There are a couple of things that I want to mention about this lovely picture - first, this is how we should all be eating. Seriously. If you want to put years back on to your life, and avoid diseases which obviously come from poor nutrition, get back to basics. More on this topic in a moment. Next, I WANT OUR EGG YOLKS IN THE US TO LOOK THIS GOOD!!! If you crack open ANY egg in Japan, it has this color yolk - it's like a gorgeous sunset on your plate. I have read that this deep, orange color indicates that they're full of nutrients. I have searched high and low, and paid stupid amounts of money for eggs belonging to the most responsibly raised, best-fed chickens in Marin County. It mystifies me that their yolks are the same anemic, pale yellow as what you'd find from any factory farm. If someone can enlighten me on this mystery, please do get in touch.
Getting back to the meal itself - there is a plan called the Peak Condition Project (PCP) which is a 90-day plan towards achieving your own peak level of fitness. It's a straight-up, no nonsense diet and everyday exercise that can be done virtually anywhere. I am psyching myself up to do it - someday - but priorities lie with conceiving Kid #2 right now. In the meantime, I'm doing a similar plan for 2 weeks, just trying it out on my own. For the first time in my life, I am adhering to the following rules:
- Vegetables are my staple food. I eat them at least 3 times a day.
- Veggies are either steamed, baked, boiled or stir-fried with no oil or fat of any kind.
- Fat is added to the diet in the form of low fat milk, either in the morning or for lunch.
- Carbohydrates take the form of bread, rice or potatoes. I eat them for breakfast and lunch.
- No alcohol, caffeine, added sugar or added salt.
- I also eat 6 times a day, so there's no starving myself. Fruit snacks make up half the meals.
I know, it sounded like pure torture to me too when I first heard about it - then I watched people who were on PCP literally transformed so much for the better - nasty habits like stress-induced eating and late-night binges were no longer in the picture. People who, at 40 years of age, looked like they had maybe another 10-20 years of good health in their future, all of sudden look like they might live past age 90! I know that the diet is a huge component - sure enough, after about a week of eating like this, my body feels totally different. Especially after meals. I have gotten so used to feeling gassy and uncomfortable after meals - I feel none of that now. So I feel like the basic diet and the exercise, even in the short term, is burning nastiness out of my system.
The health benefits are primarily what I'm going for here - full disclosure, my brother's wedding is coming up, so I also want to look good for that event - for me, that doesn't mean "anorexic." It means having muscle definition and a healthy glow overall. It's working so far, I'm already seeing the results - hunger in the morning is the hardest thing for me, which is why I have my first fruit snack as soon as I wake up.
This is the kind of thing I have thought about doing for years - and in the US, a lot of lip service is paid towards eating more vegetables, blah blah blah. For years, i have bargained with myself about the merits or downsides to the next projected intake of calories. This plan makes it really simple, and I feel like it's the best possible thing for someone in their late-thirties who really needs a paradigm shift in healthful eating. I don't want to slide back into eating jarred Alfredo sauce on my cheese tortellini once a week. Seriously. I can do better, and finally, I now AM doing better, even if it's only for 2 weeks.
