Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (Documentary Review) Plus...My Thoughts on Weight

  So this week (while I was feeling sick and therefore sitting more than usual), I watched a documentary entitled "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead".

  The basic premise is that a very overweight guy (with an autoimmune disorder, no less) named Joe (from Australia) came over to the United States for 60 days.  He connected with a physician named Fuhrman, and went on a juice fast for 60 days. So, juice, for 60 days.  Nothing else.  The juice was made by mixing a whole bunch of raw veggies (kale was a big component) and fruits in a blender, and slurping it down. That was it, for 60 days.

Not surprisingly, he lost a lot of weight.  A LOT.  Just under 100 lbs.  He felt a ton better.  His nasty, uncomfortable autoimmune disorder, which is a skin ailment, largely subsided.  He did stay in contact with doctors and had blood tests as he was on a host of prescription meds so needed to be evaluated frequently as he decreased his medication usage.

 The documentary takes "the man on the street" approach as Joe chatted with people in New York City for the first 30 days of the fast, followed by people across the country for the second 30 days.  There was much discussion of weight, health, emotional issues involved with eating, etc.

  I enjoyed the documentary.  It was informative, funny at times, sad in others.

  One particularly enjoyable aspect of the documentary was that the second half focused largely on a truck driver that Joe met on his travels. This guy had the same rare autoimmune disorder and he was over 400 lbs.  He was not wealthy, whereas Joe is a millionaire.  After a call for help, Joe rushed to get this truck driver friend started on the juice fast.  It was a big success, and it was a delight to see a much slimmer, much happier truck driver interacting well with his kids at the end of the documentary.

 Kevin and I had a brief discussion of the film.  I have read Dr. Fuhrman's book "Eat to Live" and... hated it.  I chuckle a bit at that, because Fuhrman uses GOOD data to show that the best diet is one that is composed of raw veggies and that rarely includes meat.  ARRHGHGGHH!  UGGGHHHH!  I renamed his book (in my mind) the "I Hate Meat" book and refused to think about it much more.

  I eat a lot of meat and eggs.  Actually, my diet is based on the suggestions of Dr. Bernstein's "Diabetes Solution"; he advocates a high protein diet for diabetics (and I am diabetic) because protein releases glucose into the bloodstream slowly, and blood sugar swings are a major problem for diabetics.

   So who is right, Fuhrman or Bernstein?  Maybe...both?  My hope is that variations in diet are fine so long as we are wise.  Truth is, humans live all over the place.  Some people, like the Inuit of Alaska, have traditionally had very high protein diets and apparently thrived on them.

  That is the hard thing about dietary advice...so much advice, so many different studies, it is overwhelming!

  As Kevin says, the juice fast thing is something to 'wrap your arms around'.  I liked that description. Both Joe and the truck driver in the documentary were in bad shape. They were heavy and miserable from their autoimmune disease.  They  needed to do something drastic. They did, and it worked out well.

  Other people need to take a moderate approach. Both Joe and the truck driver were able to "drop out of society" for a couple of months!  Most of us have daily responsibilities that won't allow us to just go AWOL.

  Still, I did appreciate the documentary as it was thought provoking.  We live in a culture where obesity is an epidemic. And the obesity epidemic is spreading...Mexico, which is a much poorer country than the USA, has more obese than the US.  That's largely because Mexicans now have fewer physical jobs (more city jobs, fewer country jobs) and empty calorie food is cheaper than healthier fare. 

  It helps me look at our own family and contemplate how best to raise our kids.  We are an interesting case because I'm not a health nut but somehow we're raising thin kids.  We've got 8 children and the eldest is 5 ft. 4 inches tall and 95 lbs.  Now that's skinny. Number 2 has a different body type and is 5 ft. 3 inches and is100 lbs.  Pretty skinny.  Number 3, our first son, is 10 and, get this, 68 lbs!  Skinny, skinny, skinny!

  But the point is that skinny isn't the issue!  We live in a culture that worships skinny!  By those lights I'm doing great as I've had 8 children and am only 132 lbs. I'm 5 ft. 8 inches.  I'm skinny!

 And why?  I would say...largely genetics.  My dad is tall and naturally thin, as is one of my brothers.  We run to lean in the gene code.  I also eat a very limited diet compared to most people because I AM diabetic...so no normal bread, limited potatoes, peas, carrots, and fruit, no pizzas, no doughnuts, no sugary pop.  I am actually 10 lbs lighter than I was when we got married, probably because I do have to eat so carefully. Still, as I said, I run to thin.  Other people would eat what I eat, and gain weight. I must have a fast metabolism.  And honestly, the diabetes is BAD.  I hope I won't have many side effects from it as I'm controlling my blood sugar, but diabetes is a nasty disease.  I am probably not as healthy as many of my age even though I'm thin.

  Kevin has a bigger body build and 4 of the kids seem to have inherited his build.  He's only 165 lbs, 5 ft. 9 inches tall.  He's lost 20 lbs in the last 6 months as he decided to start working out and eat less.  Result, a fairly rapid weight loss and a lot more strength.  The man blew me away a few days ago when he casually announced he had done 200 push ups.  (Um, I could do 1.  Maybe.)

  My point is this -- we focus culturally on how thin we are.  That...is stupid.  And unhealthy.  A person can be thin and very unhealthy.  A person can have a bigger build and yes, some extra weight, and yet be quite healthy.  The LOOKS don't matter nearly as much as the attitudes and the heart.

  So looking over our lives, I'd like to point out some general principles that I think are good.

1.  Don't use food as an emotional tool to feel better.  Lots of people do.  Lots of people eat when they are sad, angry, upset, etc.  That leads to depending on food instead of God. Obviously, that's bad.

2.  Don't go to restaurants a lot.  I think that helps. We don't.  We don't have enough money to take everyone out to eat often.  Of course, people CAN eat out all the time and not have weight/food issues.  But I think it is harder.

3. Focus on health.  Focus on being healthy as opposed to fitting a cultural expectation. 

4.  Try not to eat a bunch of processed foods.  We don't do beautifully at this but we're stepping in the right direction. This summer we're eating much from our garden.  We make most of our food from scratch (which is to say, I don't use Hamburger Helper and that kind of thing, at least not often!)

5.  Remember that we are loved regardless of our weight.  I have friends who are frustrated by their weight.  Yes, I think losing weight when one is too heavy is wise, for the sake of our health.  We are temples of the Holy Spirit. But regardless of how much we weigh, we are loved by God.  Let me put it another way...some people (and I'm one of these people) tend to focus on ONE THING as being a major problem and they are never happy until they "fix" that thing.  But we may never entirely fix a trouble spot.

6.  Realize that what works for one person, may not work for another.  This juice fast thing would drive me around the bend.  Furthermore, I am not sure it would work well for a diabetic.  Having everything blended makes me think it might break down quickly, which would mean soaring blood sugars.  I'm not trying it so we'll never know.  I have a number of friends trying a new way of eating entitled "Trim, Healthy Mama".  You know, it sounds good. But I don't feel led to embark on it.

7.  Pray for wisdom, and trust God to answer.  I keep learning new things about healthy eating. It IS important.  It isn't enough that our children be thin, we want them to be healthy. I'm not there yet, but hope and pray that the Lord will guide us gently towards wide food choices for the rest of our lives.