HOW: It's all about how in the end. This is where we'll sum up the actions in each post. In this post we talk of healthy lifestyle vs. health craze and the very first step - buy a blender.
When we resolve to be more health conscious in our lives, the initial phase can be pretty confusing. With an endless sea of information and contradicting opinions, you don't know where to begin or if you're doing the things that are best for you.
That was precisely the subject of a conversation that I recently had when I ran into an old friend (Bob). After catching up on what one another was up to Bob expressed his frustration with the whole fitness craze and how he was finding it difficult to manage his health with his tremendously busy life.
First off I told him he wasn't alone in his frustration. I continued by explaining that practicing a healthier lifestyle was not really all that complicated. His expression revealed that he thought otherwise. I had to set Bob straight without turning him off of the subject. I gently explained that it took him many years to get out of condition and become less than optimally healthy. I went on further to say that certain lifestyle habits that he developed over those years are the source of his less healthy state. Some of us want to undo these years of neglect with quick fixes, excessive exercise, and fad diets. This is precisely where there are business practices in place to tell you what you want to hear and offer you the solution with some one size fits all remedy. I told him fitness is a huge money making industry and there's plenty of people who want a piece of the pie (no pun intended). I'm not saying all fitness products and businesses are corrupt, I'm just saying that we all have unique lives and needs. Just be wary of claims that your needs can be met by businesses and products sold by people you've never even met.
I know Bob was following but I felt as though I was just giving him more information and no real concrete advice that he could walk away with and begin applying. Spending a lifetime in a body that he hasn't had to think about up until now has left him somewhat confused. It was then that I said "Bob, I'm going to help you get through this thing." All I wanted in return was his promise to do exactly as I asked, to be patient, and I wanted to use our experience in my blog so that other people could benefit. He was definitely in! We agreed to meet in two days time at the coffee shop on the corner. Before we parted I told him to get started with two things.
#1 If you don't own a blender, go out and by one. I want you to prepare yourself a smoothie each morning for your breakfast, and I gave him the preparation.
Frozen Spinach insta-Breakfast
Put all the following ingredients in a blender.
- 4 big spoonfuls of low fat vanilla yogurt.
- ½ cup of frozen berries of his choice (blue berries, strawberries, raspberries,...)
- ¼ cup of frozen fruit (mango, pineapple,...)
- 1 handful of frozen spinach. Yep, spinach. I promise you won't even taste it. Buy one of those plastic packages of whole spinach and chuck it in your freezer. It goes bad fast once it's open so keep it frozen. Keep the stems on, they blend up just fine.
- 1 table spoon of ground flax seeds
- 1 ½ cups of water
Blend it and bottoms up.
#2 replace any drinks you have during the day with water. Other than the smoothie and perhaps a coffee, his liquids were to be water. No juice, milk, soft drinks, or energy drinks.
As we parted, Bob called back," What about my calcium, where will I get it if I don't drink milk?" I assured him there was calcium in the yogurt, and the spinach. I told him that we'd cover all that in detail as we go. Reassured, he waved back and as I watched him walk away I knew as of this moment his life was about to change.
When we resolve to be more health conscious in our lives, the initial phase can be pretty confusing. With an endless sea of information and contradicting opinions, you don't know where to begin or if you're doing the things that are best for you.
That was precisely the subject of a conversation that I recently had when I ran into an old friend (Bob). After catching up on what one another was up to Bob expressed his frustration with the whole fitness craze and how he was finding it difficult to manage his health with his tremendously busy life.
First off I told him he wasn't alone in his frustration. I continued by explaining that practicing a healthier lifestyle was not really all that complicated. His expression revealed that he thought otherwise. I had to set Bob straight without turning him off of the subject. I gently explained that it took him many years to get out of condition and become less than optimally healthy. I went on further to say that certain lifestyle habits that he developed over those years are the source of his less healthy state. Some of us want to undo these years of neglect with quick fixes, excessive exercise, and fad diets. This is precisely where there are business practices in place to tell you what you want to hear and offer you the solution with some one size fits all remedy. I told him fitness is a huge money making industry and there's plenty of people who want a piece of the pie (no pun intended). I'm not saying all fitness products and businesses are corrupt, I'm just saying that we all have unique lives and needs. Just be wary of claims that your needs can be met by businesses and products sold by people you've never even met.
I know Bob was following but I felt as though I was just giving him more information and no real concrete advice that he could walk away with and begin applying. Spending a lifetime in a body that he hasn't had to think about up until now has left him somewhat confused. It was then that I said "Bob, I'm going to help you get through this thing." All I wanted in return was his promise to do exactly as I asked, to be patient, and I wanted to use our experience in my blog so that other people could benefit. He was definitely in! We agreed to meet in two days time at the coffee shop on the corner. Before we parted I told him to get started with two things.
#1 If you don't own a blender, go out and by one. I want you to prepare yourself a smoothie each morning for your breakfast, and I gave him the preparation.
Frozen Spinach insta-Breakfast
Put all the following ingredients in a blender.
- 4 big spoonfuls of low fat vanilla yogurt.
- ½ cup of frozen berries of his choice (blue berries, strawberries, raspberries,...)
- ¼ cup of frozen fruit (mango, pineapple,...)
- 1 handful of frozen spinach. Yep, spinach. I promise you won't even taste it. Buy one of those plastic packages of whole spinach and chuck it in your freezer. It goes bad fast once it's open so keep it frozen. Keep the stems on, they blend up just fine.
- 1 table spoon of ground flax seeds
- 1 ½ cups of water
Blend it and bottoms up.
#2 replace any drinks you have during the day with water. Other than the smoothie and perhaps a coffee, his liquids were to be water. No juice, milk, soft drinks, or energy drinks.
As we parted, Bob called back," What about my calcium, where will I get it if I don't drink milk?" I assured him there was calcium in the yogurt, and the spinach. I told him that we'd cover all that in detail as we go. Reassured, he waved back and as I watched him walk away I knew as of this moment his life was about to change.
