I mentioned, on Wednesday, that I had some pretty cool news regarding my health/fitness journey. It's a journey I've been struggling a
As with a lot of areas of life and like a lot of us, I tend to run hot and cold with things. One day I'll really be into it...the next....meh. This, though....this really grabbed my attention and speaks to the core of why many of us struggle with weight loss and getting fit.
It's about eating right.
Or...
It's about eating, right?
In either case, I think the answer is a resounding 'Yes!'.
When I was younger I wouldn't have much of a problem eating what I wanted and in whatever quantities I wanted. I also had a younger metabolism backing me up.
That 'young guy metabolism' has headed south, so now it's not just about exercising.....it's about how much and what, exactly, I put into my body. I've never been one to "diet" and have always been of the "eat what I want and just work it off" mindset.
Last Sunday we watched it and it really impressed me, for two reasons. The first was that the people giving the information had all been there. Most of them were chronically overweight or had other ailments that forced them to look to alternatives to help, in some cases, save their lives. They weren't "models" or "fitness gurus" or folks who were blessed with that 'young person's metabolism' trying to sell you something. They had been there and had done that.
Experience is a great teacher.
The other thing that impressed me was that they weren't selling anything. They were laying the information out there and you could use it (or ignore it) as you saw fit. It wasn't 'preachy', it was just plain, matter of fact, talk based on common sense and research.
Honestly, it really opened my eyes to just what, exactly, I've been putting into my body. I'm, usually, very skeptical of these sorts of things but what they were saying made an awful lot of sense.
That night, after watching, we went and bought a juicer and have been stocking up on fruits and veggies.
The first concoction we tried was from the recipe book (included)....an apple, carrot, celery mix.
I know it looks a bit....odd, but it was really good. Oranges from a juicer is awesome, I just have to say. We also tried a few other recipes, adding things like cilantro, kale, and parsley A word of warning, though, a little of those goes a long way taste-wise We did a tomato, carrot, celery mix and threw in some kale...and it wound up being too much. It had an "earthy" taste, as my wife described it, but I thought it tasted like grass.
What? You've never eaten grass before?
Anyway, we decided to try a 'mini-detox' type of thing this past Wednesday where we'd just drink water (a LOT of water) and juice a bunch of stuff. The documentary talks about trying to do this every so often to clean the system out of heavy metals (mercury) and such that stick with us in the processed foods we eat. We wound up 'amending' the 'fast' just a bit....having some salad, fruit, and gluten free cheese to get us over the rough patches but, all in all, we did pretty well. We plan on doing another next week.
Trust me when I say I've never been the 'hippie' type, but a lot of the things this documentary was saying made a lot of sense. It really opened my eyes to a lot of things and gave a lot of food for thought....no pun intended....o.k, it was intended, but still....
The most important thing, though, was that it helped in motivating me and getting my mind right. A healthy mindset is the first and most important step in the road to getting fit, in my view.
If you get the time/inclination, give this a watch and see if it doesn't change (or start to change) your view on processed food, eating, and nutrition.
I know it did mine.
This has been a post (obviously) for The Healthy Writer's Club, hosted by Shallee McArthur.
Any health/fitness goals in your future? If so, how are you doing with them? Ever tried juicing?
Have a great Friday and an even better weekend!
