One of the things people tell me when they want to know about this nutrition plan is "I could never commit to not eating ...(fill in the blank with your favorite protein or dairy) again". I will 100% admit that I've always felt that way as well. Coming from a food background and convincing myself that moderation was the way to go, I slowly, moderately put on that extra weight and, like what predictably has become clockwork in our generation, started the statins and blood pressure medicine that so often is the fix, not the cure. It certainly masked the problems, for a time. But again, over time, the dosage of each prescription was increased to counter balance what I believed was a moderate, well balanced eating program.
I only ate non fat milk, sour cream and cottage cheese. I used non dairy butter substitutes. I mostly ate boneless skinless chicken breasts or fish, healthy pasta with garlic and olive oil, oatmeal or other non sweet cereals for breakfast, lean meat sandwiches or salads with olive oil based dressing for lunch...and yet the blood and blood pressure numbers were getting worse. My job is pretty physical so I thought exercise was covered. In other words, I felt like I was doing all the right things. I can't imagine what people that didn't think about EVERY bite of food they put in their mouths must be going through. I was fighting a good fight and I was losing.
WHY'D YOU DO IT KEN?????
As this is my first post, a little bit about me. My history with food is that I was a chef with my own catering company for years and I cooked everything; meat, poultry, fish and dairy was prominent in all of my cooking. Like most people, a meal wasn't a meal without a large protein as the centerpiece, with vegetables, rice and potatoes playing supporting roles. After I stopped catering I only cooked for friends and family, but I continued my passion for great food and amazing flavors.
As I got older my cholesterol went up, I eventually had high blood pressure and I had a bad case of acid reflux....so I was on medication for all three. I wasn't really over weight. A few pounds more than I would have liked, but that just comes with aging and less exercise than I used to do. I didn't really think it was a big deal until last year when I experienced the death of several friends and watched my Dad try and recover from a major stroke and slip into vascular dementia. I have to give credit to my brother Bob, here. He was the one that sort of threw down the gauntlet. He considered my dad one of his best friends, and watching him slip away was a kick in the ass that he needed to find a better route of living.