Food Fight! Battle of the Bulge, Caveman Style

When I heard the phrase "food struggle," I was immediately taken back to the dining hall at Faber College. John Belushi, "Pluto," wiped his face when he was told he was a "P-I-G pig." In response he asked, "See if you can guess what I am now?" John inserted a ball wrapped in mashed potatoes into his mouth and proceeded to smash his cheek with both hands. As the white material exploded around everyone, he shouted, "I zit, can I?" Chaos exploded. John was chased throughout the dining hall and at last he shouted, "Food Fight!" Without a doubt there is more food in the air than on the table. Yes, the classic scene from the movie Animal House. But, this is not the kind of food fight I mean in the title. We are now struggling in our lives with food, bad food; foods that make us fat and physically and psychologically problematic. This is our modern food struggle.

Throughout my life, I suffered from what is known as the IBS doctor, Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I called him my crap stomach that was broken and broken. From an early age, I was stabbed, pressed, and tested, while every doctor told me the same thing, "I can't find anything wrong." However, there must be a big problem. My stomach seems to hate food. After another 40 years, I finally figured it out; it's not that my body doesn't like food; it is that he does not like certain foods; and not food that is usually considered a problem. During the glorious "Ah ah", I realized what must be clear to all my doctors. All I have to do is avoid certain foods and I am symptom free. No more morning sickness, walking to the bathroom, or my GI track feeling like it was connected to a car battery via a jumper cable. Today, my stomach is no longer damaged. The foods I should avoid are bread, (wheat gluten), sugar, and I need to limit my fruit intake.

As I began to do more research (thank God for the Internet), I realized that for hundreds of thousands of years, Man had not eaten bread. In fact, Man didn't eat beans, Beluschi potatoes, pasta, and most of the food he used to eat today. I realized that I had changed my diet to my ancestors' diet. I've become a cave man! In the process I have the added benefit. I'm 5 & 10 "I went from weighing 185 lbs to 150 lbs before settling on 160 lbs. I went from a waist 34 inches to 31. Wow! Not only is my stomach fixed, I'm in great shape.

When people talk about nutrition, it's often something they do temporarily. They have heavy goals. They struggle, often achieving their goal only to stop eating what causes them to lose weight, and return to business as usual. As a result, they put their weight back, usually with a few pounds of bonuses to boot. For me, diet is what I eat; not just for now, but all the time. After all, this is what I don't eat. Cavemen do not drink soda, bake bread, eat processed foods, or stop for "snacks." I don't either. Our ancestors were on to something; something that is once again gaining momentum and popularity.

Around the world, Blogs have emerged about the rebellion against waste being generated and mass-marketed to us as food by big companies. One of my favorites is Cooking Caveman with Jeff Nimoy (http://cookingcaveman.blogspot.com). Here, Jeff shares his cave recipe; all organic, no wheat, no sugar, no crap. More than anything, Jeff shares his food experiments, most successful, some, not many, showing us that there are creative solutions to cooking without the unhealthy modern ingredients; and cooking style can be very tasty, as well as fun. Books like Evolution Diets: What and How We Designed to Eat and Lose Weight with Caveman Diets have found their way to bookshelves. We are given weapons and tools to fight against processed, fast, high, sweet, unhealthy foods that make our society more and more like the characters who gave up long runs in the WALL -E movie.

When I share my thoughts on this concept, people look at me like I'm nuts. "Not eating bread, I like bread, how can I not eat bread," was the usual response. And then when I say that I rarely eat sugar (I allow myself some dark chocolate every once in a while) they start to support it as if I am threatening their existence. And, almost always, I assume that I take my food intake. I do not!

I ate great food. I like to eat. For breakfast I ate eggs with sugar-free chicken sausage or turkey. For lunch I ate a large salad with a healthy mix of lettuces, pepper, avocado, cucumber, and topped with turkey or turkey. I dress with fresh lemon and extra olive oil. For dinner, I ate another large salad with a main course of chicken, fish, or beef and some vegetables. I also make pasta using white or brown rice paste and make my own sauce (watch your label on pasta sauce, many filled with sugar). In fact, I'm not making a big sacrifice. No grain, no fast food, no processed food, very little sugar and carbohydrates. After 3 years, no big deal. And, I still weighed 160 pounds when I got close to 5-0. Although I do not live in a 100% cave, I do almost; let's face it, if people can kill the California zinfandel or some dark chocolate they'll have a heart attack. Again, it's about simplicity.

As a therapist, I am all striving to create positive change; how I can help others (and myself) create insights that will enable them to transcend, become empowered, and to bring happiness to their lives. Make yourself delicious. Try eating the cave for a week. I think that you will find that after a few days you feel a little strange (your body will start to break free from all the toxins created by eating unhealthy foods), you will start to feel great. Don't think or say I'm on a diet. Instead, think about how to create a new diet / lifestyle for yourself. The insight I want to make is that if you read this, you may feel tired, low energy, maybe a little stressed, and feel less motivated. Why not? Because you fill yourself up with contaminated fuel. Think about it. Would you put 50 octane in your car if such a thing happened? Of course not. Stop giving off contaminated fuel. This will be difficult at first. But, as I like to say, "There's nothing great without being loud."

At closing, you are what you absorb, emotionally, psychologically, and physically. To be emotional and psychological, you need to avoid negative thoughts that are negative (after all, thinking comes before most people get this back) and, instead, relate to positive thinking and embrace positive human values. To be physically fit, you need to avoid toxic foods that make you feel bad, and instead eat the foods you want to eat that will make you feel good. The combination of positive thinking and a healthy diet will open the door to happiness into your life. So start thinking like a caveman and start your struggle against bad food today. The only thing you need to lose is your stomach!

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