When I first moved away to college I weighed 260lbs. I am only 5′6″ so that was way too much!

I tried just working out, trying to eat in moderation, fad diets, all sorts of things to lose weight. Nothing was working. I had been trying to get my parents to eat organic and avoid processed foods while I lived at home and while they were supportive they just didn’t want to make the total switch. So when I moved away to college I took the opportunity to make it for myself.

I went totally organic and cut out pork. I made a conscious effort to budget in only organic, all natural, free-range, and humane certified meats, vegetables, fruits, and dairy. In just a few months at college I went from 260lbs to 145lbs. I feel fantastic.

Unfortunately I am back with my parents for the time being and have gained about 10lbs as a result of my fully organic diet being cut into but I am still healthy and active.

I am proof that eating in season and eating organic can change your health.

My friends and family were so impressed that they even worked organic fruits and veggies into their diet. Today my parents have an organic garden in their back yard and are even willing to drive out of their way to make special trips to Earth Fare for certain foods.

Eating organic changed my life and probably prolonged it and I will be eternally grateful to the farmers who grow the food that helped me go from plus size to kayaking. Thank you very much.

Want to know how you can share your story with Earth Fare’s readers? Click here and then click “Share Your Story” in the right sidebar. We want to hear your health story!

I lived in Australia for quite a few years and the food there was very healthy. I was trim and taught.

I moved back to Georgia 8 years ago and ate so much BBQ, fried okra and Krispy Cremes (yep, I was making up for lost time) that I gained 35+ pounds within a couple of years. I am heath-informed and have always eaten a healthy diet but throwing those things on top pushed me into fat-girl territory.

I decided one day last spring to only eat fruits, nuts, vegetables and meat (grass-fed & pastured) and organic cheese & eggs….plain and simple….no wheat & no sugar, and nothing processed or packaged. I didn’t measure or count calories…I just ate.

I dropped 30 pounds in 4 months without changing my lifestyle…just what I was eating. I am nearly 50 and I thought it would be impossible to shed the weight but by eating only clean, organic food and nothing ‘processed’, the weight just melted off.

And here comes the plug…I shop at Earth Fare and the Athens Farmer’s Market for all those great foods. What a great selection of healthy and clean food we have here right in our own little community!

Jeff’s Story (in his own words):

I’ve fought being overweight and unhealthy since I was about 10 years old. Minor, and temporary, victories had me riding the proverbial roller coaster of health for too long.

While living in New Orleans in 2004, pre-Katrina, I managed to drop 70 pounds by running, lilfting weights and eating right. In the process, I killed my thyroid and over the next two years, put all the weight back on.

Well, last year I was a 34 year old fatty who honestly had convinced himself that I was “not that bad.” I had the weekend warrior mentality and was reasonably active with occasional gym visits and such. But, the truth hurt. I went in for a check-up and found that I was 337 pounds with blood that was more gravy than hemoglobin (little cholesterol humor). As a Campus Minister as well as a husband and father of two young boys I had finally had enough.

I immediately “Flipped the Switch” and got mentally strong. I realized that I wasn’t honoring the body God had given me nor was I doing everything I could to be there for my family. I hit the gym hard and drastically changed my cupboard too. I am now down to 244lbs and run and lift everyday!

BUT that isn’t even the crazy part! I’ve always been a carnivore from the word GO! Meat was my passion and I worshipped at that altar often. I scoffed at vegetarianism and even made the claim on several occasions that I would NEVER be able, or interested, in living that lifestyle. Well, God has a sense of humor after all.

As a minister I am often praying for strength to keep up this new lifestyle of fitness and one day, the unthinkable happened… Would I give up meat if God asked me? I know that sounds like a bad televangelist joke: God Himself has to ask me to give up meat! But He did. He asked me to begin a year-long Covenant of Life where nothing has to die to feed me. Bizarre I know, but hey – stranger things have happened. At least He didn’t ask me to build a boat and gather animals two by two.

As of New Year’s day, my wife and I are now Meatless! And one of the resulting side effects of this decision has been to go as organic as much as possible, and really try to increase our raw food intake. It’s been great.

