It has been a couple weeks of having vegetable smoothies most nights instead of a solid meal, and it is going well. I feel a fair bit better, even though I have been sick through the same period, still coughing heavily, and haven't gone to the gym either. What I think has been the best thing, is that my stomach feels better, which is saying something, as I have had some quite severe stomach issues since I was a teen. It will never be great, but better is a start.
On the weekend, I was telling a friend about what I have been doing and he decided to start his smoothie journey too. He has a blender already, but he has only used it in the summer to make margaritas. So far, he hasn't been overly adventurous with his mixes, preferring berries rather than vegetables, but I think if he keeps it up, he will range further.
Tonight's mix:
Spinach
Zucchini
Cucumber
Parsley
Orange
Chia Seeds
Turkish Yoghurt
Carrot
This tastes good, with all that green loveliness packed with iron, combining with the sweetness of the orange that brings in some vitamin C. Supposedly, vitamin C helps aid iron absorption. And, while oranges do have sugar in them (which I try to avoid at night now), they also have a low glycemic index, so the sugar is released more slowly into the body, raising the blood sugar more evenly.
Did you get orange wedges at halftime during Saturday sports as a kid?
Maybe it was an Australian thing.
Being a little healthier in what I put into my body, will hopefully have a knock-on effect for other areas of my life. In the past, I have taken the "exercise first" route in the hope it will affect my diet, but this time I am going to go the other way, to see if I can make the habits more sustainable. I have always struggled with my diet, and I have an incredibly sweet tooth, so I haven't been able to maintain a stricter eating plan for more than a few months.
Even though I felt much better.
I find it interesting at how we not only know what is better for us, but even when we get the results that prove it, many of us still struggle to maintain it. While behavioral economics tells us that we will work in our own self-interest, what we consider interesting enough to work for is telling.
Due to our evolution, we have evolved to crave sugar, because it helps our brains grow. However, it also has a diminishing return that hits an equilibrium, and then starts to cost us. We feel bad, we get fat, our head doesn't think as clearly, as well as other aspects like sugar feeding cancer cells. Yet, that momentary sweetness is enough for us to override our long-term self-interest, and double down on enjoying the moment right now - regardless of the costs.
This is one of the problems with the way we have engineered culture to "live in the moment" in order to increase consumption (increase corporate profits and governmental control), because we are consumer beasts. We have evolved to be momentary, to eat what tastes sweet when it is available, and this impacts on other aspects of our lives, often to our detriment.
While we were starting to make a shift to be a more future-based global culture, there has been a strong pushback to reign in our planning and investment in improvement, and instead, spend now. Eating for taste alone is a "spend now" mentality, because it doesn't factor in the impact of what is eaten. Perhaps breaking into potential now, short, medium and long-term outcomes might help visualize it.
Eat a lot of unhealthy food
Now: Tastes Good
Short: Insulin spikes, mental fogginess, emotional imbalance
Medium: Lethargy, decreased stamina, affects on moods like motivation, weight gain
Long: Obesity, malnutrition, chronic illness
Eat a lot of unhealthy food
Now: Tastes Okay
Short: Insulin steady, mental acuity, emotional balance
Medium: Energy, increased health, greater motivation, weight management
Long: Healthier, more active, confidence.
It might vary for all, and eating healthy isn't some magical cure or prevention mechanism to stave off all illness, but it will likely help reduce the number of instances of low-level sickness, as well as reduce the possibility for multiple chronic conditions. Plus, when people feel generally okay health-wise, they don't think about how they are feeling that much at all. So, people tend to be more active, because there is less stopping them from being so, as they don't need to get over the mental hurdle of forcing themselves to do it while the body protests.
It has only been a couple weeks, so the results haven't been extreme, but I have noticed that I feel a little more alert, and I have also dropped a kilo or two. I am not sure if that is due to the change in food, illness, or not going to the gym though. I tend to put on weight when I am exercising, as my muscle returns very fast - even though it might be hidden under a layer of "non-muscle".
While I don't plan on living the rest of my days having vegetable smoothies for dinner, I also ponder that if it makes me feel better, why the hell not? Of course, I can still enjoy a good meal every now and again, and still maintain this most of the time, so perhaps that should be the approach.
So far, it has been the easiest dietary change I have made.
