Yesterday night I did more research on how to eat healthy after this fast and almost blew my poor little mind! I finally had to push myself away from the computer at midnight.  My eyes & head hurt from the information and the glaring computer screen. There is so much conflicting information out there: Low Calorie, Low Fat, Low Carb, High Carb, Vegan, Vegetarian, Flexertarian, Mediterranean, etc. Ha! And they all have some doctor somewhere that back this information up with tons of medical jargon I was trying to sort through and make sense of. 

I kept coming back to Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s, Eat to Live book. He has completed several books, including a book on fasting for health. The Eat to Live book is primarily pushing a Vegan lifestyle. I know I could never fully commit to that.  Although, I have no problem cutting back on my meat and dairy consumption (good for the heart). However, I love cheese – I’ve never met a cheese I didn’t like. Also, I’m a country girl. I was president of my 4-H club. I raised rabbits, sheep, chickens and ducks. Our rabbits, chickens and ducks were our pets but the sheep we sold to Food 4 Less. After you’ve raised sheep you quickly realize how easy it is not to get attached to them. They are almost as dumb as turkeys. Do you know that turkeys are so dumb that they will lift their heads up when it rains and drown themselves!?!   Pigs I could easily get attached to. They have amazing intelligence and great personalities. Okay…I’m totally off my subject now.

Anyway, Dr. Fuhrman’s plan sounds like a great way to break my fast. I believe I could also keep eating that way for the rest of my life with a few modifications (olive oil, some lowfat cheese, and some fish & chicken). I know if I cut dairy out all together I would be healthier person. A co-worker of mine looked at my menu about 6 years ago when I was very “healthy” and suffered from horrible allergies and could not lose the last few pounds I wanted to.  My diet was whole grains, lots of veggies and fruits, some cheese, nonfat milk and an occasional frozen yogurt. He told me to cut out all dairy and my allergies would disappear. He also said I need more fat, just a bit olive oil to cook with and on my salads, some advocado and nuts in moderation and I would lose the rest of the weight. He was right! My allergies went away in three weeks and the last 5 pounds disappeared in a couple months.  But I just couldn’t give up all my dairy for long.

I’m looking forward to Lilly’s post fast menu so we can both hopefully share with each what works. AND I’m sure we’ll also find out what does not work!  It’s a journey and I’m okay with making mistakes, just as long as I learn from them.  I’m excited and scared about eating again. Mostly excited right now though.

May 14th SW 180
June 8th CW 155
-25lbs