We visit Earth Fare at least once/month to stock up on our favorites (mine is freshly ground peanut butter and hers is whole wheat bread flour to make the yummiest bread). We have both gotten thinner, stronger and healthier and we continue to work hard and eat right! My goal is to get down to 205 by summer and enter my first triathalon.

Would increasing the cost of soda REALLY help reduce obesity and improve health? 

 This is the very question government officials are currently considering.  Here is what some states are proposing: 

• New York: proposed penny-per-ounce (of sugar) tax
• Philadelphia: proposed 2-cent-per-ounce tax
• California: penny-per-tsp tax
• Kansas: penny-per-tsp tax

If passed, these taxes would generate a lot of revenue.  For example, in New York State alone, the tax would raise $1.2 billion annually.  Officials say this money would be used to fight childhood obesity.  While revenue is part of the motive for implementing a soda tax, officials argue that the more important motive is to improve health and fight obesity. 

Opponents of the soda tax believe it is an unfair target against the beverage industry.  Others believe officials are only looking for an easy means of generating revenue during a recession.

But, how can taxes actually make people healthier?  Research has shown that taxing pizza and soda can lower U.S. adults’ caloric intake – an increase in soda prices was linked to an average of 124 fewer calories, and a weight loss of 2.34 pounds.  Taxing certainly worked with tobacco – increasing prices has dramatically decreased smoking rates. 

What do you think?  Could a soda tax really help reduce obesity?

“Hungry” to know more?  Sites Earth Fare visited for this post:
(1) http://tinyurl.com/yf9og7r – “Junk Food Tax Could Improve Health” (ABCNews)
(2) http://tinyurl.com/yfgyoy9 – “Kan. mulling new soda tax, raising other levies” (AP)
(3) http://tinyurl.com/yglcrk2 - “Would A Soda Tax Be A Big Deal?” (NPR)
(4) http://tinyurl.com/yk77oy7 – “Tax soda, pizza to cut obesity, researchers say” (Reuters)
(5) http://tinyurl.com/yc7y2rh – “Bloomberg Says a Soda Tax ‘Makes Sense’” (NYTimes)
(6) http://tinyurl.com/yc99ez4 – “New York governor defends soda tax” (Reuters)

Researchers say adding the calories and sugar from a single soda with high fructose corn syrup per day to the typical U.S. diet could mean a weight gain of 15 pounds over one year.   Can you imagine?!  Avoiding just one soda and other beverages with artificial sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup could mean people could be 15 pounds healthier! 

Not just an innocent drink…even the diet soda

Well, it makes sense – American waist bands began to increase in the 1980s when soda beverage companies began to sweeten their beverages with high fructose corn syrup instead of real sugar.  Recently, the beverage industry featured throwback editions made with real sugar – hey, maybe they should just bring those back permanently!  

We know the high fructose corn syrup in soda contributes to weight gain, but what about diet soda?  The artificial sweeteners in diet soda may be worse!  Don’t be fooled by “zero” calories.  Researchers have shown that adults who drink diet soda gained more weight than those who drank regular soda! 

How exactly does the weight pile on? 

1. Excessive consumption – Remember those 2L cups?  Since high fructose corn syrup is everywhere, and is the main sweetener in soda, Americans are consuming 22 teaspoons, or 355 calories of extra sugar per day!
2. Hormone Imbalance – high fructose corn syrup disrupts with weight-regulating hormones that help us manage sugar and feel full. 
3. Liver Malfunction means fat storage – the liver cannot metabolize high fructose corn syrup as it metabolizes other carbohydrates so say hello to fat storage. 
4. Triggered sweetness – the sweetness without calories may encourage the body to seek out more calorific sweets like bread, dessert, etc. to compensate. 
5. False belief in “zero” – Many people consume more food believing they have room to spare.

So, it may be worth giving the question, “what would you like to drink?” a little more thought.  Doing so may mean positive health results!  Have you given up soda and seen positive effects?   

