Grugger’s Way

I’m going to keep this short because I don’t believe we should have to think about eating so much. Our lives can be full and joyful without packing on extra pounds and forcing ourselves to eat just one more meal.

I knew a very healthy fellow who subscribed to the belief that one should not eat anything except fruit before noon each day. He would eat three or four pieces of fruit in the morning and then not again the rest of the day. He said that fruit tended to ferment in his system if it was mixed with other foods. Fruit moves right through us, doesn’t it? That must be good.

He also ate his salad at the END of his noon and evening meals. He said it cleared his palate and gullet (and made dessert taste even better).

He did not eat red meat. Said it just putrefied in his gut because meat stayed there so long and, he said, “was so difficult to move.”

He minimized his sugar intact to keep his weight down. He said that is about all it takes, assuming you are fairly active, exercise-wise. Less sugar equals fewer empty calories.

He also was very careful about salt. Water retention for one thing, but salt is just not that good for us, period.

Before and After exercise, he would breathe deeply and stretch. He often said that just the breathing and stretching would substitute for exercise if he were traveling or otherwise tied to a job when he could not get in a workout.

He also was meticulous about cleanliness, including his food, particularly fruits and vegetables when he ate the peel or skin. Incidentally, in many cases, the peel or skin contains much of the nutrient value.

His worst vice, he said, was caffeine. Always, always, started his day with coffee. He didn’t smoke, but that almost is a given. Alcohol was limited to one drink, perhaps once or twice a week. (These are also empty calories.)