Disclaimer: You will look as fabulous as you feel.
By Rachel Deal
New York City, NY (The Hollywood Times) 4/21/22 – “Rx” isn’t just a cryptic symbol you see at the pharmacy. It’s a Latin symbol that means “recipe” or “to take.” So when I sit down with Haylie Pomroy’s Fast Metabolism: Food Rx, I can’t get the Latin out of my head. In fact, the symbolism seems to be getting louder while I read, flying through pages of this weirdly entertaining book about food. I want to take and receive this knowledge and I want to also think about food that same way. To absorb it like a sacrament to the body, mind, and soul. Another theory is that “Rx” derives from the Eye of Horus, an ancient Egyptian symbol of healing. Either way, it fits.
Yes, I have been waiting my entire life to share that information with someone without seeming like the socially awkward word junkie that I am. But let’s be honest, the celebrity nutritionist knows her stuff and I’m guessing she had the same idea in mind when she entitled her book.
Now that we’ve settled that, I should admit to a few health sins of mine. I might be the person that jumps out of bed reaching for a pen and paper with every bizarre idea in my head. I’m not exactly restful. And it’s true that I might impulsively throw food down my throat while in the middle of a project, or inversely go for most of the day forgetting to eat. If a serial killer were tracking my habitual schedule, I’d be so unpredictable I’d likely be saved. There is no true concept of a schedule with me and therefore no concept of a food schedule. Yikes!—Haylie Pomroy, I can hear your thoughts now, preparing to give me the most persuasive rundown on body rhythm and eating habits. The pandemic has made the impulsiveness worse, I admit. And even though I’m generally a naturalistic health nut, I might have gained a pound or three myself.
Pomroy comes at the right time for me, reinvigorating the rationale of metabolism health. I do so love a persuasive argument, after all, especially reminding me of the importance of mindfulness… as well as reminding my air-headed self that I do in fact have a body.
But this is not a “diet.”
At least it’s not the kind you’re probably thinking of. Cue the calorie counting neurosis. Nope, not that. Cue the sales pitch and broken promises of a sexier “you” with the steamy body pulsating through the computer screen. Not there yet… In truth it’s better. It’s Rx. It’s a mantra developed around nourishment and clueing the body into what you need it to do. Although user beware, it might just result in a sexier “you” but we’ll get to that later. For now, the conversation begins with food, nourishment, and fueling the body to make it work for you. And technically “diet” does derive from the Latin for “way of living.” Maybe this is the real diet to usurp all the imposter diets. Okay, that’s more like it.
If food and the body were a relationship, Pomroy would be your relationship coach, reminding you to avoid the abusive food decisions that will sabotage you later. I’m talking processed foods, sugar, caffeine overload, and the typical junk in the American diet. So let’s introduce the body to a healthier version of food. And I do mean real food.
Body meet Food. Why has it taken so long for you two to find each other?
In her book Food Rx, Pomroy discusses common health issues like autoimmune diseases, hormonal imbalances, and indigestion. She offers some profound insight into how food interacts with the body. For instance, I never realized which food could offset the body into an acidic state. It turns out adding too many carbs and meat to my plate will do exactly that. And it also turns out that sleep helps restore the body and sometimes the best thing to do is rest, not work. “It is not a matter of ‘overdoing it,’ but in allowing that precious energy to regenerate healthy tissue—your skin, hair, nails, bone, muscles, and organs.” Pomroy’s whole philosophy focuses on the purity of food.
It should come from “the sea, land, or sky, not the factory.”
Picking up Fast Metabolism: Food Rx is like picking up an encyclopedia of food hacks. Each chapter focuses on different health woes and how healthy food can counter them. This book is a holy grail for the autoimmuned and hormonally imbalanced. While her previous book The Fast Metabolism Diet structures a 28 day meal plan for losing weight and speeding the metabolism, Food Rx fine tunes the details. In doing so, the user will transform their lifestyle, ultimately shedding pounds and getting back to that person they lost.
True, I may not be the person with health issues, but tuning up and perfecting are my specialties. So let’s turn now to another Pomroy health accessory.
It’s the Total Body Detox.
Spring is my favorite time of year. It makes me want to open windows on breezy days and sit among flowers. I’m from Pennsylvania, after all. And if New England wants to claim the peak of autumn, I’ll claim spring for my native land. The place is covered in green vegetation and the word junkie in me has to point out that the suffix “sylvania” actually means “forest.” The season makes me want to clear the air, emerge from hibernation, and shed layers. As such, I burgeoned through this April with Haylie Pomroy’s 10 day cleanse.
In sum, it’s a ten day detox that involves a lot of healthy meals and even more detox shakes. The shake is made up of pea protein, spirulina, pomegranate, and more, providing micronutrients to flush out toxins and enhance digestion. It is packed with antioxidants and all those beautiful ingredients that reduce inflammation. The green drink is unlike any other I’ve tried. It’s creamy with a slight vanilla flavor and tastes nothing like bitter greens. In fact, it’s delicious! Last week when I find myself drinking five shakes a day per Pomroy’s instructions, I don’t even feel sick of the drink. For three days I’m drinking solely the Metabolism Shake with some vegetables on the side. For the rest of the time, I get a healthy meal of turkey chili or chicken and broccoli. It feels a lot like spoiling the body while detoxing it. It’s a spa-week for the gut!
