Day 5 - Hope Is My New Chocolate

On the eve of a new year, I’ve decided not to look back.  I’m not going to punish myself for decisions I made in the past.  I’m not going to question why I’ve done what I’ve done to my body.  Instead, I’m going to fix my mind on the future.  On the possibility that by the next new year, I’ll be healthier and happier.  I’ll have hope and I’ll nibble on it throughout the year as if it’s the most wonderful chocolate bar. 

After just a few days of healthy eating, I already feel more hopeful.  Though I try to keep from stepping on the scale, I can’t help myself.  I have lost weight.  But I don’t want it to be about the scale or calories or portion size.  I want this time to be about my health.

 

My hope is buoyed by the book “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” by Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD.   Though I’ve already read through it once, I’m now reaching for it whenever I feel like I need a little reassurance that I can actually heal my body with nutrition.  Esselstyn’s plan is simple.  Plant-based diet.  No meat or fish, no high-fat plant food (oils, avocados, nuts), no dairy.  An emphasis on fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes provides a diet that will make me as nutritionally healthy as I can possibly be.

According to the shout on the cover, this was the book that turned Bill Clinton into a vegan.  So, I guess, if Bill can do it, so can I.  And whether you’re searching for a new way to eat or not, I’d recommend this book.  It provides an astounding amount of information on the misconceptions we all have about healthy eating.

So when I feel a bit down, I get out Esselstyn’s book.  It has become my chocolate.  It is my hope that I can turn my life in a different direction.