The Nutritarian Lifestyle has completely changed my life.  While it began as just another way to lose the weight… it became something much bigger.  The whole food, plant based lifestyle has been my treatment for many years of disordered eating.

Between the ages of 11 and 18 I flip-flopped between bulimia and anorexia.  And while it’s been many years since the binge/purge thing has been a problem, “disordered eating” has absolutely plagued me through my entire adult life.  Food is a drug, it’s a friend, it’s makes you feel good, it makes you feel guilty.  It creates a whirlwind of emotion.  When you’re eating well you’re “good.”  When you’re off track, you’re “being bad.”  The guilt and shame of disordered eating is a burden that millions of us share.  And when you’re addicted to food, you only have a few options. You can take a walk on the diet treadmill, always dieting and never getting anywhere, or you can just give up.   The food always seems to win anyway, so why even try…

It wasn’t until I read Eat to Live and listened to Dr. Fuhrman talk about food addiction that I realized that all of these years I was trying to fix this colossal problem the wrong way.  I was trying to change my psyche – my relationship with food without realizing that FOOD was the problem.  Eat to Live taught me that certain foods act like a drug.  They make you hungrier, they make you tired.  They make you need more, even when you’ve eaten way too much.   This is a life-changing revelation.  Unfortunately, the majority of popular weight loss programs teach that you just have to get in control of yourself.  But it never EVER works!  It’s like being addicted to a drug that you’re lead to believe is good for you “in moderation.”  You’re left trying to figure out why you can’t just eat a FEW Doritos, a or ONE cupcake, or ONE cookie… and you’re left feeling like a complete and utter failure; a person with no self control.  And then the guilt and shame circle begin. There’s seemingly no end.

So here’s what Eat to Live has taught me.  If you want to address the addiction, you have to address the drug.  But this is a painful and perplexing issue for every food addict – how do you eliminate FOOD — the most fundamental requirement for human survival??   And here is the answer that changes is everything: NOT ALL FOODS ARE THE SAME.

Dr. Fuhrman teaches us why food addiction is a problem for nearly everyone.  Put simply, certain foods (namely, the most popular foods in the standard American diet) are highly addictive.  You know them when you see them.  They’re highly palatable.  They’re high in calories.  And worse yet, they’re low in nutrients.  When you combine low-nutrient, high-calorie foods that mess with the body’s natural hunger mechanism, you’ve got a perfect cocktail for food addiction.  And it’s trap that nearly all of us fall into.  Whether the symptom is obesity, bulimia, or starvation, the culprit is the same.  Here’s how to fix it:

Dr. Fuhrman teaches us to use food as medicine.  Take the addictive stuff out, and put the good stuff in.  Here is it in two simple steps:

  1. Get rid of toxic foods
  2. Flood your cells with nutrients

In the beginning, you feel like you’re holding your breath.  It’s uncomfortable because JUST LIKE A DRUG, you go through withdrawal when you take away the bacon and cupcakes.  But here is my promise to you… THIS DOES NOT LAST FOREVER.  You must have perfect clarity of what’s to come.  Your withdrawal is not going to last forever.  As your cells become flooded with nutrients and those toxic hunger cravings literally get flushed out, the addiction disappears.

Within 2-4 weeks you can make a recovery from food addiction.  Here are a few “side effects” of this remarkable treatment:

Weight Loss – Dr. Fuhrman explains that weight loss is just a side effect – which is kind of funny since the majority of people that start this diet DO IT to lose weight.  But it’s true!  Losing weight is really just a side effect.  This lifestyle is the catalyst to a number of biological changes which occur simply as a result of eating a high-nutrient diet.  Every system of the body benefits from living this way.  And yes, weight loss is one fantastic side effect.

Insane Health Benefits – Many experience a relief in symptoms from autoimmune disease and other chronic health conditions and some members of our Eat to Live support group have even reported an end to medications under doctor’s orders.    It’s astounding.

Acne Treatment – Dr. Fuhrman explains that a Nutritarian diet can be the primary strategy to resolve acne and keep it from coming back.  Along with every other system in the body, the skin benefits from a high nutrient, no-junk diet.

Longevity – A nutrient-dense diet has not only been proven to extend life-span, it also greatly increases the quality of life.

Through this process I have TRULY learned what it means to EAT TO LIVE.

To learn more about Eat to Live, click here.  To get some free start up resources, go here or click the link below: