Have you ever thought of your body like a car? We need it to travel through our lives and what we put in it will directly effect it's performance, not only in the immediate term but right through to the end of our lives. Most of us know what it takes to maintain a healthy body, and keep it strong for the future:
A diet that is rich in lean meat and fish, fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds and minimizes processed foods.
Regular exercise.
And yet how many of us follow that path consistently? For most it's a lifelong struggle. I know that I find it difficult to strike the balance between looking after my body and living my life. Right now, I'm experimenting with the Paleo Diet. I was convinced that it was worth trying by an amazing book - The Paleo Answer by Loren Cordain who is one of the world's top researchers in the area of evolutionary medicine.
The book links processed foods, dairy and grains to so many illnesses including heart disease and diabetes (duh!), cancer, multiple sclerosis, ulcers, asthma, acne, colic, cataracts, alopecia, ADD, autoimmune thyroid diseases, migraines, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis to name just a few. Perhaps more interestingly, it shows, through research and results, that the Paleo diet can reverse many of these things including high blood pressure and high cholesterol - even in people who have been on medication for years. Based on all of this, I thought it worth a try - I am choosing to change my ways and hopefully change my future. My triglycerides are not as good as they should be and considering that my daughter is only five, I want to put the right fuel in my "car" so that I can live as long as possible and watch her grow up.
Basically it involves sticking to the following food groups:
Lean grass fet meat, chicken, eggs and fish
Vegetables (but not potatoes)
Fruits
Nuts (excluding peanuts)
Seeds (excluding a few e.g. Chia)
And avoiding the following:
All processed foods (if man made it, don't eat it!)
Dairy
Grains
Beans & corn
Sugar (duh!)
For me it hasn't been easy. I'm not even a week in yet and I've spent a fortune and passed a lot of time in the kitchen. I am also feeling tired and irritable!! I will probably become "Paleo inclined" rather than a strict follower but the book was a real eye opener - particularly on the issues with milk and grains. I am more aware than ever that the type of fuel we put in our "cars" will determine how well we run in the future.
Drop me a line if you'd like to know more, or get a copy of the book.
If you enjoyed this blog and would like to work on getting more balance into your life then I invite you to a free one hour phone consultation with me. I'm giving 5 away each month. Just email me at emma.baltodano@lemonade-coaching.com with subject line "Talking Balance".