Here is my ammunition, the bags are in the cart and the food is in the fridge. Don't look back because the Juice starts now!
The other night I watched yet another documentary on health and the benefit's of a particular diet or so called way to change your life forever. It's called "Fat, Sick and nearly dead" I will get to this in a bit.
The gripe I have about most of these is the lack of long studies done on a particular diet and the lack of evidence that one will really become healthier and live longer due to a restricted way of eating. Many dieters are yo-yo dieters putting on more weight after a binge or end of a diet and increasing stress levels obviously not good for the heart. I've tried many things and have really only seen one positive way to insure one can not fail with a goal they have...Moderation...Moderation...Moderation and mental awareness. Awareness is key to have the insight to choose to further yourself. The goal must be for YOU and not something or someone else. I've struggled on and off with diets as most and get highly involved into a program if I'm excited about it, problem is...there is a point when the novelty wares off and your back to laying around, playing into technology (like me), eating taco's and dairy queen blizzards..mmmm!
Do we give these foods up forever? Some would say "hell yeah! that stuff is garbage and I will not touch that again as long as I live" Great thought, but difficult as a long term goal and once someone breaks that goal, people tend to succumb to the ol' self pity and give into the controlling nature of food and other people. Ever hear the following; "I just have no willpower", "I've tried and just can't do it", "Diets are crap and I'm happier now eating like crap without limits because I don't have to adapt" You are not alone, and there is a solution...JUICE!
"What? Isn't this just a fad type of diet? Ok I've heard about this before and it sounds great, but expensive, tedious, time consuming, sometimes gross and a pain in the ass" -Agreed! I've seen both sides arguing against meat, causing an addiction to animal fat and damaging cells, and vegetarianism, not having enough protein and feeling weak. A revolution is once again cycling to reducing animal fat's, processed foods, and whole foods to create a super healthy lifestyle. Juicing is a wonderful way to bridge a gap between either a moderation approach or transition approach. "Why should I consider this?" -because you need to to survive! Bold statement on my part, but I believe it. Call me crazy "Crazy!" - shut up!..I mean I understand, but seriously there is a person inside of you wanting to get out, a person that wants to have more energy and create whatever they want in life. Food can help or hinder this, food can imprison you or free you and even if you want to indulge every once in a while, keeping it in moderation will allow you to not feel starved, it will allow your mind to WAKE UP and will allow you to free yourself giving YOU CONTROL over your life and intake.
Food is energy, and what you put in your body reflects the nutritional value in that food. If it is low energy, highly processed and laced with MSG and sugar, then it's not going to do much for you other then allow your brain to produce chemicals (neurotransmitters) of slight to intense euphoria (endorphin's, serotonin). "That is awesome, whats so bad about that?", because other then the good chemicals, there is nothing else in "food" that is usable for a body that sits around all day, it just gets stored in the cells for later use. Back when we had famine, it was helpful to have this stored food, however most of the food then had more nutritional value and less processed chemically produced components. Due to that, even when the stored parts of that food are release back into the bloodstream, it just passes through us and doesn't give us anything useful other then the feeling like sludge seeping out of us (aka detoxing). We train our brain to crave these food to relieve our stress from life and since we can't get that feeling from many other things, it is what we go to chemically and emotionally. This is why we are addicted (more for another post)
"Whoa buddy! Stop shitting on my parade of deliciousness" -Sorry, even though many people know these health facts and feel like all is well, all is not. You know it's not and you know your energy level is not where it could be. Denial is awesome and even needed to survive to reduce stress, but it's time we all woke up.-sounds religious, but it's not, it's just science and just important if you want to be efficient as a human being. "What happened with the all this Juice talk?"-Getting to it my reader.
