57 Months A Vegan! Free Will! #WFPBNO #YourChoice #Foodismedicine #EatToLose

     I'm home, sick with the flu. Every year I get a flu shot, but this year it hit unseasonably early. It's not clear where I picked it up or even when. Clearly it was not my choice. "Free Will" played no role here. At first I was in denial thinking it must be food poisoning. But when the GI symptoms left and the fever with body aches set in, denial was pointless. So plenty of fluids, a few Tylenol, some hot tea and clean eating should have me back to normal before you know it. I'm already getting my appetite back.

Salad for lunch with lettuce, kale, fresh parsley, green and yellow peppers, tomato, purple onion, chickpeas, chopped cashews then dressed with rosemary, basil, black pepper, garlic salt, agave nectar,fresh lemon juice and red wine vinegar.

     Nobody I know would choose to get sick. Things like the flu or the common cold come out of the blue and put you out of commission for days at a time. No one goes out of their way to contract a viral infection, no matter how common or self limiting it may be. When you know that hand washing or a hand sanitizer may help you avoid a nasty virus during cold and flu season it makes sense to wash your hands more frequently. 

     That  same line of common sense thinking should also apply to chronic diseases like Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity and Coronary Artery Disease. All three are food related. Once you accept that fact, all you have to do is learn how to avoid the foods that put you at risk. "Washing your hands" of animal based fatty foods and all oils will virtually eliminate your chance of developing any of them. If you already have one or more of these chronic problems, there is no reason they need to progress. Your food choices can halt or even reverse all of them. 

 A useful visual aid popped up on Facebook this morning.   

Me 6 years ago

     

     

I had already passed the point of obesity and was on track to developing Type 2 Diabetes and Heart Disease. About that time, I came to accept the fact that if I wanted to be healthy and active, it was totally up to me. Pills weren't going to reverse anything and there was no way that I could out exercise my bad diet. It was all about the food.

Here's the guy Joel Kahn MD who got me started on a healthier lifestyle.

It was all through social media, costing me nothing but the price of new clothes. All I had to do was read, listen and learn. I will always be grateful for the guidance. 

Me 3 years ago down 100 lbs

Imagine what my life would be like now had I not taken that fatty food off my plate.

All of the above changes occured prior to starting any exercise activity. It was and is really all about the food. 

Me 2018 down 110 lbs

Funny thing about losing 100 lbs.
I starting enjoying activities that I never in my life had any pleasure doing.
Here's a picture of me now, right after finishing a little 10K run that started and ended in my garage. Full disclosure:  I walked part of it.
And that's also FREE WILL!

You get to choose what you eat. Nobody is forcing you to do anything.
Change your mind and change your life.
English is a funny language.
I keep meeting people who say:
"I can't do that."
What they mean to say is:
"I won't do that."

But that's Free Will for you!