Do, Or Die! How I Learned to Eat Healthy

I used to be one of those people who could take on a buffet with four plates and an appetite of twenty.

That was not all. I'd drink can after can of soda pop, eat ice cream by the gallon, eat chocolate like it was no one's business.... and tuna casserole, pizza, fish, burgers.... all of the processed food you could handle. And do NOT get me started on the Chocolate Cake!!! Call it an addiction, if you will. It was what I did. If I wasn't eating - I wasn't happy.

A few years ago, when told that I would have only two years to live when I was hospitalized with a severe heart and respiratory condition - I had to make the decision to either change how I eat - or bite the dust. There was not an either or option. It was literally do, or die.

Doing so was the hard. Not the hardest thing I've ever done - but hard, nonetheless. I honestly thought that I was relegated to an absolutely boring eating life. Visions of rice cakes (uck!)  and blandness and never eating out again lurched me into a food-enhanced depressive state that you'd never believe. I honestly did not think there was any life after changing to a lifestyle of healthy eating.

This is the farthest thing from the truth. 

With the help of three dieticians, and a great cardiologist, I've learned a lot. I'll share a bit here. 

The biggest thing that I had to learn was moderation. Be moderate. Watch the carbs, yes. Watch the sodium, yes. I did not have to completely eradicate such things from my life.  But to lose weight, and to add years, I had to learn the art of caring for my body.

Salt - that's the worst thing for the heart for so many reasons, and I dreaded getting rid of salt. Salt retains water - and makes the heart work harder. With the help of my nutritionist, though, I learned the art of getting around the salt habit. First, I make the food myself and stay away from the processed foods. Then, I use seasonings to spice it up and make it tasty. I keep the sodium levels low - below 2,000 mg of sodium. Pepper, garlic powder, and other seasonings add a lot of zest. Fish is a staple - very healthy and good for you. Boneless and skinless chicken breast is also great to make - and once a month I'll make a whole turkey and divide that out into portions. I voluntarily cut the red meat, because for whatever reason I discovered that that made me tired. So with a quarter of a plate - about 4 to 5 oz. of protein of fish, chicken and turkey - I am doing just fine on the meat. I can make it tasty, it fills me up, and does not taste bland.

Carbs - for the weight, I've got to watch that too. So, I cut out the pasta. Yes, that was the hardest thing to do. There's many opinions on pasta with the carbs, but for me, it really packs it on. Instead of pasta, what I will do is make one baked potato, or one sweet potato. I add a pat of Promise low-cholesterol butter, and pepper. I have to be careful with this, but there is a potassium-based salt substitute I use to add that salt-taste - but because of the kidneys I have to be very sparse. Instead of a potato, I could add some wild rice as well. The general rule is a serving of carbs - enough to fill just a quarter of my plate.

The other half of the plate? Fresh, non-seasoned vegetables are the recommendation. Broccoli, Beets - yes, love the beets - non-salted beets, that is. They're good for the heart, too. Peas and carrots (non-salted) are also a great vegetable. The rule is, half the plate for vegetables is what I go for.

A quarter plate of protein, A quarter plate of carbs, and half a plate of vegetables. But what about dessert?

What I do is I eat a banana, or have some grapes. They give me the fruit portion I need - and not too much of it. I have a tendency to really overeat on the grapes, so I always have to watch those grapes.

For my drink, I've found sparkling waters to really do the trick. They give me that bubbly feel that sodap pop gives. If I DO want soda pop, I buy Zevia Soda. Zevia uses an all natural Stevia-based product, and is just as delicious as any other pop. It was a shock to see clear root beer - but that's because they aren't coloring it. It's totally naturally flavored, with no sugar, or artificial sweeteners and is  calorie free. The only drawback is the price. Nearly six bucks for six cans.

Snacks have also been a problem for me. Though technically I'm allowed sherbert, or chocolate - once in a while, I have a problem where if I begin to eat sweets - I can't stop. So what I have done is eliminated sweets completely. If I want to snack, I can make a small bowl of cheerios (watching the sodium count.) I can also eat vegetables as much as I want to. Salads make an excellent snacky addition - just watch the dressing, and season it up.

What I've found is that this way of eating works. When I first started this diet, I lost 95 lbs in just four months. Yes, some of this was fluid loss because of the heart - but a lot of it was just pounds. My jean size is now 36-38, and I can wear a large shirt comfortably. (No X or XL anymore!)

