Brag about your switch to a healthier lifestyle! vs. "That's a bad habit"

Friends of HL / BL,

In addition to the photo thread, I would like to offer a thread made for telling the BL crew stories on your changes in lifestyle so that you can be a healthier, more peaceful individual.

Here's what I encourage you to talk about here:

Any "bad habits" of which you've been relieved
Any new practices you've started (diet, fitness, mental, alternative medicine, natural herbs (no supplements here, please)
Mental, emotional and physical results of your changes
Your thoughts on how "bad habits" arise in you and in others

Due to my mother developing cancer I have thoroughly increased my knowledge on nutrition and general health, with the help of a well-known and fantastic naturopath.

Basically I have cut out all soft drink, sugar, flour and processed crap from my diet.

I am eating more vegetables, nuts, seeds and freshly made veggie or fruit juices..and am eating meat far less (mostly fish and occasionally chicken)

I have cut down drinking to once a month (impressive as im at uni!!)

Fitness has always been great so I havent changed anything here, Ive always exercised and been very active.

The biggest mental change is seeing my body as a vehicle to present my person to the rest of the world, and thus, only putting things into my body that will improve it!

Clean_Cut said:

Due to my mother developing cancer I have thoroughly increased my knowledge on nutrition and general health, with the help of a well-known and fantastic naturopath.

Basically I have cut out all soft drink, sugar, flour and processed crap from my diet.

Click to expand...

Who is this naturopath?

And have you eaten the standard American diet with your family since childhood? How does your surviving family feel about your changes?

Also, I personally feel that not only is the over consumption of meat hurting our health, but all of the "processed crap" is doing as much damage, if not more, to our bodies.

The naturopath is Katrina Ellis (author of "Shattering the Cancer Myth")
I am Australian so I havent eaten the standard american diet...but yeah pretty much a standard western diet. My family has made changes also, not as extreme as mine and my mothers, but their changes have definitely helped support my changes..

Agree that processed crap is a big part of the damage. What people in my generation don't realize is that we are the first lot of people that have been brought up consuming this stuff...they seem to think that everyone has always eaten this way and therefore they are not doing anything wrong!

I mean 100 years ago I can't imagine that a standard diet included too much fast food and mars bars....and with each generation we are losing potential by eating sub-optimally!
I haven't looked at the rates of disease or anything but judging by how many people are claiming that more and more people they know are getting cancer etc..its easy to see a link. I think that these days a healthy diet is even more important with the increased exposure to radiation through wireless technology, mobile phones, powerlines etc etc....

Lately I've been trying to drink lots more water and much less soda. Whenever I crave soda or something with sugar I just go for water. It seems to make a big difference in how I feel, especially in the summer. I just feel healthier in general. In the past few years I've changed my diet quite a bit and it has helped me keep my weight in check.

As for my mental health I've been going to therapy, and only doing medications that are prescribed to me with a few rare exceptions. I still need to taper off suboxone and benzos, but I will get there eventually.
I'm no longer in an unhealthy relationship and I've slowly become more trusting and less paranoid. I've been trying to be as self aware as possible. With the exception of my addictions, mentally I'm doing pretty good right now. There's a lot of stress in my life, but I'm not letting it control me as I would have in the past.

Physically, I need to do a little more. Ever since my treadmill broke I haven't been getting as much cardio as I used to. That will change soon enough because I'm moving to a place that has a nice fitness center in a few months. Until then I will be going for occasional hikes and I might do a little mountain biking.

I have cut out all the substance use I have participated in during the high school days and early adult hood.

vitamin C and whey protein shakes are a big part of my diet because it has so much amino acids. This plus a new product I recently added to the diet is a product called Green Vibrance. This has boosted me into what I would say is this best shape and performance I have ever been in during my life. I also use multi-vitamins, fish oil, and calcium here and there.

I just started strength training and jogging 1.5 miles 3 times a week and I feel great!

I would like to come up with a daily supplement regiman. Right now I would say it would consist of Green Vibrance, Vitamin C, Multi-vitamin, and whey protein. I'm looking for something that taken daily will benefit me short and long term. What you guys taken.

OnTheMountain said:

I'm looking for something that taken daily will benefit me short and long term. What you guys taken.

Click to expand...

Welcome to BL, OnTheMountain. This thread isn't for discussion of supplements as there are already tons out there. Your first stop should be ***Supplements & Herbs Questions and Answers*** which has a listing of a few other supplement threads and a link to search BL better.

Awesome changes everyone. :) I'll tell my own story of slightly-better-than-SAD (Standard American Diet) to veganism at a later date--No time at the moment.

Great thread, Simply Live! Thanks for cooking it up!

I stopped drinking alcohol Jan 1. I'm done drinking alcohol. I feel good being able to say, "I don't drink anymore" if it comes up in conversation.

