Earlier today my brain and eyeballs sort of felt like they were jostling behind my skull, the bones of which felt like they were being unkindly squeezed. It was not a good feeling...very disorienting and distracting. This is one of the many new feelings I get when I don't eat the 80/10/10 way. Low and behold I had snacked on some wheat/buckwheat waffles after enjoying two fried local farm eggs (in ghee) with two slices of toasted California Bread and then my daughter made some homemade oatmeal banana chocolate chip cookies. Tastes great, feels not so great.
When embarking upon the 80/10/10 journey my husband Chad and I discussed whether we could actually live and eat the 80/10/10 way for the rest of our lives. We believe the good and smart reasons for doing so and we had already felt the benefits from doing so, however, it saddened us to think that we wouldn't eat out again or be able to socialize over food with friends and family. So we decided that we'd eat 80/10/10 during the week and then starting Friday night through Saturday night we'd go back to our old way of eating which meant foods like homemade Caesar salad, restaurant salads, sushi, eggs and other relatively healthful, whole foods. Nothing radical, for sure.
The foods that have been hardest for me to forgo during the week are seaweed paper (I'm currently hooked...SeaSnax or Annie Chun's) and hard boiled eggs. For me, eggs are my go-to comfort food. They fill me up, I especially like them warm (just boiled) with sea salt and I have fond memories of coddled eggs, scrambled eggs, omelets and egg salad sandwiches growing up. They are totally not vegan and they are completely off the 80/10/10 radar.
So, has 80/10/10 been easy? Pretty much. Have we been doing it 100% perfectly. Nope. And that's ok with me. It's a self-correcting method and requires patience during transition.
(Here's an amazing Before & After of a woman who started following 80/10/10 in March 2009.)
I love the way I feel after eating copious amounts of fruit. I feel like I'm fasting, but yet I'm never hungry. My skin and eyes glow, my mind is clear, my energy is off the charts and my whole body is at peace. If I take in the occasional egg, seaweed or my friend's awesome veg nutritious and delicious gourmet soup, I'm ok with that. These foods digest easily and don't make me feel all that much different than when I eat just fruit.
If I were to come down with a cold, illness or injury, I would NO DOUBT do 80/10/10 completely 100% until the issue cleared. Doing mostly 80/10/10 on a regular basis would make that so easy to accomplish.
So how would I describe how we are currently eating? We're 80/10/10 low-fat raw-vegan high-fruit 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time we are eating a very limited/restricted Pescetarian (including raw parmesan cheese, organic ghee, anchovies, sashimi, clams, farm eggs...no other dairy or meat) diet. It won't surprise me if over time the weekend foods slowly fade away naturally as one can eat foods that lead to discord only so many times before one isn't motivated to continue eating those foods.
Chad and I are inspired to avoid the ravages of illness, especially cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Recently watching the movie Forks Over Knives profoundly emphasized how diet is directly correlated to these ailments. We love youthful living and aging gracefully and believe the 80/10/10 approach will help provide this.
GRAINS: I never thought that I had a grain or gluten issue but now that I've stopped eating these foods regularly (brown rice, whole grain waffles, cereal, etc.) I have noticed that my lower belly "pooch" aka Wheat Belly has dissipated. I've heard it said that we really all have a gluten (and lactose) issue, we just don't know it because we rarely give the body a break from eating grains and dairy. I believe it's the grains that send my body, especially head, into a fury of discomfort. *
SUSHI: I ate sushi (actually sashimi w/o the rice) for the first time in years about two weeks ago. Oddly enough I am more open to eating raw fish than common restaurant cooked vegetarian food. Unless you go to a restaurant which specializes in and/or understands vegetarian or vegan food, it's just not worth the hassle in most cases. (And can I tell you how tired I am of paying full price for salads that have had their meat & cheese removed? If I don't want the chicken or bacon, I certainly don't want to pay for it. Add chicken? Charged extra. Remove chicken? No price cut.)
EGGS: We eat only local farm-fresh eggs. There is concern in the vegan world for B12 deficiency and some vegans supplement with B12 pills. I'd rather supplement with an egg. Between eggs and avocados, I'm certain I'm getting more than 10% of my calories from fat, however overall it's less than I was eating. My blood cholesterol went from 113 to 134 recently (too much EVOO!) and since going mostly 80/10/10 it's come back down to 119.
WATER: It's been Chad's amazement how his desire for a glass of water has faded. I anticipated this change because Dr. Graham's book mentioned it. Water filtered through fruit is more perfect than any water bottled, distilled or mechanically filtered. Eating high water content fruit, the need to add water to the diet becomes unnecessary. Also our overall salt intake has reduced whereby requiring less supplemental water. We've noticed during our weekend food mode (cooked meals!) and increased salt intake (anchovies! parmesan!) that we are more dehydrated and desire additional water.
Eating the 80/10/10 way is an ideal and a goal. Being unable or unwilling to follow this method 100% does not lessen the worth in starting a dietary shift. It is still to one's advantage to embark on the journey towards this ideal because the body will recalibrate along the way, sending messages that lead one toward higher and cleaner nutrition. Eat more fruit, reduce protein and fat and listen to your body. Watch it change, heed its signals and delight in the results.
Be well, Carla.
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* "Many research studies link diets high in complex carbohydrates to negative health conditions. The gluten-containing grains (primarily wheat, but also rye, barley, and oats) contain at least fifteen opioid sequences, which are strongly addictive, morphine-like substances that have potent psychoactive properties and produce serious neurological disorders, constipation, urinary retention, nausea, vomiting, cough suppression, and other symptoms." Dr. Douglas Graham
