Finding Your Food Plan

I won't say 'diet' here, since I think once you've exhausted those possibilities, you realize a diet is temporary.  To make a lasting difference, changing what we eat needs to be a permanent change.  A well thought out, mindful, food lifestyle that fits you.  It may not be exactly the same as anyone else's, but the trick is to find something healthy, that works for you - something you can stay with.

A while back I was having some health issues that concerned me, so over the course of about a year,  I went to three different nutritionists.  Two were chiropractors who had completely different methods, ideas and conclusions.  One chiropractor encouraged supplements and staying away from the food I was found to be sensitive or allergic to as a result of the blood testing she did.  The other chiropractor used nutrition response testing and came up with different results all together.

The third gal, who believed 'food is our medicine', is strictly a Nutritional Counselor.  We discussed a lot of things for me personally, then she explained what she felt to be a necessary diet component for everyone — the value of beans in our diet.  Beans are hands down, THE best source of soluble fiber.  She recommended LOTS of beans for people who have health issues and three 1/2c servings, per day,  for people who are healthy and want to stay that way!

The concept — Our body produces bile to keep the blood, tissue, organs, etc., clean from the inside out.  If we eat enough of the right kind of fiber, the polluted bile bonds with the soluble fiber and passes through our digestive tract and out of our lives.  The liver and pancreas can then go about their business of producing new, clean bile to start the cycle over.  If we don't get enough soluble fiber on a daily basis — the polluted, disease producing bile continues to recirculate through our system — and the bile-producing organs can't do their job of producing clean bile until the old, dirty stuff is gone.  If that doesn't happen, we end up sick and susceptible to disease and 'dis-ease' as well.  Constipation, headaches, a compromised immune system - resulting in more colds, flu, and ultimately serious diseases as well.  As wacky as this concept sounded to me initially, I've become a believer in this.

My food plan has evolved into, ideally, 2 meals a day consisting of 1 can of beans daily.  (Black beans, garbanzos, dark red kidney beans, light red kidney beans, white beans, etc.) 2 servings of good quality animal protein, lean beef, venison, chicken, fish or eggs.  Drinking lots of filtered water and tea is important with a high protein diet.

Vegetables!  Lots of vegetables!  Unlimited salad vegetables as well as beets, Brussels sprouts, summer squash and an occasional sweet potato.  Avoid green peas and beans as well as corn and regular potatoes.

I'm still not at my ideal weight, nor do I feel wonderful on a daily basis, but I'm heading in that direction.  Once my weight is where I want it I'll CAREFULLY add an occasional dessert or serving of pasta.

Find your ideal food plan!  Have fun with it  :-D