I am not a flux capacitor. Unlike Doc’s DeLorean, my body does not run on trash (or plutonium for that matter). Back to the Future was my favorite movie growing up. I didn’t have a crush on Marty McFly or anything; I just really liked that movie. (That might also explain my obsession with puffy vests. I own three, one of which is bright red and may or may not be the exact vest worn by Marty McFly.) I particularly loved the end of Part I when Doc returns from the future with the new and improved flying DeLorean and flux capacitor that now runs on trash. He fuels it with leftover beer, banana peels and other random rubbish while Marty and Jennifer stand there with a befuddled expression. A flying car running on trash! How cool is that?! Apparently so cool I thought I could run on trash too.
For the better part of my life, I did not paid much attention to what I ate or drank, other than making sure the food was delicious (and usually unhealthy) and the drink either caffeinated, full of sugar or of the alcoholic kind (once I was of legal drinking age of course). In high school, we’d go out for a cheese fries and sodas or chips and slurpees before our basketball and volleyball games. In college, the first two meals I had to have when I returned home were cheese enchiladas and chicken fried steak (with mashed potatoes and fried okra please). Yes y’all, I am a Texan, no doubt about that. I also had a nasty Coke habit. Not that coke, the drinkable, crisp, cool, refreshing Coca-Cola variety. I had to have at least one a day or I might actually die. I didn’t mind salads and vegetables, I just preferred that they were deep fried and covered in ranch and/or cheese.
I’ve never been one for “diets,” I have not struggled too terribly much with my weight other than the freshman 15 (or 25 if we are being honest) and a few fluctuations over the years due to a lack of physical activity. A couple years ago, I started reading more about nutrition, various lifestyles and diets, including but not limited to no meat, all meat, vegan, vegetarian, alkalizing, low-fat, high-fat, grok, paleo, Atkins, South Beach, The Cookie Diet, etc. You name it, I’ve read about it. That does not mean I’ve followed any of them. I want to be knowledgeable about what a truly healthy lifestyle might look like if I were ever to get enough fire in me (or fat on me) to give something a try. I have dabbled with the vegan and vegetarian thing on a few occasions, but never for very long and not that strictly. Cutting out meat and dairy was typically the result of reading a book or seeing a documentary - The China Study and Super Size Me, for example. Frankly, I felt great cutting out both meat and dairy, I just got lazy and let them back in after explaining for the umpteenth time to my grandmother that just because the meat is cooked inside a vegetable, that does not make it vegetarian.
As I am finishing the latest nutrition/diet books on my bookshelf – The Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr and The pH Miracle by Robert & Sandy Young– I am fully convinced of one thing. If I put trash into my body, I will feel and act like trash as a result. If I “feed” my body with caffeine, sugar, dairy, too much meat, fried something, processed anything, (not to mention too much booze) my poor little body will have to work overtime digesting and processing all the crap I dump into it. This is all while my body is doing everyday housekeeping like mending aching muscles, fighting off cold and flu viruses, stopping bacteria in its dirty little tracks, pumping blood to all the digits, etc. No wonder I am so tired, sluggish and just feel generally awful when I don’t pay attention (or care) what I eat.
In both books, the authors argue that our bodies (and minds) will thrive on lots of glorious veggies filled with vitamins and minerals, nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits, and whole grains that haven’t been processed beyond recognition – things found in nature and eaten in their natural state. Sure, you can argue that orange juice from a carton is “natural” has lots of vitamin C, but it also has tons of added sugars, preservatives and worse. Our bodies are not meant to process all the extra additives our “food” has these days. “Food” in our Standard American Diet (SAD) consists of ice cream sandwiches, hot dogs, bologna, instant mac & cheese, or instant anything from a box for that matter. As Kris Carr says, things made in a lab will take a lab to digest. Who wants that? When we get back to whole, nutritious and real foods, we will feel and look our best, prevent many of the diseases we all want to avoid and can potentially reverse any health issues we currently have. Look at Kris Carr, her “incurable” cancer has been stable for the past 7 years since she made a total lifestyle change from the SAD to what she now calls her Crazy, Sexy Diet.
After reading these books, I am committed to changing my eating and drinking habits for the better. This means focusing on lots of veggies, nuts, seeds, fruits, whole grains, and limiting meats, dairy, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. Guess it is time to say hasta luego cheese enchiladas and sayonara chicken fried steak! I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired and “treating” myself with more caffeine, sugar and unhealthy foods, usually covered in cheese. It is a vicious cycle that is hard to stop and won’t be easy. I’ve already broken up with coffee (except for a few small indiscretions), sugar is currently packing up and moving out and I haven’t yet told booze that she’s got to go, but really, she’s toxic and has got to go. I don’t have room in my life for toxic, unhealthy habits anymore. I want to make room for health, wealth, light and love. Not to say I won’t dance every now and again with an old, unhealthy friend on occasion, but they will be special occasions, not everyday affairs. Out with the dead and fried, in with the lean and green!
If you think I am crazy talking about the correlation with what you eat, drink and how you feel and act, here are a variety of books I’ve read on this topic over the past couple years: The China Study, Eat to Live, The UltraMind Solution, Thrive Fitness, Crazy, Sexy Diet, The pH Miracle. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen is on my 100 Days reading list too, another nutrition post will surely follow. Read a book or two, peruse a few websites, educate yourself, know the effects of what you put into your body and make the best decision you can for yourself and please, please, please tell me that bacon counts as a breakfast vegetable.
It’s taken me over a year of reading and knowing I was making bad choices but doing them anyways before I finally decided to take serious action in hopes of reaching my fullest, healthiest potential. We’ll see how it goes!
How do you feel now? Are you fueling yourself with the right or wrong foods? Do you notice a difference when you make better choices? Why is it so dang hard to make the better choices?
No comments:
Post a Comment