Expect the Unexpected
How was your week? Did you remember to drink more water during this past week? Have you figured out how much you need to drink everyday yet? I got this encouraging reply back from one of you – thank you for writing back, I always love to hear from you!
“I woke up to your group email this morning and didn’t get to read it till just now. I had the normal breakfast rush with the kids and then went straight out to have my first colonic since with you the past summer! The lady I had the colonic with was lovely. She is local so very convenient. Really really liked her practise and ethics and I was complaining to her how I’d got out of the habit of drinking water and she was explaining that you should drink half your body weight plus a little extra to be on the safe side etc etc etc. So when I got home, I immediately poured myself grander water into my 16 oz jug and was just trying to figure out how many jugs I’d have to drink when I came to my computer to look up something and decided to read your email only to find out you were telling me the exact information I needed! You literally had the exact formula I was going to work out for my 16 oz jug I like drinking out of!!!! HOW FUNNY IS THAT! So thank you again and as always Helena! I’m going to drink my water this Blue Monday and think of you.”
(The formula again: drink half your body weight in ounces daily.)
A lot of you travel. I travel less than I used to. The challenge of keeping up your energy and knowing what to eat (or not) when you’re on the move is no easy task. If you can anticipate the journey, do a bit of prep, all the better. We talk about that in the detox – soaked almonds and super fruits for example and having things ready in the freezer for when you get home. But last night, my return flight from Jerusalem was cancelled and I was put up in a hotel room. Isn’t that life?
THE ONLY CONSTANT IN LIFE IS CHANGE
So what did I do? Bought water and drank it. Had a hot rosehip tea in my hotel room when I got in. Bought a salad and more water to take on the Easyjet return.
An American cousin got married in Jerusalem on Thursday and at the last minute, I decided to go. Jerusalem breakfasts, imagine my DELIGHT to find fresh pink grapefruit juice, green salads, tahini (sesame) sauces, sunflower shoots and sprouted pulse salads on offer! I filled myself with the alkaline, water-and-enzyme-rich fibres of fresh food each morning and as I always say in the detox, ‘the brain’s not satisfied without fat’, so the tahini sauces were a delicious accompaniment. Along with the odd slice of halva (at breakfast?! – that was a new one for me!) and a boiled egg. Food should always be a delight: visually before you eat, whilst you’re eating and how it sits in your tummy after!
As my other cousins and I went out and about, fresh pomegranate juice was on offer alongside fresh carrot, orange and grapefruit juices. They use these simple but effective hand press juicers for the fruits which were fun to watch. For meals, there were plenty of roasted aubergines, coleslaws, chickpea falafels etc. Easy.
But what do you do when you go somewhere that doesn’t present you so readily with healthy options? (I’m thinking of the 7 hour road trip from Seattle airport to my parents house in WA state.)
Think water and water-rich foods: Salads, soups, carb-only (like hummus) sandwiches (remember – mixing carbs and proteins makes for tummy ache) and lean proteins with veg. I’ll be packing easy-to-carry miso soup sachets this summer because hot water is readily available.
We were privileged last week to receive Dr Eccles of www.thenaturaldoctor.org to the detox who gave us an informative lecture on anti-ageing and prolonging good health. He showed us slides of fat rats who lived shorter lives compared to rats fed the same thing but less. Calorie reduction (CR) makes you live longer!
So, when you’re on the road, drink more and eat less. I like how David Wolfe put it at his Longevity 2015 conference which I attended: “Eat less so that you can live longer…and EAT MORE!”
I mention the “Blue Zones” book in our TMD story, in the All You Need To Know booklet you receive for a detox – which describes how the people who live the longest on the planet all drink a lot of water and consume fewer calories daily than their overweight neighbours – right across the globe.
So friends, drink and eat yourselves slim this year!
Do this by eating water-rich foods accompanied by the healthy fats found in seeds (including avocados) and plump alkaline soaked almonds so you feel happily full and satisfied. Drink lots of water in-between meals. And keep away from large amounts of the things which remove water from your body, like alcohols, caffeines and sugars, so you’ll keep building up your water stores and your body can best do it’s job of protecting you and keeping you energised.
If you need help with recipes, ideas, strategies, problem solving – just get in touch and ask, come and join us, that’s what we’re here for!