How?

This page is a work in progress... just barely getting started honestly. 




So, you want to do this?

That's great!  To be blunt, it may not be easy for the first month. Much depends on what condition you're in right now, and what you've done with your life up to this point. First off, let's talk about what you need to not do.

Anything on this list needs to stop. There's no secret method to quitting addictive things. But the easiest way that I know is a sudden, clean break. Don't make a big deal of it, don't tell all your friends you're going to quit on some arbitrary date. Don't facebook it. Just stop today and start focusing on the new things you're going to be doing. Consider quitting these things a prerequisite to even getting started... hurry up and do them so you can move on to the goooood stuff.

Things to not do:

-Smoking. You know its killing you, I don't have to explain the details. Don't vape, don't get nicotine patches or gum or hypnosis. Just stop.

-Drinking. If you can honestly just have an occasional drink or two, dandy. If you can make it a good dry glass of wine instead of lite beer or sugary wine cooler type stuff, even better. But there's little good to come from alcohol. Save it for special occasions.

-Soda. There is no type or amount of soda that is good for you. Not caffeine free, not diet, not zero calorie, not cane sugar, not organic. You'd be best off if you quit completely. Humans love sweet things, and the brain doesn't really differentiate between artificial sweetener and actual sugar... it all fuels the addiction to sweetness just the same. So especially if you've got a thing for candy and cookies and assorted pastries, your Coke Zero will keep that addiction maximized, and you'll never quit.

-Carby things. I know how good the stuff tastes. Breads, noodles, pastries, cookies, muffins, etc. And there's even "healthy" versions of some of them, whole grain! No. Your body requires zero of this stuff. Worse than that, actually. You're adversely affected by it.

-Junk food. Yeah, if wholegrain bread is out, you know that 2 gallon bucket of cheesey poofs is history too. Pretzels, chips, fritos, cheetos... you know all of this stuff is terrible.


Things you need to do:

I find it best to make all the big changes all at once. Stick it out for a month, establish the new routine, the new normal. While you're ditching those bad behaviours, here's the things you need to seriously put effort into.

-Sleep. You need a solid 7, if not 8 hours whenever possible. Sleep isn't just idle wasted time, your body is doing some very important work while you're in dreamland. Without sufficient sleep, workout recovery can become impossible, stress hormones become elevated, your immune system becomes suppressed, systemic inflammation rises. You're not going to make *any* progress like that. You will almost certainly quit and go back to your old lifestyle.

-Move. You cannot be sedentary and hope to be healthy. That's just how it is, amigo! Unless you're in a wheelchair, you can probably walk. Frankly, if you're very overweight, you may not be able to walk a lot right now. But you've got to start, even it its just 10min in the morning and 10min at night. Within a few weeks, you can work up to 20 minute walks. That's the magic number btw, where the body is actually warmed up and getting real benefit. So the goal is to get to that 20min point as soon as you can without hurting yourself. The goal is to walk briskly (eventually) without an elevated heart rate. You want to be able to continuously carry a conversation without gasping or weezing to death. In time, you will build capacity to walk like that for an hour every day. At least 5-6 days a week!

-Sunlight. Wherever possible, make those walks during mid day. Get outside when the sun is high in the sky, bare skin. If you're pale, you probably know how long it takes you to burn... some fare skinned folk burn in just 5-10 minutes. Don't burn.... ever, if you can help it. With repeated exposure (without burning) most people will build ability to be out in the sun for at least 20min. The darker you are, the longer it takes to really get benefit from this, which is a vast amount of Vitamin D.  Trust me, you're not getting enough from your diet. The amount in your milk is a pittance of what your body needs. Also, look up at that beautiful blue sky in the morning. This helps set your circadian clock, letting you get better sleep at night. Your attitude is also important. You could plod along for an hour, obliging the daily routine. But you'll get far more from the experience if you decide to be happy, engage in your surroundings. Be mindful and observant, use all your senses.

-Lift heavy things.

-Eat real food.

-Don't fear healthy fat.

-Don't fear protein either.

-Get cold sometimes.