Why Nutritarian?

  So, about 4 and a half months ago I went plant based. I had been following another popular food plan for over 2 years and wasn't seeing the results I wanted, and I was suddenly experiencing high blood pressure and just not feeling well. I was tired all the time, and I was constantly craving fatty, greasy, salty "comfort" foods (although I never felt comfortable afterwards). After binge watching several documentaries on the benefits of a plant based diet, I decided to give it a try. I read Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, and began implementing his guidelines. I'm still not perfect at it, but I try every day to do better. Here I am 4.5 months later having lost over 40 pounds and boasting better than average blood pressure (I dropped from 150s/90s to 112/68!), so this is now my eating plan for life.

One of the many things I love about Dr. Fuhrman's book is that he always cites his sources. He backs his claims with the studies to prove it. There are many other, similar, books on the market also supporting the whole foods plant based eating style, but few make their sources as clear as Fuhrman does. He has several other books as well, which I plan to read as I can- Disease Proof Your Child and The End of Heart Disease just to name a couple at the top of my list. He also has a cookbook that is at the tippy top of my wish list. For now, I get most of my recipes from the Forks Over Knives Cookbook (also really good!), Pinterest, and other ETL bloggers like My Momma Told Me. Don't get me wrong, I still very much value the work of other WFPB promoters such as McDougall, Esselstyn, and Campbell. Eat to Live was just the book that finally made it all click for me. Unlike other diets and things I've tried in the past, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the way I want to eat for the rest of my life. I don't want "cheat days". I don't want to allow "slip ups". I really, really, really want to stick to this 100% 24/7/365, and I've never been able to say that about a food plan before.

Another book that I recently started reading, which has helped me in recognizing real hunger versus just wanting to eat, is Never Binge Again by Glenn Livingston, Ph.D. It's actually free on Amazon right now! I will warn you, it is blunt and to the point, no holds barred, nothing sugar coated for the sake of feelings. So, if you're serious about conquering bad eating habits, strap on your steel toe boots and give it a read.