Muebe's thread about his great results in losing weight has inspired me to get this going. While I know most of the food revolving around this forum may not be healthy, there are those of use who use our cooking devices to lead healthy lifestyles. So, I am here to offer up support, encouragement, guidance and recipes to those who would like it, and I hope others will do so too!
What I do ask, is that if you do not have anything constructive to say, or are going to bash on what is being discussed here, please refrain. Let me start out by telling my story. I am 29 years old, and have always considered myself in excellent shape. I grew up playing many sports. Today, I am a firefighter and I am happy to have a career that is physically challenging. I am lucky in that I get to work out every day at work. On my days off, I remain very physically active, running many miles a week, swimming, playing hockey, riding bikes and motocross, plus what ever else I can do to challenge myself physically. I pride myself in my fitness.
I have been fortunate that I have pretty much been able to eat what I want. While I appeared to be healthy on the outside, once a month or so I would get a migraine that would completely debilitate me for 2-3 days. We're talking, curled up in a dark room, nearly unconscious, vomiting and all the fun stuff that comes along with a migraine. I would lose track of days and have no clue of what was happening around me for that much time. I might as well have been in a coma.
I knew to avoid certain foods and preservatives. I was seeing top neurologists, specialists, and going through all sorts of testing and therapies to "cure" my migraines. Every medication, I tried it. Acupuncture, massages, chiropractors and physical therapists were costing my thousands of dollars each month. I was on a ton of meds, and I still had these stupid headaches. They were ruining my life.
A friend turned me on to a movie called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" about a guy who was able to overcome is ailments by juicing. I'm not talking about steroids, but making fresh fruit and vegetable juice every day. At first, I scoffed at the idea of a juice fast. There was no way you could survive off that! I clicked play on that screen and it changed my life forever...
What I learned is that I was feeding my body all wrong. I wasn't giving my body what it needed to properly operate. As soon as I started juicing, cutting out dairy, grains and sugars, my headaches stopped. I went two months, then three, then four, and before I knew it I was a year without a headache. I had aligned myself with the Paleo Diet and Lifestyle and I was seeing incredible results in my fitness and my overall well being. So the whole time before I had it all wrong. Instead of just avoiding certain foods, I was giving my body what it needed, and it was able to take care of itself. I was even able to introduce some foods back in to my diet, like pork!
Anyways, I've incorporated good habits and eliminated bad ones. I hope I can help others do the same.
"Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" available on Netflix or it can be watched on hulu
http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122.
I have plenty of other videos and articles I'll share with folks!
Let's hear your stories!
