Whole food diet update - two weeks in

Hello All. So it's the 15th of the month and I figured that was as good a time as any for an update.

It's been a lot easier than I was expecting! I eat the same breakfast everyday, my granola. A cup of that lasts me well until lunchtime. My lunches tend to be salad, only because it's really easy. It's a big salad with anything in my fridge. Dried fruit or chopped up apple, nuts and seeds and some cheese. I buy a variety of cheeses to change up the flavour as well. Not bored yet! I have a snack of nuts and fruit at some point as well. I eat all of this on my own so my family is not really affected at all.

Supper is when we eat as a family as much as possible. I am trying out new recipes but am aware that I have to introduce things slowly. I figure that Brendan can try out one new thing per week. So that leaves the rest of the week as meat, rice or potato, and veggies (which is what we ate most of the time before anyway!). Could be BBQ, could be stir fry, braised meat is a one-pot wonder...lots of variety.

My energy is amazing! I'm never hungry - in fact today I had to remember to eat lunch. And, I've lost 2 lbs. Not bad!!

The challenges are keeping good food on hand, and preparing as much as possible beforehand. If I'm making one salad, I might as well make three. I put 1/4 cup of nuts into snack ziplock's and keep them in the freezer so that they are easy to grab as I run out. And of course, dealing with the sad eyes of my husband when he says "man I could really go for pizza tonight!".
Anyway, I'd say that so far, so good.

I signed up for a Running Room program today. I used to run but since I got pregnant (two and a half years ago!) I've been unable to get back to it with any consisitency. Figured that I would start at the beginning again and do the Learn to run program on Monday nights. It will be so nice to get back into the groove again. Can't wait until August 2nd!

Yours in health,

Kerri Fullerton ND

Quick and healthy dinner

I got home later than usual last night and didn't have supper prepared. I did however, have a recipe on my computer for stuffed tomatoes that I found on http://www.vegetariantimes.com/.

This will become a staple for sure! It took about 5 minutes to put everything together, then I popped it in the oven for 30 minutes while my son had his bath and got ready for bed.

I lightly sauteed some zucchini and summer squash in some olive oil and salt to have as a side dish - presto! Healthy, filling, and most importantly, tasty.

for 4 stuffed tomatoes, you will need:

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed


• 1 cup corn kernels (frozen or fresh)


• 3 green onions, sliced


• 1/4 cup of shredded cheese (divided in two)


• 1/2 tsp cumin


• 1 tsp chili powder


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 4 large tomatoes

1. cut the tops off the tomatoes (about an inch worth) and spoon out the centre.


2. chop the centres of the tomatoes and put into a medium sized bowl.


3. add the beans, corn, onions, 1/2 the cheese, cumin, chili powder and salt


4. mix well


5. spoon the mixture into the hollow tomatoes and top with the remaining cheese.


6. place in lightly oiled shallow pan


7. bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Yours in health,

Kerri Fullerton ND

Why a whole food diet?

I decided to start practicing what I preach (where nutrition is concerned) last October. After having my son a year earlier, I decided that it was time to stop having so many excuses. I wanted more energy, I wanted to sleep better, I wanted clearer thoughts again, and I wanted to be a healthy size.


I started with some simple changes (note that I said simple, not easy). As a general rule, I eat only three meals per day. I've never been comfortable with the 'eat every three hours' thing. If you're eating fibre rich foods, it's not necessary and snacking is where people tend to eat the most packaged foods. This is where blood sugar imbalances occur. I am not willing to go hungry though, so I allow myself one snack per day if necessary and I try to make it a handful of nuts and some fruit.


The other change that I made was that I stopped eating anything that I couldn't stop at one. For me, that means all sweets and some crackers (I can eat a portion of Triscuits but could easily eat the box of wheat thins!). For a friend of mine, it's bacon and chips. It's an evolving list as I go along. I've added a few things back in and taken a few more things out.


Since the end of October I've lost 24lbs, 3 inches off my chest, 4 inches off my waist, 4 inches off my hips, and 3.5 inches off my thighs.


Not bad considering that I've never gone hungry or eaten a bar or drank a shake.


Now, in the past, this weight loss would have been unnacceptable - taking 8 months to lose 24 lbs would have been too slow. I would have given up and decided that it wasn't working. Thank goodness that I had a new attitude this time.

Last week I did my monthly weight and body measurements so that I would have an accurate starting point for the whole food diet that I am embarking on for the summer. I will share with you what kind of changes happen with my body, my sleep, my energy, and my mood.


The first week (last week) of my whole food diet was a little rough. With the long weekend at the cottage and friends over for the week before, I was not prepared at all! No groceries, no meal plan for the week. This is key folks - planning makes healthy eating possible. So, I ate granola (recipe in this month's newsletter!) for breakfast, salad for lunch, and meat, rice and veggies for supper. Not exciting, but it worked.

