My favorite! Image by allie pasquier

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that one of my goals for the new year was to develop my physical strength, and to that end I would be following Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Eat to Live plan for 6 weeks. Eat to Live is based on nutrient-dense food—the goal is to get almost all of the day’s calories from highly nutritious foods like green vegetables, fruits, beans and nuts.

Going into the 6 weeks, losing weight was one of my goals. But I also wanted to see how life would change in other ways—what else could come out of giving my body tons and tons of good stuff?

Now that I’m on the other side of this challenge, I can say that following Eat to Live has precipitated dramatic changes in many areas of my life. First off, the strictly physical—I’ve lost 17 pounds and 6 inches off my waist! Jeans that were uncomfortably tight right after the holidays are now feeling slightly too big. I’ve struggled with my weight all my life, and after many unsuccessful attempts to solve it, and many cycles of losing and gaining, I can’t tell you how liberating it is to know that this works.

Some other things I’ve noticed changing over the last 6 weeks:

• My taste for food is changing. Last week, I went to a restaurant and ordered a bowl of soup that I have loved in the past. But this time it tasted so salty that I could barely choke it down. This is brand new for me—usually I am a total salt fiend.
• I want to exercise more. This could also be related to the fact that my ankle is now healed, and I can exercise, but lately I just feel the urge to get up and take a walk, or go to the gym. This is good, because I just joined a challenge with Uli and Victoria where I’ve committed to working out 5 hours a week or else I will have to pay the group $50! (More on this, and ways in which we can help each other grow, in an upcoming article.)
• I don’t need quite as much sleep. I’ve always been an 8 or 9 hours a night kind of girl, but most nights now I am fine on 7 hours. In fact, I’ve been waking up before my alarm, even when it’s set quite early. Again, this is brand new.
• My energy levels are high and even. Previously, around 5 pm every day, I’d get a serious energy slump. On the way home from work, I’d yawn so wide I thought I might dislocate my jaw. Now my energy stays fairly constant all day long.
• Blood sugar problems are gone. In the past, if I went too long without eating, I would get this overwhelming compulsion—MUST EAT NOW. Grumpiness and nausea were soon to follow. Now, though, when I’m hungry, I’m just hungry, without the ill feeling or the uncontrollable urge to chow down now. My body’s signal of hunger is just another input and I can act on it as I wish without allowing it to drive my behavior. Put another way, hunger has become an object, not the subject.
• My cycle (aka Shark Week) has calmed way the heck down, both physically and emotionally. This alone is reason enough to continue eating this way!
• I feel happy and calm. I’m sure this is related to lots of things—pride in being able to stick so closely to my plan, sleeping well, having energy, evening out monthly emotional cycles—but it also feels related to what I’m eating. I’ve walked down the streets of New York City many times, but I don’t know if I’ve ever taken quite as much pleasure in it. I also feel more resilient as life grows more complex. I don’t get as easily overwhelmed.
• On a deeper level, I’m discovering how much I used food for comfort, excitement, and entertainment, and I’m learning how to provide those things for myself in healthier and more powerful ways. If I had a bad day, or just a boring one, I would eat something “special”—fish and chips, cupcakes, whatever—to make me feel special again. But now, those items are not as appealing to me. If a Reese’s Cup doesn’t make me happy any more, what does? I’m figuring it out.

In conclusion, I obviously like eating this way and am seeing great results in lots of different areas. As long as I take the time to make sure I have plenty of good food in the house, it’s simple and easy, too. I’m eating lots of green smoothies and apples and clementines and bean soup and giant salads, and I’m really enjoying the food as well as how it makes me feel.

Going forward, my plan is to stick with Eat to Live, with minor deviations here and there if I feel like it, but no more than once a week. It’s a huge relief to know that I can continue to eat this way indefinitely, dropping the rest of my excess weight and enjoying the process along the way. As I get stronger and fitter, I’m sure more good things will unfurl themselves in my body and in my life at large, and of course I’ll share them with you.