Have you tried it?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Sorry to hear that you haven't been feeling well! I'm right there with you. I worked out for the first time in a couple of days this morning and it really kicked my butt. I plan on getting back up and doing it again tomorrow though. I tried doing protein smoothies in the morning for a while, but the protein powder did funky stuff with my stomach. I ended up going back to cereal which I know is not ideal. My wife does egg whites most mornings, but I don't think my stomach could handle that either.
Yep - I tried these many years ago, and the same issue. I think it is because of the various blends - it isn't just protein. I find for instance, that eating carbs and protein together isn't ideal for me.
I think the less processed food is, the better.
I want to get back. Weekend maybe looks okay.
I thought about switching to something like oatmeal in the mornings, but I am not sure if I can do the texture. I just know that cereal probably isn't doing me any favors each morning.
Eat a lot of unhealthy food
Now: Tastes Good
Short: Insulin spikes, mental fogginess, emotional imbalance
Medium: Lethargy, decreased stamina, affects on moods like motivation, weight gain
Long: Obesity, malnutrition, chronic illness
Eat a lot of unhealthy food
Now: Tastes Okay
Short: Insulin steady, mental acuity, emotional balance
Medium: Energy, increased health, greater motivation, weight management
Long: Healthier, more active, confidence.
One of them is Healthy, right? Wonder which one? :)
:)
Do you notice the difference pretty quickly?
This morning, I had something my wife was eating (some Finnish bread thing) - near immediate regrets!
Actually, when I do this healthy stuff, from time to time, I start with a 24 hours fasting, so the body will kind of reset to initial settings, and then I introduce foods slowly, starting with some nice clean choices like yogurt or fruits/veg, and then a soup. Works the same for multiple days fastings.
I never tried smoothies but it could be feels better. I always prefer to have dinner at night and then a healthy breakfast. Our stomach adjusted according to our type of meal. If we prefer heavy meal, stomach adjust according to this and we have a lot of appetite but if we shortened the meal, heavy meal can't adjusted by stomach.
Do you mean that you think the body won't adjust to a change in diet?
There is a saying, you are what you eat. So if you eat healthy, your body should feel it. Sweets are actually addictive. The body craves it, and it might be difficult to stop at first but the body will eventually adjust. For those trying to lose weight, changing their diet has always been the most effective; calorie in vs calorie out. If one is burning more calories than they're consuming, they will lose weight. I hope your change in diet bears fruit.
3 weeks, full of headaches, that's what it tooks when I stopped cold turkey to have sugar and caffeine.
Oh wow you did both at the same time? That's rough. Both are addictive, and causes withdrawal symptoms. I watched an episode about this on Food Theory on YT, and from their experience they kind of adjusted after a week. I hope you're healthier afterwards.
9 days for me. It is still hard and sometimes I slip back, but overall I can see the benefits. For me was an emergency, the best way is to reduce it slowly and then build some other habit on top of this one, like drinking cool simple water instead of soft drinks, and learn/train yuorself to like the taste of water. As for caffeine, I find the exercise give me a similar kick, so a short 20 min high intensity training will boost me in the similar way. Training can still be addictive, but is a different adiction than the caffeine.
Yeah, they say exercise releases happy hormones. It is awesome that you have been living healthier now.
Dear @tarazkp !
I hope your health problems are resolved!
By the way, From the perspective of East Asian medicine, there is a claim that when people grow older, they return to the state of mind and body they were in when they were born.
So, I assumed your body was asking for it given the circumstances when you were born in Australia!
I think your health can be restored if you return to the way of life you enjoyed in Australia!
I encourage you to try the foods you enjoyed in Australia!
My dear brother!
I hope you can beat a lion like a koala!😄
Taking care of our body is the greatest investment. Maybe I too could learn from that mixture. I already have a blender, so what stops me 😃
Good dietary practice! Sorry for your health. Get well soon!
I never make myself a smoothie. It's funny though, right now I'm growing microgreens. These are seeds that you germinate and harvest when they are young shoots and have their first leaves.
In 1 gram of broccoli microgreens, there are about 40 times more nutrients than in 1 gram of mature broccoli.
I think it's something you could add to your smoothies 👍
https://peakd.com/hive-140635/@genesisledger/an-update-on-thriving-with-homegrown-microgreens-ep-02-enfr
I’ve got a blender so I may just decide to learn from that mixture
Smoothies are really good for our body. Ti take them regularly but don’t make them
I should do that one of these days
Get well soon
I don't think I can do the smoothie thing but more props to you. It's healthy but I need the satisfaction of a meal.