Agape Life

Americans spend upwards of 60 billion dollars a year trying to lose weight. And for all that, we have shelled on 100-calorie snack packs and low-carb meal bars, and for many of us we have nothing to show for it, our collective number on the scale just keeps rising.

 

I know that I got tired of hearing the we lack the will power, or don’t exercise enough or I was dealt a bad genetic card.

 

According to Joel Fuhrman, M.D., an Ivy League-trained doctor , who has become one of America’s most influential nutrition experts, the real problem is many of the diets we invest in to slim down prompt us to increase our intake of foods that drive weight gain.

 

People keep trying to lose by cutting back on calories, but it’s not the quanitity, it’s the quality!

 

Dr. Furhman estimates that on most diet plans we get as much as 60% of our calories from processed foods, and 30% from animal products, and both are seriously lacking in essential nutrients. As a result, American have borderline micronutirent insufficiencies. We are not just talking about the 36 vitamins and minerals that human body needs to function optimally.

 

One chief function of the phytonutrients is to assist cellular detoxification and repair. When we don’t get enough phytonutrients in our diet toxins build up in cells and trigger “toxic hunger,” which is the driving force behind weight gain, heart desease and diabetes.

 

To understand how toxic hunger works, look at the two phases of healthy metabolism. (1) Anabolic stage - eating, digesting and absorbing. I.e. when you’re filling a car with gas. (2) Catabolic stage - when digestion ends and goes tot his stage, it puts the nutrients that were consumed to use. i.e driving and using the gas you just pumped.

 

Problem

Most foods have toxins like pesticides and othe things that need extra processing like sugar and they don;t have much phytonutrients. So, when we eat the body registers any excess of toxins, but can’t find the nutrient tools to get rid of them. The result is detox symptoms like fatigue, aches and irritability. Since eating is the fastest way to end this discomfort, the body sends hunger signals. Eating pulls the body out of the detox stage, and this eases the symptoms, but keeps the cellular repair from being completed. It’s just a fast fleeting fix. When the body tries to process the food symptoms, return and the cycle repeats over and over. Each time we sink deeper into the toxic hunger trap.

 

Now when you eat phytonutrient rich fare (plant foods) your body has the tools it needs to getox, and repair. The tired, cranky, achy feelings of the toxic hunger disappear and your drive is controlled by true hunger.

 

True hunger is like a precise computer helps us maintain our perfect weight. When we eat we are truly hungry. We don’t over eat, we just get the calories we need for fuel. This does feel different from toxic hunger.

 

It’s pleasurable. It’s felt in your throat and accompanied bu increased sensetvity to taste. Food tastes good when you’re between meals and not eating you feel good. It’s amazing how your mood improves.

 

The fog lifts, and this way of eating helps prevent - and even reverses - a constellation on conditions that keep people from living life to the fullest.

In my next article, I will let you know how my journey on this diet has gone. The ups, the downs, and everything you need to know; including the diet itself.

They say the diet is so powerful, you could become too healthy. I’ll keep you informed. See you next time!