Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
DAY 1: GOING TO NEW HEIGHTS OF ULTIMATE HEALTH
This is the book that will take you to new heights of wellness and new degrees of health on all levels: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We go deeper and further than I have ever done before in any other book. For that to happen I want you to know where Im coming from. I want you to feel you know me, and more importantly I want you to know yourself better. The following pages are the culmination of years of working with clients, distilled and ready for you to put straight into practice.
To succeed, you will find out how to really look at yourself on all levels: your diet, your lifestyle, your attitude, and your emotions. I will share with you some of the very same tools that I use with my clients. This book is a real workbook for youin essence its your own consultation.
Before we start, heres a story which just about sums me up! Anyone who knows me knows I am a bit wild about my mango smoothies. I just love them because theyre so good for you, I can load them up with superfoods, minerals, and vitamins, and they taste so delicious. I start every day with a smoothie.
My brother tells me Im obsessed, but I just say that Im passionate about smoothies and your health. Its not that Im obsessed, but I do now know that achieving ultimate health requires active engagement, passion, and determination. We control more about our own health than most people realize. But back to my Smoothie Story ...
Several years ago, I was asked to be the keynote speaker to a convention of health practitioners and doctors in Sofia, Bulgaria. To prepare myself for the trip, I spent the night before my departure whipping up five separate flasks of mango smoothies. Upon arrival at the extremely nice hotel room in Sofia, I grabbed a smoothie flask. As I made the final twist of the lid, I vaguely felt some kind of a pressure build-up inside the flask. I was just looking forward to my smoothie, but then there was a loud pop as the lid disengaged itself and flew off like a rocket. I have never seen anything quite like it and probably never will again. A thick concoction of four finely blended ripe mangoes, three large bananas, and two peaches had exploded all over my hotel room: the ceiling, the walls, the drapes, the beddings, and my clothes were all splattered and covered with mango goo.
I was horrified. You hear this kind of thing about British rock stars or an American heavy metal band trashing their hotel room. But whoever heard of a TV nutritionist from Scotland destroying the place with mango pudding? And then it dawned on me. I looked within myself and realized that any person who would travel almost 2,000 miles from home with five flasks of mango smoothies in tow must be a seriously passionate and determined nutritionist who will go to the end of the earth for ultimate health.
I dont want you to follow in my mango-exploding footsteps, but this is the kind of determination and passion for health that I want you to embrace. It is already within your grasp; you just need to learn how to unlock it. I will give you the tools to discover your own desires, set your goals, and achieve them. This book is like the roadmap; once you know the route, then the rest is easy. Flick the switch and discover the power to eat well, feel well, and look fab.
This book shows you the way to manifest a new you, a new body, new foods, new cells, a new attitude, and a renewed love and appreciation for yourself, so that your natural energy is free and clear to create ultimate health and happiness. And by the way, if you ever get the wild desire to travel halfway across the world with flasks of pressurized, nutrient-infused fruit smoothies ready for an imminent explosion, then just go for it and laugh your head off afterwards.
Wishing you Love & Light,
Dr. Gillian McKeith (PhD)
www.drgillianmckeith.com
JANUARY 2006
level one
the wake-up call
THE FOOD DIARY
Many people convince themselves that they eat a healthy diet, when the reality is somewhat different. If you think you eat really well, see if this typical exchange between a new client and myself rings any bells. Heres how the play goes:
Gillian: Hi, nice to meet you.
Client: Hello, its great to be here.
Gillian: Lets talk about your food. Do you eat well?
Client: Pretty well.
Gillian: And how do you feel?
Client: Im bloated, tired, and I just dont seem to have much energy. I get jittery, suffer from headaches, sweet cravings, mood swings, stress, and insomnia. I just dont feel very healthy.
Gillian: Well, how would you evaluate your food intake?
Client: I think its okay. Like everybody, I have my blips now
and again.
Gillian: Give me an example of a blip.
Client: I like chocolate now and again.
Gillian: How much chocolate?
Client: Just a little piece of chocolate each day.
Gillian: Lets cut to the chase here. Be straight with me. I need to know, how many bars of chocolate are you eating each day?
Client: On average two, unless I feel really ratty, then it might be more, especially during my period.
Gillian: Please may I see your Food Diary?
Client: Fine. But its not been a typical week. I really dont eat that much chocolate. This week was an exception. Really!
I look at the Food Diary, and I am shocked by the sheer number of chocolate bars that this woman is eating on a regular, daily basis. No wonder shes suffering. But shes taken the all-important first step toward making a positive change, and shell soon know how good it feels to leave those headaches and cravings behind.
My point here is to illustrate that many people, when they meet me for the first time, tell me that they eat a good, healthy diet. Most think or say they eat healthy foods, almost like a trained, autopilot response. In reality though, when I start to delve further I often find that it is not so healthy after all, and then I get to the honest truth. There is often very little correlation between the first utterance of I eat healthily and the practical reality.
