I haven't had the opportunity to sit down and watch a movie in ages. I believe the last time I stepped foot into a movie theater with Bryan was New Year's Eve 2004, no joke. I do watch tid bits of movies on TV from time to time, but to truly sit down and enjoy a movie is rare. I had heard about this documentary called "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" and while I wanted to watch it I just never made the time. Carolyn, my soon to be sister in law, told me I needed to watch the film. She told me that after watching the movie she changed her views on food (Have I told you how thrilled I am to have her in our family!? Loving the idea of holding conversations about food and nutrition with someone close to me!). After Carolyn mentioned this film twice I decided I just HAD to make the time for myself and watch it. It was an eye opening experience!
Basically the film is about an Australian man, Joe, who is overweight, has an autoimmune disease and is generally unhealthy. He decided to heal his body from within by making drastic diet changes for 60 days. Instead of the traditional diet of steak, potatoes, burgers, fries, ice cream, soda, and sugary cereals, Joe lives off of fresh fruit and vegetable juice. He carries his juicing machine everywhere he goes and only consumes water and juice. Along the way Joe meets Phil who is obese and ill and in danger of dying if he doesn't make lifestyle changes ASAP. By the end of the movie both men have lost hundreds of pounds, gotten off their medicine for their autoimmune disorders, started exercising and are generally in great health.
This movie was inspiring on may levels! Not only did these men lose some much needed weight, they healed their ailing body with food. Do you know how much money we could save on medicine and doctor visits if we just ate healthy? Phil's brother, nicknamed Bear, was highlighted in the movie. Overweight and ill, Bear suffered a heart attack. The medical care, pills, tests, therapies, etc cost him 56 THOUSAND DOLLARS when it was all said and done. The cost of daily juicing is about $10-$14 dollars. What a difference in money. And to think the heart attack could have been avoided in the first place had Bear eaten well, not put the extra stress on his heart and exercised.
According the movie, 60% of a typical American diet consists of high fat, overly processed foods. Meat is 30% of our diets, grains/starches are 5% and fruits and veggies are 5%. YUCK! Obviously this doesn't hold true for everyone, but for a typical American who guzzles fast food, soda, cakes, cookies, beer, steaks, and burgers it is a pretty good picture. When juicing you do not consume any meats, any starches, any processed or fatty foods instead you are living on 100% fruits and veggies. Juicing allows you to consume more healthy foods than if you actually took the time to chew and swallow the apples and carrots. I'm not recommending that people run out, stop eating and juice for 60 days! I am recommending that people start thinking about their food choices and how it affects their bodies. Cake or carrot juice? Sure the cake sounds tastier, but what is it doing for your health?
Starting this week Bryan and I are going to juice for 10 days. After that we are only eating clean foods for a total of a 21 days cleansing program. During this time we will not consume soda, coffee, alcohol, fatty or processed foods. Will we fail? Maybe; we are human after all. Will we succeed? I sure hope so! It is only 21 days! We are not doing this to be skinny or to join a new trend. We are doing this to be healthy. The benefits out weight everything. It is no lie that I have had a rough year with work stress. I have migraines and digestive issues despite eating what I believe to be mostly healthy foods. I am looking to end my headaches, help heal my tummy and to manage stress better. Bryan has high blood pressure for his age (bad genetics) and at his last blood draw his good cholesterol count was not very high so we are hoping to lower the blood pressure and increase the good cholesterol count. We have nothing to lose by eating fruits and veggies and water and clean foods.
Here is a link to Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. It does have commercials, but they are fast. It was an interesting documentary, at least for me. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122/fat-sick-and-nearly-dead
Monday, December 26, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Another Reason Why
A few weeks ago my mom's beloved dog, Bert, passed away. I will never forget the day we brought that baby home from the Human Society. I was in college and decided to stop at the Human Society on the way home from school. My eyes fell upon this absolutely adorable ball of golden fluff. He was little and fluffy and had a fat round puppy belly. I wanted him, but seeing that I was living with my mom, I needed her permission. After she got off work, my mom, Matt and I headed to the Human Society where we happily adopted our little bundle of joy, Bert. Bert was a Yellow Lab mix. He was full of crazy energy and went downright insane once he was home. On his third night home he escaped from his kennel and tore the house to pieces! He ate a 12 pack of toilet paper, a few plants, the remote, a shoe or two, a couple of socks, a bath towel and even got into the bag of bird seed. He started throwing up and before long we were back at the Human Society hoping he would make it through the night. After spending two night at the vet's office we were allowed to take our baby back home. My mom and I took turns sleeping with him and spoon feeding him baby food because he was so weak and so sick. Yes, this was not the first or the last time I would nurse a sick animal back to a healthy existence!
While Bert was the family dog, he was really my mom's dog. I finished college, moved out, got married, bought my own home and started a family. Matt finished college, moved out, moved back, moved out, became engaged and is embarking on his own life. Since having Bert in our lives we have lost both of my grandmothers and a grandfather, my dad has died and other life events have taken place. Through all of this my mom had Bert to come home to. Regardless of what kind of day or moment she was experiencing, Bert was there as her constant companion. Animals are amazing being. They sense fear, illness, sadness and jubilation. Animals are ready to snuggle, receive a belly rub or go for a walk at the drop of a hat. Animals love you regardless of how they are spoken to or treated, for the most part. We welcome these furry little creatures into our hearts and into our homes, caring for them as if they were truly a member of our family. The love between a human and an animal is unique and amazing.
