Welcome Seed readers! Thank you for visiting the
N.E.W. LIFE Seed, the blog for the
N.E.W. LIFE program and website.
N.E.W. LIFE (Nutrition, Exercise, Wellness for LIFE) is a nutrition education/behavior modification program developed and taught by Diane Preves, MS, RDN, Christian Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. The Seed blog will share information from the N.E.W. LIFE program with readers, and so much more.
I decided
The Seed would be a fitting name for the
N.E.W. LIFE blog for several reasons:
1. Though seeds are small and largely unnoticed, I hope that the seeds of thought shared here will land on good soil and bear good fruit with much increase.
2. It is time to redeem the much-maligned carbohydrates! In the onslaught of the popular carbo-phobic diets of the last decade we would be wise to remember the nutritional powerhouse of the seed, and the grains that grow from them.
3. Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." John 12:24-26 (NIV). My hope is that the sacrifices I have made for the past 28 years will yield a harvest of good results.
The health of America as a nation is not good, and since my original post in 2009 it has only gotten
worse. Americans are suffering an epidemic of lifestyle diseases, largely a result of eating an unhealthy diet in a "land of plenty".
It's been 9 years since I wrote in the original Seed post in 2009 that 24 million Americans had diabetes, another 57 million had "pre-diabetes", and 70 million Americans suffered from cardiovascular disease. In the 9 years since then those numbers have increased . . . dramatically. The most recent statistics report that thirty million Americans have diabetes and an estimated 84 million Americans have "pre-diabetes", an increase of 33 million people for that one lifestyle disease alone! The American Heart Association reports that the number of individuals suffering from cardiovascular disease is over 92 million in 2018, an increase of 22 million people for cardiovascular disease. Given that the U.S. Census Bureau says that the U.S. population only increased by approximately 19 million people in that same time (from 308,745,538 in 2010 to 328,094,843 at the time of this writing in 2018), we are clearly going in the wrong direction. Similarly, obesity rates have doubled among adults and more than tripled among children since the 1980s and this trend also continues to go in the wrong direction in the past 9 years. Presently, 70.7 percent of adults aged 20 and over are overweight or obese (only available statistics from 2013-2014, so who knows what it is now 4 years later). That number was 67% in 2009, so we have increased from 2/3 to nearly 3/4 of Americans who are overweight or obese. Nearly 3/4 of Americans! And this despite massive public health message campaigns, research, and the plethora of diets offered the public as a "solution". Obviously, the solutions being offered have not worked.
To continue, a
pproximately 15 years ago Type II diabetes,
previously known as “adult onset diabetes” due to onset of the disease in
adulthood largely as a result of poor lifestyle choices, made a surprise
appearance in children which is now common.
Hypoglycemia, a related disorder, plagues the lives of countless
millions more adults and is a root physiological contributor for many who struggle
with compulsive overeating. The American
Heart Association reports that 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. die from
cardiovascular disease and 34% of US adults have hypertension (85.7
million people). About 1/3 of
cardiovascular disease deaths occur before
age 75. To complicate things further, co-morbidities
are no longer unusual. We are clearly in trouble, and
going in the wrong direction.
You might reasonably say, "but we are so health conscious", right? After all, just look at all the wonderfully boxed healthy products in any grocery store across America. And everywhere we turn the public health messages educate us. And diets? There's a plethora of them--enough to make our collective heads spin. So where's the disconnect?
As a dietitian working with people to prevent lifestyle diseases since 1987 I have noticed another type of "heart disease", one not accounted for in the statistics cited above, and I think it is growing. There are two large groups of people who
participate in the N.E.W. LIFE
program (and I believe represent our culture at large). About 50% of the people simply
do not know what a balanced diet is, no less an optimal one, because there is so much misinformation about nutrition, and because the Standard American Diet is so far from optimal. Teach them,
they have hardly any barriers to change (which totally amazes me), contact them
years later and they often have maintained many or all of the changes made.
However,
the other 50ish% of each class comes with an additional component underlying their
food behaviors—a very out-of-balance, or outright addictive, emotional
component to eating. Now don’t
misunderstand—an emotional component
to eating is right and good. Nutriture
and nurture are two God-given roles of food (watch a baby at the breast). Nurture is not the problem—overnurture
is. And overnurture usually results from
undernurture,
as with a “good food/bad food” diet mentality and restrictive diets that lead
to what I call the “deprivation-rebound overeating” cycle. The most perfect eating plan on earth is not
going to help that 2nd (very large) group of people, because their
“problem” is not first and foremost about food, but rather coping with
underlying unresolved issues without the
aid of food. In fact, often it will
make them feel worse for having “failed” yet another widely-promoted diet or balanced eating plan. So while the first group of people often say, “I don’t have a relationship with food”,
I have never in all my years of teaching ever heard one person complain that I
spent about 45% of my time, energy, money, handouts and overheads in the
10-week N.E.W. LIFE program on “relationship with
food” issues, because everyone realizes that we would do a huge disservice to a
huge amount of people if we do not help individuals who need to deal with this
issue.
