My head could explode from all the different choices of restricted diets I could go on to torture myself with or to take to the expert level of a meat and cheese extravaganza (atkins). I could also laugh myself silly with the claims that all of these fads and quick fixes assure us in order to mask the real long term dangers of any type of restricted diet on the body, mind and soul. After a life time of trying to obtain the socially except able "skinny" and being on every bandwagon in order to achieve it. Then I was struck by that car while on my bike and suddenly I couldn't do any impact work outs, so calories in and calories out with heavy training, cardio and high impact activities to balance out my "diet" just went out the window. All senses of control I had on my body and mind flew out the door along with my body and mind connection. It took 4 hours for my mind to accept that I was hit by a car. The lady even had to explain to me that she hit me with her car. It's a very strange space to be when you are feeling overwhelming sensations of pain in your body and your mind wants to eat to dull the pain so you have cravings for comfort foods but you also have a body that now seeks certain foods to aid in its every day management of inflammation and recovery throughout the entire body. A nervous system not only still in shock but searching to be soothed. If I eat too much meat my whole body swells but if I eat too much fruit, i'll probably gain weight and carbs?! Wait, I'm not suppose to have those if I can't work out. What am I going to do?!?!?
I had just enrolled in a nutrition program that was based on "Let food be thy medicine" and started to really research what foods would help me heal. My doctors could not diagnose what was wrong with my leg and hip so slowly but surely I started eliminating any outside factors that could be contributing to my symptoms. The more I started to read labels, the more I realized what crazy chemicals and additives I was really eating. My body was screaming at me any time I ate something that wasn't really needed in order to heal itself from the force that a 3000 pound vehicle has on the human body. Its hard not to think about it daily when I feel things that I wish would just go away but the truth is my body took a blunt force from the car, then went on to make impact with the handle bars at my chest as the rest of my body flung forward with my left hip and elbow making a huge impact with the asphalt where I then struggled to get to my feet. How can the human body recover from that if I don't feed my body in a way that regenerates my cells. I need to repair and heal every system in my body not to mention maintain the rest of my health. It been almost 2 years of using holistic nutrition to help heal my body from my accident and manage my swelling to uncover the way I feel our bodies and minds were meant to be fed. Not a diet but a lifestyle that allows us to live in optimum health and still enjoy the pleasures of the culinary world without the damage excessive consumption causes. I obviously can't lay it all out in one post but I'm going to lay the groundworks for what will be a continuous work in progress, of a lifestyle I think anyone who desires a fit body, satisfying nutritional diet with room for guilt free pleasures from food and alcohol can enjoy.
As our bodies wake up from a great nights sleep, we've just been resting our minds but our bodies have been working all night to keep all our organs active and ready to carry us through another day. All of the foods that we have consumed the day before should already have been broken down and used with only waste remaining. A clean slate of sorts with no fats remaining in our blood to slow down digestion.
I feel that its best to feed the body fruits all morning to surge our system with fast digesting fruits that will provide quick nutrition, as well as push out our waste as fast as possible. I usually have something like 4 oranges and 5 dates. I also drink a beet based juice with my fruits in the morning which further helps in eliminating toxins from the body. Instead of taking an anti inflammatory pill, I mix cinnamon, turmeric and honey with hot water and cold pressed coffee to give me an extra pep in my step and more motion in my joints along with less swelling. With this serge of energy I always like to do an hour of physical activity no matter what my level of pain is, to literally get my blood pumping so that it can deliver all of the wonderful nutrition the fruit I ate had.
After my morning pump, my body is ready for something a little bit more substantial but I also don't want to eat something that will be counter productive to my day and make me tired. Since I was just physical my body is going to start to swell and stiffen up and this is when I eat as much fresh veggies and fruit as possible and wash it down with a Greens Based juice. The high water content in the veggies and fruits helps to reduce swelling by flushing the system with more water and contributing to rapid cell regeneration. I keep the fat and protein in this meal very low so that nothing slows the distribution of water and nutrients. The goal is to get as much nutrition to my cells as fast as possible.
When you eat something that is high in fat and protein your body pulls all the fat and protein into the blood and due to the density in both causes a thickening of the blood. While the body is breaking down and digesting fat and protein all other food must wait until the fat is broken down before anything else can be digested and distributed. Thats when good foods like fruit get a bad name. Its honestly worse for your waist to have fruit for desert after a steak dinner then it is to just have cake. So, if your weight is your concern keep the fruit to early in the day and if chemicals in the cake are your issue then eat the fruit for dessert. See, its really all personal, like diet and nutrition should be. Here though, the principle is that veggies and fruits are fast digestion so long as there is low fat and protein, the body uses this nutrition immediately.
Continuing to feed my body what it needs, my mid afternoon nibble is usually a higher carb meal like mung beans and black rice with tomatoes, mint and parsley because my body is still running at a higher rate from my work out but its mentally slowing down. Mung beans and rice are the highest source of none animal based protein with the fastest digestion and nutritional distribution rate which means I won't get tired from digestion, my body is getting something heartier to eat and my mind is benefitting by maintaining its energy by the boost caused by the protein and carbs.
At this time of day its around 4:30 and as you can see, I went from raw fresh fruits and veggies with two different kinds of beneficial juices to a cooked high carb meal that is naturally high in protein but is not animal based. I have yet to touch high fat or high protein or any animal products. I am feeding my body to support the natural course of my day and aid me in being able to perform with less swelling because nothing I eat produces a swelling affect. You would be surprised by how much a food can cause inflammation.
We are now entering the evening and I am ready to start slowing down. My evening meal is like a reward to my mind for my body using everything I have given it to fuel me and help keep my body in optimum health. This is usually the time of day when my mind says feed me something delicious and ya know what, I do! Braised short ribs with rosemary infused asparagus, sweet hot cauliflower mash and a glass of wine.... coming right up! I know, it sounds crazy. I just ate the healthiest you can possibly eat and then end it with short fatty ribs!?!? Yes! I'm eating them under the best of circumstances! My body can break down the fat with ease and will use the rest of the benefits that come with red meat because there is nothing else my body is trying to digest in wonder. Everything that I have consumed my body knows what to do with so when I do have something that is higher in fat and takes longer to digest my body is ready for the challenge. My body has the rest of the night until the morning to break down the fat from this meal and distribute it. Giving it 12 hours to digest means that it will all be used and not stored on my body as fat. I'm also combining my foods in a way that my body can break everything down with ease of digestion and without any side affects of poor food combining like gas and bloating.
Every day of eating is not the same because either am I. By learning how we digest foods and how our own bodies work, we can develop our own way to eat that give us the body we should realistically want, the mental clarity we desire and the most chemical free organic life possible. The principle of the lifestyle I created will show people that no food is off limits to anyone and that our bodies have different requirements for nutritional support as it goes through its day, so we should feed it according to what it needs to function. If you can do that, everything else around it finds balance, which is really the key to having a happy healthy life.
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