Bert started to slow down a few years ago. This past year you could really tell his age was catching up with him. A few months ago he started having what the vet believed to be seizures, although at one point they thought he had some type of infection. His thyroid was out of whack and he started on meds. He couldn't walk some days and for awhile my mom had to go back to spoon feeding him his meals. He perked up for a bit, but then he was back to where he started. The vet had considered doing a brain scan to see if he had a tumor. My mom was already paying money for thyroid medicine and now she was considering a MRI. Sadly, Bert passed away in his bedroom before she was able to schedule the scan. I got "the call" at 6:43am one cold December morning. My mom was a mess of tears and emotions and she told me poor Bertie had died around midnight. She was so distraught and upset that she ended up taking the day off of work. A few days later she received a sympathy card in the mail from the vet's office. I cried like a baby as I read the words and help the paw print they had sent her. Our little fluffy yellow ball that we rescued from the Human Society that sunny spring day was now in doggie Heaven. Our hearts were heavy with grief.
As I sit here thinking and writing about Bert, I cannot help to think about the millions of animals who are abused and mistreated every day. The dogs who are forced into breeding litter after litter of puppies, the chickens who are shoulder to shoulder in dark little coops never to see light so they can mass produce eggs, the little calves who are shackled and force fed in an effort to produce "tasty" veal, the cows who are fed diets that are not healthy for them only to be horribly slaughtered for mass human consumption, the turkey who are cooped up in inhuman confines of a pin and eventually slaughtered for meals. I cannot help to think about the abuse these poor, helpless animals are faced with daily. Life is life. We can debate the whole abortion topic, we can debate the hunting for meat topic, but when it comes down to it, life is life. Why is a sad pet owner any different than a vegetarian who is sad over the loss of an animal's life? To me, there is no difference. The next time you sit down to indulge in that burger or that chicken breast, think about where it really came from. Can you honestly bite, chew and swallow and digest a once living creature? I cannot bring myself to doing that.
Off my recyclable, veggie soapbox now ;)
While Bert was the family dog, he was really my mom's dog. I finished college, moved out, got married, bought my own home and started a family. Matt finished college, moved out, moved back, moved out, became engaged and is embarking on his own life. Since having Bert in our lives we have lost both of my grandmothers and a grandfather, my dad has died and other life events have taken place. Through all of this my mom had Bert to come home to. Regardless of what kind of day or moment she was experiencing, Bert was there as her constant companion. Animals are amazing being. They sense fear, illness, sadness and jubilation. Animals are ready to snuggle, receive a belly rub or go for a walk at the drop of a hat. Animals love you regardless of how they are spoken to or treated, for the most part. We welcome these furry little creatures into our hearts and into our homes, caring for them as if they were truly a member of our family. The love between a human and an animal is unique and amazing.
Bert started to slow down a few years ago. This past year you could really tell his age was catching up with him. A few months ago he started having what the vet believed to be seizures, although at one point they thought he had some type of infection. His thyroid was out of whack and he started on meds. He couldn't walk some days and for awhile my mom had to go back to spoon feeding him his meals. He perked up for a bit, but then he was back to where he started. The vet had considered doing a brain scan to see if he had a tumor. My mom was already paying money for thyroid medicine and now she was considering a MRI. Sadly, Bert passed away in his bedroom before she was able to schedule the scan. I got "the call" at 6:43am one cold December morning. My mom was a mess of tears and emotions and she told me poor Bertie had died around midnight. She was so distraught and upset that she ended up taking the day off of work. A few days later she received a sympathy card in the mail from the vet's office. I cried like a baby as I read the words and help the paw print they had sent her. Our little fluffy yellow ball that we rescued from the Human Society that sunny spring day was now in doggie Heaven. Our hearts were heavy with grief.
As I sit here thinking and writing about Bert, I cannot help to think about the millions of animals who are abused and mistreated every day. The dogs who are forced into breeding litter after litter of puppies, the chickens who are shoulder to shoulder in dark little coops never to see light so they can mass produce eggs, the little calves who are shackled and force fed in an effort to produce "tasty" veal, the cows who are fed diets that are not healthy for them only to be horribly slaughtered for mass human consumption, the turkey who are cooped up in inhuman confines of a pin and eventually slaughtered for meals. I cannot help to think about the abuse these poor, helpless animals are faced with daily. Life is life. We can debate the whole abortion topic, we can debate the hunting for meat topic, but when it comes down to it, life is life. Why is a sad pet owner any different than a vegetarian who is sad over the loss of an animal's life? To me, there is no difference. The next time you sit down to indulge in that burger or that chicken breast, think about where it really came from. Can you honestly bite, chew and swallow and digest a once living creature? I cannot bring myself to doing that.
Off my recyclable, veggie soapbox now ;)
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