Hi, Sherry! I am 80 years old, 5 ft.,108 lbs. Due to IBS, gastritis, etc., I started following GTNP more than 15 years ago with great success and hardly ever strayed away from it. Lately, though, I seem to be cheating a lot, eating and combining foods that are a no-no under GTNP, and it has hardly affected me at all, and I like what I’ve been eating. I am trying to figure that out and would like your input.

In the way of background information, I started straying away from the plan around the first of this year when my husband’s doctor told him he should lose about 20 lbs. As the person in our 2-person household who does 100% of the cooking — we hardly ever eat out - I did my share to help him lose weight. We went off a lot of the GTNP good stuff we’d been eating (good-grain bread, a little pasta, lots of beans and brown rice, Mexican food, etc. ) and reduced our daily intake of Carbs to less than 70 per day. Within 4 -5 months, my husband lost and has been able to keep off 20 lbs. and I lost about 3 lbs., although I’d rather be at 111 where I’d been for years. During the 4-5 months we were losing weight, we ate loads of vegetables, salads, chicken, fish, pork, red meat, cheese, and eggs, and a tiny serving of dessert every evening because my husband loves it. We did not eat much fruit because of the sugar in it.
The above was, to me, all good under GTNP, except maybe for the red meat which I had not even tasted for at least 14 years but am now eating it a least once a week. We are continuing to eat salads, veggies, etc., as when we were losing weight and I’m slowly adding a few beans, grains, etc to our meals - sometimes in combination with animal proteins. Not good by GTNP standards; and, I’m eating more dessert than I use to and find I like it! Strangely, the food I’m now eating and the way I’m combining them when cooking, doesn’t seem to have adversely affected me except maybe for an increase in my need for something sweet. Maybe it’s not because I’m straying from GTNP; rather, could it be COVID-related stress that’s tickling my sweet tooth?
What do you make of all this Sherry?
Will my recent bad habits catch up with me? I am so convinced you know what you’re talking about that I don’t hesitate in the least to ask the question. I follow your daily e-mail religiously and tout your virtues to anyone who’s willing to listen. By the way, I take one Super-Shield sometime during the night — on an empty stomach — and that continues to work well for me after taking it for many years. I tried your Turmeric blend but found a better price for a comparable product at COSTCO — Mea Culpa! I take a small dose of a blood pressure medication and a thyroid pill for hypothyroidism. I do have lots of aches and pains from osteoarthritis and am currently on medication for sinus issues — something new for me. But, for an 80 year old, I think I’m doing OK. I can’t turn back the clock — nor would I want to. I love my life; I’ve been blessed, and I’m thankful. …And thankful for you, too!