"Adopting a new healthier lifestyle can involve changing diet to include more fresh fruit and vegetables as well as increasing levels of exercise." ~ Linford Christie
Good morning; afternoon; and evening friends and fans! Namaste. 🧘🏾♀️ Well, I had received some news from my primary care physician, Dr. Awwal, she was saying that my sugar level had gone up and she was saying that if I don't take Metformin, diabetes medication that I'd [eventually] take insulin. I remember my grandmother (my mother's mother) had to maintain her diabetes by using insulin and she outlived diabetes. I believe my mother is a diabetic and I'm not too sure what health issues were on my grandfathers side (my mother's father) but I know cataracts runs in the family since I'm of Asian (specifically Chinese) descent. My sister, Gwen and I may develop a case of getting cataracts later in life. This is going to suck when I have my random sweet tooth (yikes 😬) and if need be, I need to overall change my diet to reverse my diabetes. Okay, there's a lot swirling around in my mind between my own health issues with diabetes and news regarding Roe Vs. Wade being overturned. For the last several years, I've been doing my research regarding the vegan lifestyle and according to what I've watched on Netflix on reversing diabetes. I'm going to slowly ease myself into a vegan diet and will put my vegan cookbooks to good use! Be sure to check out my past blogs: Ethical Choices; A Foolproof Guide to Vegan or Not to Vegan; and this is my third blog on the vegan lifestyle. I suppose I'll list the documentaries regarding vegan. I've never been a huge fan of bacon (I can't stand the smell of bacon!), pork, and red meats. Nonetheless, from now until next blood work in mid October, I intend on going or rather steadily go on a vegan diet and I'm doing this for me because it's my personal choice of going vegan. I think the first video on Netflix people should watch is 'What the Health' and there are documentaries I should revisit since I've watched them once in the last several years. Health wise, I do want to make better food choices and even if I allowed myself at least one cheat day per week or twice a month. As I'm watching Neal Banard, MD | A Nutritional Approach for Reversing Diabetes on YouTube and it's a pretty interesting watch if you're looking a way around this, I mean reversing diabetes. If I have to, I'll begin with the 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse by JJ Smith and it's been a hot minute since I've made any smoothies from the book. At some point I'd have to invest in a blender and a water bottle or two so I can make two days worth of smoothies. At some point, I'll head to Target in Flushing at the SkyView Shopping Center since I'm more familiar with the layout of the store verses going to the Target in Washington Heights. Maybe I'm being picky but I feel more comfortable shopping there than any other Target location since I'm able to travel there by bus (the Q27 to Sanford Avenue, second to last stop in Flushing by the 7 train). I had gone to an orthopedic appointment earlier this month regarding my right knee and the orthopedic felt around my knee; he said it's Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome and referred me to physical therapy. It's very uncomfortable to walk, even up and down stairs. I had asked my primary care doctor to refer me to get some X-rays done and I plan on going on Monday after work. Hopefully I'll be able to do some yoga and whenever I do yoga, I feel more confident afterwards.
-Smoothie Cleanse-
"There are six components of wellness; proper weight and diet, proper exercise, breaking the smoking habit, control of alcohol, stress management and periodic exams." ~ Kenneth H. Cooper
Last time I did the 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse, I recall not craving as much sweets (once in a while I'll have a sweet tooth but not everyday like that) and perhaps if I could pull this off at least two weeks before my next blood work in October, I believe I should be okay. Maybe my other option is to make smoothies for an entire month before going for blood work in October and there had been times I've asked my doctor about smoothies, what I've been told "it wasn't necessary to make smoothies," what she was saying people in the European culture like in France, they're into making smoothies. Not exactly providing encouraging news and no wonder why many Americans are so unhealthy. I remember growing up in the 90's and people back then seemed like they took better care of themselves compared to the people these days in contrast to the lifestyles of people from the 70's and earlier where people prepared more home cooked meals more so at home than going out, I don't remember hearing people going to McDonald's but I could imagine people having home made meals more so than going out way before I was born. You'd often hear people who suffered from eating disorders, celebrities such as Paula Abdul; Princess Diana; Mary-Kate Olsen; Portia de Rossi; Karen Carpenter (I recently watched a documentary of her on YouTube recently); Calista Flockhart; Victoria [Posh Spice] Beckham; and just to name a few. I still have some frozen fruits in the freezer for roughly a year or more and I'm sure it's had enough of being frost bitten by now. Once when I invest in a new blender, I'll begin making my smoothies once when I visit places like Whole Foods for produce. I'm hoping that a vegan diet would ease my patellofemoral pain syndrome since the orthopedic diagnosed me with it earlier this month and will be going for physical therapy twice a week. For now, I need to take care of myself because my health comes first before anyone [and anything else] and if you don't like it, suck my dick [if I had one] and tell me what flavor. My health comes first before any man, woman and child; work and whomever and whatever. If you don't like it, oh well, too bad and you can go kick rocks, meaning go take a hike because I don't need you controlling me like you own me (I am not your property)! I'd have to do some research on how to relieve my knee and I'm always on my feet all the time. I'm so used to having somewhere to go.
