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
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