This is just what worked for me. Always consult your own doctor and dietician for what would work for you - don't take my advice before talking to them - it's always at your own risk and I cannot be responsible for what it does for you.

Next time I talk about health, I'll get into the need to exercise (I don't practice what I preach here as much as I should), and also about what I have learned about eating out.

If anyone's interested, I can also tell you what recipes and seasonings I've developed, and how many low-salt products are really out there (it's shockingly amazing what you can find!!) Necessity is the mother if invention, right?

And one more thing. It is absolutely true that when you cut the salt you develop an affinity for spicy foods!

Till next healthy eating post, bon appetite! 

I've got to say it again! Always consult your doctor before you make any changes to your diet, and to create a customized plan just for you. Everybody's different, and what I write is not advice that may work for you. What's written here - your use is at your own risk. 
 

Cult Recovery: I have the Right to be (as) Healthy (as Possible)

This is part four of a series on Basic Rights. 

This may not seem like it should be a Basic Right. It should be just a status-quo statement. It should not even have to be posted. In a world as blessed and prosperous as the one we live in - this honestly should not even be a question. With as many hospitals, access to prescriptions, medical professionals, and specialists, you would think that such a statement is simply a given. But it is not.

And it certainly was not in the environment that I came from. 

The right to be healthy is a new concept for me. Yes, it really is. Because in the environment that I grew up in, the cult of Armstrongism, those rights were denied.

Everyone in my collective past has a different experience. Some were very liberal and simply didn't care what the cult leaders thought (risking expulsion). Others, like my family, were very fundamentalist - and followed Armstrongism to the core of it's foundation - where every word was as if it came from God, and every practice was followed to the letter. Of which was the practice of medical treatment.

Doctors were shamed. Prescriptions were witchcraft. Going to hospitals was a lack of faith. Therefore, hospital visits in my childhood were non-existent. I should have gone when I had a serious viral infection as a toddler. I should have gone when I had every childhood illness you could think of. I should have gone to be vaccinated. I should have gone when I needed dental care. Should of, would've, could've. These things did not happen because of the practices of the Church.

I should have gone when I developed a persistent and troublesome cough at a very young age that got worse, and worse over time. As it turns out, because of a very pre-mature birth, I had immature lungs and a weak heart. Down the road, partly because of my failure to resolve these issues, this led to a nearly-fatal heart condition - which is now a part of chronic care in my life. There are other serious issues as well which I will not get into. Suffice it to say, the lack of care of these ailments in my life - that nearly cost me my life - were a direct result of the violation of my right to be as healthy as I can possibly be.

This is not to bemoan my individual past. This is a wake-up call to those who, for some reason, feel that God's healing for whatever reason does not happen in a hospital, or at a doctor's office, or with medical treatment, or with prescriptions. Everyone has the right - in fact, the duty, and the obligation - to medical care and treatment when and where it's available - regardless of cost or expense. Health Care should not be based on the status of a person, but solely on the premise of the notion and value that each and every life is important. Regardless of who you are, where you are, what you are, or any other factor - you have the right to live and to be healthy. No religion, no power, and no policy should ever take that away from you. 

Yet that is exactly what happened with thousands who came from my cult experience. Many, sadly, died. Many suffered excruciating pain and deaths needlessly. Many did not take prescriptions. Many with health conditions felt the obligation to fast on the Day of Atonement without care or concern for their ailments - because of fear of God's wrath and ministerial punishment. Many were talked down to, or talked out of, going to get medical help. Those who did were shamed into thinking they did not have enough faith. The practice was to simply call a minister, get prayed over, have a cloth put on their forehead anointed with oil - and then believe you are healed, and wait. And because of this, they stayed outside of the very place that could have been the healing they were looking for.

I now have doctors. I have medicines. I have people who know what they are doing and what path is best for me. It is a different world then what I used to have as my world. It's a difficult world. But I am alive - and if I had listened to the Church I grew up in, I would NOT be today. And this is everyone's right - to be able to prolong their lives for the benefit of their wives, their husbands, their kids, their pets - and themselves.

Yes. I have the right to care for my body as best I can. And so do you. And to anyone who has a religious mentor telling you otherwise?

Shut the door in their face, and get yourself some medical care. You will feel so much better about it - mentally and physically. And your FAMILY will thank you for it!

These rights have been adapted from The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Eugene Bourne (Oakland, CA, New Harbringer Publications, 1995)