In the documentary "Fat, Sick and nearly dead" here is the summary from imdb ("talk about being lazy, mr. get up and do something!") "100 pounds overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease, Joe Cross is at the end of his rope and the end of his hope. In the mirror he saw a 310lb man whose gut was bigger than a beach ball and a path laid out before him that wouldn't end well- with one foot already in the grave, the other wasn't far behind. FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD is an inspiring film that chronicles Joe's personal mission to regain his health. With doctors and conventional medicines unable to help long-term, Joe turns to the only option left, the body's ability to heal itself. He trades in the junk food and hits the road with juicer and generator in tow, vowing only to drink fresh fruit and vegetable juice for the next 60 days. Across 3,000 miles Joe has one goal in mind: To get off his pills and achieve a balanced lifestyle. While talking to more than 500 Americans about food, health and longevity, it's at a truck stop in Arizona where Joe meets a truck driver who suffers from the same rare condition. Phil Staples is morbidly obese weighing in at 429 lbs; a cheeseburger away from a heart-attack. As Joe is recovering his health, Phil begins his own epic journey to get well. What emerges is nothing short of amazing - an inspiring tale of healing and human connection. "
It was inspiring and amazing to see the transformation in real people and the real struggle it is to make an important change. "Rebooting" is the process of detoxing your body of addictive chemicals and helping your cells to regain strength quickly without needing to starve. In the documentary, Phil and the other lady drank juice for 10 days to start off. 60 days was the full challenge and changed these people. I've tried juicing times and just didn't stick with it. It's tough and the withdrawal from crap food and laziness caused me to rebound into bad eating habits once again. What makes me think it will work this time? I will do what I did with P90X, just do it, stick with it and never give up. I believe the only way to survive and have a goal met is to adapt and not adhere to every ridged rule given. You must adapt, you must use moderation when the option to juice isn't there. I lost 30+ lb's from p90x and ate like crap until I couldn't anymore and then the weight really dropped. I felt alive and renewed. After p90x, I fell off, ate bad and my excuse was life changes, stress and not caring enough. I forgot my number 1 rule, "do it for yourself". Now, I've spoke with many great people who have inspired me to change something, anything to move towards my goal to become healthier. Not to lose weight, not to look better (mostly), not to be able to eat bad all the time again, but to just be healthier, feel more energy and be able to have the confidence to know if I want something, I can have it.
THE PLAN (My adapted plan, not necessarily yours.)
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PHASE I - Juice Introduction
*Basically, in order for a transition to occur and be effective is to try and do what has worked in the past.
1.Build the desire and reason for change (Check)
2. Buy Groceries for 2-3 days of juicing (must have a juicer or some sort of blender)
a. Produce must be fresh and organic if possible
b. Produce must be local if possible
c. Produce must be consumed within the week of buying them, hence do not buy for a month stock)
d.cost must not exceed $50 for all fruits, nuts and veggies.
3. Take pictures, take measurements and log progress over the next 90 days.)
4. Eat normally, but substitute Juice for breakfast, snack, or lunch.
a. Reduce the amount of meat and processed foods in pantry and eating out over the next two weeks
b. By the end of week two, two meals will be juice (not store bought)
PHASE II - Juice Staple + P90x or hybrid workout regimen + 2 day juice fast prior to workout
1. Start including proteins and lean meats with an emphasis on healthy alternatives.
2. Allow a cheat day if needed (date night or sundays)
3. Juice 2 meals a day.
PHASE III - ? I'll let you know when I get there.
For those who want to documentary rules. It is a 10 day fast (sort of) substituting juice (juicing yourself, not store bought) I can't quite do this due to being diabetic, but I believe I will be able to slowly move into Juice as a staple. Two rules for myself I have are I can have coffee, 2 cups a day, no more then three unless it's decaf and I can have beer, chicken and beer on sundays. Eventually I believe I will not even desire eating a lot of meat and eating fast food. If I cheat, which I should, It will be one day. On days I forgot to juice or am in a situation where it's impossible, use the moderation rule, fill up on water, tea and veggies, eat meat but fill up in other ways.
This is my plan, so good luck to all those wanting to give Juicing a shot to reboot your system. I believe it will greatly improve my health based on research and other studies about juicing (look it up on google, they are there).
Finally a toast(red wine=healthy! (1 glass a day)), To your health and mine, Prost!
Whats the verdict? 6/10 - I need a frakin' VitaMix, but I do like the pulp so just because I like green drinks my six may be a 4 for some people. I do suggest adding less germ and flax and including a banana. It has a very "fresh applesque taste that finishes off with a kick of spinach. Adding a little more water may also help make it smoother. All in all I have a one green drink down for the day :D
