The Listenary

Natasha starts paying attention to what goes into her body. She wants to lose weight in hopes that this will help her feel stronger and more positive. She buys recipe books and food supplements. She studies food groups and calorie charts. She tries one diet and then another.

With each new try, after a great first start, Natasha’s body and metabolism automatically adjust to bring her back to the same weight and mental attitude as before.

The new disappointment adds to her baggage, and Natasha wonders what there is to live for.

Diets can kill you, too. But here's one that works:

Eat Like a Horse!

That’s right, eat like a horse—if you truly do eat like a horse. The keys are: eat your food live, exercise before you eat, and listen to yourself!

Live cells in your body need live food! Yes, I am vegetarian—since birth, then by choice, and fully recommending the lifestyle. I also recognize that it’s not for everyone. I simply recommend as much live food, or not far from live, as you can stuff into your menus. I can hear much more clearly my body’s messages about live foods than about processed foods.

Here are some notes for specific concerns about living vegetarian.

1. Protein: Get to know soybeans in bean curd (tofu), soy milk, and protein drinks.

2. Calcium: Raw kale and spinach leaves taste good. Olive leaf and dolomite are also simple sources.

3. B vitamins: It’s ok to have an egg or cup of yogurt once in awhile. Use whole wheat and brown rice.

4. Antioxidants: The chewing of live food breaks up live molecules and releases many particles that are just aching to attach to a free radical and neutralize its power to oxidize and harm.

If you eat meat, eat it only with non-starchy vegetables. Starchy vegetables or grains eaten with meat, and sugar or sweet fruits eaten with anything else in a meat diet, only slow down intestinal processing and transit, allowing the buildup of fat, toxins, and cravings.

Live muscles, fed on live nutrients, cry out for live action! Listen to your body for the best time to do the live action, usually not right after the meal.

The best news for Natasha and her weight management endeavors is that she can listen to herself. She might learn that, rather than hungry, she’s really tired and a nap will do as well as a snack. Or she might learn that she’s angry and needs to find a listener or be a listener to herself in order to get it off her chest. Sometimes apparent hunger is disguised as loneliness or resulting boredom, and loneliness can be helped by listening.

Again, listening as a gift is the magical lost connection for nutrition and weight management.