Happiness is Eating Healthy!

Since I completed a three-week detox just over a year ago, I’m much more mindful of the food that I eat.  I learned then, and have reinforced many times since, that I am what I eat — when I eat junk, I feel like crap; when I eat good food, everything’s easier in my life, including getting up with a positive attitude.

My wife – while still cherishing the occasional pork chop or hamburger – has essentially adopted my eating habits, and we’ve recently gone as long as four weeks without going to a grocery store.  How do we accomplish that feat?  Well, we find everything we need at a local produce market.

I read some articles recently that used several new terms to describe the way I’ve been eating for the past fifteen months:

• One-ingredient foods
• The Label-free diet
• The outer circle diet

These all describe the same concept:  Choose only foods at the grocery store that have 1 ingredient (this means that eggs, fruits, vegetables, meats/fish (from healthy animals raised correctly), nuts, seeds, and other 1-ingredient foods should comprise almost your entire diet (except for occasional cheat meals — and dark chocolate).

It’s also called the Label-Free diet because you only eat foods that do not require an FDA nutritional label (see above — what’s in eggs? Eggs!  What’s in a peach? Peach!  no label required).

And it’s also called the Outer Circle diet because you can do all your shopping at a typical grocery store by starting in the produce section (almost always in front corner of store) then steer a circle around the outer wall of the store — meats, dairy, etc.  In the middle of the store are all the processed foods with extensive labeling that you must read to even know what you are eating.

Obviously there are exceptions to the above, and there are foods you can buy with more than 1 ingredient still qualify, e.g. guacamole and hummus being two examples of foods made from several 1-ingredient foods and no additives/fats/sugars.  And oatmeal (ingredients: oats) is still in the cereal aisle.

I’ve written before about how my diet — which dramatically reduced my intake of caffeine, sugars, and glutens — has totally eliminated my afternoon sleepiness, the mood swings I used to experience from the sugar buzz/crash cycle, and the frequent heartburn that made me very crabby and unable to concentrate.

This shift has also dramatically heightened my awareness of how my body and emotions respond when I stray too far from what’s good for my body — I get shaky, dopey, irritable, tense, uncomfortable, distracted, and sometimes even downright mean when I eat poorly!

This may be difficult for many people whose bodies are addicted to processed foods… but give it a try for a week.  when you next shop for groceries, try to make sure that you only put in to your cart 1-ingredient/no-label foods.

I’m willing to bet you’ll feel better for that next week!  And a BODY that feels better has more opportunity to experience happiness.

Happiness is Eating Healthy!

Happiness and the No-Soda Diet

So, I ran into a friend of mine at the YMCA today.  I see him from behind fairly often, as I walk past the treadmills that he so loves, but it’s been awhile since we chatted face to face.

There was something different about him.  Hmmm.  I could not, at first, figure it out

Oh!  There was less of him!  That was it.

Paul has been carrying around an ever-growing belly for the past ten years, since he had to retire on disability after his macular degeneration rendered him unable to read.  Even though he runs at the gym four or five days a week while closing in on his black belt in Karate, there’s been more of him every month.

“I lost 26 pounds since the holidays,” Paul proudly proclaimed.

“Wow,” I said.  “I know you already run several miles a day and are constantly running through your karate workouts.  What ELSE have you added to lose so much weight that fast?”

One thing, Paul explained: “I stopped drinking soda”  (actually, he used the name of a specific brand, but I don’t want to diss a cultural icon in my blog).  He’s spent a great deal of time in the past decade watching television and drinking soda all day – an average of 4 cans every day.

He changed NOTHING else in his diet or exercise regimen except that he swapped out soda for tap water.  BOOM, he dropped 720 calories a day from his diet, and that has translated into the loss of one pound about five days.  Like clockwork, he says – “it’s been falling off of me.”

Other bonuses, adds Paul, include, “I’m sleeping better at night, and my knee stopped hurting when I run.”

Fascinating.  He is SO very happy.

My public rant:

Fact: the human body does not ‘register’ calories taken in liquid form the same way as when calories are consumed in solid food; food fills us up and invokes a “stop eating” response, where liquids do not.  Thus high-calorie drinks like sodas, energy drinks, and high-fructose-infused juices are invisible to our systems.  Yet a even a One-can-every-day habit (at 180 calories per can) means your body’s taking in 65,700 unregistered calories, translating into 18.7 pounds per year.

Think about it.  Consider the No-Soda diet.

Remember, you heard about it here, first.