The other element that goes hand in hand with the positive addiction of exercise is, of course, one’s diet. In my case it was a gradual transformation that now some would describe as extreme. The photo here is partially representative of where I am today. Some of my favorite no-nos:
–if it comes through a car window do not eat it.
–avoid canned foods (glass containers are better) especially anything with acid like tomatoes.
–Instant and processed packaged foods should be avoided or minimized.
–So-called substitutes should be avoided. This would include things like margarine, artificial sweeteners, etc.
–rarely and I mean rarely add salt and sugar (and then only sea salt or raw sugar) to anything on the table.
–anything with adders like HFCS, Red Dye 40, sodium nitrates, and a host of other additives for color, food preservation, artificial taste and other chemicals that are added to reach the ultimate “bliss point”. The “bliss point” is what food processors seek—in short, it is where you will have difficulty minimizing your consumption of the item thus maximizing sales. When they back off the “bliss point” for a given item sales go down thus there is a negative addiction involved here.
Some favorite diet habits/foods (and I understand there are cost and availability issues for many):
–whole foods cooked from scratch (key words: organic, free range, grass fed, local, from your garden, non-GMO, wild—you get the picture).
–Great adders: organic cinnamon, turmeric, curry, red pepper(s), garlic, and the like.
–eat fresh fruits, dark chocolate (70% cocoa plus minimum), all types of nuts, and drink water. Nothing like dark chocolate coated walnuts! Those are dark chocolate almonds in the photo
–organic steel cut oats, with berries (blue, black, raspberry, etc.) and organic cinnamon is a favorite.
–do not eat huge meals but snack a lot with the good stuff all day long—nothing comes from a vending machine. I am 100% sure I cannot gain weight with my routine.
–when I travel the good stuff is in the vehicle or I know where to get it along the way.
For those who cannot handle this type of extreme diet the following out is offered;
Beetle Bailey Comic Strip: Starring Sgt. Snorkle. First frame: Sgt Snorkle exercising with sweat coming off his forehead—no caption. Second frame: Sgt. Snorkle is engaged good hygiene brushing his teeth, etc.—no caption. Third frame: Sgt. Snorkle is eating a healthy breakfast—no caption: Fourth frame: Sgt. Snorkle is sitting at the bar with a mug of beer in hand—caption: “Three out of four ain’t bad.”
A good take on the food you eat comes from Food Forensics by Mike Adams.
Next a person of day remembered.