I haven't written anything in quite a bit, oh well, time to start is now. Where to start is the question. Let's travel back to March, that is the beginning of most of this and what a beginning it was.
We decided it was time to get healthy, I was feeling better, learning a great deal about nutrition and the changes it can make in your immune system, so time to start. We decided to try Medifast, a pretty cut and dry way to lose weight and feel better. I had about 30 or 40 lbs to lose, my husband about twice that much. The food is not bad and the program is pretty healthy. It is expensive and we knew we couldn't stay on this for the long haul. Megan decided to join us and lose a few lbs herself. Meg and I did it for about a month and a half. I dropped about 11 lbs and Megan did just as well. She's younger and generally active so she can maintain the loss better than we old folk. What happened in the short period of time was amazing. The focus on food changed, I especially saw how food is a compilation of nutrients that help us to function. It was a start. My husband continued to use the program for a few more weeks and we began to transition over to "real food". Our meals were a lot different.
I have to admit that I have been on every diet imaginable, my weight went up when I hit puberty and I didn't really lose anything until I was in nursing school, (sleep was more important than food). I have been on the liquid protein, Weight Watchers, Atkins, pills, cabbage soup etc. etc. Managed to keep my weight down, but it was always an uphill battle. Depressing and a most miserable way to live. Right before I found out about the kidney cancer my weight began to go up and no matter what I did, it just wouldn't go down, it wouldn't even stay the same. The targeted therapy drugs helped in losing weight, thats because you feel like crap, sleep alot, have sores in your mouth and just get puffy. When I finished with that, my weight just went up and up with no end in sight. Didn't seem to matter what I did or didn't do, my metabolism is totally screwed up.
Anyway, my husband continued to lose weight with regular food and the shakes for snacks. Megan continues to maintain a great weight and looks terrific. The only one who continued to have a problem was me. I had hit a plateau and nothing seemed to work. Time to do some research and find out what the heck the problem was. So that is exactly what I did. My "chemo brain" was gone and I could actually read and retain the material, this was a Godsend!
So in the middle of the summer my darling, wonderful sister Arleen began to tell me about a man named T. Colin Campbell and book called the China Study. I argued with her, didn't believe any of what the guy said and found a million and one reasons why he was nut! I still bought the book and read it, reluctantly. At the same time I read a book by David Scrivan-Schrieber all about Anticancer foods. The Dr. had cancer and was a researcher, so I believed every word he said. Needless to say, they were both on the same page. I was still a big old skeptic and played devil's advocate every chance I got.
During all of this I had started to do consulting work on nutrition and wellness. The more I got into this and studied the more all of this was coming together.
Arleen then told me about the Blue Zone and the Engine #2 diet. So I went ahead and looked all this up...same stuff, only now I had met someone new by the name of Dr Esselstyn. He fixed cardiacs, not your everyday. I have a little disease people, he worked with the worst cardiacs at The Cleveland clinic. He helped them to stop their disease from progressing and in some instances reverse it. He led me to Dean Ornish and Dr Linus Pauling. Boy, oh boy was I changing my view of the nutrition world.
I will write more on this journey, but as of today, Bill is down by 80lbs, and maintains that weight. His new knees are functioning so much better and he feels great. Megan and Maggie eat as healthy as they can in this new world. They eat a very well balanced diet, loaded with fruit and vegetables. They have pizza, candy, ice pops, and other treats but not too often.
Me, on the other hand, eat in a totally different way. 99% of the time I eat only fruits and vegetables, some whole grains and nuts. That's it. Building my immune system up and getting as healthy as I can. I want to be around here for as long as I can.
More next time; lots more to tell, eventually will catch up and just do an update for a few days...Lets see if I can keep this up..
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