Better Blend In

It has been a couple weeks of having vegetable smoothies most nights instead of a solid meal, and it is going well. I feel a fair bit better, even though I have been sick through the same period, still coughing heavily, and haven't gone to the gym either. What I think has been the best thing, is that my stomach feels better, which is saying something, as I have had some quite severe stomach issues since I was a teen. It will never be great, but better is a start.

On the weekend, I was telling a friend about what I have been doing and he decided to start his smoothie journey too. He has a blender already, but he has only used it in the summer to make margaritas. So far, he hasn't been overly adventurous with his mixes, preferring berries rather than vegetables, but I think if he keeps it up, he will range further.

Tonight's mix:

Spinach
Zucchini
Cucumber
Parsley
Orange
Chia Seeds
Turkish Yoghurt
Carrot

This tastes good, with all that green loveliness packed with iron, combining with the sweetness of the orange that brings in some vitamin C. Supposedly, vitamin C helps aid iron absorption. And, while oranges do have sugar in them (which I try to avoid at night now), they also have a low glycemic index, so the sugar is released more slowly into the body, raising the blood sugar more evenly.

Did you get orange wedges at halftime during Saturday sports as a kid?

Maybe it was an Australian thing.

Being a little healthier in what I put into my body, will hopefully have a knock-on effect for other areas of my life. In the past, I have taken the "exercise first" route in the hope it will affect my diet, but this time I am going to go the other way, to see if I can make the habits more sustainable. I have always struggled with my diet, and I have an incredibly sweet tooth, so I haven't been able to maintain a stricter eating plan for more than a few months.

Even though I felt much better.

I find it interesting at how we not only know what is better for us, but even when we get the results that prove it, many of us still struggle to maintain it. While behavioral economics tells us that we will work in our own self-interest, what we consider interesting enough to work for is telling.

Due to our evolution, we have evolved to crave sugar, because it helps our brains grow. However, it also has a diminishing return that hits an equilibrium, and then starts to cost us. We feel bad, we get fat, our head doesn't think as clearly, as well as other aspects like sugar feeding cancer cells. Yet, that momentary sweetness is enough for us to override our long-term self-interest, and double down on enjoying the moment right now - regardless of the costs.

This is one of the problems with the way we have engineered culture to "live in the moment" in order to increase consumption (increase corporate profits and governmental control), because we are consumer beasts. We have evolved to be momentary, to eat what tastes sweet when it is available, and this impacts on other aspects of our lives, often to our detriment.

While we were starting to make a shift to be a more future-based global culture, there has been a strong pushback to reign in our planning and investment in improvement, and instead, spend now. Eating for taste alone is a "spend now" mentality, because it doesn't factor in the impact of what is eaten. Perhaps breaking into potential now, short, medium and long-term outcomes might help visualize it.

Eat a lot of unhealthy food

Now: Tastes Good
Short: Insulin spikes, mental fogginess, emotional imbalance
Medium: Lethargy, decreased stamina, affects on moods like motivation, weight gain
Long: Obesity, malnutrition, chronic illness

Eat a lot of unhealthy food

Now: Tastes Okay
Short: Insulin steady, mental acuity, emotional balance
Medium: Energy, increased health, greater motivation, weight management
Long: Healthier, more active, confidence.

It might vary for all, and eating healthy isn't some magical cure or prevention mechanism to stave off all illness, but it will likely help reduce the number of instances of low-level sickness, as well as reduce the possibility for multiple chronic conditions. Plus, when people feel generally okay health-wise, they don't think about how they are feeling that much at all. So, people tend to be more active, because there is less stopping them from being so, as they don't need to get over the mental hurdle of forcing themselves to do it while the body protests.

It has only been a couple weeks, so the results haven't been extreme, but I have noticed that I feel a little more alert, and I have also dropped a kilo or two. I am not sure if that is due to the change in food, illness, or not going to the gym though. I tend to put on weight when I am exercising, as my muscle returns very fast - even though it might be hidden under a layer of "non-muscle".

While I don't plan on living the rest of my days having vegetable smoothies for dinner, I also ponder that if it makes me feel better, why the hell not? Of course, I can still enjoy a good meal every now and again, and still maintain this most of the time, so perhaps that should be the approach.

So far, it has been the easiest dietary change I have made.

Have you tried it?

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]