Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life (5 page)

Feeling Better

The desire to improve your health has little to do with
looking better
. At least that’s not what we’re concerned with when we talk about
getting healthy
or
living a healthy life
(although, nearly 100% of the time, a person who starts living a healthier lifestyle starts looking better almost immediately, which is a fantastic bonus). Instead, we’re far more concerned about how you
feel
. We want you to
feel better
;
looking
better
is a nice perk that is essentially guaranteed once you start feeling better.

Thus, we’re not concerned with your vanity muscles in these pages (even though a lot of this stuff will help them grow, if that’s what you’re interested in). Rather, we’re concerned with how you feel. We know if you feel better, you’ll be able to better enjoy every other facet of your life.

What You Put Into Your Body

Please note that we use the term
diet
throughout the next few sections to describe a
dietary lifestyle
(i.e., a change in what you consume on a daily basis). We do not, however, use the word
diet
to describe a temporary prescribed set of planned meals that will get you to a specific weight-loss goal (e.g., lose 30 lbs. in 30 days). A change in dietary lifestyle is not only a change in what you consume but a change in how you think about what you consume. A temporary
diet
almost always fails after the post-
diet
behavior commences. A lifestyle change, by definition, can’t fail unless you make a negative change thereafter.

It’s also important to note that there is not a singular, ideal dietary model to follow to live a healthier life. This frustrates some people because it is much easier to be told what to eat; it’s much easier to follow a strict set of guidelines from which you are not allowed to deviate. 

Our primary focus in the next few sections is on food (followed by several sections about exercise), but the above section title is deliberately broader than just food;
what you put into your body
encompasses more than your diet. That’s because it’s important to be cognizant of anything that goes into your body—anything you ingest like food or medicine, as well as anything that enters your body in any other way (e.g., through the skin). Remember, the desire here isn’t to lose weight or look better; the desire is to live a healthier life and feel better.

Foods to Avoid

With respect to the foods you eat, and irrespective of your dietary needs or requirements, there are certain foods you should completely eliminate from your diet if you want to feel better.

• Processed and packaged foods
  . We want our food to be as close to its original state as possible. The additives and preservatives in packaged foods add no nutritional value to your diet, and the chemicals in some of these foods can be harmful to your long-term health.
  
• Sugar
  . This includes all varieties of plain sugar (cane, raw, etc.), as well as anything you might refer to as
  sweets
  (cola, cake, candy, etc.).
  

Drastically Reduce or Eliminate

This part is usually the hardest part for people to follow. That’s because it’s easier to fast than it is to diet. Consequently, it’s easier to eliminate certain foods from your diet completely (
I’m not allowed to eat this!
) than it is to reduce the consumption of an item (
Oh, one more bowl of pasta won’t kill me!
). That kind of mentality makes reduction a slippery slope, one that sometimes leads right back to regular consumption. We recognize that eliminating all the following items from your diet might not be ideal, but you can always eliminate them for just 10 days (you can do anything for 10 days, right?) and reintroduce small amounts if you need to.

• Gluten, breads, and pastas
  . Many people are allergic or sensitive to gluten without even knowing it. In 2010, Joshua discovered he was allergic to gluten after experiencing several stomach issues that gradually got worse. His doctor informed him he was allergic to gluten, which, once he eliminated it from his diet, he noticed a remarkable difference in the way he felt. Furthermore, breads and pastas (even the rare, gluten-free varieties) add unnecessary carbohydrates and sugars to your diet, which cause you to gain weight. Breads and pastas are processed foods that our bodies were not designed to digest. The two of us tend to eat rice instead of these foods.
  
• Any drinks other than water
  . Coffee, caffeinated tea, soda, bottled juice, et cetera—none of these things are water. Most add unnecessary calories to your diet, and they will never hydrate you like water will.
  
• Dairy
  . You don’t have to be a vegan to live a healthy life. In fact, both of us consume small amounts of dairy from time to time (although we’ve drastically reduced our dairy consumption). But ask yourself a few questions: Why are humans the only animals on the planet who consume another animal’s breast milk? Do you think the human digestive system is designed to digest a cow’s milk? Can you remove dairy from your diet for 10 days and notice a difference?
  
• Meat
  . This one is sometimes controversial. We stopped eating meat as an experiment a couple years ago and noticed phenomenal results, so we never went back (other than fish, which we discuss in the following sections). The best advice we can give you is to test it yourself—stop eating meat for at least 10 days and notice the difference it makes. Then decide for yourself.
  

Incorporate More

We replaced the foods we reduced or eliminated by adding healthier alternatives that we enjoy. 

• Water
  . We recommend drinking at least half your bodyweight in ounces of water every day. If you weigh 200 pounds, drink at least 100 ounces of water. 
  
• Green drinks
  . Want a boost in your energy? Not getting your daily veggies? Drink a green drink. We like Healthforce Vitamineral Green, Kyo-Green, and Amazing Green (Berry Flavor). Just mix a tablespoon with 10 ounces of water, drink it, and feel the difference. We drink at least two or three every day. You’ll notice a difference in energy and vitality right away. Green drink also helps you fend off hunger, keeping you from overeating.
  
• Fresh juices
  . Get yourself a juicer and use it daily. It is worth the investment. The best juicer we’ve found is the Omega J8004 Masticating Juicer. It does the best job juicing green vegetables (plus everything else: veggies, fruits, children’s toys—you name it, it will juice it). Or, the Hamilton Beach 67650 Juice Extractor is a less expensive option (albeit not as powerful as the Omega). Can’t afford a juicer? Sell your junk and buy one—we’re certain the juicer will add more value to your life than your stuff.
  
• Vegetables
  . Vegetables are low in calories and high in essential vitamins and nutrients. Eat as many non-starchy vegetables as you want—they are good for you.
  
• Beans and legumes
  . Beans and legumes add healthy proteins and carbohydrates to your diet. They also help you feel full and satisfied so you don’t overeat.
  
• Fruits
  . Fruits are a bit tricky. They are healthy—filled with necessary vitamins, acids, and water—but they also contain a lot of natural sugar. Thus, a couple pieces of fruit per day can be a healthy alternative to sweets, but we also recommend you reduce your fruit consumption if it is one of your primary sources of food.
  
• Fish
  . Fish, such as salmon, contains important omega-3 fatty acids, which have been scientifically proven to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Omega-3 fatty acids also help maintain healthy triglyceride levels. Furthermore, fish is a great source of protein. That said, we recommend avoiding certain bottom-feeders (shrimp, crab, lobster, etc.) because they are essentially the garbage men of the sea, eating every dead thing that sinks to the bottom.
  
• Organic foods
  . Organic foods are free of pesticides and other chemicals, so it makes sense to consume foods that are organic when presented with the option—the less chemicals you put in your body, the better.
  
• Supplements and vitamins
  . A daily multi-vitamin and a daily fish-oil supplement can help you get any essential vitamins you were missing before.
  

Special Diets

Again, we’re not asking you to live by some strict diet. Nor do we subscribe to any one particular dietary lifestyle as the end-all-be-all in terms of dietary health. Rather, we believe that different people have different dietary needs, thus we encourage you to experiment with different elements of your diet until you find the results you’re looking for (i.e., until you feel better, until you feel healthy). In addition to the above mentioned foods to avoid, reduce, eliminate, and incorporate, here are examples of five diets from which we’ve seen great results.

• Vegetarianism
  . Most people are familiar with vegetarianism, though there is an entire continuum of vegetarianism. At its fundament, a vegetarian diet consists of no meat, but might include other animal products like dairy and eggs.
  
• Veganism
  . A vegan’s diet doesn’t include animal products (meat, dairy, eggs, honey, etc.). We both experimented with a strict vegan diet for one year (it was a bet between the two of us—long story), and the results were astounding: we felt more energy, Ryan lost a considerable amount of weight, Joshua maintained a healthy weight, and, most importantly, we both felt better on this diet. Since that experiment, we decided to incorporate some dairy, eggs, and fish back into our diets, which leads us to the next diet.
  
• Pescatarianism
  . This is essentially the diet to which we both adhere currently. Pescatarians are basically vegetarians who eat fish. We also consume some dairy products, albeit significantly less than we used to.
  
• Paleo or Primal
  . Although neither of us subscribe to this diet (because we don’t eat meat), we have some friends who have had tremendous results from some form of a paleo or primal diet. The Paleo Diet mimics the types of foods most people on earth ate prior to the Agricultural Revolution (a mere 500 generations ago). These foods (fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and seafood) are high in the beneficial nutrients that promote good health. The Paleo Diet is low in the foods and nutrients (refined sugars and grains, dairy, trans fats, salt, high-glycemic carbohydrates, and processed foods) that frequently cause weight gain, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and numerous other health problems. The Paleo Diet encourages dieters to replace dairy and grain products with fresh fruits and vegetables—foods that are more nutritious than whole grains or dairy products. For more information visit paleoplan.com. Also, see our friend Matt Madeiro’s documented progress on the primal plan (including pictures of his progress) at threenewleaves.com/my-primal-progress-with-pictures. 
  
• Intermittent fasting
  . Intermittent fasting is a pattern of eating that alternates between periods of fasting (consuming only water) and non-fasting. For example, a person who intermittently fasts might not eat for 16 hours per day and then eat two or three meals within an eight hour window during the day. Thus, any of the four above mentioned dietary lifestyles could apply to intermittent fasting. People who attempt this diet (even for 10 days) typically see wonderful results. As we were editing this book, Joshua started adhering to this diet and saw incredible results in about a week—less body fat, a flatter stomach, and more toned muscles. Martin Berkhan has achieved unbelievable results with this diet (including muscle-mass results far beyond the scope of this book). You can read more about intermittent fasting and see Martin Berkhan’s story at leangains.com.
  

Developing Daily Food Habits

Most drastic dietary changes fail long-term. That’s because they are overwhelming, so people find them too hard to stick to. Instead of establishing a diet plan, we encourage you to change your diet for 10 days at a time. Anyone can change for 10 days, right? Experiment with the aforementioned dietary lifestyles (not diet plans) and adhere to the diet that is right for you. Your diet is not something you do; it is the way you live your life with respect to food consumption, which means that it’s also not something you “come off of” either. Your dietary lifestyle is a permanent change, not something you do for a temporary period of time.

Thus, your diet is marked by the daily habits by which you live. Once you adopt a healthy dietary lifestyle, you will feel better, and your body will thank you. Food should be treated as nutrition, not as entertainment.

Medicine, Drugs, and Chemicals

Take a look at your medicine cabinet. What kind of medication do you take? How many pills per day? Why do you take it? Are there alternatives? If so, have you tested those alternatives for yourself? If the doctor prescribed you something, did you ask why? Did you ask for a second opinion? 

Or worse: Do you smoke? Consume too much alcohol? Use drugs regularly? If so, why?

Your two authors would be remiss if we didn’t at least scratch the surface on this topic and ask you to ask yourself these questions. Some medications are absolutely important and lifesaving, but many medications—complete with their laundry list of side-effects—are unnecessary and can be avoided with proper diet and exercise. Furthermore, if you’re doing things that damage your body, then
you
will pay the price for it.

What You Do with Your Body