Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

I remember seeing her on television. She was talking about her most recent book, but I couldn’t tell you which one it was. I couldn’t even tell you when I saw her. The only thing I remember from that television appearance is my reaction to her program, “She’s a nut.”

She was talking about cow’s milk and how it’s not meant for humans, it’s meant for baby cows. I remember her saying, “This is something that turns a baby cow into a two ton steer.” That was her explanation of why I shouldn’t drink milk. I changed the channel and let whomever it was interviewing her lose one viewer.

Last week I came across her diet again. This time, it was being reviewed by The Diet Blog. I sighed and thought I might as well give Marilu a look.

• Total Health Makeover – The Ten Steps

I felt really silly after reading her Ten Steps:

1. Eliminate chemicals from the foods you eat.
2. Eliminate caffeine and nicotine from your system.
3. Eliminate processed sugar from the foods you eat.
4. Eliminate meat, especially red meat, from your meals.
5. Eliminate dairy products (anything made from the milk of another animal).
6. Combine your foods for efficient digestion.
7. Reduce and change the fats you eat.
8. Exercise daily and practice stress reduction.
9. Get enough sleep.
10. Do everything with Gusto!

I pretty much follow her plan. I still eat dairy products, but like meat, I make sure that they are from “clean-living cows” instead of doped up ones. Eliminating the chemicals from my life came as a function of taste rather than health. After eating preservative-laden food for so long, I just can’t stomach it anymore. I think eating healthy and fresh food made me desire better tasting food and frozen meals don’t cut it anymore.

As far as combining foods, I’m not a believer. I think each person needs to experiment to find out what works for them for each of their meals. I know that if I ate solely fruit for breakfast, I would crash at 9am, demanding donuts. It has happened before.

Other than that, I’m surprised at how closely I follow Marilu’s program. It’s almost embarrassing to me because I discounted her so long ago. If I had just bothered to listen, I might have been able to be healthy a couple of years earlier.