On the Record, With Mom Shap

I currently weigh 129 pounds. Yes, this is after both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which were basically feeding frenzies. I am very happy with my triumph over the scale, but it comes as a result of some fairly simple changes which are scientifically sound and readily available to the general public.

The "stuff" I am "on" is called "FOOD". You are on "food" too. We may buy our "food" from different places, but we both are consuming food. Human beings need nutrients to stay alive. We need specialized nutrients to perform the miraculous daily activities which go on inside the human body. We have so much going on inside that we are totally unaware of, and yet if one of those systems malfunctions, we most certainly do become aware... sometimes too late. We are able to obtain the necessary nutrition from foods God has, in His wisdom, placed on the earth. We were told what was "good for food" way back in the time of the garden of Eden.

The "stuff" I am "on" is the result of amazing technological advancements in the science of nutrition. Cellular structure and development was studied, and the effects of food were documented. The result of years of study and testing is this "stuff" I'm on.

I am not using "drugs" or taking products with added "chemicals". I am not "on a diet". What I'm eating does not require a physician's prescription. If I had a major health issue, such as diabetes, it would in my best interest to have my progress monitored by my doctor, so that the drugs I had been prescribed could be stopped when I had become healthy again. The same would apply to other diseases or maladies common to ill-nourished people.

I'd rather go to a doctor who advises me to change my lifestyle, rather than saying "Hmm, by this time next year we'll probably be putting you on high blood pressure medication, given your history and the trend we are seeing." Well, doc, how about this??? How about I adopt a low-fat, high-fiber, nutrient-rich diet and start E-X-E-R-C-I-S-I-N-G, and then you re-test me in six months. HOW ABOUT THAT approach? Your very own doctor may be aware of some of the eating habits common to Americans which encourage cancer cells to grow, and he may not share this information with you.

I decided to start eating food products which were the result of a cutting-edge technology that allows scientists to obtain nutrients from the finest and cleanest food sources, and place them into easy-to-consume forms. I take daily vitamins, for instance, which contain the phyto-nutrients equivalent to six servings of vegetables. The fruit powder I dump into my breakfast shake equals eating about 20 clean and vitamin-rich fruits. The meal replacement shake which I enjoy every single morning, and sometimes in the evening, gives me 35 grams (the way I mix it) of the highest quality protein available, plus digestive enzymes, and a mineral blend which gently separates toxins from fat in my body, allowing me to live cleaner and healthier inside. It's technology. And that's okay. I'm fairly certain that those who have expressed fear or aversion where this technology is concerned, will find it easy to hop into their car (a definite technological miracle, making the horse-drawn carriage obsolete) and drive to the closest QFC or Safeway (which replaced the family farm) to buy packaged and processed foods to consume. They, too, are "on a diet". They choose what to eat each day, as do I.

I recently read that we start losing one half pound of muscle per year starting at about age 30. That means that we are placing an increased burden on our weakening bodies as we add pounds of fat each year. This can not only be halted, but reversed. This will HAVE to be reversed if we are to live into our 70s and 80s without physical assistance. If it really was as simple as changing your eating habits and adding weight bearing and cardiovascular exercise to your life, why wouldn't you want to do that?