Does your body hurt? Do you have aches and pains? Do you think it’s from ‘growing old’? Are you popping pain relievers first thing in the morning and again in the afternoon?
Want to know a secret?
What if I told you that, I, too, suffered from aches and pain. It hurt simply to walk. There was no rhyme or reason for it other than I was nearing the half century mark. It’s part of getting older is how we think of it, right? What if it’s not? What if your normal was walking without pain? Would you believe me if I told you I did it? Within weeks, I was walking normally. No pain. No hitch in my saddle. Normal.
How did I do it?
Are you familiar with Einstein’s definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results? If what you’re doing isn’t working, then something needs to change.
Well, what I was doing wasn’t working. How did I change?
#1 I stopped eating processed foods six days a week.
What does that mean? I hear you saying. To tell the truth, it means no bread, pasta, rice, muffins, bagels, flour, etc. Oh, I can’t do that! What would I eat?
Learn something new
Change is difficult. I get it. All I could think of was my dad saying, “Growing old ain’t for sissies” Really? This is what my life is coming down to? A tired blob of pain? No! Fuck that!
There is a better way!
The research I did showed that I needed to up my protein intake, which meant going back to eating meat. The data indicated it would help me achieve the results I desired. As a vegetarian of 4.5 years, making this decision took some soul-searching. Did I want to give up being a vegetarian? In the end, what did I have to lose? I could always go back to being a vegetarian. The data showed me where I would most likely see changes. Changes that I needed for me to be healthy and for my body to run optimally.
#2 Protein fills us up, leading to satiety.
Many folks aren't getting the recommended 1 gram of protein per goal weight. For example, 8 ounces of turkey has 64 grams of protein. Four ounces of London Broil has 35-40 grams of protein. As per Dr. Jay Wrigley, "our endocrine systems and hormones thrive on protein, monounsaturated fat, some saturated fat, and just enough carbs to make their conversions to their active form." He recommends meat (especially ruminant), fish, eggs, avocados, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, fermented dairy and berries.
#3 Cooking at home is simple and quick.
Many meals can be made in 20-30 minutes. Start with some basic ingredients. Focus on protein/meat, a veggie, dairy if you tolerate it, and some berries for dessert. Eggs are super nutritious and cook quickly. Buy pre-made burgers or make your own. Saute, steam, or roast a veggie ~ broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, or cabbage. Avocados with a squeeze of lemon juice and salt or tajin are super tasty. Add a side of cottage cheese, kefir, or yogurt with berries. A burger or two (no bun), broccoli, and berries with yogurt. A quick, easy, nutritious, satisfying meal.
Up next, the Pantry
There are folks who have gone on this journey before me and were kind enough to share their stories. Better yet, they have shared their recipes! I tossed the flour and sugars and rebuilt my pantry from scratch. This time, with items that would not make my joints hurt and my blood sugar go crazy. Likewise, I learned how to cook differently, using ingredients that would allow my body to heal; reduce inflammation.
Instead of baking with wheat flour, I discovered how to make desserts using almond and coconut flours, sugar substitutes like monkfruit, and have moved on to making things out of egg powder; no flours needed.
Our bodies are designed to process very little sugar
Dr. Robert Lustig is in the process of uncovering how many words there currently are for sugar. It’s over 200, and he’s still counting! I know of 61. High fructose corn syrup is one of the major ones. It’s cheap to make and is used in a variety of packaged foods.
# 4 Ditch the sugar
What all of this consumption is doing is making our bodies insulin resistant. This means that it’s making our pancreas work harder and harder as we continue to eat processed foods with all of this sugar in it. Essentially, the body stores all of the excess sugar as fat. Bingo! That’s where my extra 15 pounds came from! Furthermore, I was continuing to eat the bagels, muffins, pasta, and rice. Whole grain pancakes are good for me, right? Nope! Again, my body couldn’t process this stuff fast enough, and I gained even more weight.
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
Would you believe me if I shared with you that 80% of processed foods have sugar in them? Go grab three items from your pantry that you don’t think has sugar in it. Mayonnaise? It’s in most brands. Bread? Yep! Spaghetti sauce? Oh yeah! Take a look at the amount of sugar that’s in your yogurt and granola. Go ahead! How much? That’s healthy for you though, right? If you’re like me and have put on 15 pounds (or more) and don’t know how it happened, let me share what I’ve discovered. First, though, do me (and yourselves) a favor…Read the labels on your foods to see which ones have sugar. Next, if they have more than 6 grams of sugar per serving, they need to go! Do not buy these! Find a similar product with 6 (or less) grams per serving. They are there.
I’ll just exercise it away
Meanwhile, my doctor told me to eat less and move my body more. Have you ever been told this? It’s bullshit! I spent four hours, most weeks, on the greenway, yet my weight didn’t change all that drastically. Can you lose weight with calorie restriction? Yes. Is it sustainable? I’m not willing to find out. For me, it was easier to eat meat, learn to make things using ingredients that didn’t inflame my body, and eventually, I added another element to my routine.
16:8
Truly, I didn’t think I could get on the bandwagon. But, as the fat melted off my body, I got excited and wanted to see what else I could do to make the fat disappear even faster! Looking in the mirror and seeing skin and muscle, less cellulite, and only small bulges of fat was super inspiring! I wanted more of that!
#5 My research led me to fasting.
Some research says for women to fast 14 hours each night and eat in a 10 hour window during the day. I started with this and eventually switched to 16:8, which means I fast for 16 hours each night, giving me eight hours during the day to eat. I typically only eat two meals a day. They consist of a big brunch around 12 PM then dinner in the evening, which I prefer to have finished by 7 PM. Keeping these times as consistent as possible provides an eating schedule that’s been invaluable. Recently, I’ve started fasting for about 21 hours on Sunday. There is no particular reason. It just seems to be a day when I’m busy, not really hungry, and don’t feel the need to eat until dinner time.
#6 Eat only when you are hungry
You probably heard it’s best to eat every few hours to keep your blood sugar stable. As one who had gestational diabetes, I heard this during all of my pregnancies. Guess what? Bullshit yet again! Eating every few hours, especially if it’s the processed crap we’ve all grown accustomed to eating, is contributing big time to your weight gain, aches and pains, and tiredness. It was weird at first. Namely, having to tune into my body and figure out when it was telling me it was hungry. Specifically, new clues like this feeling in my stomach, the loud rumblings, and eventually, it has become this feeling of it is time. In truth, hangry became a thing of the past quickly.
You want more energy, less aches and pains, less illness, less body fat, to give the ‘growing old’ feeling the boot, and to avoid becoming diabetic. Am I right? To this end, cook at home. Ditch processed foods. Ditch sugar. Fill up on protein. Eat when you’re hungry. Fast, especially if you want to lose fat faster!
I did it, and you can too! Change is the only constant. If what you’re doing isn’t working, what have you got to lose? With this purpose in mind, try one concept. Then another. In fact, when you have the hang of those two, add a third. How are you feeling? How is your energy? Will you share with me which one you are working on and how it’s going? It would be an honor to cheer you on!
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