You’re here! It’s a good thing too cause I’m pumped!
Yeah, I’ve been waiting for you–I’m ready to hit you up with everything you ever wanted to know about becoming nutritarian!
“It’s not enough to eat a plant-based diet, we need to eat a healthy, plant-based diet.”
– Dr. Michael Greger
Are you ready to get a handle on this whole eating-for-health thing? Good.
Let’s do this!
In a nutshell, the nutritarian lifestyle is a whole food, plant-based approach where you seek out the highest-nutrient foods possible.
You don’t count calories or macros (carbs, protein and fat). You strive to eat more of the good-for-you stuff and less of the bad-for-you stuff.
Your ultimate goal is 1 pound raw and 1 pound cooked veggies daily with an emphasis on dark leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and raw seeds.
It’s no surprise then that this lifestyle is used to achieve health excellence and reach your ideal weight.
There are a spectrum of plans under the nutritarian umbrella, and we’ll get into that a little later. Just know that some nutritarians, like my parents, have 2 or 3 servings of animal products (like eggs and fish) weekly, while others, like me, are completely vegan and plant-based.
For a more detailed explanation read my post What is a nutritarian? here–then pop on back so we can get you up and running!
Now let’s go through 5 easy steps that I like to think of as your nutritarian quick start. This is a tour through the site that will leave you better informed, thoroughly organized (with some awesome free printables) and ready to take action!
If we’re going to work together to get you where you want to be, you have to understand how you got here.
What made you consider starting the 6-week plan? What are you looking to gain from becoming nutritarian ?
It usually boils down to these two goals: (1) lose weight, and (2) correct or prevent health problems.
To succeed at either of these goals you have to understand how your current habits are negatively impacting your health and learn how eating to live can set your body up to repair itself naturally.
And that’s exactly what Dr. Fuhrman’s books will do!
So, stop right here. That’s right, don’t you dare scroll down another inch! Get yourself to the nearest bookstore, hop on Amazon, or head to the library and get to reading—bookmark this page and I’ll meet you back here when you’re done!
I always recommend starting with Eat to Live, but if you have a specific health condition, one of Dr. Fuhrman’s newer books will speak to you more personally (e.g. The End of Heart Disease and The End of Diabetes). You can find links to my personal library here.
Already read a book or two? Great! Let’s get on with your quick start!
Let’s face it, if you read one of Dr. Fuhrman’s books you’re probably left with an internal dialogue going something this: “The SAD (Standard American Diet) is pretty much the devil, it made me this way! Okay, it’s all about the phytonutrients now! So, I can’t eat carbs anymore? Or, wait, was it gluten? Or, no, carbs are allowed… right?!”
It’s okay, you’ve just been bombarded with lots of new information, lots of studies, lots of science and some rather annoying-sounding words. All you know for sure is you’re convinced that this lifestyle works and you’re ready to try it out!
I’ve got you covered!
Read the following posts to get your ducks in a row:
After reading the posts, decide which of Dr. Fuhrman’s plans fits your needs and make sure to download the corresponding checklist for the plan you choose (they are found in each post)!
Nothing will help you more than taking the time to get organized!
You know how they say a clean desk increases your productivity? Well, an organized kitchen helps you become a nutritarian bad-ass!
It starts in the fridge.
Being nutritarian is all about eating more phytonutrients from fresh veggies and fruit, so your fridge is going to be looking a lot like the produce aisle at your local grocery store—and that’s a very good thing!
Now’s the time to purge all the junk, give that fridge a good scrub-down and make your healthy eating a priority! Head to The Eat to Live Fridge post to learn exactly how it all works and grab some printable fridge flair.
Next up is the pantry.
Just the simple act of carving out a bit of space in your kitchen that’s just for your nutritarian food helps solidify your commitment to the next 6-weeks—especially if you’re sharing your kitchen with non-nutritarians.
Make sure to read The Eat to Live Pantry and download the printable pantry shopping list too!
Remember, you don’t have to organize the whole kitchen overnight! Becoming organized and creating a method that works for your life develops organically over time.
Nothing needs to be “perfect” for you to begin to eat this way. The organization aspect is helpful but it’s definitely not what being nutritarian is all about.
What you want to be focusing on right now is taking action…
Okay, this is more of an understanding than a step, but still: you have to come to grips with this being way different than the lifestyle you’re used to.
So much of being successful at Dr. Fuhrman’s 6-week aggressive weight-loss plan is about having the right mindset going in.
The level of change is scary–I’m not going to sugarcoat anything here. When you read those guidelines were you like: “What in the world am I going to eat?!”
I totally sympathize with the nutritarian culture shock—but coming from someone comfortably on the other side, you can do this (and it’s not going to be as bad as you think, I promise)!
All you need right now is an open mind and the dedication to not give up on your health.
No matter which plan you choose, it’s nice to approach this as a 6-week reset. Think of these next 6 weeks as a reprogramming of your habits.
By practicing new health-promoting habits for the next month-and-a-half you are going to convince yourself that you can lose weight, correct your health issues and feel freaking amazing by going plant-based, un-processed, no-oil, and no-added-salt.
It’s that feeling you get towards the end of this plan that will keep you wanting more. After my 6 weeks I realized: This is how I need to live! Free from my food-fixation, binge eating, recreational eating, and the vicious cycle of absolutely hating myself for engaging in all of the above.
I felt what it was like to be free from troubled-eating, and you will too!
This is where I really try to make it easy for you! Who doesn’t like having everything they need at their fingertips?
You’ve finished your nutritarian quick start—you are officially ready to do this thing!
Remember, the next 6 weeks are about making new, healthful habits:
You have all the tools you need right here to have amazing success on the 6-week plan!
I plan to be here for you! If you’re serious about adopting a nutritarian lifestyle then you most certainly are my people!
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