Happy New Year everyone! While I loathe New Years resolutions not because I don’t keep them but because I am such a rule follower I tend to keep them at any cost, I do try and put together a list of “life improvements” I’d like to work on in the new year. For 2010, one of these is to continue to tweak my diet by becoming more conscious of what I eat (and to actually care).
The first step in this process is ridding my body of the utter crap I have ingested over the Christmas holiday. It’s amazing how much fried, processed, full fat, butter-laden food one can put away in just two short weeks. And the results are readily apparent. Not only have I put on about 4 pounds, but my attempts at running have been laughable at best.
Have you ever looked at what you eat during the day and asked yourself “how much of that was real food”? Of course, all of it is edible, and I would guess most quite palatable, but how much of it has real food as its primary ingredient? If you’re like me, over the last few weeks, very little. Enter the whole foods diet. This “diet” isn’t really a diet in that its intention is not to help you shed pounds, reduce cholesterol, or manage blood pressure. It’s intent is to reintroduce your body to real food, whole food and, in the process, cleanse the body of all of the other stuff we put in it without even thinking about it. Now, chances are you will lose weight on the diet, reduce your grocery bill, and potentially even lower your blood pressure. But, more importantly, you won’t feel like a beached beluga whale after a fish fry.
The whole foods diet, in principle, is really rather simple. For 9 days, you eat nothing but whole foods. That means nothing processed, preserved, or pre-prepared. There are cleanse days and recovery days, each of which have their own suggested meal plan, but the overall theme remains the same throughout. It requires quite a bit of planning, a significant dose of fortitude, and the willingness to give up caffeine and alcohol for nine days (my least favorite part of the plan), but all in all, it’s really not that bad.
I’m currently on day 4. I’ve already lost two pounds. I have slept through the night the past two nights without issue. I have more nighttime energy (I’m usually dead by 9:30), and despite the caffeine-withdrawal headaches, zero side effects. I’ll post again at the end of this journey to let you know the end result, but so far, so good.
Cleanse, diet, nutritional program, whatever you want to call it, I think this is the perfect metaphor for how to start the new year. Free yourself of all of the extras and return to the essentials. Rid yourself of the things in your life that make you feel tired, cranky, bloated, or just downright fat and replace it with things that fuel your energy, renew your spirit, and prevent any added baggage. I doubt this diet will accomplish all of that in my life, but it’s gotten me thinking, and other changes are bound to follow.
Happy New Year!
P.S. If you are interested in learning more about the whole foods diet, please email me at jessica@whyknot-massage.com, and I’ll be happy to send you additional info.
