The Carnivore’s Conundrum: Baby Steps

(Graphic by Taylor Gayowsky)

Since lying would do me no good, I must admit that this week’s entry is not exactly the most exciting one.

I didn’t try any wacky “fruitarian” diets or climb mountains: I just tried to be healthy. This meant that I worked on portion control and maintaining a certain amount of calories.

I only drank once this week, and was more conscious of what types of food were being consumed into my body.

To help me balance my healthier habits, I decided to meet up with a few experts and go over some important tips. I met with Denver Hilland, a second-year kinesiology student and Janice Keca, a licensed holistic nutritionist to give me (and you) tips on being healthy.

“What’s really important is a balance of cardio and weight training,” said Hilland. “Most people think that when you want to lose weight you just do cardio, but building muscles burns calories.”

Hilland was full of helpful tips like, “Don’t have unrealistic expectations, the gym is full of people the first two weeks and then people stop coming because they don’t set realistic goals.”

Hilland spoke to the idea that you need to “shock” your body when you work out. If you just run for an hour every night you’re not shocking your muscles.

“Try keeping things fresh, take a class, run outside or try interval training,” added Hilland.

Where Hilland highlighted the activity aspect of health, Keca spoke about food.

“Avoid artificial sweeteners, try Stevia, or honey instead,” she said.

Dairy is also something to be avoided unless it is used sparingly, “try unsweetened almond milk instead,” said Keca.

Keca also made sure to mention a few points about digestion. What she was able to get across to me is that we are like zebras when they eat.

Hear me out: we’re not stripped grazers in the savannah, but like zebras we have a lot of stress in our lives. When a zebra is eating and it sees a lion stalking it, it has to decide on fight or flight- and as soon as that decision has to be made, the digestion process stops.

Keca said the same thing happens to us. We have such crazy busy lives that we often eat food quickly, on the go, sometimes on the way to classes but this can actually be detrimental to our digestion.

“Just take five minutes after you eat to sit and digest and be grateful that you have food,” said Keca. “Also, chew slowly.”

So although I did not participate in any crazy challenges this week, I will be exploring some in the near future. Stay tuned, for the next FATtlestar Galactica!

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