I started doing yoga at the beginning of the year too. I'm not doing a strenuous routine, just practicing the poses. Just practicing the poses makes me feel stronger and more centered.

And since this is such a user friendly thread, let me just say that what I wrote just now does not make up for less wholesome activities.

I smoked weed every day for ten years until this winter. Now I only smoke it occasionally, and I'm much happier. The heavy head feeling was really starting to get to me, and no doubt it made me lazier, which I do not need help doing!

I also started cooking at home, eating way more veggies, and exercising regularly.

Liquids are water, chocolate soy milk, and cranberry juice.
Foods are pitas, sandwiches, fried veggies... basically anything i can eat with hummus and feta cheese. trying to completely cut out lactose products, still eat some yogurt.
exercise, trying to get out walking, biking daily. Need to add some weight training to get back into shape.
I still indulge in bad food/drink habits, but make sure to keep it to a minimum and use it as motivation to do more exercise than normal.

i used to eat complete shit,
i would drink countless diet sodas, eat refined foods whenever i could, it was bad.
then i joined BL, and was browsin and found healthy living.

now i avoid anything with artificial sweeteners (stevia FTW!!!:D)
i eat more fruits and veggies than i used too,
abunch of other small stuff (more exersize, more sleep, etc)
but anyways my depression isnt as bad as it used to be,
so id just like to brag and say that living a healthier lifestyle has deffinitley helped me out with my depression.

I used to eat tons of processed foods and a lot of meat. Went vegetarian on November 1st, 2004 to spite my grandma (who didn't think I could give up chicken for one week--Hah!) and have since continued to future tweak my diet: Around the Summer of '08, I cut heavily processed foods from my diet. Around the Fall of '09, I gave up dairy and eggs though I still made exceptions (8)) 'til around Feb. or March of '10.

This year I started biking again. Used to bike six miles minimum almost every single day circa '05. Now I'm up to 14 miles a day on most weekdays and 20-25 on Saturdays/Sundays.

Oh yeah, also had a stint with smoking, from around '08 to '10. Gave that up last March (2010). Gave up pot in August '10 annnd severely reduced my alcohol intake around the same time. :)

Congratulations everyone! Nice to see so many changes for the better...

I was a heavy daily drug user....aaaaaaalllllll kinds of drugs all day long; before work, in work, after work. For using so many things so much, I was still more than capable'n'coherent and moreover, felt actually more "normal" or how I perceived others to feel in day-to-day life.
I then (luckily) had a near-fatal seizure in '09 which shook me to my core as I was put in Intensive Care after stopping breathing and my heart temporarily stopping.
This shook me to my core so I calmed down, but not much. It happened again and I totally stopped drinking, which was a massive thing for me given I was drinking mostly every day. Rum was my favourite tipple.
Blah blah blah...
I have always eaten well and been active but have gotten more seriously into bodybuilding and have now gone a couple months without a single drink (and never will again, thats a promise), only smoking weed and taking Kratom for the past 6 months which was a massive change for me, especially given the relative benign nature of the two herbs.
And now...As of next week I shall be completely free of everything, give or take the odd smoke (perhaps once a week) and am anxiously excited.

• Quit smoking on Thanksgiving of 2009
• Went from consuming Taco Bell three times a week on average to only eating it occasionally
• Quit living off of pizza and Lunchables
• Replaced chips with pita chips and hummus
• Replaced coffee with green tea
• Started eating a lot less red meat (I used to live off of double cheeseburgers)
• Increased fish consumption
• Decreased fried food consumption
• Started snacking on roma tomatoes and various berries
• Increased protein intake
• Increased vegetable consumption
• Replaced fits of rage with exercise

Overall, I decided that everything I had not been eating previously, I was now going to incorporate into my diet—and vice versa! I still allow myself to eat my hedonistic favourites, I just eat them occasionally, exercise portion control, and eat mainly healthier foods.

sonic said:

Physically, I need to do a little more. Ever since my treadmill broke I haven't been getting as much cardio as I used to. That will change soon enough because I'm moving to a place that has a nice fitness center in a few months. Until then I will be going for occasional hikes and I might do a little mountain biking.

Click to expand...

Since you're living in Englad(ish), it should be summertime. Go outside and enjoy the fresh air while you're exercising. It does wonders for your mind.

ugly said:

I stopped drinking alcohol Jan 1. I'm done drinking alcohol. I feel good being able to say, "I don't drink anymore" if it comes up in conversation.

And since this is such a user friendly thread, let me just say that what I wrote just now does not make up for less wholesome activities.

Click to expand...

As long as it's up to your own expectations, that's all that matters. Understand the naysayers and help them understand you.

foxyloxy55 said:

I smoked weed every day for ten years until this winter. Now I only smoke it occasionally, and I'm much happier. The heavy head feeling was really starting to get to me, and no doubt it made me lazier, which I do not need help doing!

