A Year of Eating Healthfully by Megan, Marketing Team Leader
Last year my Store Team Leader walked into my office and told me that I was the new Health Starts Here point person. Health Starts Here is a program at Whole Foods Market to get people to take charge of their health by changing their eating habits; making ones diet more Plant Strong, Nutrient Dense, using natural fats from nuts, seeds and avocados and using whole foods instead of processed. At first the reaction was total fear. I was not happy with my weight or how I felt about myself so, how could I get customers and team members to listen to me when I wasn’t where I wanted to be? I knew that I didn’t know enough about why I felt unhealthy and why I couldn’t lose weight. I exercised, I only bought all-natural food from our store and I still kept on all the weight and kept gaining. I knew that in order to speak about this program I had to dive in. (My husband was supportive but skeptical about the changes we were about to make but, mostly supportive).
I started last January on the 1st. I decided to eat only recipes from the Health Starts Here program. I was nervous that I would not like the taste of the food and could not imagine having to cut out olive oil, and limit cheeses and meat let alone go vegan. Just rabbit food? It was a scary concept and it took some trial and error to find recipes that we liked, I will admit. The changes didn’t come easy at first.
At the time there was a little dairy allowed in our Health Starts Here program which worked for me because I was a cheese-a-holic. I could eat cheese 3 meals a day and have it for snacks. It was bad and I even referred to myself as ‘addicted’ to cheese. Through the process of researching our program I read the book, Breaking the Food Seduction by Dr. Neal Barnard. Yeah, one can really be addicted to cheese. This realization made me cut way back on the dairy. (Our Health Starts Here program no longer allows dairy). I no longer have milk in the house and the only cheese I buy is Parmigiano Reggiano. I don’t use that much of it and I can’t eat pasta without it and I refuse to give up pasta. We use coconut creamer in our coffee and my preferred nondairy milk is almond.
I think the hardest part of the switch had to be changing my cravings. Before then I would get off work and think about what I was hungry for. It usually consisted of something starchy and cheesy and easy. Broccoli and salad were the only produce items regularly on the menu. I knew that I could no longer rely on my cravings to dictate my meals; I had to start menu planning. Menu planning takes time and I usually get it done in an hour. I sit down with a chart of the week and a stack of my favorite cookbooks and plan what I am going to make for breakfast, lunch and dinner. At the same time I am writing my grocery list. I shop twice a week to make sure that everything in my house is fresh and it also allows for some flexibility in case we get invited out to dinner. The time it takes is worth it. I know what is in my food, I use everything I buy, and we save a ton of money packing our lunches which usually consist of leftovers from the night before. I mean we save A LOT, maybe even $250 a month on lunches. (When you first change your diet you may find that you need to buy some expensive things that you didn’t have in your house like tahini but don’t worry, it will last you a long time and you should see your costs go down as you build your healthier pantry).
Once my cravings were under control I could keep in perspective why I had made the change in my diet which helped me to stick with it. I wanted to feel better, lose weight and gain health. It’s been a year now since I have changed my eating habits and in that time I have lost 22lbs. and have gotten my BMI into normal range just by changing my diet. Now our menu remains vegetarian or vegan with an occasional fish or chicken dish at home once a week. Luckily, I know my way around the kitchen and have learned which recipes we really like which means we are eating really tasty healthy food and don’t miss a thing that we’ve cut out. Meals out I stick with either a vegetarian, chicken or fish option and I am not opposed to fried things, they are a treat. Along with my cheese craving went my craving for red meat and pork and other fatty tastes, except for fries, mmm, fries. Sometimes I just gotta do it.
The holidays were an interesting time for eating healthfully and I definitely let my standards slip so I am excited to get back into healthy eating by taking the Engine 2 28-day challenge (I don’t want old cravings sneaking back). I am starting it as a full-on Firefighter, meaning a completely vegan, low-oil diet the whole time. These days I am not fearful of speaking about healthy eating because I am so proud of what I have accomplished. I don’t see these changes as a diet, it’s really a lifestyle change and I just want to keep going.
Here are some books that I found helpful:
Breaking the Food Seduction by Dr. Neal Barnard
The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn
Appetite for Reduction (amazing low fat vegan food) by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Movies that I found encouraging:
Forks Over Knives
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
Foodmatters
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Very inspiring