In October, the Tahoe Oral Surgery and Implant Center team embraced a challenge: to completely rethink the way they eat. Under the guidance of nutritionist, Lisa Fligor of New Plate Nutrition, our enthusiastic team of 8 (Dan and Sonja Martin included) ate a strict Paleo diet for 30 days of no sugar/sweeteners, no dairy, no grains, no alcohol and no caffeine. Gone were the Lean Cuisine’s from the break room freezer and gone were the diet sodas and pasta dinners. They began reading food labels in a new way (why IS sugar added to chicken breasts?) and had fun swapping new recipes. Though healthy eating was the primary goal of the challenge, the challenge presented an additional benefit: the group lost a combined 77 pounds!
They all agreed that the two big lessons learned from the experience were the importance of eating “real” food and reading ingredient lists. “We should be able to recognize the ingredients in the foods we eat. I can’t even pronounce most of the ingredients listed in packaged foods these days!” said, Sonja Martin.
We’re now moving into the holidays with a greater understanding of the food we eat and how to eat well. Now THAT is something to be thankful for.