A New Challenge!

From time to time there will be a special program on PBS aimed towards raising funds for the channel. Well, I so happened to come across a special featuring a lady by the name of JJ Virgin, she spoke about 7 foods you should stay away from. She then went on to talk about how if you stay away from these foods for 21 days you will be in better health and of course the catch to reel you in was “you will lose weight” her plan seemed fairly simple until she went in depth with two of the foods, she spoke about. I will get into them shortly.

I know you are wondering what the 7 foods are so I will get that out the way.

1. Soy
2. Corn
3. Gluten
4. Dairy
5. Sugar and artificial sweeteners
6. Eggs
7. Peanuts

So in doing some research this is what I found:

“1. Soy - Most is genetically modified (GM). Our bodies are not designed to process GM foods. Therefore, ALL GM foods should be avoided. In addition, soy has very high levels of estrogen-like compounds that interfere with our natural hormonal balance.

2. Corn - Most is genetically modified, like soy, and should be avoided. It is a grain found in most processed foods that converts to sugar in the body and contributes to chronic illness such as Type II Diabetes.

3. Gluten - Found in grains, especially wheat. It makes grain products "sticky." It interferes with digestion, especially in celiac patients who are highly sensitive and contributes to "leaky gut" syndrome. It also increases inflammation in the body due to its omega-6 content.

4. Dairy - Name an animal that drinks milk after it has been weaned from its mother. Name an animal that drinks the milk of another animal. From this perspective, dairy is very unnatural to our diet. Commercial dairy is especially harmful because of its pharmaceutical content and because homogenization and pasteurization destroy much of its nutrition, including its natural enzymes.

5. Sugar and artificial sweeteners - The average American consumes more sugar in one day than our early ancestors did in an entire year. Sugar leads to increased insulin production, insulin resistance, and Type II Diabetes. Artificial sweeteners are man-made and our bodies are not designed to process them. They are neurotoxic and contribute to a wide variety of health problems.

6. Eggs - Many people are sensitive or allergic to eggs. Follow the elimination guidelines below.

7. Peanuts - Many people are sensitive or allergic to peanuts. Follow the elimination guidelines below.

What to do:

Eliminate these items from your diet for 3 weeks and watch the weight melt off, perhaps one pound per day or more. Then, add back one of these foods at a time and notice your body's reaction. If you develop any symptom - headache, fatigue, digestive upset, congestion, mood changes, or others - you'll know you are sensitive and should continue avoiding such food. Even if you are not sensitive, items 1-5 should always be kept to a minimum in a healthy diet.

What to eat instead:

Concentrate your diet on fresh fruits and vegetables, lean cuts of meat, and filtered water.

Instead of consuming soy from tofu and processed food, eat small amounts of organic, fermented soy a few times a week - but only if you have no thyroid or estrogen related health problems.

Replace corn oil with palm fruit oil, coconut oil, sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Replace corn meal with fresh-ground flaxseed meal.

Instead of consuming gluten, replace wheat pasta with rice pasta, quinoa pasta, or spaghetti squash. Eat brown rice wraps or romaine lettuce wraps instead of tortillas. Use almond or coconut flour instead of wheat or rye flour. Substitute a slice of eggplant or Portobello mushroom for pizza crust.

Instead of dairy, use ghee (clarified butter) from grass-fed cows in place of butter. Drink coconut or almond milk instead of cow's milk. Replace other dairy products with coconut creamer, coconut yogurt, and raw and fermented kefir or yogurt from goat or sheep's milk.

Replace sugar with xylitol or stevia or a mix of the two.

Eggs may be ok but only if they are organic, free range, and raised with feed void of corn or soy.

Replace peanuts with tree nuts such as brazil nuts, walnuts, macadamia nuts, almonds, or cashews. Replace peanut butter with cashew, almond, macadamia, or pecan butter.”

So, let me get into which two foods seemed easy at first then seemed harder after she went into detail:

Dairy: Dairy was a difficult one because even though I cut milk out of my diet some time ago, dairy goes beyond milk; we are talking cheese, yogurt, etc. The good thing is that its only cow-related, which makes it a lot easier, because I love feta and I found that they make coconut milk yogurt and almond yogurt.

Gluten: At first I was like, “OK, I will look for gluten free products” that was until I realized all of my whole wheat products have gluten in them. That crushed me, this is worse than the yogurt and cheese. I am going to really have to find out ways to work around this no gluten thing. I love lettuce wraps but I want to look into the different wrap styles they offer as substitutes and whatnot.

But like with any diet modifications you make you need to do your research, so before I start this challenge not only am I doing extensive research I am also creating my 21 day meal plan so I have all of my food as well as their substitutes on hand.

I’m not a fan of diets, but I am a fan of finding better ways to eat and challenging myself. I’ve been having some digestion issues so I am more than interested in finding out if eliminating something from my diet will get my system on the right track.

So, even though I will be following this plan I won’t necessarily be following her complete plan, I will modify it to meet my own needs, the biggest part for me is the food elimination process, that’s what I will be trying for sure. She has a few other things detailed in the plan that I don’t necessarily agree with so I won’t be doing that, I intend on keeping in line with my current eating so like with this meal plan it will be tailored towards my own individual needs. This challenge will be Sunday April 7th and end on April 27th. My workout plan will remain fairly the same as it was in the last challenge but I of course will be pushing myself and modifying as I go along.

If you want more info about her plan check out JJ Virgin

And…It Is What It Is!