To make the case even further, many
professionals in the field of eating disorders say that one can get better from an eating disorder, but will
have to live with the struggle to some degree for the rest of their life. But I can
testify to the fact that I am completely free from a 5-tier, 15 year addiction to food (bingeing 5x/night), diets (perpetual), exercise (3 hours/day), body image and the scale (3x/day). I can sleep in the
same house as Haagen-Dazs ice cream through the night (whereas before I had to
keep it out of the house, but would often go out and get it in the middle of the night).
Now I forget to eat in
situations that have been far more painful than the ones that had me bingeing
for 15 years straight. I remember when I
was facilitating a Christ-centered support/recovery group and I shared a
painful situation I was going through, one of the women asked me, “Did you eat?” and I was the most amazed
person on earth that I actually forgot to eat!
When God heals He really heals. Freedom from food/body image obsession is available to everyone. All agree
that the problem involves physical and emotional factors. However, the spiritual component is just as
important as the first two (if not more) and, if left out, the professionals
are right--many will only get better, not
necessarily free. True freedom results
in being able to grieve the pain of life rather than turning to the “aid” of
food to “cope”. Often that healing
requires forgiveness which, without God, is virtually impossible for many people
who have experienced so much horrendous offense.
There are a multitude of reasons for our national and individual health problems, so I will cover a multitude of topics, hopefully coherently enough to come together, piece by piece to build a solid and healthy foundation for those who choose to build on the truths that I share that lead to health and freedom. Not all at once, mind you--that would court disaster. But truth by truth, practical tip by practical tip, building up from a strong foundation to a more certain health outcome.
But don't we already have enough truth and practical tips available to us?
Maybe, maybe not. And that's also where motivation built on a solid foundation is critical to real behavior change--change for lifelong health. Along the way maybe I'll even have some small part in convincing a healthcare system that prides itself (and has excelled) in acute care (once the problem, which often has been brewing for years, becomes an emergency) that it's way past time to change things and make preventive care at the most basic level (nutrition and activity) the foundation of our healthcare system before it collapses (God forbid) under the enormous financial strain we have put on it. But even if our healthcare system chooses to be illogical and not make preventive nutrition education/behavior modification a priority (not an afterthought), we still have responsibility as individuals to do so ourselves.
While I can hope to speak to a nation clearly in trouble, my goal is to speak to individuals. My goal is to use this perch to speak the truth clearly and helpfully, to motivate and encourage, to effect change and support good health and wellness for the years ahead. God knows they might not get easier.
I mentioned that I am a Christian. While I have an extensive resume in working with the culture at large, I have a special burden for the church. My compassion and desire to help extends to all individuals, no matter their beliefs, and the N.E.W. LIFE programs have been carefully developed for a diverse audience. I welcome any individual who desires freedom from
bondages to food, body image and the diet mentality.
My plan is to speak out to the blogosphere, and hopefully the messages will make their way beyond that in our technologically-connected world. I hope that my posts support your efforts to maintain or improve your health and the health of your family. My goal is to prompt you to think about, evaluate, change, and/or maintain your eating and lifestyle so that you do not drift into the statistical dis-ease of our nation in the days and years to come.
So just one assignment today. Just think. Not too hard, right? Sometimes the most critical steps we take in our life are easy. I hope to help you know from experience that we can effect major improvements in our health even with small changes. You can do this!!!
So think on the statistics above about a nation going in the wrong direction and evaluate which direction you are going. Are you headed in the right direction today? If you are "fine" today, are you getting away with behaviors and habits for now that will result in you being one of the statistics above in the years to come? Will you "worry about it then"? Don't worry--this dietitian does not want to eliminate the pleasure of food--and even feasting--from your life. Or guilt-trip you into achieving your maximum aerobic capacity on a treadmill, unless of course you like that sort of thing (to each his own!). Au contrair. I want to encourage you to find the pleasure in getting outside for a long overdue walk and restore the blessing of food, perhaps even introduce you to new foods and tastes along the way. I want to help you to develop healthy habits that complement your life, not hijack it.
Certainly the sedentary lifestyle of many Americans (and our obsession with "screen time" technology for both children and adults) is a, if not the, major contributor of lifestyle disease. Other factors include the abundance of food and, probably more importantly, the type of low-nutrient, high-calorie convenience food that makes up a large part of our food environment and diets of many busy (or overly busy) Americans. Then there is the effect that a culture that is losing its moorings has on a large proportion of its people who are depressed, many who develop an unhealthy relationship with food and emotional eating issues that pack on the pounds. And it is my premise that the unhealthy obsession with body image and diets ironically fuels rebound overeating and weight-gain in a large percentage of the population. And while feasting can be right and good, many Americans feast too much (have you noticed that within every 10 weeks there is at least one major holiday that centers around food, and that's before adding in the family birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and weekends?).
