficult it is to stick to your commitment. This film showed 'unsanctioned' filming of inside of a chicken house, and how our CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) style of food production, which breaks my heart and is (imho) cruel and inhumane among other I-don't-want-to-go-there-now things; isn't the PR image of what the big businesses want the public to believe about how they are raising pigs, turkeys, chickens and cows. If you want to understand more about why I came to this conclusion, besides plugging my nose every time I have driven past them (CAFO facilities) on road trips in California and Texas, this page on the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter will explain.

Dr. Fuhrman said that to start a healthier way of eating (WFPB), I didn't have to give up my favorite foods... rather, to transition to healthier eating, before eating the "normal" foods, I first had to eat a pound (yes, a pound) of vegetables. Preferably raw. At least, this was my interpretation of what he said (lol). A great summary of the book is here. 

That's a lot of food.  

But I decided that I wanted to pursue this lifestyle. Slowly.

Yes, eventually our taste buds change, and some transitions were easier than others... drinking plant-based milks was easy - I have never really liked milk. I'd have Ovaltine as breakfast in high school, but that's the only way I could stand it. (My dad used to drink a glass of milk with ice... blech. My mom grew up on a dairy farm and had to drink raw milk as a kid, so she never drank much milk after she moved away from home.) 

Giving up Dairy Queen soft serve... er... not so easy but I'm not stopping every week anymore. Eating more beans... not a problem! Cheese wasn't as hard for me as it is for others... though my summer eating is usually tortilla chips with grated cheese and guacamole. Giving that up was hard. But Nisha has a great fake "cheese/queso" that is quick and easy in the Instant Pot ~ and while not cheesy in the traditional sense, it fills that gap for me just fine!

So that's some of the journey.

The Health aspect of this WOL (Way of Life) is huge. Hippocrates is attributed to having said "Let food be thy medicine." 

But this website says something different...  perhaps he said something more inline with, “ 'In  food excellent medicine can be found, in food bad medicine can be found; good and bad are relative.' With some imagination this can be read as: some foods can cure you, other foods can make you sicker; the effect can vary case by case. "

I'm listening to the audio book "Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition" by Dr. T Colin Campbell, which discusses reductive science methodology vs holistic (wholistic?) science methodology and is compelling. I appreciate all that Dr. Michael Greger has said and done, especially with his NutritionFacts.org YouTube channel and bringing our attention to the science. In his book "How Not to Die" he discusses how we might eat better and avoid chronic disease. 

I bought the book "Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us" and haven't started it, but know the whole point of the book is to educate us; that processed food and the companies that produce it has purposefully been made to be addictive, so we buy more (all about the profits), eat more and then buy more. And this practice is making us sick.

And I need to mention Dr. Neal Barnhart who really has shown the light on diabetes. It isn't the sugar, it's the (animal) FAT in your blood that prevents the insulin from getting into the blood cells! His book "Your Body in Balance" is eye-opening. It's about the science of food, hormones and health. What we eat affects our mood, not just our physical body. This is science... S C I E N C E... that (I personally believe) isn't shared in the mainstream because as Dr Greger says... who's going to make money off of real food... "Big Beet?" LOL!

Maybe you've heard that sugar is more addictive than cocaine...? Here's one of the studies. 

But food addiction is another post.

This is just one post about this passion, it isn't meant to be the whole story of how I got to where I am and why I feel so strongly about this. I've been watching, reading and processing this change since 2012... it isn't taken lightly and I've done quite a bit of research. 

It is a personal decision, and I do not judge how other people choose to eat. I do want my loved ones to live healthier, so I may feel sad about unhealthy decisions, but at the same time, the news about diet and what is 'good' for you changes every day it seems. 

On top of all of this, Allopathic doctors are not required to take nutrition classes in their medical training - fewer than 20 hours, according to a google search. They don't treat the cause of the disease, they prescribe medication and drugs... which is a whole 'nother topic! If we ate more food closer to how it grows (whole corn instead or corn syrup, corn dogs, corn cereals), our bodies will appreciate it. 

The human body is incredible! Given the right conditions we can heal ourselves of so many diseases... of course there are always exceptions to the rule(s), but listening and watching the stories of people who have overcome 'diseases of lifestyle' by following a WFPB lifestyle is inspiring!

"Balance in all things" is one way of looking at this, but after all the study I've done, I do not believe that. 

That said, I do believe that breaking bread together is a significant social tradition that benefits our society. Sharing delicious food together that has been lovingly prepared... well, that's important to me. I'm going to choose to eat with friends and loved ones, doing my best to make choices good for me, but not at the expense of being together and demanding my food choices must be made available.

There's a joke about Veganism that Omnivores tell, "How can you tell when someone is a Vegan?" - "Don't worry, they'll tell you." That's not me, which is why I say 93% percent of the time I'm eating WFPB-low SOS. The other 25 days a year I'm enjoying my favorite foods on holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions.

I have lots to say about this topic. And I'll say more later. This is only about my personal story and journey. I'm not telling anyone to do or change anything... except maybe to do your own research on the topic and learn for yourself. But I'm thankful that 'you can't exercize out of an unhealthy way of eating' cuz I'm not a fan of physical movement (lol). Never have been. I'm stretching now... love it and it's my speed! 

I also practice Intermittent Fasting... I aim to go at least 12 hours between dinner and the next day... my ultimate goal is to fast for 18 hours and have an eating window of 6 hours... and when I'm busy that's easy. If I'm not engaged with whatever I'm doing, then I get 'hungry' (aka bored) and look for an excuse to eat. A year ago (December 2021) I started with a 14 hour fasting window and 10 hour eating window, and combined with making healthier plant-based choices 80% of the time, I lost 25 lbs in about 3 months. I've stayed down, and I'm down another 5 lbs now, but have been less disciplined about my fasting/eating windows so haven't lost nearly as fast.