The Happy Avocado

Happy Avocados | Photo credit Anna Dovgan

When I was very young we would visit my grandparents regularly. My grandfather had what he called an orchard. There were citrus and avocado trees everywhere. He even had beehives and a special fruit picking pole. We would climb those trees and pick fresh produce on every visit.

With bags full of fat friendly avocados, lemons, oranges and persimmons my sister, brother and I would go door to door in the neighborhood. Selling our bounty to all the neighbors for a nickel or a dime per piece. We were little entrepreneurs!

Little did we know that the insanity of the sugar industry was descending upon us.

After traipsing through the streets we’d get back to GiGi and Gaga’s house and sit in the backyard sun. We’d slice open an avocado and squeeze a lemon right on it. Eating that avocado half right there next to the tree in the sunshine and salty air was as close to heaven as I think you can come.

The Blame Game

Somewhere along the line fat became the enemy. Call it political and/or ill informed science, but word on the street was fat was making us fat. The problem was that the information was flawed and incomplete..but the media caught wind of it and that falsehood took off like wildfire.

NY Times Article wrote an AMAZING article about the shifting of blame from sugar to fat….and you must read it for the full back story.

Stop the Insanity!

It was 1982 and in the beginning of the “eat less, move more” philosophy. It was the dawn of an age of jazzercise and leg warmers coupled with advice to “cut the fat”. Remember Susan Powter yelling like a drill sergeant “Stop The INSANITY” and believing her that “Fat makes you fat”? How’s that for fat shaming? Patients were confronted by their doctors and labeled as non-compliant. How dare they have NO WILL POWER?!?!?!?!

Susan Powter

Looking back on Susan’s message now I can deduce that cutting the fat from her diet and excessive exercise indeed did work for her. But that was never sustainable for me….and most people for that matter. Her enthusiasm and message were not that far off….it was the science and the press that drove that train. Susan has come full circle and actually is a force for change in health, but she was labeled as the diet queen of the time by the press.

Fat Free and Full of Sugar

Fat Free and filled with SUGAR

Then came an explosion of “Fat Free” foods. If fat was making us fat then it was up to the food industry to give the American public aisles and aisles full of prepackaged foods devoid of fat…and full of sugar and chemical. Couple that with a message to snack ALL.DAY.LONG and it’s no wonder we have become fatter than ever.

The food industry was on fire at this point. Taking out the fat and adding the cheap sugar to everything gave them the opportunity to manufacture food products that were inexpensive and massively bulky. Today grocery stores the size of football fields are filled with aisles and aisles of boxes of food like substances. You could feed a huge family on a tight budget because their plates were filled with sugar.

But then came an epidemic of ill health and massive amounts of pharmaceuticals. The American public was told to have cheap cereal and juice for breakfast and then were beholden to expensive medication to regulate their insulin levels, their mood and their thyroid and their blah blah blah. The cycle is real and it’s killing us both physically and financially.

A shift to REAL science and evidence in weight loss

Healthy Fats and Proteins

You have no idea the relief I stumbled upon after years of being told that I just couldn’t lose weight and keep it off. It WAS NOT all my fault.
People are drowning in the “Eat Less, Move More” thinking…and it’s just wrong! How novel an idea…eating real food from the dirt as a way to health….imagine that?!?!?!

Jason Fung, MD great article on why fat shaming is so WRONG! When I finally found my own way to a balanced diet, life and health all the shame melted away. You can read that article here about The Diet That Changed My Life.

Fat Adapted

Adding healthy fats like olive or avocado oil, butter, grass-fed meats and cheeses are an enhancer to your diet. Once we can turn our body into a fat burning machine, losing weight and staying fit/healthy/energetic AND clear-minded is effortless. Cut the sugar, add the fat…what a simple concept.

MariaMindBodyHealth

In my journey I also stumbled upon an amazing educator, chef, cookbook author and mom named Maria Emmerich. She has an amazing and generous website sharing all things keto. If you want all the deets on getting fat adapted she’s you gal. I just know that until I became fat adapted I struggled with my health and my weight.

I’m a super fan! Maria works with individuals and health professionals on a tireless journey to share all her knowledge and insight into way the keto way can be healing and the answer to all (or most) of your issues.

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MEDICAL AND NUTRITION DISCLAIMER…Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nutritional break downs are done using a commercial nutrition calculator. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctorbefore starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers, this should never be construed as medical advice.

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