-My Weight Loss Experience-
"Each of us should take personal responsibility for our diet, and our children's diet, and the government's role should be to make certain it provides the best information possible to help people stay healthy." ~ Jim Talent
I'm not going to lie but I've always struggled with my weight and during my junior year of high school, I was 165 pounds. The summer of 2000 when I worked at my first job at YWCA (a job I got through Summer Youth Employment Program for the summers of 2000 and 2001) when I worked at my first job, I lost weight. I cut down on soda; juice; and sweets. I only allowed myself one glass of juice in the morning and a bottle of soda per day. At lunch, I would have a Slim Fast and weight went down to 148 pounds and when school began back up in September of 2000, I recall my weight going back up to 155 pounds. When I was attending TCI: College of Technology for Graphic Design, I was roughly 140 pounds and there were times when I didn't always eat when I should have. I would somewhat starved myself and would eat every other day which was how I had lost weight more quickly. Only time I ate was when a few of my friends would order food and whatever they didn't want, they'd ask if I wanted their leftover food, I was given the rest of their food. Just before I was raped and got pregnant in 2009, I was 133 pounds early 2009 and at the time of my son's birth in November, I was 177 pounds and ever since 2009, my weight always hovered around 200 pounds. I've tried gym memberships but it wasn't for me because I knew I had to spend more money on top of my gym membership for a personal trainer and I need to try a different approach in a healthy way of losing weight and tone up my body. The last fitness spot I did was Better Body Bootcamp towards the end of 2019 because I was so looking forward to going to my cousin David's wedding in August of 2020 but the "pandemic" happened and I was so heartbroken and disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy for my cousin but I wanted to be apart of something awesome (and amazing) and maybe it's not too late. I'll try my best to remain optimistic and hopeful. I lack the much needed confidence ever since my pregnancy and I don't feel as good as I should about myself. I've been very hard on myself about my weight and I don't feel as confident or sexy about myself. My next method is finding a yoga studio as a method of feeling good about myself because I've noticed whenever I do yoga, I feel amazing; sexy and confident after doing yoga at home. I'd have to learn to put myself first before anyone else (man, woman and child) and if you're one of those people that makes a big stink over people putting themselves first before you then there's something wrong with your way of thinking because from my perspective, if one doesn't take care of themselves first by keeping their health in check then how can anyone take care of you if your expectations are much too high for people to take care of you like a child? I need to take care of myself first and if people don't like it then I honestly don't know what to tell you. Anyone in their right mind would take it or leave it, simple as that. I have to learn to take it easy so I can focus more on my health than any other adult and it doesn't mean I'm heartless or selfish, it simply means that I'm taking the time out of my own schedule to make sure my health is in check so I can go to bed happy. It's going to be a process in itself but it's not going to be an easy journey on my end and a self-care blog may be somewhere in the near future because self-care is important as your own health; happiness; sanity; and mental health. I'm not looking to be that person who advocates for self-care but it is greatly encouraged and should be enjoyed to its fullest each day because tomorrow is never promised. There's a lot I need to learn because I want to live long enough to know that I've made things happen with positive encouragement from others. I'm still trying to figure things out and it's not easy but it's through trial and error, no need to rub certain things in my face because I am aware of the mistakes I've made in my own life (that I can promise you).
-Further Reading-
Several books I have on vegan lifestyle for those who are interested in changing their diet/eating habits. I'm not trying to convert people's eating habits but for those who are opened minded and open to trying something different or looking to leave their comfort zone.
- 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse by JJ Smith
- 7 Day Vegan Challenge: Featuring Over 70 Tasty Recipes and Menu Plans by Bettina Campolucci Bordi
- The 22-Day Revolution: The Plant-Based Program That Will Transform Your Body, Reset Your Habits, and Change Your Life by Marco Borges
- 125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes by Judith Finlayson
- Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson
- Flexitarian: Plant-Based Recipes With & Without the Meat
- Frugal Vegan: Affordable, Easy & Delicious Vegan Cooking by Kate Koteen & Kate Kasbee of Well Vegan
Blessed be,
Jennifer