“Hungry” to know more?  Sites Earth Fare visited for this post are:
(1) http://tinyurl.com/9ufu2a – “The Truth About Diet Soda”
(2) http://tinyurl.com/yefab9d - “Soft Drinks Responsible for Weight Gain?” 
(3) http://tinyurl.com/y8noqtq – University of Cincinnati study linking soft drinks and weight gain

Lose weight today without moving?  Hmmmm… just drive your car and eat fast food?  HMMMM….

Remember Subway’s Jared Fogle?  Taco Bell is following Subway’s marketing success by feeding us yet another gimmicky weight-loss plan.  This time, instead of Jared, it’s Christine Doughtery who lost 54 pounds in 2 years by choosing Fresco items on Taco Bell’s menu.    

We want to challenge, does this diet really prioritize health?  How can a drive-thru fast food diet really be healthy and sustainable?  

Taco Bell states that the trademarked Drive-Thru Diet menu is “not a weight-loss program” (oh, then why are they marketing it as one?). Christine says that “she made other sensible choices” (does “other” mean foods outside of Taco Bell?  What are these “other” foods?), and also says that “these results aren’t typical” (then why the frequent commercials encouraging everyone to drive-thru Taco Bell as if weight-loss is guaranteed?).

Fresco Items – are these really weight-loss foods?

Don’t be fooled by Taco Bell!  Did you know that Fresco items are only 20 to 100 calories less than their normal items (Taco Bell writes this in fine print)?  Fresco simply means that cheese is replaced with salsa.  How did Christine cut 500 calories then?  The math does not add up.  How did Christine really lose the weight?  She must have made many, many, many other “sensible choices” outside of Taco Bell!  Hm…maybe she was eating most of her other meals at Earth Fare…

The real question is: Are Fresco items healthier?  No.  The Fresco Burrito Supreme Chicken is loaded with 1410 mg of salt — just 90 mg shy of the total daily recommended amount.  Also, with 25 mg of cholesterol, and 70 calories from fat, it’s not really providing a nutritional punch.  Take the Fresco Crunch Taco — half of its calories come from fat and it does not have enough protein to be considered a healthy, balanced meal.  In fact, none of the Fresco items offer a healthy, balanced meal on their own. 

Fun Activity: Find those veggies!

We do not want to undermine Christine’s success nor do we want to discount the fact that at least Taco Bell is trying to offer “healthier” options since fast food is generally known to be unhealthy and sometimes the only option (on road trips, for example). 

If Taco Bell is serious about weight-loss and healthy eating, why doesn’t it just get rid of its really unhealthy items like Volcano Nachos with 1000 calories and 62 g of fat?   

ANSWER: Taco Bell is being very opportunistic by marketing a weakly related weight-loss story around New Year’s.  After all, Fresco items have been on the menu for years now — if they help so much with weight-loss, why didn’t we hear about them earlier? 

Christine lost weight because she ate less and made sensible choices — NOT because she ate Taco Bell.  She could have lost weight eating double cheeseburgers as long as she kept her caloric intake to 1250!  But, weight loss is not just about calories, and health is not only about weight loss!  Success on the health journey should be about enjoying fresh/nourishing foods, feeling better, and getting stronger everyday.   

So, don’t believe the opportunistic marketing going on.  To lose weight AND feel better, eat fresh, and nourishing foods! 

Before                                                     After

I am 50 years old and I have lost 96 pounds in eight months by eating healthy and adding exercise to my life! I try to avoid sugars, processed foods, white flour, bad fats, and fried food. I eat all kinds of meat (yep, even the kind they don’t let you eat on diets), vegetables, fruits, nuts and most dairy products. I just try to have reasonable amounts of whatever I choose to eat.

I have not reached my goal yet, but I feel so much better and I do notever want to go back to eating the unhealthy things that I am avoiding now.

When I started this adventure, I wanted to do something good for myself. I chose to eat what I felt was healthy as opposed to any diet foods because I wanted to change my lifestyle permanently! I do not feel like I am missing anything although I would like to find some recipes that would allow me to add some sweets to my diet.