Friday night we headed to my in-laws for the weekend. I learned another lesson - don't expect your husband to tell anyone about your new diet adventures! We arrived to pizza. Oops. Now they know what I'm not eating. I did eat the pizza since it was already ordered, payed for, and sitting there. Had it not been, I would have made myself something else.

What I will do differently next time is this - I will pack more of my own foods. I did pack my granola for breakfast, fruit and some nuts for snacks. Next time I will bring some salads too.

Already in a week, I have more energy and my bowels are very happy. Can't wait to see what this week brings!

Off to do some meal planning for this week. I've pulled a few recipes off of vegetariantimes.com to try. Stuffed tomatoes for tonight!

Yours in health,
Kerri Fullerton, ND

CBC News - Consumer Life - Back pain machine in use after losing licence

CBC News - Consumer Life - Back pain machine in use after losing licence

There are so many products and people out there making these types of claims. I find it very upsetting as it taints the whole profession of Chiropractors. Sadly, it then reflects on all of us who practice complementary and alternative medicine.

Share this story with anyone that you know who may be using this type of machine (decompression machine - used to treat disk herniation). At least they can then make an informed decision about whether or not they would like to continue with the treatments.

There are many treatments, effective treatments, that don't have scientific evidence to support it's use. That doesn't mean that the treatments don't work, just that our current scientific model hasn't been able to prove it. However, claiming that there is evidence when there is not - well, that's just fraudulent.

Yours in Health,
Kerri Fullerton ND

Healthy and natural cooking

A very dear patient of mine wrote a wonderful cookbook. It is full of delightful, healthful and (most importantly) tasty recipes.

She is having a book signing this coming Saturday, June 26th, from 11 - 1 at Lotus Natural Living Boutique, 125 Dunlop St. E Barrie ON.

Please go and check it out. Buy a book and say hello to Cathy.

Yours in Health,
Kerri Fullerton

Organic Gardening

I just wanted to say thank-you to the powers that be for a wonderfully beautiful day instead of thunderstorms.





I was able to go outside and pick my first batch of strawberries from our patch. Aren't they beautiful?

Patrick had given up on strawberries - after a few flavourless batches from the store, who could blame him? Last weekend we were able to sample our first berry from our patch - he's hooked again.

I can't wait until he's up from his nap so that we can share these lovely berries. I doubt that any will be left over after snack time!

Growing your own food is so rewarding. Knowing that there isn't a trace of chemical makes it even better. Picking when it's perfectly ripe and enjoying it the same day is such a treat. There is no better berry anywhere. I love knowing that Patrick will be connected to his food from the start. He takes so much pleasure in helping out - pulling weeds, taking them to the compost pile, and of course, picking the food. I hope that we are cultivating more than just good berries! An appreciation of where food comes from and how it's grown is such a gift.

If you don't have the space in your yard, plant in pots. It is just as delicious and just as it is rewarding.

Happy planting - and eating!!

Yours in Health,
Kerri Fullerton ND

Whole Foods Diet - how realistic is it anyway?

Food engineering is a bit of a funny term. It does not refer to Farmers or to Chefs', but to scientists who try to find ways to make fake food taste good and make you think that you're getting the same nutrition as what real food has. They have been working hard, and been very successful.

When I started my practice over 6 years ago, I used to say 'eat more whole grains', and people knew what I meant. Now - that's not the case. When I say 'eat more whole grains', some people think that I mean buy Wonder Invisibles for their sandwich bread. I also used to be able to tell people to eat 35 grams of fibre each day and they could just read labels to know if the food had it. Now, there are all kinds of isolated fibres (like inulin) that do not have the same effects as intact fibres (like bran). But without a distinction on the label, people are lost.

So really, the safest and best diet to follow would be a whole food diet - one that does not include processed foods at all. But how realistic is it to eat only whole foods in today's world? With family obligations and work it does seem a little daunting.

Well, I'm going to give it a go. For the month's of July and August, I will eat only whole foods - fruits, veggies, legumes, meat, dairy, nuts and seeds, and whole grains. That means, no breads, pastas, crackers, cereals, baked goods - just whole food. I gave up sugar about eight months ago so at least I have that step down already.

I asked my husband if he would do it with me ... he laughed pretty hard. 'Not eat bread? Are you kidding?'. For the purposes of this experiment, his refusal actually works to my advantage. Most of my patients are faced with families that are not interested in changing their diets this much. So I will be able to tell you about what it's like to be the only one in the family eating a whole food diet. I will be able to share how I've been able to have family meals without cooking three meals!
I will blog about my experience and well as any body changes that may occur.

I will post here every Friday with a thorough update of how things are going, what recipes that I have discovered, and I will tweet more regularly about the day-to-day challenges and insights.

I hope that you will join me (or at least follow me) on this adventure and share your thoughts and questions as I go along.

Yours in Health,
Kerri Fullerton, ND