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Eat to Live

The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss

by Joel Fuhrman

|Little, Brown & Company©2003·292 pages

This book is REALLY REALLY good. In fact, I’m gonna say that if you take the time to read only *one* book on nutrition, read this one. Integrating scientific research plus his experience treating over 10,000 patients with common sense and fun, Dr. Joel Fuhrman has created a super-readable book with a challenging, yet approachable nutrition program that can completely change your life. Big Ideas we explore in the Note include the importance of really committing, what nutritional density is all about and other goodness.


Big Ideas

“This book will allow everyone who stays on the program to become slimmer, healthier, and younger looking. You will embark on an adventure that will transform your entire life. Not only will you lose weight, you will sleep better, feel better physically, have more energy, and feel better emotionally. And you will lower your chances of developing serious diseases in the future. You will learn why diets haven’t worked for you in the past and why so many popular weight-loss plans simply do not meet the scientific criteria for effectiveness and safety.

My promise is threefold: substantial, healthy weight reduction in a short period of time; prevention or reversal of many chronic and life-threatening medical conditions; and a new understanding of food and health that will continue to pay dividends for the rest of your life.”

~ Joel Fuhrman, M.D. from Eat to Live

This book is REALLY REALLY good.

In fact, I’m gonna say that if you take the time to read only *one* book on nutrition, read this one.

Integrating scientific research plus his experience treating over 10,000 patients with common sense and fun, Dr. Joel Fuhrman has created a super-readable book with a challenging, yet approachable nutrition program that can completely change your life.

I HIGHLY recommend you check it out and, more importantly, embrace the ideas Fuhrman shares as you revolutionize the health of you and your family.

This is one of those books where nearly every other page is all marked up and highlighted. I’m barely going to scratch the surface of all the goodness in this book but I’m excited to share a few of my favorite Big Ideas and I hope to inspire you to go get the book and rock it!

Let’s jump in!!

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You have a clear choice. You can live longer and healthier than ever before, or you can do what most modern populations do: eat to create disease and premature death. Since you are reading this book, you have opted to live longer and healthier. “Eat to Live” and you will have achieved the crucial first step.
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Do not try — Commit!!

“Do not say you will give it a try. Do not try; instead, make a commitment to do it right.

When you get married, does the religious figure or justice of the peace ask, “Do you swear to give this person a try?” When people tell me they will give it a try, I say don’t bother, you have already decided to fail. It takes more than a try to quit addictions it takes a commitment. A commitment is a promise that you stick with, no matter what.

Without that commitment, you are doomed to fail. Give yourself the chance to really succeed this time. If you commit to just six weeks on this program, you will change your life forever and turning back becomes much more difficult.

Make a clear choice between success and failure. It takes only three simple steps. One, buy the book; two, read the book; three, make the commitment.

—> “Do not say you will give it a try. Do not try; instead, make a commitment to do it right.”

That’s strong.

There comes a time in our lives when anything short of a 100% commitment just doesn’t work. As Fuhrman tells us, when you get married are you asked “Do you swear to give this person a try?”

Of course not. That’s absurd.

You COMMIT.

If you’re currently facing a health challenge or just want to commit to truly optimizing your health and life, how about a 100% commitment to this program?

The results people get on his program are ridiculously inspiring.

I’m personally committed to stepping up my game based on these ideas. Let’s play together and rock it! :)

Here’s to committing!!

It’s all about Nutrient Density

“These results sound fantastic, and they are—but they are also true and predictable on my program. The key to this extraordinary diet is a simple formula: H = N/C.

Health = Nutrients/Calories

Your health is predicted by
your nutrient intake divided by your intake of calories.

H = N/C is a concept I call the nutrient-density of your diet. Food supplies us with both nutrients and calories (energy). All calories come from only three elements: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Nutrients are derived from noncaloric food factors—including vitamins, mineral, fibers, and phytochemicals. These noncaloric nutrients are vitally important for health. Your key to permanent weight loss is to eat predominantly those foods that have a high proportion of nutrients (noncaloric food factors) to calories (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins). In physics a key formula is Einstein’s E = mc2. In nutrition the key formula is H = N/C.

Every food can be evaluated using this formula. Once you begin to learn which foods make the grade—by having a high proportion of nutrients to calories—you are on your way to lifelong weight control and improved health.”

Nutrient density. That’s where it’s at.

Basically, what it means is that you want to stay away from refined foods that provide empty calories (like white flour, pastas, sugar, etc.) and focus on the goodness nature intended us to eat that’s PACKED with micronutrients that keep us healthy.

