Through high school I steadily gained more and more weight. By my senior year, I was my largest at around 160 pounds on my small 5’5″ frame. I looked for larger clothes to hide in and felt awful. Before college, I tried an Atkins-style, low carbohydrate diet and lost quite a bit of weight. But my energy was very low. I could barely do any exercise without feeling very tired. As I went off the diet and started college cafeteria food, I gained all the weight back.
I struggled with depression about my weight and appearance. I experienced fatigue and asthma symptoms when I exercised, and my blood pressure and cholesterol continued to climb. I became a vegetarian at the end of college for ethical reasons. My weight didn’t change as my diet still included a significant amount of animal foods mostly in the form of dairy products. At the age of 24 my weight was around 149 lbs and my blood pressure was 122/80, signifying prehypertension. I was fatigued and my seasonal allergies were unbearable. I experienced terrible discomfort during menstruation and I was frequently at the doctor for sinus medication and an inhaler for when I exercised.
After switching to a vegan diet in 1999 and starting a more regular exercise program, my weight dropped 10 pounds over the next year. I resigned myself to the belief that I would never be skinny and it was genetically impossible to be skinny given that most of the women in my family battle with their weight too. My mostly vegan diet still included lots of processed foods and my addiction to sugar was overwhelming. I felt like I could not get through the day without some kind of sugary, fatty dessert which I most enjoyed after dinner.
However, my interest in nutrition and the many questions I would get from people curious about my vegan diet led me to go to grad school to become a registered dietitian. I read many resources on nutrition outside of my course work. Given what I was learning and how recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake would go up every year, it seemed to make more sense that fruits and vegetables be at the base of the pyramid and the bulk of what people ate.
Later, I heard Dr. Furhman lecture at a conference on Chinese nutrition in
My journey with eating a high nutrient diet has had its ups and down. I now know now know what true hunger is, to feel very satisfied with a meal that I am able to not snack until the next meal, and, most surprising, has greatly reduced my desire for the fatty desserts and other processed foods I loved so much. I would never have thought that I would look forward to a fruit and nut “ice cream” as much as the full fat dairy variety back during my food addicted-20s. I am now at an ideal weight of 120 and a dress size 2 down from a size 12 in high school. My numbers were as follows:
|
|
Processed food vegan |
High nutrient diet |
|
Weight |
144 lbs |
120 lbs |
|
Blood pressure |
120 sys/ 80 dias |
100 sys/ 62 dia |
|
Cholesterol |
158 mg/dl |
126 mg/dl |
|
HDL Cholesterol |
55 mg/dl |
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|
LDL Cholesterol |
79 mg/dl |
65 mg/dl |
|
Cholesterol/HDL ratio |
2.9:1 mg/dl |
2.5:1 mg/dl |
|
Triglycerides |
120 mg/dl |
56 mg/dl |
I enjoy many physical activities like biking, running, and weight training and my resting heart rate stays in the low 40s. I can do all these activities without the aid of inhaled steroids and my energy level is much better. It has been such an accomplishment to feel and look better now as I get older than how I felt and looked in my early 20s. Not many people can claim to be in better shape now than when they were in high school! I am now a mom and am raising my daughter with the same high-nutrient diet in the hopes that she will never have the struggle with weight and health problems that I had. I especially enjoyed reading Dr. Furhman’s Disease Proof Your Child and continue to use it as a resource. My daughter’s growth has been steady and she sailed through infancy without ear infection that have become so common.
I have now focused my professional goals to helping others achieve their full health potential in my private nutrition practice (http://AtlantaNutrition.com). I have seen the power of a high nutrient diet in my clients. I am very grateful to Dr. Fuhrman for his practice, knowledge and hard work to disseminate all of this information to the public.
