The Winter Wellness Diet - 6

CHANGING OUR DIET IS ONLY HALF THE BATTLE
The WWD is all about getting healthy from the inside out which results in weight loss,
more energy and an overall feeling of vitality. You can absolutely lose weight by simply
changing your diet and giving your body the nutrients it has been starving for your whole
life. I have worked with many people, overweight their whole lives, who lost weight
simply by changing the way they eat. I’m not talking about going on a diet. I’m talking
about lifestyle changes that result in eating different food for the rest of your life.
Changing your diet doesn’t involve never eating your favorite foods again. Changing
your diet means that you take a step back and assess where you get your calories from.
If your typical diet has been 40% carbs, 30% fat and 30% protein like a typical American
diet resembles, I doubt that you are reading this book looking and feeling the best
you’ve ever been.
Here is the new look percentages that we are going to focus on. 65-70% carbs, 20-25%
protein and 10-15% fat. Digest those numbers because they are going to be your north
star, your compass, what guides you for the next few months. A simple change in
mindset is all it will take. Let me explain briefly how I came to those numbers and why
it’s important to you.
If you want to be the best basketball player and could have anyone be your coach,
would you choose Michael Jordan or the guy who sat the bench and never scored a
point? If you want to be the best cyclist do you talk to Lance Armstrong or your
neighbor who occasionally goes for a weekend ride? If you want to be the richest
person in the world do you talk to Bill Gates or the person working at the drive through?
The same goes for health. If you want to be the healthiest and fittest you’ve ever been,
do you take advice from the healthiest, fittest, disease free, longest-living cultures or the
American society that has the highest cancer rates, the most obese and unhealthiest
population in the world?
Well, it just so happens that there have been studies published and books written on the
healthiest, longest-living, (almost) disease-free societies in the world. I have read as
many of these studies and books as I can get my hands on and a select few have really
shaped my view of how to be truly healthy. (5,6) The top 2 that I connect with are T
Colin Campbell’s ,“The China Study” and John Robbin’s, “Healthy at 100.”
The China Study was a:
“research project culminated in a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University,
and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, a survey of diseases and lifestyle factors in
rural China and Taiwan. More commonly known as the China Study, "this project eventually
produced more than 8000 statistically significant associations between various dietary factors
and disease."
The findings? "People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease ...
People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic
disease. These results could not be ignored," said Dr. Campbell.”
As for Healthy at 100, John Robbins writes about 4 cultures with the longest life spans
on earth:
“Bringing the traditions of these ancient and vibrantly healthy cultures together with the latest
breakthroughs in medical science, Robbins reveals that, remarkably, they both point in the same
direction. The result is an inspirational synthesis of years of research into healthy aging in which
Robbins has isolated the characteristics that will enable us to live long — and most important —
joyous lives.”
I am not a scientist who has devoted my life’s work to researching statistically significant
findings or an anthropologist who discovers the secrets of other cultures. No, I am a
person who is passionate about living the longest, healthiest, disease-free and joyful life
that I possibly can. I ask Michael Jordan to be my basketball coach, Lance Armstrong
to teach me how to ride and 1 billion people in China to provide me with evidence on
what type of diet I should be eating. That’s how I came to believe that a diet high in
fiber-rich, plant based foods and low in fat can help me lead the life of my dreams and
have the energy and longevity to share it with others! Like I said, diet is only half the
battle though...