I also started cooking at home, eating way more veggies, and exercising regularly.

Click to expand...

I severely dislike that feeling. The friends that I smoke with I only see every couple weeks now. It's far too much smoking and drinking for me to enjoy all the time.

SideOrderOfOpiates said:

• Quit smoking on Thanksgiving of 2009

• Went from consuming Taco Bell three times a week on average to only eating it occasionally
• Quit living off of pizza and Lunchables
• Replaced chips with pita chips and hummus
• Replaced coffee with green tea
• Started eating a lot less red meat (I used to live off of double cheeseburgers)
• Increased fish consumption
• Decreased fried food consumption
• Started snacking on roma tomatoes and various berries
• Increased protein intake
• Increased vegetable consumption
• Replaced fits of rage with exercise

Overall, I decided that everything I had not been eating previously, I was now going to incorporate into my diet—and vice versa! I still allow myself to eat my hedonistic favourites, I just eat them occasionally, exercise portion control, and eat mainly healthier foods.

Click to expand...

Making a list of all your accomplishments makes it look like you've done a lot! When you just do it, it doesn't feel as if you're doing much.

This is a great thread. I keep thinking of more improvements I've made when I see other posts. I also cut way back on the processed foods, way back on the alcohol, way back on the sugar, and I quit drinking caffeine!

Simply_Live said:

Making a list of all your accomplishments makes it look like you've done a lot! When you just do it, it doesn't feel as if you're doing much.

Click to expand...

^ So true! I think I will continue to do so—reflecting back on it from time to time. I firmly believe that positivity breeds positivity. With that said, to look at a list of what one is doing RIGHT for one's health can help continue the pattern of making better choices.

i went from junkie to alcoholic to bodybuilder/powerlifter to martial artist...

my transformation is far from complete. though i love all the memories of the days of destroying my body, i regret the damage done. i know my energy levels would be way higher if i diddnt spend many years poisoning myself for fun.

still, i always laugh inside my head at coworkers who are exhausted by 3pm, from a lifetime of sitting on your ass a lot. i feel secure knowing ill have ample energy to perform physically challenging activities with my body until late into the evening. people laugh at me for eating salads every day, i laugh right back for the amount of pain and stress the put on themselves just taking a shit (sorry bro, the human body is not adapted to eating french fries and processed meat at 12pm every day).

but this is what the corporatocracy of america wants from us: to turn us into complacent, docile sheep. they want us to find "taking the stairs" to be challenging. they want us to believe that freedom is eating processed meat, processed cheese, refined white flower, and heavy acid stimulant beverages every morning. they want us hooked on saturated fat and artificial sweeteners. they want us lazy, they want us doing a whole lot of sitting, and they want us believing that jogging or weightlifting is "being fit." the last thing the corporate states of america wants is a population of do-ers, a population of people who are so familiar with their constitutions that their purchasing behavior cant be predicted or formulated, a population of people who are as physically formidable as they are intellectual. they want you to strive for quick answers and easy-to-remember diet plans, the last thing they want is for someone to be in a constant state of self evaluation and scientific experimentation. the thinking should be done by them, not you.

so chiefly, health aside, i am most proud of my awareness that western civilization is using food politics and the food industry as a weapon to enslave the greater part of the world. were being killed with obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, you name it. were being coerced into a state of ignorance of our own personal health.

i dont ever preach to people. but, you can rest assured that in the environment i spend most of my time in, i am so blatantly abnormal that the questions are non stop. each question is an opportunity to show someone a glimpse of their own liberty, and a chance to escape the prison of having the industry do our thinking for us.

rm-rf said:

i dont ever preach to people. but, you can rest assured that in the environment i spend most of my time in, i am so blatantly abnormal that the questions are non stop. each question is an opportunity to show someone a glimpse of their own liberty, and a chance to escape the prison of having the industry do our thinking for us.

Click to expand...

I get the same responses. I think, living anywhere in the US, you'll be very likely to get looks and questions. So common it is becoming in all areas of the world. How disconnected are we from our own liberation and health!

Edit: About five years ago, I was on weight watchers, which is how I initially lost about 75 pounds. I was taking two sports, after school pilates, karate two or three nights a week and taking gym class every day. Little did I know that Weight Watcher's recommendation for caloric intake at the time was 1000 calories a day. I was on the verge of being considered anorexic with how little food I was eating. I looked sickly, my face was pale. Only a few years later did I see the damage I did to myself. I missed my period for six months, at which point my mom brought me to the hospital.

I did what the program told me. Now, I'm listening to my body and writing down WHAT I'm eating instead of just the caloric intake. I'll keep track of my own body, thanks, Weight Watchers.

I have discovered that I enjoy the challenge of running in the woods.