For example, raw leafy greens (like romaine lettuce, kale, red chard, etc.) scores a 100 out of 100 on Dr. Furhman’s nutritional density scale whereas refined sweets clock in at a 0!!

A few other data points: refined oils (like olive oil) register as a 1, refined grains (like white rice and white flour) get a 2, and wild meats and fowl get an 11 while whole grains (like brown rice) get a 22, fresh fruits get a 45 solid green veggies (like broccoli) get a 97.

Check out the book and his web site for more goodness on this: www.DrFuhrman.com!

Here’s to rockin’ our nutritional density!!

Why not just give your kids Whisky and Cigars?

“You wouldn’t let your children sit around the table smoking cigars and drinking whisky, because it is not socially acceptable, but it is fine to let them consume cola, fries cooked in trans fat, and a cheeseburger regularly. Many children consume doughnuts, cookies, cupcakes, and candy on a daily basis. It is difficult for parents to understand the insidious, slow destruction of their child’s genetic potential and the foundation for serious illness that is being built by the consumption of these foods.”

You would NEVER let your kids sit around the kitchen table smoking cigars and drinking whisky.

Right?

Well, we’ve gotta understand that feeding them fast-food meals and other garbage may be JUST AS RISKY (or even more so!!!) than letting them smoke cigarettes!!!

Hard to believe, I know. But true.

So, are you serving your kids junk food?

If so, why not just given them a whisky and cigar to top it off? ;)

… Or you can swap out the junk for fruits and veggies:

Fruits & Veggies: The Anti-cancer Agents

“There is no longer any question about the importance of fruits and vegetables in our diet. The greater the quantity and assortment of fruits and vegetables consumed, the lower the incidence of heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. There is still some controversy about which foods cause which cancers and whether certain types of fat are the culprits with certain cancers, but there’s one thing we know for sure: raw vegetables and fresh fruits have powerful anti-cancer agents.”

People can argue about the details of which foods causes cancer.

But we KNOW (!!!) that raw veggies and fresh fruits are the best anti-cancer agents out there.

How many should we eat?

Well, Fuhrman’s personal goal is to eat a pound of raw veggies and a pound of cooked veggies + at least four servings of fruit EVERY day.

How many are YOU eating a day?

How can you jack that up more today?!

(Here’s a hint: Try to eat two HUGE salads today. :)

Phytochemicals Rock

“Phytochemicals, or plant-derived chemicals, occur naturally in plants (phyto means “plant”). These nutrients, which scientists are just starting to discover and name, have tremendously beneficial effects on human physiology. The effects of our not consuming sufficient amounts of them are even more astounding–premature death from cancer and atherosclerosis.

Eating a wide variety of raw and conservatively cooked foods (such as steamed vegetables) is the only way we can ensure that we get a sufficient amount of these essential health-supporting elements. Taking vitamin and mineral supplements or adding some vitamins to processed foods will not prevent the diseases associated with eating a diet containing a low percentage of calories from whole natural foods.

Scientists cannot formulate into pills nutrients that have not been discovered!”

Phytochemicals.

As Fuhrman tells us in the book, hardly a day goes by without another study touting the benefits of fruits and veggies and beans.

So, let’s stock up on the nutritionally dense goodness and get our phytochemicals on! :)

Broccoli vs. Steak

“Now, which food has more protein–broccoli or steak? You were wrong if you thought steak.

Steak has only 5.4 grams of protein per 100 calories and broccoli has 11.2 grams, almost twice as much.”

What?!?

Broccoli has more protein than steak? Yep.

Greens are powerful.

Remember: “The biggest animals on the planet–elephants, gorillas, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, and giraffes–all eat predominantly green vegetation.”

The bottom line is simple: Eat enough nutritionally dense plant-based foods and you’re not going to need to worry about meeting your protein needs!

The Secret to Extreme Longevity

“Interestingly, there is one food that scientific research has shown has a strong positive association with increased longevity in humans. So which food do you think that is?

The answer is raw, leafy greens, normally referred to as salad. Leafy greens such as romaine lettuce, kale, collards, Swiss chard, and spinach are the most nutrient-dense of all foods.

Most vegetables contain more nutrients per calorie than any other food and are rich in all necessary amino acids. For example, romaine lettuce, which gets 18 percent of its calories from fat and almost 50 percent of its calories from protein, is a rich powerhouse with hundreds of cancer-fighting phytonutrients that protect us from a variety of threatening illnesses. Being healthy and owning a disease-resistant body is not luck; it is earned.”