With so many factors vying to deter our goal of a healthy lifestyle, I am very aware that individuals who read this blog are in many different places with different strengths, weaknesses, and obstacles in their own lives. But the principles of a healthy--even optimally healthy--life are simple. I hope to provide clear and helpful nutrition information, encouragement and practical tools for people who want to "change direction", whether that be a little nudge (that yields big benefits) or a great big turnaround. In either case I aim to help people build from a firm foundation to support healthy years going forward. My passion comes from the fact that after gaining 60 pounds (despite daily strict dieting) in 2 years after retiring from elite competitive gymnastics and developing a 15-year 5-tier addiction/obsession with food, diets, body image, exercise and the scale fueled by diets I walked through a process to complete freedom around food and body image obsession. I went from dieting every day, bingeing 5x/night (no Sundays off), and exercising 3 hours every day (no Sundays off)--and I still gained 60 pounds in 2 years, which tells you how much I was eating!--for 15 years straight, to freedom around food--so much so that I forget to eat when I go through emotional tough times in life now. BTW, that's how I define freedom around food--when we can grieve the real pain of life without turning to food to "cope" (momentarily). Food is a blessing though to many it seems like a curse, and my desire is to restore the blessing of food to its rightful place in the lives of people who are struggling. So if you are one of the people who needs a complete turnaround, but you think you are too far down the road to get back to a healthy life, I'm here to tell you that it's not only possible, I'm here to help.
So the first step to any real change--examine your thinking. If there is any faulty thinking you have to begin to think about things rightly. A really common pitfall for those interested in weight-loss is to focus on weight. And what often spawns from this is a diet mentality. So for readers of this blog who are interested in weight-loss, since a "diet mentality" is common and since there is a 95% failure rate for dieters, your first best step is to recognize--and change--any diet mentality and determine to take the focus off of weight and put it on behavior instead. The weight will come off much more easily and stay off when your thinking is right. I fully understand that changing thinking may not be as easy as it sounds. You may be comfortable with it, you may "trust" it and letting go of the "solution" of dieting may even feel scary. Changing thinking may take time--give yourself the time, and the grace, to do so. Begin and continue to fill your mind with the truth. I will do my best to help you by sharing what has worked for me--and many others--in the Seed.
Thank you for visiting the Seed. May God bless you on your journey to wellness!
Diane
Blog posts in the weeks and months ahead will explain the disconnect and assist the reader with effective behavior change. Firstly,
N.E.W. LIFE is NOT a diet. In fact, the
N.E.W. LIFE philosophy is not just a "non-diet approach", but the very
opposite of a diet.
When people evaluate what is missing in their diet and even just begin to put in missing fruits, vegees, beans, nuts, seeds, and fish, the "fluff" foods get crowded out and people are surprised at how quickly their desires change without any all-or-nothing dietary changes. The most effective change is realized by sticking in foods, even one at a time, not eliminating foods people have been eating for years and then expecting them to eat more vegetables! Adding missing healthy foods to the diet provides for a more stable blood sugar, which defends against bingeing and craving, and the body simultaneously gets the fuel (calories) and nourishment (protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals) it needs to be healthier. Furthermore, behavior change and healing from underlying emotional pain is often hard work. It is futile to try to do the hard work of behavior change and emotional healing if we are not starting from a basis of health and strength. It is like knocking our head against the proverbial brick wall to try to change eating behaviors, not to mention exercise, when we are not giving our body what it needs to be healthy, and when blood sugar is low and our body is screaming for sugar. By focusing on what to stick in instead of what to cut out, our bodies, tastes, and desires change. This is the opposite of eliminating desirable foods and then expecting yourself to eat more vegetables (a plan which most people find ineffective at best).
Secondly, what has always been an optimal diet, still is, and always will be an optimal diet--it is not going to change. It is our understanding of nutrition that is doing the changing, and the broader we set our sights beyond the original 4 walls of our nutrition research labs to understand what healthy cultures around the world eat, the closer we get to understanding what an optimal diet is. Since we have begun to do that we now understand that healthy cultures throughout the world eat a strikingly similar diet (in a variety of ways) based on 90% plant:10% animal food. Not only are diets of healthy cultures predominantly plant food diets, they are high, not low, in plant fats. The traditional Greeks, who ate a 40% fat diet based predominantly on olive oil, were arguably the healthiest people on the planet in the 1960's when the traditional Mediterranean Diet began to be studied. Is it any wonder then that the Mediterranean Diet has become the prototype for the changing American dietary recommendations?