I should mention that I’m terrible at sleeping. If sleeping were graded, I’d get a big fat F! Somewhere between the constant chatter in my brain and my creative impulses is a person who is tired… but sleeping gets put on the back burner. I go days where sleeplessness is the shadow hovering over my shoulder and wake up often without being able to fall back to sleep.
However, during this ten day cleanse I find myself actually sleeping well. My skin is glowing and my hair feels like long blonde locks of lushness. I’m noticeably relaxed. My entire person feels like a well-oiled machine of efficiency. What’s more, I’m accountable to a structured diet plan and I follow it to a capital T. It’s not nearly as difficult as I’d anticipated. In fact, it’s fun. Plus, the recipes provided are as delicious as they are nutritious. I’ve since come out the other side of it feeling more energetic and three pounds lighter (which is truthfully all my scrawny self probably should shed). My only complaint is that it had to end and I find myself still craving the healthy drink.
So I’ll level with you.
I’m a skeptic of most things. I don’t like fluff philosophy that tries to sell big without delivering results. My mother grew up on a farm and she taught me the no-brainer good sense of living off the land. I’ve only ever cared for the simplicity of fresh ingredients and I’m the mood killer that nit-picks the ingredients label of every food. I’ve tossed many a food that has a questionable ingredient or two. I’ve rolled my eyes at all the so-called health products that sneak in chemicals. And even though I usually side-eye the diet program, this is not the case with Haylie Pomroy. Everything on her ingredients list is pure. Her supplements are rigorously tested for authenticity. So what she’s selling is as genuine as it comes. Drinking her Metabolism Shake will provide more nutrients than a typical salad. In fact, it’s surplussing the body with health. For that reason, I plan to undergo this cleanse on a semi-regular basis.
The cleanse has worked wonders for clients everywhere. Some have even lost up to ten pounds in ten days. The detox is very easy to understand and broken down into segments with food lists, recipes, and all. Whether you’re looking to slim down for summer or looking to get back on a health kick, this is a detox that will work for you.
The battle with food has been an ongoing journey in our image conscious world. It’s been a tough conversation for most, and embracing health is something we’re just tapping into. Long gone are the days in which women were expected to starve themselves for beauty. Yet, while we’ve embraced all body types, it’s a great next step to acknowledge that that healthy diet isn’t so judgy as was believed. The basics of health are in fact indisputable and paramount to longevity. So while no one is expected to reveal superhuman physiques this summer, this is going to get you closer to feeling superhuman, and truthfully looking great.
To go back to the Food Rx mantra, Pomroy transforms food philosophy. She shifts the focus on a holistic approach that aids the body. It’s a long term meal plan that really should never end but instead shift according to health need. Her knowledge really does make pivoting from one health concern to the next obtainable. What’s more, she explains why. She explains the body’s pH levels and metabolism needs. She validates her claims. She expands upon science and applies it logically. Her plan is practical and breaks it down in steps, building a foundation of healthy food habits. The truth is, everyone needs this wealth of food knowledge. This is the celebrity nutritionist that helped sculpt Jennifer Lopez’s abs, after all. She’s in the hub of the world’s “most beautiful”—that beautiful land of Hollywood. And the best selling author is accessible to everyone through her books, her website, her detox program, and more.
Haylie Pomroy has walked the walk. She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that changed her entire life trajectory. It forced her to study the science of food and forced her to find her own solutions. If that’s not enough, she was also diagnosed with dyslexia. Here is a woman that refuses limitations, writing multiple books and landing as a #1 New York Times Bestseller. She’s built her legacy from the ground up and her foundation of food philosophy has sprouted from that same soil. When clients walk through her door, she’s not focused on a “goal weight” because she’s focused instead on healing a broken metabolic system first. Everything else follows. Because this regime is so balanced with grass-roots food logic, it’s hard to see it as a diet trend.
It feels instead like a total body, food, and soul transformation. Haylie Pomroy is here to get all of us back on track.
After the detox and getting ready for summer, I’m feeling a newfound life again. It’s been two years in the pandemic and health can feel like a turbulent tug-of-war. I now think back to a time when that anxiety was not on me, remembering a weightless youthfulness that maybe I set aside this past year. It’s true that the growing health scare of our current time can ransack the imagination, creating nightmares where once was optimism. And the impulsions, the bad habits, the overstimulation attempting to distract and callous that anxiety, actually makes it worse. Maybe health does lay dormant in the foundational instincts of us all, however. And reclaiming that vision is as simple as taking those intentional first steps. I know that I’ve grown in that way and feel certain others will do the same in order to reclaim that healthy person underneath. That’s what Haylie Pomroy inspires with her philosophy.
At last, here is the diet to end all diets.
Check out her detox program here, and prepare to shed those pandemic pounds.
