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Is the Juice really worth the Squeeze?

With most decisions in life, even if we don’t want to openly admit it, comes down to one point… Is the juice worth the squeeze? If we don’t find enough value out of doing or not doing something we most likely will not stick with what that “thing” is. For me exercising was always the easiest part to tackle and other than a few times in my life (like right now and I am trying to crawl out of) I have been what most people would consider good physical shape. In my early twenties, I was really into weight lifting and even had some ambitions of amateur bodybuilding.  Thankfully for myself and those that would have had to witness it I never oiled up, donned that euro cut, and stepped on the stage. As I aged a little I was turned on to distance running and just recently cycling. I think that these are probably more a little sustainable for the long term than lifting the equivalent of a Buick and putting it back down.

The one thing that I always struggled with was my diet. Now I’m not talking about the use of the word that normally comes to mind in some radical 12 week program or faddish new craze. I am talking about the everyday way of introducing the proper nutrition into your body without hopefully doing it more harm. Our culture has attached the stigma that the word diet is something you do prior to some big event like a high school reunion or Caribbean cruise. So, for the purpose of this little rambling of mine let’s use the word as I believe It was intended, the way we introduce everything our bodies need by way of that big mouth.

Some of you might be wondering why I am going on about this and what does this have to do with what I normally write about. No, I am not changing the name of this page from “Its all about the Miles” to “Its all about the Meals”. But as I have started to more rapidly see myself age in ways that aren’t exactly positive I am really starting to take a look at my life as a whole from exercise, work, hobbies, relationships, sleep, and diet all affect each other and my overall health and quality of life. I am currently trying to work through both some newly and not so newly discovered health issues. Some of which were caused by having a very abusive profession that might have put a few extra miles than others, while others were caused by poor judgement or lack of information on my part. I think years of being able to eat literally whatever I wanted while stilling rocking a six pack and boyish good looks lured me in to the sudden reality and realization that I am now a soft 41-year-old male who is out of shape, doesn’t eat as healthy as he should, and has some health issues that are the second and third order effects of those careless years surrounding my 20’s and 30’s.

I recently was recommended a book to read about this very topic and for a little while just dismissed it like I do every other time people suggest a book for me to read. After all, why read when you can just wait for it to come out as a movie in a few years. Well this friend of mine who is a little over ten years my senior also started to share some of the positive thing that happened to him and his wife over the last few years since reading this book and making the recommended changes. This really sparked my curiosity and so I purchased and downloaded the book onto my iPad. I literally read the book in two sittings. I couldn’t put it down.

The book is the “Wheat Belly” by Dr. William Davis. It breaks down all the health issues caused by a grain that most doctors say is required for a healthy diet and in short, he recommends the complete removal of wheat from our diet and in depth goes over his findings. I am not here to argue the effects or lack thereof since all I’ve done so far is to read the book. But the information in the book was intriguing enough for me to want to try and see if my body has similar effects as mentioned in the book of many of Dr. Davis patients. So, since this blog is partly about accountability for myself and also to share with you both my successes and failures, I thought I’d jump on here and share that starting today I am going to try and completely cut out wheat from my diet. If I am able to share some of the same effects mentioned in this book than I am fully prepared to make this change a permanent part of my life.

Now with that being said I know I have a lot of homework and research ahead of me… also maybe I need to admit that veggies aren’t all bad and some of them aren’t just my food’s food. I know I will also have to find alternatives to some of my guilty pleasures like beer and pizza. I know one thing I do have going for me that some other might not have is a very supportive wife who is also a very clever and amazing cook. I won’t blame her completely for a few of those pounds I’ve added on only because she wasn’t personally shoving those tasty morsels down my throat.

The bottom line for me is that I want to have a good quality of life for as long as I am blessed to walk this earth and I hope to continue to enjoy both the outdoor and adventurous hobbies I have but also to be able to work with my hands as I am about to start a second career in woodworking and carpentry. I also promised my wife I would at least give her fifty good years and since we have been married for a little over ten I need to make sure I can chase her around for the next forty or so years. So for me personally, anything that allows me those things for as long as possible make the “Juice worth the squeeze”.