A Very Veggie Transformation, Begun

I finally started doing something I’ve known I should be doing for years: Eating my veggies.

Photo: Fithacker.com

Oh, I’ve eaten veggies before, of course — but somewhat reluctantly, and with embarrassing infrequence. The thing is, I felt I was getting away with it, my participation in the consumption culture I now know as MAD: The “Modern American Diet.” Over-sized portions of over-processed, over-packaged, under-nutritious faux food…fillers!

Sure, I was hefting some extra flub on my figure, but look around: Most folks are. I fit in, so to speak. Sure, I wanted to be slender like the models on magazine covers, or like the Olympic athletes, but I felt fine, slept fine, and didn’t have any health problems beyond the occasional cold. I kept wanting to lose weight, but I lacked a truly motivating reason, even though I sought one. Twice in the past five years, I went to my doctor and requested blood work to check my levels (you know — triglycerides, cholesterol, that sort of stuff). I thought maybe my stats could scare me into eating better, to regain or preserve my well-being. Both times, the numbers came back negative for any signs of doom.

“You have the blood of an athlete!” one doctor beamed. Ironically, that wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear, “Whoa! You’re teetering on the edge of disaster. You’d better start eating your veggies or else you’ll spontaneously combust in 30 days.”

One wise, willowy doc tried talking to me about the cumulative effects of my dietary habits. “Sure, you feel great now,” she warned. “You even look pretty good. But it’s because you’re young. Eventually, those crummy choices will catch up with you.” I wanted to believe her, yet I noshed on.

The one thing that disturbed me about my habits, aside from my excess flesh, was…well, my conscience. “She who knows the good she ought to do and does not do it, sins.” (James 4:17) (Or, for my friends who cringe at the “s” word, there’s the eloquent Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase: “If you know the right thing to do and don’t do it — that, for you, is evil.”) It might seem like an unreasonable burden of responsibility to bear over something as simple as menu selections. Even the Scriptures say: “The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17)

But, try as I have for my 37 ½ years so far, I can’t escape the hunch that food matters — what, when, why, how, and how much. I realize there are more important things than what I might choose for my mid-afternoon snack — important things like “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” which tend to elude me when I’m stuffing my face with orange marshmallow circus peanuts.

About a month ago, I stumbled across a blog post about a book called Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman, MD. Three weeks ago, I started reading it. Two weeks ago, I started “eating to live” (consuming fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, seeds, and not much else — this, for the first 6 weeks). Now, I honestly don’t know if I could go back to my old MAD way of life. I’ve lost 15 pounds in my first 15 days dwelling in this brave new world: The land of fresh produce.

Fresh produce is not new to these parts — that is, the town in which I have resided for most of my life. But it is new to “these parts” — that is, my suddenly sated organs, limbs and liquid matter. And I feel…well, refreshed!