Living the Good Life: A Manifesto, Part 1

[mme_furiosa]

A while back, I insinuated to elva_undine  that I would try to motivate her to get healthier. And so, I present you with my simple rules for living the good life...

The Food Issue: You are what you eat (or for the systems folks: GIGO= Garbage in, garbage out)

Comments

[purdypiedad]

Excellent post m'dear. As a fellow health nut, I agree with almost everything here, and I was cheering you on as I read

[mme_furiosa]

Of course I agree with you about the water thing. Sadly, a disturbing number of people I have known claim to dislike water. I don't know how this is possible, of course, but for those people juice or tea is a reasonable alternative. I, myself, hate bottled juice. It's too sweet. If I drink it, I dilute the hell out of it first. Wine is packed with antioxidants and that exciting new compound- resveritrol, that is said to be good for something or other important. Oh, right, anti-aging. That said, I simply LOVE red wine. It's my vice. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Wine is proof that God loves us." I'm paraphrasing

[purdypiedad]

Diluted juice is a good alternative, and most people can adjust to it very easily if they just add a little more water with each glass. I'm with you. I think juice is gross. We use it as a sweetener for recipes. I use 1:1 white grape juice and water when I make oatmeal. The fructose gives it a wonderful flavor and then I don't have to add any processed sugar. Herbal and green teas are a great alternative. A favorite summer drink of mine is peppermint or spearmint iced tea. They both grow like weeds, so it's a great addition to the lazy man's garden. Lemon balm or lemon verbena also make great summer teas

[belenen]

When you're addicted to sugar as most of Americans are, the lack of it in a drink is startling and therefore 'gross.' I used to only be able to drink it if I mixed it about half-n-half with my parents' daily gallon of sweet tea -- when I started living on my own I drank water because it was the easiest and cheapest solution, and once I got used to it, soda and heavily-sweetened fruit/tea drinks became gross to me. It's all what you're accustomed to, I guess!

[ayoub]

All good advice!

[gonadsandstrife]

NEEDZ MOAR BBQ SAWSE

[mme_furiosa]

If by "fat as a house" you mean "drop dead gorgeous," then I have got to agree.

At least you feel good, right?

[purdypiedad]

lol... I'm a compulsive eater, myself. I'm just too poor at the moment to eat myself fat, but I'm afraid it isn't due to any strength of character on my part. There was a time, however, that in my attempt to get a handle on my compulsive eating I went 100% raw. I gained 15 pounds. Eating RAW. One can definitely eat too much of a good thing. :-D

[superhappytime]

I don't know what the dealio is with the meat obsession of this nation.

Um...it tastes awesome? And I consider eggs and fish meat and in that category...

Insulting Cheetos is going to lead to LJ Idol women hunting you down and killing you. Although I never really understood all the Cheetos comments. Maybe it was just an inside joke that I was outside of....

[welfy]

I'm a meat lover too, though I don't eat much red meat but for a few steaks a month.

I adore Cheetos (though I don't eat them as much anymore)! I don't understand the Cheetos comments either, if it makes you feel any better.

[superhappytime]

I'm not big on red meat, really...once, when my cholesterol and BP were very low, the doctor suggested I eat more steak...I like beef alright, but I prefer pork products.

[mme_furiosa]

Woman, you make me realize how long overdue I am for a good steak!

I do love some juicy steakiness.