And so it begins........At 34 years old I have decided that I need to take an active, aggressive role in taking back my health. I am tired of being on one pill after another and looking the other way hoping it all just works out.
I am not a healthy man at 34, maybe it is part genetics, maybe it is lifestyle, but I am running out of time for excuses. For a decade I have been on blood pressure pills and cholesterol, baby aspirin, and now for 4 years it has been pills for diabetes. Reading the labels on these is enough to scare Stephen King. I am so tired of putting things into my body that I do not understand, waiting for the blood work to come back and tell me if I still have a liver from it all. I knew something had to change, but in the middle of it all I was too overwhelmed to even know where to start.
The Decision: My good friend and co-worker, Hillary, talks to me everyday about wellness and health. She is a vegetarian and we both believe in being the best that we can be. She told me about a documentary where six people go on a journey that reverses their diabetes. I was able to find it online and sat down to watch it with my partner that very night.
These people went on a strictly raw diet for 30 days. No food was even cooked past 118 degrees, there was no caffeine, no processed foods and no dairy either. After 30 days their blood sugar stabilized without medication and they were off all other meds all together. It was like a dream come true for so many of us out here. I was intrigued, my partner was skeptical.
After talking about it together we came to a compromise: The Vegetarian Experiment. In real life there are things to consider: budget, time, relationship, and health. As for budget, lets face it, in this country it costs a lot more to eat healthy. It is easy and cheaper to hit the drive through for their .99 cent menu, or pick up a boxed dinner to throw together after a long day. Things have got to fit into our busy lives as well, it cannot take hours to prepare one meal.
I knew that I would also need the support of my partner or else I could not make it. He loves his steak and burgers and I did not want to impose my decision on him, but I needed his support. We made a compromise; he could eat whatever he wanted away from me (at work, out with friends) and when we were together we would go vegetarian. He didn't have to, but he loves me and wants me healthy as well.
Finally, as with any huge life change, be careful. It is highly recommended that you have a doctor to talk to through it all. I am going to monitor myself closely; blood sugar levels, blood pressure.
This is it though, I have to do something. I don't know if it will help at all, I have no idea what will come at the end of such a short time, but I hope for better. I don't expect a miracle, a cure of it all, I just want better. Better than where I started, a step closer to living longer, a new approach to living my life. I lost my father at 57, an aunt in her 50s and a cousin in her 30s. The time is now. ..........And so it begins!
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you can do it! i'm so excited to see what happens :)))
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