Just Imagine

Close your eyes, clear your head of the noise and erase all previous images from the day.  Grab a blank space and clean sheet of paper in your mind.  Take two giant, doctor’s office style, deep breathes. Now open your eyes so you can keep reading.  I’m about to make you think.  We will call it a visual exercise.

As you read the next paragraph,  I want you to mentally draw a picture of a person in your head.  If you’re tac tile like me, by all means take out a pencil and physically put it to paper.

Ready?  Here we go.

What would you imagine a person to look like that has only eaten fast food for the last year?  This fictitious figure can be male or female.  For one whole year, this person has only consumed unhealthy boxed snack foods filled with sugar and fats.  They have only dined from drive through window style cuisine and take out.  Any vegetable or protein sources has come from a quick stop, fast food, commercial restaurant chain type of establishment. Each and every snack, breakfast, lunch, celebratory meal and dinner has been processed.  This average male or female is 22-65 years of age and partakes in 4 or more alcoholic beverages a week.  They may or may not smoke cigarettes. For all intent and purpose, you can assume that this person does not actively participate in regular exercise.  This male or female does however live a “normal life” with daily to do’s such as driving to work, carpool, errands, laundry, business travel, church, social events and other non strenuous activities.

What would you expect to see with your very own eyes???  What kind of figure takes shape in your mind?

Have you painted a picture of a healthy, lively, vivacious human being with a long life?  Would you expect to see a stick figure, giant and lifeless?

Revist the paragraph above.  Remember, this character your drawing has been eating  cheeseburgers, greasy waffle fries dripping in grease. chicken fried steak fingers peppered with salt, battered fried chicken, butter drenched pasta primavera, oily cheesy thick crust pizza, donuts, sausage, bacon, biscuits and country gravy.  He or she has been drinking the old school cool aid and eating powered donuts. Maybe your imaginary person is a tad more mature only gorging on classy cheese, crackers,  chocolate and red wine.  This individual has mowed through the chips and creamy spinach and artichoke dip as a way to incorporate veggies.  Later followed up with ice cream, juices and soda pop.  The tuna and chicken salad sandwiches submerged in mayo and the peanut butter celery roll ups are not as “healthy” as they think.  The promise to only eat one jalapeño bacon poppers was a total fail.

Now, I ask again, what do you see?  

Are you imagining one over weight, stressed out pudgy individual?   Do you see this person as agile or slow moving?  Do they have healthy glowing skin or oily acne?  I mean you wouldn’t expect to see a healthy hard bodied hunk…right?

The old catch phrase, “you are what you eat ” isn’t an inactive slogan from the days of old.   It’s a statement of truth and an ambitious healthy mantra to live by.  There is absolutely no way around it.  If you consume junk you will no doubt become junky.  When you eat like crap you will feel like crap.  When you over indulge in alcoholic beverages, odds are you will have a hangover the next day. You will feel jittery and slow.  You might experience a jack hammer-head ache.  Your sour stomach will churn and gurgle until the nausea sets in.  The same goes for greasy gooey rich salty sugary foods loaded with processed butter.

This hypothetical character has way more going on than the external jelly belly.  Let’s talk about their constant tummy issues.  Aches and pains all the time because the body is working over time processing all of the crusty garbage thats been consumed. Can you diabetes and heart attack.  imagine what the doctor’s report would say? Sky high cholesterol, high blood sugar, high risk for diabetes, stroke or heart attack.  This is no JOKE!

Most fast foods and boxed snacks often contain too many calories  zero nutrition. If fast food is a regular component in ones diet they will struggle with weight problems and ill health. THE END! 

It would be absurd to have pictured a thriving lean rosy ball of energy tip toeing and frolicking in the sunlight.  We can expect physical health to be largely the product of physical intake.  Maybe you pictured someone you know or love.  Someone who breathes hard just walking across a parking lot.  Someone whose clothes are into the triple x’s.

Ingesting nutrient rich fresh vegetables and high protein lean meats is instantaneous pleasure fuel.  It’s like a breath of fresh air to our system.  All of the plant-based earthy whole grains and oils were meant to sustain our bodies.  Olive oil is natural.  So is water and fruits and vegetables.  The humanistic commercial world took the holistic good stuff and mixed it all up.  The way we prepare foods is sometimes a big part of the problem.

I mean do we really need cheese stuffed crust pizza?  No one needs triple layer Oreos!!  No one.  They should be banned! A good old-fashioned home-made sugar cookie or chocolate chip is a way better simple savvy selection.   Furthermore, who ever thought that bleu cheese was a good idea to eat was temporarily insane.  It’s mold people…it’s blue mold!!!!!  NASTY!

Do you ever wonder why the American obesity rate is at an all time high?  It’s because we are over eating terrible foods like MOLD.  The Korean and Japanese cuisine is way more pure and natural. They eat a ton of  brown rice, fish, vegtables, noodles and quinoa. It’s mostly prepared in extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil.  YUMMY.

Maybe you don’t desire a lean muscular physique with a flat stomach.  Thats ok.  Maybe what you really care about is a healthy heart but if by chance, you dropped a few LB’s. in the process you wouldn’t be upset.  After all you still have those size 6 jeans tucked away.  You’re fed up with the fat rolls that bulge over the elastic yoga pants.  If you have a desire to live a long life you have to eat well and exercise.  If you want to walk your daughter down the aisle or play with your grand kids you have to eat like you care.

The fried fish and hush puppy dinner isn’t doing you any favors.  The roast beef and cheese tostada is making you ill.  The accidental Route 44 root beer float goes straight to the gut.  The fries are responsible for your thick thighs. Eat heart healthy foods and you will feel and look better.  Hydrate all day long and flush out the crap you have been consuming.

What’s on my grocery list

Olive oil or coco nut oil

zucchini, carrots, celery, tomatoes, corn on the cob, potatoes, sweet potatoes, lettuce, kale, asparagus, onion, garlic, bean sprouts, edamame, broccoli, squash, tomatoes, avacado, peas

strawberries, black berries, oranges, blue berries, raspberries

nuts, raisins, quinoa crackers, pretzels, steel cut oatmeal

quinoa brown rice, whole grain bread, english muffins

pork chops, salmon filets, chicken breasts, canned tuna, turkey, ham, deli turkey, ground turkey

salsa, soy sauce, red peppers, sea salt, cilantro, green onion

EGGS, English muffin, skim milk, Lacroix Sparkling Water

sugar free pop cycles, fat free frozen yogurt,

special K with red berries, coffee, honey, Quest Bar

With these ingredients I can make at least 7 or more healthy meals

fresh salsa,

oven roasted potatoes, grilled chicken and rice or a grilled chicken salad.

Chicken Fried Rice

English muffin egg sandwhich,  scrambled egg white omlet, tuna or turkey salad or sandwhich.  Grilled Salmon with corn on the cob or stir fry carrotts and zucchni and kale.

Bowl of cereal

What’s on your grocery list that’s missing?  What’s a must have I need?

Love, live and be FIT.

Angi

xo