Many friends have asked how I’m doing since my cardio
adventure and surgery, and thank you all for that! I’m doing wonderful! It has
been, of course, a life changing event in so many aspects, the biggest is eating and nutrition. This lead to a paradigm shift
in health, eating, foods and understanding the foods we eat, our diets,
nutritional needs verses out dated ingrained wants.
 |
| This was back in November, at 180 pounds. I've shed 12 more since, with only about 15 more to go. YeeHa! I've gone from 2x shirts to large, (big shoulders, haha) 44 jeans to 34, and you bet, Kessy is smilin' too! |
Last May I tipped the scales at 235. Today 168. Doc Lewis,
my cardiologist, would like to see 160, I’m shootin’ for 155. Great weight for
a short fella, only 5’6”. Side note here when Ravishin’ Robbie and I were
married 39 years ago I was 5’10” but my bone condition has my spine collapsing
so I lost 4”. I pleaded with Doc to take that into account. He smiled politely 8
months ago when he said, “160 is a good weight for you.” I now believe him.
A wonderful thing about our hospital’s cardio rehab program
is how they incorporate nutrition in the training. A truly in depth and understandable
course on healthy eating that can, and does, not only get a fella back on his
feet, but shatters myths, old standby ideas and attitudes, setting the stage
for years of healthy, vibrant living.
Now for myself, having grown up on a PA Dutch very old fashioned dairy farm in PA and
proud of his meat and potato diet, this new fangled idea of “healthy eating”
was not only a paradigm shift, but something I had doubted all my life. Along
the lines of insisting horses needed iron shoes nailed to their hooves, I
insisted on that for many years too. Oops.
Having learned the beginnings of an understanding of what a
human body truly needs to thrive at re-hab, as I am wont to do, I dove headlong into a
bit of research on my own. Having a fair understanding of research, interviews
and compiling facts from my experience in writing for TrailBlazer and Natural
Horse Magazines, I began to look up and contact cardiologists, nutritionists
and dietitians who, like holistic and homeopathic veterinarians, are on the
cutting edge of societal evolution.
A few things became abundantly clear. The first and, for me,
the single biggest fact is, “It is
impossible to lose weight and maintain that weight loss simply by eating less
of the same foods we’ve always eaten.” The body mind and triggers will not
reset, so folks set sail on years of what has become known as, yo-yo loss and
gain, fad diets, struggles and disappointments.
We must realize, understand and accept that almost all foods
produced in the U.S. are unhealthy, toxic and addicting. Did you know sugar and
salt can be as addicting as nicotine and heroine? It is a fact, and the large companies,
fast food outfits and even meat produces know it, and spend millions of dollars
in research to create just the right blends of sugar and salt to feed the
triggers in our brains to keep us over-eating—addicted. We’ll not even discuss
diet sodas, except to say, none should ever enter your body, really no soft
drinks should.
Way too much along the lines of “What not to eat and why”
for a blog post, let’s focus on a few simple blunt facts that can, and will,
change lives. And remember, this all came as hard for me as taking my horses
barefoot, and other holistic care.
Again there are changes in what we eat, not just how much we
eat, that are paramount to success, health and satisfaction. No processed foods
of any kind, ever—they are the addiction triggers. If man made them do not eat
them, period. If it is in a bag or box or frozen it is not for health. No
butter, spreads, sauces, bread, very, very little pastry, salt or things you
can now begin to see fall in this old habit category. So what is left?
Sadly, for me for sure, we can’t really turn to fresh meats,
turkey, chicken, beef or even most fish. But especially beef, pork and poultry
are so loaded with growth stimulants and other nasty things which of course then
transfer to our bodies, we need to severely limit, (and shop extremely wisely)
them as well. Ravishin’ Robbie and I now eat about 3 to 6 ounces of meat a
week. Yup, that’s it. I know it was mighty tough for this ol’ boy to swallow
too, but friends, trust me—for your health and your family.
For us, we decided to go raw. We eat about 90% raw veggies,
and pretty big piles of them. We are totally organic, which nowadays is easy to
do, and in fact is more affordable than you’d think. We were already headed
this direction when Bobbie Jo Lieberman released her book, “Sassy Salads,” and
that for us was the final push. I Highly, highly, recommend it! So much
knowledge there in a fun easy to read and understand format.
But eating raw has changed everything. My nasty, nasty
arthritis is much better. I have zero dizzy spells, no swelling in my legs, and
perhaps most importantly, my mind is much more clear, focused and recharged.
And before you jump to conclusions, no, those things are not a result of my
heart surgery—my cardiologist has stated it is totally related to diet change, (which
they started me on) and he asked me to write about it. He said, “We patched up your
heart, your diet changes are doing the rest.”
Quickly now, some tips that help. No snacks of any kind in
the house. Drink water, no ice, (ice kills digestive enzymes and is a habit)
decaf coffee or tea, no sugar. Keep cut up raw veggies in the fridge, snack
often on them throughout the day, you can take them to work or play with you.
Build big beautiful salads for your main meals (To get you started check outBobbie’s book). Olive oil and vinegar dressings can be made in many exciting
and fun ways. Nuts make good snacks too, and don’t forget fruits! We grow our
own sprouts and the salmon and other meats we eat we grill or bake and shred on
our salad, just a few ounces a time or two a week. Just about our only cooked
food anymore is the few ounces of salad meats, and our morning 7 grain oatmeal
breakfast—which saves money and time, haha!
One last big tip from the doctors—weight loss should average
a pond or 2 a week. That’s it. In that way the mind and body can adjust and accept
as the proper weight and not go into starvation fear, which trigger all the old
addictions, and yo-yos.
There you have it, it is really quite simple. I like to say,
it is less about how much you eat, and more
about what you eat. Like making the paradigm shift for your horse’s health,
take this one for yours—it’ll rock your world!
Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry
