Vitality: Chapter 1 – what you put in your mouth.

People tell me I’m full of energy and vitality. I have decided to share what I know with as many people as I can in order to help them to access this childhood vitality that is within all of us.

The challenge is recognising what I actually do. Many of my physical and mental patterns are deeply ingrained and automatic habits and it will take me some time to discover them all, so bear with me!

This is some of what I know I know regarding food…

What you put in your mouth?

First of all, I should say I’m talking about food & drink here! There are other websites that will give you guidance on everything from musical instruments and SCUBA gear to bubble gum and whatever else you can imagine.

In pure physical terms, ALL of your available energy comes from the food you eat. Thankfully, very few people reading this blog will have a problem with eating enough food. If you’re overweight it’s because, over the last few months or years, you have on average consumed more energy than you have used, full-stop.

The whole game of diet for fat management centers around psychology, and I’ve never been overweight so I wouldn’t be congruent talking about this, save to say “eat less and move more!

In my simple model, weight management is mainly about how much you eat whereas health and vitality is as much about what you eat. You can be thin living off McDonalds and chocolate, just not healthy.So, let’s kick-off with five simple fundamentals of healthy heating…

1. Eat plenty of raw food. Humans are the only animals that cook their food, and it doesn’t look like we’ve been doing it long. Eating cooked food is a little unknown from an evolutionary standpoint, and it makes sense to eat plenty of raw food. I’m not, however, advocating 100% raw at this stage as I haven’t tried and and am not convinced that the modern food sources are up to it.
2. Minimise that amount of ‘crap’ you eat. Please excuse the technical term, but you know what I mean. Just displace rubbish like deep-fried Mars Bars, or Brie on Hob Nobs (an old favorite of mine) with stuff you may never have tried like raw chocolate, roasted vegetables, fresh fruit & veg smoothies etc etc. If you’d like more healthy eating ideas, please comment on this blog asking.
3. Wait 15 mins before saying “yes” to more. You know how over eating feels. Also, it doesn’t help you stay a healthy weight. It takes at least 12 minutes for your brain to get the idea that your stomach is full. Therefore, I feel there is a real danger zone between one course and the next. Just have the self discipline to wait a bit before accepting more food.
4. Eat water rich foods. People spend a lot of time talking about how much water to drink, so I won’t. All I will say is do drink when you’re thirsty. Another, often overlooked, source of water is through food. Salads, veggies, fruits etc are all “wet” foods and are full of water. Eat plenty of these as another way to keep hydrated.
5. Listen to your body. It’s constantly giving you feedback, get in the habit of listening to it. If certain types or combinations of food consistently give you sever wind, then (unless you love farting for the fun of it) try new combinations. If you feel bad after a meal, consider whether it was worth it.

To keep this post short, I’ll leave it there. If you found this interesting or useful, please comment as I use this to determine what to write about next.

In the meantime have as much fun as a kid, whilst being as responsible as a pensioner!

Ben Tristem aka Mr Vitality