Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. Four words with negative connotations, to be sure.
But it’s also the name of an inspiring documentary that’s been getting a lot of buzz.
Released in 2010, the film follows Joe Cross who, at 310 pounds and taking steroids to combat an autoimmune disease, had reached the end of his rope in terms of his poor health. According to the website, “With doctors and conventional medicines unable to help long-term, Joe turns to the only option left, the body’s ability to heal itself. He trades in the junk food and hits the road with juicer and generator in tow, vowing only to drink fresh fruit and vegetable juice for the next 60 days. Across 3,000 miles Joe has one goal in mind: To get off his pills and achieve a balanced lifestyle.”
Cross talks to more than 500 Americans about food and healthy living while on his journey. He also meets Phil Staples, a truck driver who suffers from the same rare condition. At 429 pounds, Phil is walking a fine line and, inspired by Joe, begins his own journey to get well.
The transformation these two go through is nothing short of amazing. You can see for yourself by watching it on Amazon, Hulu and Netflix.
I happened to watch it with my daughters a few weeks ago and we were all transfixed. The girls had never heard of juicing and I was pretty unfamiliar with the topic myself. But needless to say it made an impact on all three of us. As the credits were rolling, they asked if we could try juicing. I didn’t need much convincing. Not 10 minutes later we headed to the store to get the necessary supplies: a juicer and a hefty supply of fruits and veggies.
To clarify, I would never subject my kids to a juice fast. There are various schools of thought on the subject, but in general it’s not recommended for children. (It should also be noted that Joe and Phil did their juice fasts under strict medical supervision.) But drinking 100 percent fruit and vegetable juice — and not the kind you find in stores that are filled with preservatives and added sugars — is a healthy way to quickly introduce vitamins and minerals into their little bodies.
The first recipe we tried can be found on Joe’s website: RebootwithJoe.com.
Joe’s Mean Green Juice:
Ingredients:
- 1 cucumber
- 4 celery stalks
- 2 apples
- 6-8 leaves kale
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 T. ginger
Directions:
- Wash all produce well.
- Peel the lemon, optional.
- Juice it all.
- Pour over ice and enjoy!
It serves 1-2, so if you want more, double it.
Now, I was a little nervous about how this would taste, but more so of the girls’ reaction. But that was wasted energy because we all loved how deliciously light and fresh it was. Throughout the weekend we tried different recipes and were equally pleased with those. So, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by this experience and will continue to experiment with other ingredients in the days and weeks to come.
What about you? Ever tried juicing or juice cleanse or fast? Let me know your thoughts.
I registered for a half marathon that takes place in May. My intent was twofold: to eliminate some unhealthy habits and have some motivation to help in my efforts. I knew that if I formally registered (and roped a good friend into the process) I’d be committed to following through. I ran a half once before and while I would equate the experience with natural childbirth, the feeling of exhilaration and accomplishment that washed over me when I was finished made up for the pain during.
Cut to two months post-registration and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve run. Simply put, I have no desire at the moment. I could blame it on winter, lack of time or any number of things. But those are lame excuses. The fact of the matter is I have a gym membership, access to treadmills and plenty of time if I just made it a priority. In my defense, I’ve done some strength training and kickboxing workouts, and while they’re good for you, they’re not running, which is what you need to do to have the endurance to log 13.1 miles in (hopefully) 2 hours or less.
So yesterday in a panic I looked at the calendar to determine how many days until the race: 66. That’s a little more than 9 weeks to train. I perused some training plans and the consensus is that it’s totally doable. However, these training plans assume you’ve been running fairly regularly so that you’ve built up your endurance to help with longer runs. They should not assume that about me.
So today, as I write this, I’m turning over a new leaf. I’m admitting publicly that I have been lazy as all get out and it’s time to pay the piper. I brought my running gear with me to work so that I can go directly to the gym afterwards. Because if I go home first the couch will call and it’s all over from there. I also got a new pair of running shoes that I’m hoping will make me feel more like a gazelle than a penguin. Finally, I read this Runner’s World article, which lists 101 tips and inspirational quotes to motivate me to continue to put one foot in front of the other.
So what about you? Ever set lofty goals, only to be disappointed you don’t follow through? What’s your secret to staying motivated? Hit me up in the comments.
While many people lament the arrival of snow, this intrepid gal welcomes it. After all, if it’s going to be cold, at least snow expands your recreation options. (And, frankly, there are only so many board games, cooking projects and G-rated movie watching I can do with my kids before I seriously lose my mind.)
One recent Saturday we were blessed with about 5 inches of precipitation. The girls greeted the falling flakes with exuberance. With Saturday ahead of us, and the promise of accumulation, there were heated discussions about which sledding hill to hit first and the merits of each. Feeling adventurous, I posited we try someplace new. We decided on a hill in north Appleton, about 20 miles from home.
After suiting up, we piled into the car and threw the sleds in the back. As we headed down the highway, we alternately talked about the upcoming fun and sung along with the radio, everyone feeling upbeat.
Upon arrival, however, it was obvious that we were not the only ones with the idea to hit the hill. At least 20 groups of people were already there, giving it a whirl. And while I couldn’t have expected to have the hill to ourselves, I was more than a little irritated by the lack of sledding etiquette being exhibited, specifically the tendency by too many to not exit the hill promptly after stopping at the bottom.
Lurkers and malingerers
Why is it that so many feel the need to linger after the ride? When that happens, those of us at the top have to wait an inordinately long time before launching, or we risk crashing into the lurkers. I give very young children a pass on this as they simply don’t have the experience or the awareness of the larger world around them to realize that they are in the way. But middle- and high-school-age students, and even adults who clearly should know better? No thank you.
Because our girls are polite to a fault, they tend to wait for the “all clear” when it comes to many things in life. But after about three runs of this nonsense, we gave them the go-ahead to “man up,” as it were.
“Just go. If they don’t move out of the way and you crash into them, that’ll teach ‘em,” we said. They looked at us dubiously. “Girls, just go! You’ll be fine,” I said, gritting my teeth. (OK, probably not the best example to set, but the cold, wind and cardiac arrest-inducing ascent to the top of the hill following each run apparently were bringing out the worst. Also, I did not feel like spending the majority of my day on a sledding hill NOT sledding.)
And with that, they launched, our eldest twirling her plastic saucer in circles, while the youngest shot ahead on her purple missile, hell bent for destruction. Confident and fearless, they deftly avoided several collisions. And when they stopped moving, they jumped up laughing, quickly making their way to the side of the hill.
It was a proud parenting moment.
Sure, it may not have come about in the sweetest of ways, but our intentions were good. The overriding motivation in all my interactions with my kids is to raise independent, confident people who are prepared at 18 years old to enter a crazy and sometimes dangerous world — children who are aware of the bigger picture and consider the feelings of others, but not so much that it hinders them or causes them to doubt themselves.
The sledding hill is an apt metaphor for life: sure, it can be a scary ride at times, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The trials are the great teachers. How you land is irrelevant. How quickly you move onto the next adventure is what really matters.
