Forks Over Knives and Major Life Change

I have been trying for some time to eat more healthy foods.  I had made some progress.  I did cut out milk in 2014, so I have not had milk or ice cream for about 1 year.   However, I did not cut out dairy. I still had been eating cheese, butter and eggs.  Also, there are many items with milk products in them like dressings, cheese-it crackers.  I am also a full blown sugar addict.  I ate sugary cereals for breakfast, and desserts with every meal.  Even in between meals I would have candy and not hesitate.  It does show how forgiving the body is though.  I am active and still exercise every day.  My weight was normal and never above 170 lbs.  Thankfully, I did not require any medications.  My blood pressure and cholesterol levels were fine but I had a nagging feeling that I had to change these unhealthy eating habits.  I kept thinking, as long as I eat these things in moderation, it will be fine. Meanwhile I continued to battle acne which I have had for 40 years.

A few months ago I tried vegetarianism for about 8 weeks.  This was a bit of a challenge and I wound up buying some processed foods like veggie burgers which have a lot of sodium in them.  Well, Easter came and I caved in to having the traditional ham dinner and the trial period was over.   I did not feel too much of a difference since I was still eating dairy and refined sugar.  As a side benefit, I have been able to completely eliminate all lunch meats and this new habit has stuck.  After 50+ years of lunch meats, I have no desire to eat again.

In April I decided to quit refined sugar.  I felt I needed to and I reduced my sugar intake by 85%.  I stopped eating candy.  I had no sugar for breakfast, and 1 cookie for lunch dessert and 1 cookie for dinner dessert.  I read labels for everything I was eating that potentially had sugar.  I went from 168 pounds to 159 pounds in a few weeks just by not eating sugary sweets.

On Sunday, May 10th, I saw there was a film on Netflix, entitled Forks Over Knives.  I was intrigued and almost passed it by.  I thought that it was another scare film like, “Food Inc.” or other documentaries on the dangers of food and I was afraid of what I might learn.  These documentaries did not affect me in a way to change my food choices.  I decided to watch “Forks Over Knives” and once it started I could not stop.  It went by very quickly and I took it all in.  The science and case studies they presented were proof to me that I had to change my food choices now.  It all made sense with what I was trying to do with my vegetarian trial and sugar reduction.  It showed how powerful the meat and dairy industries are and how they are tied in with Washington.  The protein and calcium myths were debunked with scientific studies.  We are brainwashed by the powerful advertising media into loving all foods that are oily, salty and sweet.

I am now committed to eating healthy by eliminating all meat, dairy, refined sugar and all oil.  Even after a few weeks, I feel a definite difference.   Like anything, this will take a strong commitment to developing a new habit.  I plan to do a one month trial to see the results for myself along with health numbers.  Open minded skepticism is always a good thing because of the need to prove something yourself rather than rely on another’s opinion or truth.  I have never been down this road before, but I can honestly say I was changed by watching this film.  Maybe the time was just right.  The new habits I was starting were a foundation.  The recent deaths of my mother (2010), father (2014) and brother in law (2015), helped wake me up to be very receptive too.  It has become very clear now and I have a deep down feeling that I have progressed to a new state of awareness.  Won’t you join me in this new exploration of health as it was meant to be?  Eat plants!  I am really excited for what lies ahead.  I have abused my body with a lifetime of poor eating habits and yet it still functioned for me without any need for medications.  Once I sustain a consistent pattern of eating nutritious plant food fuel, I expect to experience life now with new found energy without the fear of illness, decrepitude and pain.

I am a believer in spiritual prayer and God.  You might say that God does not cause man to be ill, suffer or die.  Yes, but man does have free will to make choices.  Wrong choices are punished so that they are not repeated.  No one is excused to do wrong just because God made man perfect and loves him.  That must be proved in individual experience.  Eating meat is a choice with consequences. Consequences induce feedback to help us improve the quality of our consciousness and realize who we are.  Eating meat involves killing animals on a massive scale with serious environmental damage. It is a violent practice that is pathetic and sad.  Just because we can does not mean we should.  Eating garden plant food is part of the “rule set” to live happily in this reality but this is just one part of a larger whole.  It also takes exercise, good habits, honesty, compassion, love, gratitude, achievement, humility and work which contribute to increasing the quality of consciousness.  This is our purpose for being here.