There are a lot of food and health documentaries out there. Forks Over Knives. Hungry for Change. All of them showing what diet and lifestyle can do for your health.
I'm even in one of them. Briefly.
I've been working through a pile of them again this June. It stirs something up, because I've lived a version of what they're talking about.
The first time
Over a decade earlier, I saw the results of lifestyle change for myself. I got my health back, and to be honest my life back, by changing two things. How I moved, and what I put in my mouth.
It was lots of small changes, done every day, until they stopped feeling like changes and just became how I lived. That run of habits took me from the sofa to running ultras.
2016
In 2016 I got injured. I spent a big part of that year on crutches, and it knocked my confidence more than I expected.
That started a chain of events. Moving less. Comfort creeping back in. Some old habits sneaking back, one at a time, so slowly that I barely noticed. Nothing dramatic, and that's what makes it dangerous. You just drift.
I think a lot of people will recognise that. You get your act together, you feel brilliant, and then life happens. An injury, a new job, a new baby, a hard year. The good habits get squeezed out and the old ones are always waiting.
Experiment number one
So I've decided to reclaim my health. Again.
I'm starting with an experiment. For the whole of July 2020, 31 days, I'm going to eat a whole food plant based diet. Only plants, and as little processed food as possible, unless I'm the one doing the processing in my own kitchen.
I'm calling it an experiment on purpose. Whatever happens, I'll get results and learn something. That takes a lot of pressure off. It's one month, and I'll pay attention to what happens.
I'm also going to document it as I go, because I know I do better when other people can see what I'm doing. Accountability works on me. It probably works on you too.
