"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
Have you heard this saying? What do you think?
This can be applied to many things in life, but my journey is definitely one of them. The idea of eating six or seven times a day and keeping my blood sugar levels low to regulate insulin levels is one that I had heard in passing before but never really understood. Now, it all seems to make sense – and I feel like I'm learning how to eat for the first time in my life.
I had another day full of great nutrition today – oatmeal with blueberries, turkey bacon, and a banana for breakfast, almonds for a snack, leftovers from last night for lunch, carrots for a snack, a dinner of turkey, rice, and beans, and a snack of whole grain crackers this evening. The idea is that my metabolism is burning all of the food I am putting in because I am eating at regular 2-3 hour intervals, which causes my body to relax in knowing that there will always be more food coming – no need to store as fat for a shortage!
Am I seeing results yet? Of course not – well, unless you count the way I feel. I feel fantastic. But it's only been three days, and I don't think I'll weigh myself regularly. This journey isn't really about a number. It's about the way I look and feel.
This time, I'm going to win.
Have you heard this saying? What do you think?
This can be applied to many things in life, but my journey is definitely one of them. The idea of eating six or seven times a day and keeping my blood sugar levels low to regulate insulin levels is one that I had heard in passing before but never really understood. Now, it all seems to make sense – and I feel like I'm learning how to eat for the first time in my life.
I had another day full of great nutrition today – oatmeal with blueberries, turkey bacon, and a banana for breakfast, almonds for a snack, leftovers from last night for lunch, carrots for a snack, a dinner of turkey, rice, and beans, and a snack of whole grain crackers this evening. The idea is that my metabolism is burning all of the food I am putting in because I am eating at regular 2-3 hour intervals, which causes my body to relax in knowing that there will always be more food coming – no need to store as fat for a shortage!
Am I seeing results yet? Of course not – well, unless you count the way I feel. I feel fantastic. But it's only been three days, and I don't think I'll weigh myself regularly. This journey isn't really about a number. It's about the way I look and feel.
This time, I'm going to win.
I would like to add to this. I have always been baffled by my wife's family, because they eat cheese constantly -- but they're all skinny! The key is, they have formed habits that have them naturally eating a variety of foods at regular intervals. It's very rare for them to go more than a few hours without eating. Now, this isn't to say that your cheese intake should be unlimited (although we would all like it to be, I think). :) The point is, if you're eating the right food, at the right time, in the right combinations, you'll be healthy. I think. :) This is a journey.
ReplyDeleteThis is great, Joe. Two very random points:
ReplyDelete1) Yeah, don't weigh yourself (obviously I'm speaking from so much personal experience, right?) Ta-Nehisi Coates had a long struggle with his weight and health and he would balloon up and down. He finally managed to make some sustainable diet and lifestyle changes and began to lose weight REALLY SLOWLY but it was sustainable. That, to me, seems to be the key. The other pertinent point, you might say, is who the heck is Ta-Nehisi Coates? Oh well.
2) There is absolutely no way the following will work for you, but I can't get it out of my mind and it literally changes what I eat: I imagine people in say, Medieval Europe or Ancient Egypt having the diet that I am eating that day. And then I think, gosh, let me control that ancient empire and the only advantage my people have is this daily food ration and we would conquer the world because we'd live so much longer. lol. And then if I spend the day eating cookies and pizza I go, uh oh, my people are going to get conquered because they're all going to have scurvy and heart disease. Yeah, it doesn't make any sense, but there it is.
Juice, I agree with your comment on Ta-Nehisi Coates. And, I have no idea who he is. :)
ReplyDeleteYou might think that there is absolutely no way that point 2 would work for me, but I also employ similar strategies to help me keep a healthy diet. Now, it doesn't always work, but I know it's helped me to consume different things (or at least smaller amounts of certain things) than I would otherwise. So, thank you for that one as well!