How did I conceive of this plan, ill-timed as it was? It started with this article in the New York Times. It described how Bill Clinton was not a vegan any more but was healthier and trimmer than ever. So he and Hilary consult this guy, Mark Hyman, on not only their own health, but on health policy issues. He is all about "functional medicine", treating a whole person, not the disease. And he knows that rampant sugar is the evil that makes so many of us fat, and he's got a bunch of books on managing your blood sugar and weight loss. Oddly enough, I read this article while taking a break from re-reading Diet 101: The Truth about Low-Carb Diets. I had been looking for some way to control my evening overeating, and I was considering getting a blood glucose meter to check my blood sugar regularly as recommended in Diet 101.
So how legit can you get? Bill and Hilary's doctor, recommending we should eat the way I've been trying to eat since 1997!
I was put off by his web site. He's all about selling on the web. There are many products he sells, including packages of supplements, coaching, and seminars, and books. How is it that someone who claims to follow in the tracks of Mark Bittman and Michael Pollan ("Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.") likes all these protein powders and supplements? If we're eating real, fresh, organic, fresh food, and cooking for ourselves at home to avoid hidden ingredients, why do we need all supplements, and hyper-processed protein powders?
But I digress. I was looking for motivation and possible solutions to my current bad feelings and behavior, and he had a basic message that I was ready to hear, because I already agree with its broad outlines. It was the details I wanted.
I downloaded The Blood Sugar Solution, and began reading. Frustration: too many pages about how sugar and insulin and fat work in your body. Yeah, yeah, I got all that. Atkins, Carbohydrate Addicts, yada yada yada. But what do you DO? I'm sure its in there somewhere, but back on the website I read about the 10-day detox diet, so I went and got that book as well. Again, pages of explanation, but finally, what to do and what to eat.
I am not really a slow and steady kind of person. I'm prone to full out enthusiasms between periods of remaining motionless and unmotivated. I can do ten days of almost anything, and I want the gratification. I asked my girl, on a lark, if she would want to do it too, and was surprised but thrilled when she said "yes". So I was off and running.
2 comments:
My god, a cliffhanger. I am waiting with bated breath for the next installments. No kidding. I am.
BTW: I'm always suspect of these cleanses. I intuitively think that the body cleanses just fine...a position my friend Chris's nutritionist, Jen, agrees with. But still. they're intriguing. And I'm intrigued with your experience!
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