My first post!
Let me first thank you for reading. I’m twenty-seven years old and I am so excited to share what I’ve devoted nearly half of my life to…food! Yes! I know that you’ve spent countless wonderful years with food too 🙂 We all eat. Most of us eat 3-5 times a day! We’re all experts on eating, right? It’s true. We all know what makes us feel good and what our taste buds love. What you may or may not know, is that what you choose to put in your mouth can make you feel even better, have even more energy and even better health… I’m fascinated by what makes you thrive!
This past month, November of 2013, I attended the Experts Industry Association Annual Conference. It was a phenomenal event and I highly recommend it-especially if you’re an entrepreneur! As I listened to experts speak about their many skills and strategies, I was reminded over and over of one simple lesson. Anything you’ve poured your heart into and practiced with passion, for years-is a gift to share with the world.
The idea that was made popular by author Malcolm Gladwell, is 10,ooo hours to mastery. If you’ve done your due diligence for that magic number of hours, then you’ve become a master. While I’ve put in well over 10,ooo hours in educating myself with regard to anything food-related, I still believe there’s much more to learn. I am always learning more and going deeper. That being said, I will present myself to you as an expert-an expert student! What I believe is the most important aspect of being an expert is being a student. The only way to really be a student is to be eternally curious about the subject. I am fascinated by everything that nourishes the body and I’ll share it all, right here, with you!
What I want to offer to you is simplification. We all know that there is infinite information on just about every single subject. Not only is there an information overload, much of the information is controversial and conflicting! My husband loves to point this one out, and he’s certainly correct: Food is right up there with politics, and religion! There are strict raw foodists, vegans, vegetarians, fruitarians, Flexitarians, Kangatarian, Breatharians, pescetarians, ovolactarians…OVA what?! No, really. Did you even know that there are over 500 listed diets? The list goes on and on! What I’ve found to be true is that we’re all unique and there is not a uniform diet that nourishes every individual. Let’s just get back to the simple basics!
Simplify, simplify, simplify! It’s easy. I don’t believe you need to count calories, test or weigh your food-or pee on a stick… If it’s not your thing. Believe me, I’ve tried it all myself (testing PH levels does require something like peeing on a stick). As I mentioned, I am an expert student. I am open and receptive to learning whatever has come my way. I research it, try it and take from it what works. In the following posts, expect to find simple ways to eat healthy and join me in my food adventures, literally around the world 😀
I will share my story along the way-including my struggles and successes. Today, we’ll just start with the most important and least complex trick to optimal health and fitness: Agua! Since we’re just big sacks of water…we’ll at least %60+ (and 92% of our blood), water is the #1 key!
Certainly you all know that hydration is important, but have you ever heard of this book: Your Body’s Many Cries for Water: You Are Not Sick, You Are Thirsty! Don’t Treat Thirst with Medications! A Preventive and Self-Education Manual for those who prefer to adhere to the logic of the natural and the simple in medicine, by Fereydoon Batmanghelidj? Nooo worries…I’m not going to quiz you on his last name later. Fortunately, he’s been lovingly nicknamed by Dr. B, and he knows his stuff. I highly recommend the book, though you can just take my word for it-drink your water!
“Drinking water boosts your brain’s reaction time” is an article in the Medical News Today from 20 July 2013. Can you believe it? Smarter from a glass of water? I’m in! Have a project you’re working on? Dinner to cook? A day to plan? Tying a shoe? Yep. Water might help you do it faster! You’ll certainly want to test this out on your own, of course! Doesn’t it just give you cuddly warm fuzzies to know that water is free and plentiful and the greatest thing ever?! I do! I love the idea of life being flowing and simple. Health isn’t out of reach, in fact-it’s much easier to cultivate than we think!
Later, I’ll share a bit more detail regarding hydration, but for now-just focus on drinking more water and personally-I like to spice it up a bit! I haven’t tried literal spice yet-no habanero agua for me! Though I’m sure someone out there is an advocate The spices I love to have in water are ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, lemongrass…Any flavor that can lure your lips to the water bottle works! Fruits are great too! Don’t forget about veggies either; cucumber is fantastic. A square of watermelon, berries, oranges, apples; options are plentiful. Mint leaves and a slice of lemon my absolute favorite.
If the flavors are appealing enough, these magical mixtures could replace all other liquids! Try it out for a day: Drink ONLY water for one whole day! If you’re brave and daring (which I’m sure you are) try it out for a whole WEEK! When you’re ready to grab your daily tea, coffee, juice or soda-mix up your tasty potion instead. Next step is to just get down as much as you can. The more water the better. Most of us consume less than we need. Super simple equation if you are the detail oriented type: you need half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. Many water bottles are marked with milliliters and ounces if you want to keep track.
The fun part is tracking your results. How do you feel after your hydration day? Comment below if you begin to notice all of the facts. Hydration helps us feel fuller. Think of it as a fat burner if you’re exercising diligently and working to slim down. With enough water, the digestive system runs smoothly. Toxins are flushed, and water aids in optimal physical performance (lubricates joints and hydrates muscles).
Drink up!