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vegetables then a combination of both
The exercise above will help you learn to crave nutritious fruit and vegetables The first few
times you might feel queasy or nauseous but this will pass You may notice changes after a
single meal or it may take several sessions but you will find that simply getting full on healthy
food is a failsafe way to trick your body into trusting and enjoying it This will set you on a path
toward following the USDAs evidencebased recommendation to make half of each meal fruits
and vegetables This is in my opinion by far the best recommendation offered by nutritional
science today
Do you know that piercing hunger that drives you to eat things that are unhealthy Instead
of addressing it with fast food eradicate it with fruit and vegetables Snack on grapes nuts
pears peaches seeds dried fruit and sugarfree trail mix Dip broccoli celery cucumber slices
snow peas green beans and carrots in hummus Cut raw tomatoes avocacos tangerines or
mangos into your meals Cook legumes corn onion garlic cherries mushrooms or chilies in
with your rice or pasta Place dried cranberries olives spinach sundried tomatoes figs and
apple slices in your sandwiches Add blueberries melons plums mangos guavas and papayas
to your breakfast Use asparagus sweet potatoes beets cauliflower and eggplant as sides to
your entrees When you feel like grazing graze on natures superfoods and after a while you
may be surprised to find how they can better gratify your hunger
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Illustration Make half of each meal fruits and vegetables
Eating plants is more convenient than you might think If the grocery store near you has
a salad bar skip the lettuce and fill your bowl with precut fruit vegetables lean meats
and lowcalorie dressing Most grocery stores convenience stores and bigbox retailers carry
freshcut fruit and vegetables to go Consider taking advantage of this If you want to save
money and eat inexpensively you can cut them yourself Eating several servings of fruit and
vegetables daily will help you to get lean fast and get all the vitamins minerals antioxidants
and fiber you need
Make a Smoothie Every Day
Preparing fruit and vegetables yourself can be timeconsuming Cutting them into bitesized
portions and then chewing them takes time However because fruit and vegetables turn to
liquid in a blender you can drink large quantities in seconds Smoothies shakes and liquid
meals are much easier for your gut to process and decrease the physical effort of digestion
which some scientists believe may prolong lifespan Also the bioavailability of liquid meals is
higher meaning your body absorbs more nutrients Furthermore blending fruit and vegetables
does not reduce their fiber or vitamin content
With your fruit smoothies try adding dates yogurt almond milk cashews walnuts vanilla
extract honey and ripe frozen bananas With your vegetable smoothies try tomato juice
cayenne pepper chili flakes lemon lime onion or garlic A daily fruit or vegetable smoothie is
an easy cheap filling and extremely healthy meal
Get Your Essential Vitamins and Nutrients
A diet lacking in certain vitamins can contribute to depression and anxiety Folic acid iron
omega vitamin B magnesium vitamin C vitamin D selenium and zinc are all essential
Deficiencies in these can result in fatigue irritability apathy poor concentration
aggressiveness mood swings and increased depressive symptoms This is another reason
why its imperative to eat more of those fruits and vegetables
Chapter Healthy Eating Patterns
Cut out Saturated Fats
Try not to eat any fats that are solid at room temperature These are saturated fats and
consuming them leads to high cholesterol clogged arteries atherosclerosis and heart disease
Much of the saturated fats we ingest come from just a few culprits You should seriously
consider minimizing pure animal fat processed meat poultry skin whole milk heavy cream
highfat cheese sour cream lard butter margarine ghee tropical oils and mayonnaise in your
diet Avoid fullfat dairy and go for the fatfree variety Cut the white or clear fat off your meat
and stay away from fried food Altogether avoid hydrogenated or trans fats Unlike saturated
fats unsaturated fats are essential so make an effort to eat fish nuts seeds and vegetable oils
eg canola olive flaxseed soybean etc
The Paleo Diet Works
The Paleolithic diet promotes the consumption of food that our hunting and gathering
ancestors would have eaten It is rational to eat what our bodies naturally expect and have
eaten for millions of years The paleo diet advises that we eat whole foods like fruits
vegetables fish and grassfed meats It also discourages processed foods and added sugar and
salt These recommendations are entirely in line with modern nutritional science and the paleo
diet has been shown to have significant health benefits in controlled trials However there
are two valid criticisms of the paleo diet First the diet restricts some nutrientdense food such
as fatfree dairy and whole grains which need not be restricted Second the high meat intake
may lead to health problems if the meat is not lean Besides these two issues asking yourself
Would my ancestors have eaten this can be a practical question to help you avoid
detrimental foods
Drink More Water
Many beverages are extraordinarily caloric Simply cutting soft drinks from your diet can be
highly beneficial Even juice has a lot of calories but no fiber so despite being calorie dense it
doesnt do much to make you feel full This is why if you are not drinking smoothies you should
be drinking plain purified water Dieticians commonly point out that water is absolutely free of
calories and can contribute to feeling full so lets drink up
Many people dont get enough water leaving them with mild symptoms of chronic
dehydration Dehydration is physiologically detrimental and contributes to a lack of energy
discomfort and the muscular dysfunctions discussed in previous chapters Try to drink between
five and eight ounce glasses up to liters of water per day Never drink less than your
thirst dictates
Detraumatize Your Ability to Chug Water
used to frequently choke when drinking This was because my swallowing reflex had become
uncoordinated due to hyperventilation Drinking fast felt perilous and chugging felt like being
waterboarded Swallowing involves the temporary closure of the epiglottis to keep food and
drink out of the lungs If not synchronized correctly then the liquid is inhaled into the lungs
pulmonary aspiration This was happening to me daily Difficulty swallowing is known as
dysphagia everybody has a little bit of it and you want to minimize your bit Use the exercise
below so that you drink mightily with no unnecessary encumbrances
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Healthy Weight Exercise Chug Water Mightily
Pour yourself a large glass of room temperature or warm water Tell yourself there is no rush
There is nothing better for you to do at this moment than observing your swallowing
apparatus at work Take a deep breath and drink the water slowly and mindfully Start with
small gulps making each one voluntary Pay very close attention to the cadence of your
gulping It should be steady Focus on the following
During each gulp your muscles should move through their full range of motion
decisively and uninterrupted
Much of the swallowing process is an automatic reflex controlled by unconscious
neurological mechanisms in the brainstem Give each swallow sufficient time to
progress entirely through its reflex arc before attempting to swallow again You dont
want to interrupt a swallow by swallowing again too soon