Veronica's Story

Eat To Live was a catalyst that helped to transform my life. I’ve always been an active person, playing sports, running, lifting weights. I’ve also dieted relentlessly. Like so many people, I was always restricting, depriving, giving up and gaining more weight back. I would work out five to six days a week, but my diet was so poor I was still gaining weight steadily, about ten to twelve pounds per year for the past six years. Last year, I was at my heaviest, over 200 pounds and a size 18.
 
In December 2011 I read Eat To Live and everything started to change. It made me look at eating and nutrition in a whole new light. It seemed so obvious; eat to actually nourish my body.  In 2012 I decided to make a different resolution. Instead of saying, my goal is to lose thirty pounds by June, as I’ve said so many years before; I made the resolution to be at the natural weight for my body by the end of the year, no matter what weight or size that may be. I vowed to let go of obsessing about numbers and be kind to myself along the way. Lasting change doesn’t happen by force or beating yourself up. I tried that and lost every time.
 
I started off slowly, following the recommendations in the book, and becoming vegetarian. First, I changed my breakfast and snacks. For breakfast, I eat fruits and walnuts or the Eat Your Greens Smoothie. For snacks, I eat raw veggies with homemade hummus or some fruit. Next, I moved on to dinner and lunches. I plan my meals for two weeks and shop for the ingredients, getting fresh produce each week. I take time to prepare all veggies and fruits for the week. That way I have them on hand all the time. Once I started eating healthy, it took the pressure off of feeling I had to work out like a maniac to burn the calories I ate. The amount of time I exercise has actually decreased. I now practice yoga and meditation daily, and I walk stairs at work as suggested in the book.
 
I really like what Dr. Fuhrman says in his book about if you feel you need to have a little salt, cheese, chocolate, caffeine, or whatever in your day to be able to stick with eating healthy, and then do it. It’s not about restriction.
 
The best thing about this way of life is that I count nothing. No fat grams, no calories, no carbs. nothing. It’s so fantastic. When we eat the way we were intended to eat, the weight comes off naturally. It takes the pressure off trying to lose weight and frees up so much mental space for other pursuits. I began at size 18 and now I’m size 8. I was over 200 pounds and now I’m 145.

 My whole world has opened up. I feel lighter all around, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. Reading Eat To Live has definitely been a major part of that transformation, along with some deep soul work through yoga and meditation. It’s simple, but not always easy. Just keep going is my mantra.