I am officially halfway through the Eat to Live 6-week health plan and I feel amazing!  I finally feel as if I have completely acclimated to this new way of living, viewing food, shopping and preparing meals.  People who haven't seen me for a couple weeks state that my face looks thinner, brighter and clearer. I enjoy not feeling bloated anymore. My ankles haven't swelled since I started.  My stomach doesn't get upset after eating. I am sleeping soundly all night and have great energy during the day.

This six week program for most people would be considered a cleanse as it does call for me to eat all veggies, fruit, beans, nuts and seeds.  When I talk to people, they often ask if I have become a vegan. No, I tell them, I am becoming a Nutritarian. Being just a vegan does not mean one is more healthy than anyone on the Standard American Diet as they can be eating vegan junk food.  Vegan junk food can be products that still have too much fat, processed grains, processed sugars and other low nutrient food items. A Nutritarian focuses on eating high nutrient foods with limited added sugars, oils and salts. Nutritarians spend most of their time in the produce department, eating so that 90% of their calories comes from high nutrient foods.  When I get past the six week plan, I can be on a 90/10 plan where about 150 of my calories in a day can be of other products...such as 10 oz of meat a week or a tablespoon of olive oil or a half a bagel.  But I really plan on staying close to what I am doing now. I am enjoying how I feel and would hate to have these six weeks become just a distant memory.  I don't want to return to a poor diet of alcohol, sugar, refined products, fat and non-nutrient foods. 

People ask me what I do about food during my art festival shows or when I am away from home all day.  I have a cooler, so I can take a cup of beans and salsa, a container of gazpacho soup with lots of veggies, some homemade hummus and carrots and a green smoothie.  Instead of buying ice, I freeze containers of water that will thaw and be drinkable throughout the day.  If I am out doing a photo shoot and forget food, I can always stop at any convenience store for a banana or a grocery store for veggies.  I have realized that in the past, I was just a bit lazy and would grab comfort food or fast food before even thinking that there are plenty of healthy options for me.

If by reading my blogs, you are not one to want to try Eat to Live, Dr. Fuhrman has other books that are well worth reading.

Disease–Proof Your Child
Feeding Kids Right

Dr. Fuhrman presents the fascinating science that demonstrates how the current epidemic of adult cancers and other diseases is most closely linked to what we eat in the first quarter of life. He explains how a nutrient–rich diet increases a child's resistance to common childhood illnesses like asthma, ear infections, and allergies. Additionally, Dr. Fuhrman illustrates how eating his nutrient–rich diet during childhood is the most powerful weapon against developing cancer, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune disorders in the future. Disease–Proof Your Child, provides nutrient–rich dietary recommendations for children, and even offers guidelines and recipes that get even the pickiest eaters to enjoy healthy food.

NEW Super Immunity
The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body's Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free

Super Immunity is a compelling, yet easy-to-follow approach that gets the body's immune system working to its fullest potential which promotes the body's strongest defense.

Fasting and Eating for Health
A Medical Doctor's Program For Conquering Disease

This book is unlike any other on fasting. It integrates this age–old health practice with state–of–the–art medical research to provide a complete diet and fasting program that will help relieve and even cure such maladies as psoriasis, high blood pressure, diabetes, hypoglycemia, sinusitis, and chronic fatigue.