 |
| Greeting Card by Lynne Dee |
It was right after the New Year began in 1996. I had been
saving the name and phone number since 1990 when I first came upon the
existence of a British woman living here in Los Angeles, who through word of
mouth, had a nutrition practice. Unlike others in her field, she may not have
had any formal training or even a credential to her name. But when a friend
went to her, instead of to a doctor, to treat her Candida and was helped, I made
a mental note that she was special.
It was January 1996 when I made an appointment to see Ms.
Poole at her home office in Brentwood, California. I was told I would spend one hour
with her. The hour would cost $175 and it would be audio taped. I would get to
keep the cassette. I had never been to a nutritionist or a psychic before but
in moving to California from New York it was my intention to remain open to new
ideas. I had a good feeling about this woman. As I drove up and parked at her home, I took notice of the
beautiful surrounding area. She had a wonderful view. She was enveloped in
trees and lots of nature. I felt good as I rang the bell. I had brought with me
a list of health concerns I wanted her to know about. The list helped me to
organize what I needed addressing. I was concerned with at least half a dozen
conditions known to be inherited by members of the same family. Included were
arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure and allergies to animals. I had
included my recent bout with tendonitis, a ganglion cyst and periodontal
disease. At the very bottom was written; perhaps lose a few pounds too. I had
moved out from NYC carrying an extra 15 pounds on my small frame that always
made me self-conscious. Food and weight had been an issue for me since my
college days. That was two decades earlier.
Ms. Poole walked in the room and sat down and took my hand.
She never asked me what I ate. Instead she told me. Back then I was eating a
lot of chicken. Chicken in every way it was processed and sold. I remember
thinking that it was a good form of protein and affordable. I had no idea at the time this was not
a good diet. She looked at me and said I had too much sugar and salt in my
system as well. I could not disagree. So what diet would she put me on I
thought to myself. The answer came. She pulled out a sheet of paper with food
by categories and began checking off foods. She explained as she did this, that
when she first began seeing clients, she checked off which foods they had to
avoid. She soon realized this was a negative way to approach things. Instead
why not check off the foods to include, and if the food didn’t have a check,
then avoid it for the first 6-12 weeks. This was not forever, she explained.
Eventually foods would be introduced back into the plan but for now, it had to
be strictly followed. Have a problem, call her. She was available to all her
clients on the phone.
So what had she checked off?
She had a category called GREEN & LOW STARCH VEGETABLES.
There were 42 items with only 9 check marks. It was okay for me to eat
artichoke, asparagus, bok choy, green beans, parsley, summer squash, yellow
squash, zucchini, and Swiss chard.
I didn’t even know what Swiss chard was. Though it wasn’t checked off, I
had never even heard of kale, leek, mustard greens, to name a few. Her next category of foods was called
VEGETABLE STARCH. Who knew that those two words were related? Not me. She had
not checked off one food item in that category. She wrote AVOID FOR THIS TIME
next to that list. FRUITS was the next category. She had 35 fruits listed and 4
checked off. I was to bake the apple or pear before eating those and not to
have more than 2/3 cup daily.
Nothing was checked under MILK PRODUCTS. Never before in my life had I gone without some form of
dairy. This was going to be an adventure for sure. She got around to PROTEINS
and looked at me. I remember her saying.. You will be surprised when I tell you
what you are to eat in the way of protein. I had not shared with her that I had
been diagnosed with anemia in my past. She checked off organic beef. Fish and
lamb but sparingly. Next came GRAINS. I was to avoid all wheat and yeast. She
checked off kamut and a few other grains. I had never heard of the kamut grain before.
Under FATS she had written: use sparingly.
So there it was. What seemed like a very limited diet to me
was what she wanted me to follow for 6-12 weeks. I decided that if I was going to pay her fee, which for me
was no small amount, I was going to follow it exactly. And I did. I lost weight
and changed my shape through regular exercise. I got healthier. I came to
believe in the importance of what we eat or don’t eat is crucial to our quality
of life.
As I look back on that experience, I can say that it was only
the beginning of my education into food and healing. I am still evolving in my awareness
of what a healthy lifestyle is made up of. Whereas once I tried to use food to fill a void but to no
avail, I have enjoyed the pleasures of eating without that feeling of guilt or
worry for over 15 years. It’s liberating. Learning about healthier foods and
lifestyles is a life long process. There’s much to learn.
Love fills the void I once felt could only be filled with
food. I have come to understand that the more you give love and kindness to
yourself, the more you can love and be kind to others.
