I am about half way through my third day and want to give you a run down. Now I have been a vegetarian for about 3 years and done a juice cleanse less than a year ago but still found I ate a lot of dairy. So I noticed day 1 and 2 I had withdrawal. I was surprised. I didn’t think I ate that much that I would have a withdrawal from but I did. It was minor, just light head aches and little moody and a bit spacy but much better today. You may be thinking really how do you withdrawal from food because it is not addictive. Well as I have read and come to understand that there are some things that just don’t easily leave your system and when you give your system more nutrient rich food and cut out much of the fat, salts and sugars you give your body a chance to cleanse itself resulting in this detox. Now don’t be scared of the detox. You will get through it and feel much better!
I have been eating lots of whole grains, fruit and veggies the last few days and I will admit I have been crazy craving carbs. I think that may be my strongest addition. I am giving in to these cravings now with pretzels and even pasta but trying to keep the quantity in check. I hope to be able to move to virtually all whole grain food from this Engine 2 Diet Challenge.
So I have been calling the Engine 2 Diet a challenge. My friends, family and co-workers laugh and joke with me about it. No one has tried to change my mind, luckily, but you will run into those who try. I know it is not for everyone. My reasoning for doing this is
1. It is the most sustainable thing I can do for the planet, more than riding the bus or never flying again
2. I do it for my savings account. Sure it will cost a bit more to buy whole grains over processed food but fare less than the meat and dairy I ate and likely save me money in health care costs.
3. It takes most of my voting dollar out of the politically controlled FDA. A little side note special interest groups have a lot more influence on our eating habits than most people realize.
4. It reduces my chances of developing a stroke, heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer and many other diseases down to nearly nothing.
I hear 2 comments most frequently about my choices.
1. “We are meant to eat meat, we have canine teeth” My response is yes and if we ate the amount of meat our ancestors did thousands of years ago we would be fine but today we eat far more than our bodies require. It was a special treat that was a complement to whole grains, fruits and veggies. Today it is the foundation of the dinner plate and the average person gets far more protein than they need. Additionally, the food that our modern society eats has been altered in a lab and evolved faster than our bodies can react. Our science has allowed us to modify chickens to the point that they go from hatchling to slaughter house, with larger breasts and legs, in less than half the time it once took. However, these practices have not been studied long term to see the impact on us. I like to think if we did those studies today we would find it is slowly killing us.
2. “How do you get enough protein”. I tell people I get plenty of protein. Do you know how much you get? Do you know what the side effects of getting too much? You normally get a blank look. It is kind of fun to get people thinking.
Well have fun with the Engine 2 Diet!
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