My Diet & Lifestyle

I'm sorry. I was too air headed to realize there would be quite serious questions regarding my personal diet and lifestyle practices in regards to losing weight when I wrote my last article on why cereal was probably not the best idea for breakfast. (It's the blog post right under this one, for reference.) Hell, I say a lot of things in my writing. I guess I wasn't used to people actually paying any attention until this year. (I don't know what it is about this year...) Anyway, I apologize that I didn't go into more detail, and I want to explain a few things in case it's too easy to “one track focus” on one or two things I might have said in regards to weight loss. And again, please don't replace what your doctor tells you with what someone says on the internet, willy nilly. Everyone is different, and someone might have something going on that must involve a professional. I am not a professional. I am also not a personal trainer. There are many good trainers around, and they're very quick to get back to you if you have questions. In this article, I am only answering questions regarding my own, personal lifestyle. It works for me, and it's based around my own disability, current state of health, and hereditary attributes. This has been designed by me, for my body, mind and soul. Now I'll attempt to share a more detailed explanation of my life for those who were genuinely curious. I don't mind doing so. I only want people do do their own research.

Alright. I'm disabled. I've gone through over nine reconstructive surgeries, and right now, I'm trying to push my next due date until next year. I have something I want to do this year, and I can't be bothered with yet another major surgery and therapy time. I have way too much going on- especially when spring hits. For this reason, my exercise and workout routine is careful. I try to refrain from putting much stress on my joints. I have congenital hip displasia, a slight curve in my spine, osteoarthritis, three herniated discs, and chronic, daily pain. If I don't constantly move, I will lose my ability to do anything at all.

I am extremely active. I will go down fighting before I'll settle down to live a sedentary life. But with this, I have to be careful as to what types of physical activities I do. I might not be capable of what a normal person's capable of, but I can manage and find alternatives and live a substantial life anyway. I will not waste away to an invalid state. It's right around the corner, peeking at me with creepy eyes. Screw that. This being said, I have reasons for exercising the way I do and choosing my activity schedule. I can't go and go and go, for hours at a time. I will rest in between active states all day long. I don't do “four hour work shifts” or anything that requires a constant activity, even if that activity is sedentary. I can't sit for that long just as I cannot exert myself for that long, without bad consequences. It's a very complicated disability, and there's no sure fire way to manage it. You just experiment.

My workout is usually 25 to 30 minutes every morning. I wake up at around 7 am EST. After having my much needed coffee because I'm addicted to the psychology of having it in my hand as well as the caffeine, I will change over to water. I set the timer on my cell phone, and do 45 second intervals of various exercises I change up every day. I do this with periodic rest times of about 20 seconds in between so I don't give myself a heart attack. I move through it relatively quickly, so I keep up my heart rate and sweat. Off the top of my head, there are squats that involve a chair, jumping jacks, butt kicks, pushups, situps, and various things I do with weights in my hands. I use ten pound weights in each hand for squats, and I use one ten pound weight for more restrictive sit ups that involve a kind of twist to it. I keep my hand weights low because I don't want giant arms like the Terminator. I make up half these exercises, based on what I can feel that my body needs as I go along. After my 25 to 30 minutes is over, I drink a lot of water and cook myself something to eat. During the course of the day, I'll go hunting for my dog on foot to make sure she hasn't roamed too far and caused some sort of destruction that would send the neighbors after me with torches. This takes a lot of time and some minimal hiking with the help of a walking stick. It's my version of going for a walk. I also take the dog on more scheduled walks later in the evening if she hasn't run enough. You know- out in the middle of nowhere, where she can't eat someone's pet chicken or get me into trouble.

In spring, summer and fall, I spend my time building, clearing land, planting and landscaping. I can forgo the morning workouts at this point, because winter's over and I'm outside doing physical things all the time. It replaces. Now don't be fooled- while it sounds bad ass that I'm building cabins and bridges and moving cinder blocks, the truth is that it takes me forever to do it. I can't work like a normal person. I move slowly, deliberately, and I take long rests in between everything. It takes me weeks to do something any other person can do in a day. I am disabled. But it is physical exertion, and again, I'm never sedentary.

My diet.

I got some questions about what I thought of the Keto diet. I'll answer that first. I think it's done good things for many people, but I don't think it's a great choice for everyone. We are all different. For instance, the keto diet seems to work beautifully for those with more sedentary lifestyles. It has worked for those with Parkinson's, and for some diabetics. It resets the way the body uses insulin, and ends up working out better for those who are sitting at a computer or working at a desk job for long periods of time. But anyone who's athletic or extremely active will have problems with it. Because very active people need the sugar that keto doesn't want you to partake of. You'll also notice a drag, or realize you may be missing a beat when it comes to thinking on your feet or being alert. The brain uses sugar. It needs it. If you're sedentary, you can get away with an extremely low intake of sugar. If you're active, however, it will cause problems. You use sugar when you're active. It's a fuel source. Carbs are not bad, and in my article about cereal, I did not mean to imply no one should ever eat carbs. What I said was that carbs aren't so great in the early morning, because that's the time of day when most people (who are active by day vs night) are waking up and their cortisone levels are at their peak.

My personal diet is not super strict. I simply refrain from high carbs in the early morning. Throughout the rest of the day, I'm more concerned with nutrition than dieting for weight loss. The weight loss is a secondary result of eating responsibly. I'm more focused on hormones, cellular health and brain function than I am weight loss. I don't eat refined foods, because they lack the organic chemical compounds found in heirloom and whole foods. I don't eat too much sugar or fructose corn syrup, because I'm concerned with my insulin levels. Plus, I'm a little bit vain. Too much of that sugary stuff dries out the skin and draws you up like a prune. I consume real bone broths, because they contain minerals I want. I don't like big slaughterhouse meats, because they're both inhumane and the animals are sick, diseased, or puffed up on bad hormones. It's gross. This is gonna sound weird, but I like trapped rabbit and occasional venison. I love steak, when it's grass fed and locally farm raised. I can find out who's taking care of them and how. I like having a very intimate relationship with my food and where it comes from. I'm not afraid to wring the neck of a chicken, but I haven't done it yet. I have eaten chicken someone else wrung the neck of. I don't get grass feed beef that often, because it's expensive. If I want venison, I have to track down a hunter and see if he has any in storage to sell. If I want rabbit, I have to either raise it, buy it locally or set out a trap myself. Since this is all very much a pain in the ass, I don't eat meat that often. Most of my diet is beans, eggs and fish. Oh yeah.. I'm taking up fishing this summer. As a side note, I've had better luck with finding fresh, unaltered fish. I also love sardines.

A lot of my food choices are based on research a young man named Max Lugavere has done with his book, Genius Foods. (If you're wondering) I'm also super into organic and heirloom stuff. And since these things are hard to find without high price tags, I'm slowly incorporating them into my diet based on the building of my little projects I've started since I've relocated back home from New York. When I have that garden, I'll be eating more of that food. At the moment and while I'm fighting through this first winter in a half-built cabin, I'm getting by on mainly beans, lentils, and fresh veggies that are on sale at the local supermarket. I stick to the cheaper things like root vegetables and greens. I take supplements, too. I have a thing about getting enough vitamin bs, amino acids and omega oils.

So there ya go. My diet is based on chemical compounds and revolves around me wanting to prevent premature dementia and retain my youth. I'll be making clips and writing articles this year as I grow organic gardens, can my own food, and try my hand at fishing. I love being transparent and sharing my life. The thing that always kept me motivated was watching someone else stay motivated. I hope I can pass along that habit for anyone who's interested.