Hungry for Change

I recently watched a health documentary, "Hungry for Change". I approached the movie with high suspicions; Is this just another liar out for my dollar? I didn't want to start a new lifestyle and spend the money on certain this and specific that just to stay the same or even gain.

But, instead of talking about how carbohydrates or fats or another food group isn't good, they included all food groups. They promoted high-nutrient foods and denounced processed foods, especially that contained addicting additives such as MSG. Did you know, to fatten up lab mice and rats, they feed them MSG and the automatically put on weight? Those types of foods work against your body, even when they claim to have healthy benefits.

I used to think organic foods were a scam. I do realize they are expensive...for some reason the bad foods are the affordable and are keeping people fattened up, addictive, and ready for more. This fact has inspired me to look into gardening and farming.

The fact that hit me the hardest is that diet soda has exactly the opposite effect that consumers are looking for and that it actually has unhealthy side effects. More often than not, diet soda will cause a weight gain and making losing harder. The combination of aspartame and caffeine actually kills brain cells. If you have to have soda, you will never lose weight, and I would choose regular from now on.

Besides these insights, they also provided lifestyle advice such as  juicing for detox and other health benefits.

Along with the movie, I have begun reading "The Fast Metabolism Diet". It consists of three phases that cycle through each week. This diet consists of only non-processed foods and does not exclude any nutrient group. Instead, it uses each group and their effects to start making your body work the way it was supposed to and trained not to.

Phase I is where you are able to have a lot of high natural sugar foods and grains. During these two days (Monday and Tuesday, usually) you do cardio and aerobics. This phase helps recover your digestion from all the abuse it has gone through over the years.

Phase II is where you have proteins and high-alkalizing green vegetables. These foods help to unlock your fat stores and put the fat into the bloodstream over the next two days (Wednesday and Thursday). During this phase, weight training is the best course of exercise.

For the next three days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), Phase III requires you to eat healthy fats, certain fruits, veggies, and proteins. During this time, your body is learning to use fat for fuel, burning the fat you just released for two days prior. The activities for this phase should be stress-relieving such as yoga, pilates, or even a massage.

It doesn't exactly sound like a diet! It sounds like a healthy way to eat. Today is July 11th and it is a Thursday. Tomorrow is the Friday I will begin trying to turn my life around; NO EXCUSES.

Another interesting fact I learned through a recent doctor's appointment and information from the book; PCOS = insulin resistance, obviously and Atkins causes insulin resistance which is probably why I've gained so much weight back upon quitting Atkins.

I will be strictly juicing this weekend to prepare myself for Monday, the day I will begin this new lifestyle and test the effectiveness of eating an all-natural and organic diet, nitrate-free with no MSG, in a way that wakes up my digestive track from the long sleep it has endured.

This lifestyle should be healthier for my condition and for my body inside and out.