Jumping In With Both Feet

My interest in nutrition started back in college. It sparked my veganism and then died down soon after. Once I entered grad school, I slowly started getting back into it. I read multiple books, consulted with a nutritionist and promptly purchased a juicer. About a month ago, I got my hands on Eat to Live. This book summed up everything I had learned about nutrition and introduced a no nonsense way to approach eating healthfully. I instantly fell in love with it. I immediately started adding more greens and salads and eliminating the salt and oils. However, I haven't been brave enough to tackle the six week challenge. I'm not entirely sure what's been holding me back. Honestly, it wasn't a huge leap going from my current eating style to the ETL style. And, over the last several weeks I've been cleaning up my diet further and yet, I still haven't committed.

Last night, I decided it was time. It was time to just jump in with both feet. I need not wait for a new month or a new week, I just needed a new day. Today, my friends, is that day. No more excuses.

Here's the outline of the six week challenge. This is straight out of the book.

UNLIMITED 

- all raw vegetables 

- cooked green and non-green vegetables 

- beans, legumes, bean sprouts, and tofu 

- fresh fruit 

LIMITED 

- starchy vegetables or whole grains (1 serving/ 1 cup per day) 

- raw nuts and seeds (1 oz per day) 

- avocado (2 oz per day) 

- dried fruit (2 tbsp per day) 

- ground flaxseeds (1 tbsp per day) 

OFF LIMITS 

- dairy products 

- animal products 

- between-meal snacks 

- fruit juice 

- oil 

- salt

As I mentioned earlier, I had already been doing most of these things-- no animal products or dairy products and rarely cooking with oil. Over the last several weeks, I have been perfecting more habits-- cooking without salt and eating salads as main dishes. The challenge for me is keeping this up for days or weeks at a time. There really is no way around it. Moderation doesn't get us anywhere.

It's time to jump.