I have a new reason to be thankful this year, and I am too excited not to share it with you, dear blog reader.
Yesterday I opened an email from a man who attended my lectures and bought my book (Free to Eat) over a year ago. I never met him (to my knowledge), but apparently he was persuaded to change his diet. At the time, he weighed close to 400 pounds and as you can imagine, had unhealthy levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure.
To date, Andrew has lost --- wait for it --- 175 pounds. Yes, the number is correct, he's literally half the man he used to be. And his health? I'll let you read what he has to say for yourself:
Hi Bronwyn,
Okay, I feel it's finally time that I can contact you and let you know about yet another success story thanks in large part to the seminars you gave. Thus far, by following your recommendations both in your seminars and in your book, I have lost approximately 175 lbs (from approx. 385 to now approx. 210) and am feeling great. AND, it really wasn't that difficult. Of course, it wasn't "easy" per se, but with some discipline and will power I've been very successful. I have also lowered all my "bad" numbers... you could say that my numbers are not just good, but excellent. Thanks to you I'm healthy again and feel optimistic about my future for the first time in years. Again, THANK YOU for your work. It has given me a new lease on life.
******
What can I say? I am humbled and inspired. Life is precious, and good health is compulsory. Thank you Andrew, may your message bring health to others!
I don't necessarily agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I will say skipping breakfast is a dangerous endeavor.
Many Americans skip breakfast because they either don't have (rather: make) time, or they don't feel hungry. Since our blood glucose runs higher in the morning to help us get going, we often don't feel as hungry as during other periods of the day. But eating breakfast raises our metabolism for the day, gives us steady blood sugar for concentration, and according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Dec. 2010), helps to prevent heart disease and diabetes.
A national sample of 9–15-y-old Australian children reported whether they usually ate breakfast before school in 1985. Twenty years later, 2184 of the child participants (now 26–36 y of age) reported whether they skipped breakfast or not the previous day. (Breakfast was defined by food consumed between 6-9am.)
Statistical analysis found the health of participants who skipped breakfast in both childhood and adulthood fared far worse than their counterparts. This group had a significantly larger waist circumference, higher fasting insulin, as well as higher total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.
Before you breakfast-skippers feel guilty, remember that breakfast simply means "breaking fast". We don't need to eat a restaurant-style meal. A simple whole grain bagel with topping (peanut butter is a good one), whole wheat toast or whole grain cereal (with at least 5 grams of fiber) will suffice. Also, unconventional foods work too: popcorn or even a leftover pizza slice is so much better than nothing!
With five minutes of planning the night before, we can whip up an instant breakfast for the entire family by making a fruit smoothie with protein powder. Pour the smoothie into coffee thermos mugs (sippy cups for kids work well).
Personally, I eat granola with soy milk and add hemp protein powder (from Trader Joe's) on top. I've found the hemp protein powder to help me stay satiated until lunchtime, due to the high fiber and protein content. It doesn't taste badly either, although it turns the granola a funky green color!
I don't necessarily agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I will say skipping breakfast is a dangerous endeavor.
Many Americans skip breakfast because they either don't have (rather: make) time, or they don't feel hungry. Since our blood glucose runs higher in the morning to help us get going, we often don't feel as hungry as during other periods of the day. But eating breakfast raises our metabolism for the day, gives us steady blood sugar for concentration, and according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Dec. 2010), helps to prevent heart disease and diabetes.
A national sample of 9–15-y-old Australian children reported whether they usually ate breakfast before school in 1985. Twenty years later, 2184 of the child participants (now 26–36 y of age) reported whether they skipped breakfast or not the previous day. (Breakfast was defined by food consumed between 6-9am.)
Statistical analysis found the health of participants who skipped breakfast in both childhood and adulthood fared far worse than their counterparts. This group had a significantly larger waist circumference, higher fasting insulin, as well as higher total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.
Before you breakfast-skippers feel guilty, remember that breakfast simply means "breaking fast". We don't need to eat a restaurant-style meal. A simple whole grain bagel with topping (peanut butter is a good one), whole wheat toast or whole grain cereal (with at least 5 grams of fiber) will suffice. Also, unconventional foods work too: popcorn or even a leftover pizza slice is so much better than nothing!
With five minutes of planning the night before, we can whip up an instant breakfast for the entire family by making a fruit smoothie with protein powder. Pour the smoothie into coffee thermos mugs (sippy cups for kids work well).
Personally, I eat granola with soy milk and add hemp protein powder (from Trader Joe's) on top. I've found the hemp protein powder to help me stay satiated until lunchtime, due to the high fiber and protein content. It doesn't taste badly either, although it turns the granola a funky green color!
Posts
