When will I eat "normal" again?

Whaaaaaaaat???? Do you think I'm on a diet?

Since I've shed over 110 lbs so far, I've had an interesting question pop up in conversations quite regularly. It goes something like this - "Now that you've lost all that weight, when are you going back to eating normally?"

To which I can only respond ...

HUH?????? I must not have explained myself well. I understand I’ve lost a lot of weight, so I get that’s what most people notice and focus on. But, clearly I haven't been explaining it well. So, at the risk of being redundant, I'll try and clarify again...

When I decided to embark on my journey of health and wholeness, I had all but given up the idea of losing a lot of weight.

I just wanted to make sure that I could live as long as I was designed to, without spending the last years of my life battling chronic illnesses and infirmities that I'd been realizing were completely avoidable. I wanted to make sure that I was around and able to do all God wanted me to (with family, friends, community, etc).

That's why I didn't choose to "diet." Meaning - I didn't choose to restrict my eating to take off pounds - which one can do through pure calorie restriction, paleo, keto, or even all Twinkies (if you keep yourself to 8-10 a day). In 40 years of battling my weight, I'd gone that route dozens upon dozens of times and was even somewhat successful ... until I hit a plateau or it came time to "maintain" (meaning transition back to a lifestyle that would be sustainable for the average person). BOOM ... that's when, despite a LOT of really hard work ... the bounce came and I would regain the weight and extra as well.

Almost worse than becoming morbidly obese, I'd become a cliche.

I wasn't going to just jump on another great new report or hot diet idea. Instead of reading more about weight loss, I studied health! And, the more I studied, the more I realized that most doctors had it very wrong. They would treat obesity as the cause of heart disease and diabetes and a host of other health problems. When, in reality, obesity is a comorbidity (simultaneous chronic disease) caused by MALNUTRITION.

That was a completely revolutionary realization. With that understanding I was freed from figuring out what horrible thing I needed to cut out of my diet to lose weight. Instead, I could focus on discovering the best way to feed my body to heal it and live with real vitality and longevity. I knew that if I focused on healing, my weight (and waist line) would gravitate to what is healthy for me and my overall wellness would improve.

At that point, the decision was EASY. While one can argue about what diet works best and fastest for weight loss ... and which diet may be better - short term - to relieve symptoms of conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, IBS, etc... There is only one dietary lifestyle that has the long-term meta analysis research to prove correlation to greater longevity and far lower risk of today's chronic illnesses. There is only one dietary lifestyle that has been proven to repeatedly and predictably REVERSE coronary artery disease and Type 2 diabetes. That dietary lifestyle is a plant-based, whole foods diet. (Notice I didn't just say vegan because one can still eat processed junk like Oreos and potato chips and still be "vegan.") When the light went on and I discovered this, I went full speed ahead and began experiencing benefits within the first 3 weeks.

I feel almost guilty for accepting peoples congratulations, accolades and admiration for having lost so much weight and sticking to it.

THIS IS THE EASIEST DIETARY PLAN I'VE EVER HAD! Seriously - I'm not dieting. I don't even think about what I choose not to eat and if I chose to, I could have anything I want at any time and wouldn't be 'blowing it." I'm just so focused on eating tons and tons of great things that bring healing and energy and make me feel so good that I really have no desire. (And, the few times I have chosen to eat something that was kind of junkie - it made me feel sluggish .. so why would I knowingly do that to myself?)

So - when am I going back to eating normally? Let's see, today I:

• Eat a larger volume of food than I ever have while continuing to shed fat

• Am able to run farther than I ever did in my life (including high school track days)

• Have NO symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Have NO more sleep apnea (or need to use the CPAP machine)

• Do not snore

• Have a very normal blood pressure and average resting heart rate of 58

• Have a cholesterol below the 150 threshold of being a heart disease risk

• ETC....

AND, while I'd read that some of these conditions (like apnea and blood pressure) would improve when I lost weight ... what I found was that most of the major improvements came within the first 3 weeks, when I had only lost about 10 lbs. total.

I didn't get healthy because I lost the weight. I lost the weight because I got healthy!

So - once again - when am I going back to eating normally? Hmmm - I'd say I AM eating normally. We were designed to feel good and have our own self-healing bodies working on our behalf. And, while we ALL have genetic predispositions, we have a choice whether or not most of them become active or not. (ie... I believe I have a predisposition to alcoholism. But, I have ZERO chance of having it destroy me because I choose to not drink. I also have a predisposition to inflammatory diseases, so I choose to eat foods that nourish me and don't trigger inflammation.)

The question isn't when I'm going to start eating normally ... it's when you are going to give it a try and join me?

(LOL ... only slightly joking). I AM NOT saying everyone needs to be 100% plant based. I do believe that all the reputable research (not conducted by industry) points to the fact that the larger percentage of one's diet that is plant-based, whole food, the greater longevity and lower chronic disease they experience.

Beyond wanting to have my friends with me for as long as possible, I am passionate about you becoming who God created you to be - to live in His abundant and infinite possibility for your life ... for you, for your family and for the world that so desperately needs the wonderful, uniquely designed you!