Well, there ya go.

You want to know the secret to longevity?

It’s all about the raw, leafy greens, yo!!! (aka salads :)

The key to integrating more of these wonder foods into our diets?

Easy: Make salad the main dish and eat two huge salads a day!

Eat Two Huge Salads a Day

“I tell my patients to put a big sign on their refrigerator that says THE SALAD IS THE MAIN DISH.

The word salad here means any vegetable eaten raw or uncooked, e.g., a bowl of cold pasta in olive oil with a token vegetable is not a salad. I encourage my patients to eat to two huge salads a day, with the goal of consuming an entire head of romaine or other green lettuce daily. I suggest that you go and make the sign and tape it to your fridge right now–and then come back. If you plan on doing it later, you may forget. If you learn one practical habit from this book, let it be this one.”

I like to pay attention when brilliant authors say things like, “If you get only one thing out of this book, let this be it.”

So, when Dr. Fuhrman tells us that the #1 practical habit we can get out of this wisdom-packed book is to make sure we eat two HUGE salads a day, I’m all about it.

In fact, while reading that section I literally got up right then and made a sign that I put on our fridge saying: “THE SALAD IS THE MAIN DISH.”

I highly recommend you go bust out a marker and make a sign that reminds you of THE #1 practical tip from this book.

(We’ll be here when you get back. Seriously. Go do it. Pretty please. :)

P.S. When Fuhrman says “huge” he means HUGE! Like really really big.

P.P.S. You wanna join me in seeing if you can crank your raw veggies intake up to ~10 servings per day by having two HUGE salads per day? I’ve challenged myself to rock it. Super excited about it. Join me! :)

Let’s Not Argue

“Let’s not argue whether it is all right to eat a little bit of animal foods or not, and thereby miss the point that cannot be contradicted or disagreed with:

Whether you eat a vegetarian diet or include a small amount of animal foods, for optimal health you must receive the majority of your calories from unrefined plant food. It is the largest quantity of unrefined plant food that grants the greatest protection against developing serious disease.”

For a number of reasons (including nutrition, animal compassion, and environmental concerns) I’m vegan. I don’t consume any animal products and I believe the world would be a *much* healthier and better place if more people adopted the lifestyle.

Having said that, as Dr. Fuhrman tells us, let’s not argue about whether it’s all right to eat a little bit of animal foods or not. Let’s concentrate on the fact that THE most important nutrition thing we can to optimize our health is to focus on getting the majority of our calories from unrefined plant food.

Fuhrman puts it this way: “People who omit meat, fowl, and dairy but fill up on bread, pasta, pretzels, bagels, rice cakes, and crackers may be on the low-fat diet, but because their diet is also low in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, important essential fatty acids, and fiber, it is conspicuously inadequate and should not be expected to protect against cancer…

Let me repeat this again to be clear: Following a strict vegetarian diet is not as important as eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. A vegetarian whose diet is mainly refined grains, cold breakfast cereals, processed health-food-store products, vegetarian fast foods, white rice, and pasta will be worse off than a person who eats a little chicken or eggs, for example, but consumes a large amount of fruits, vegetables, and beans.”

That’s powerful.

I’m (deliberately) repeating myself here: How’s your fruit and veggie intake? You committed to getting it WAY up?!?

Sweet. :)

Moving Away from Gimmicks & Tricks

“So, instead of searching for weight-loss gimmicks and tricks, try to adopt a resolution to be healthy first. Focusing on your health, and not your weight, will eventually result in achieving successful long-term weight loss. Eating a healthy diet, one that is rich in an assortment of natural plant fibers, will help you crave less and feel satisfied without overeating. All diet plans fail because they cater to modern American tastes, which include too much processed foods or animal products to be healthy.

Stop measuring portions and trying to follow complicated formulas. Instead, eat as many vegetables, beans, and fresh fruits as possible, and less of everything else. Any other program is an insult to your intelligence.”

Fuhrman goes OFF on the Atkins and Zone Diets. Check out the book for a full description of why it’s not wise to follow them.

For now, know that we’ve gotta put our HEALTH first. When we do that, and develop consistency on the fundamentals of solid nutrition rather than constantly chasing the latest gimmick or trick, we’ll find ourselves full of energy and vitality at our ideal weight.

And, if you’re feelin’ it and up for the challenge, I can’t think of a better program to help you do that than the Eat to Live program!

About the author

Joel Fuhrman
Author

Joel Fuhrman

Doctor focused on prevention and reversal of disease through nutrition.