Newbtrition: A bold journey to feel less awful
Obviously, your doctor or a nutritionist would be a better person to consult than a fella with a Substack, though
IMPORTANT: Again, I’m not a doctor or a nutritionist. Take this with a grain of salt … while watching your salt intake.
When Pro Hockey Talk essentially shut down, I at first looked it as a doubled-edged sword. After (somehow) almost 12.5 years, I was no longer certain that my job would revolve around covering hockey. From a standpoint of money, stability, and confidence, it was and is an obvious kick to the gut.
Yet, I reasoned: that layoff also presented an opportunity to finally make my health (and the health of those around me) a bigger priority.
In hindsight, I started a little slow. Reasoning that some of my bad physical feelings likely boiled down to some cocktail of high blood pressure and general anxiety, I made it a larger point to scrutinize the nutrition facts on the side of food products.
There’s good spirit to that idea, but it’s sort of like seeing a bunch of mathematical theorems while peaking at long division. All the data in the world means little if you don’t know how to understand it.
One night, I noticed a book title that was all-too-timely, if a bit macabre: “How Not to Die,” by Dr. Michael Greger (with Gene Stone).
After thumbing through chapters regarding The Things I’m Most Afraid Of, I also encountered Dr. Greger’s “Daily Dozen,” and marvelled at both the painfully obvious (gotta eat broccoli, whether I fuss like a child about it or not) and the light bulb moments (spices might not just replace sodium, but provide borderline-bizarrely strong health benefits).
By no means will Dr. Greger’s book (and nutritionfacts.org) be my final stopping point on this journey. But, much like “Eat This, Not That” helped me more than a decade ago, reading up on that really served as a catalyst for a big change.
About a week and a half ago, I broached an earth-shattering topic to my wonderful and patient wife: “I think I’m going to stop eating meat.”
Now, that simplifies things a bit. I could see there being scenarios where I eat meat, especially on either special occasions or amid suboptimal circumstances. But leaning heavily toward a “plant-based diet” is at least my initial goal.
And let me tell you: it’s been … great?
Personally, this hasn’t just been “How Not to Die.” To me, it’s just as important to learn how not to feel like you’re dying. During the last week-and-change, I’ve felt dramatically less tense, enjoyed greater energy, and lost some weight. But I really think that people are oblivious to just how great a much-improved diet can make you feel. In some ways, it’s like chasing a high, as certain whole foods seem like they dump a bucket of dopamine on your senses.
Maybe it all comes down to marketing?
In a way, it all brings me back to that iconic scene from “Requiem for a Dream.”
People might actually under-sell how great it feels to load up on fruits, veggies, nutrients, good stuff
What if BIG HEALTHY marketed fruits and vegetables in a similar way?
I’m not saying that a rush of antioxidants and nutrients will leave you vacuuming your apartment all night. Your friends will probably grumble at you for springing a Hummus Party on them.
But if your humble farmers want a hacked-together video that evokes “Requiem for a Dream,” only with an orange creating those feelings of euphoria … well, here you go:
Anyway, since these lifestyle changes are dominating my mind and transforming my life, I figure it only makes sense to write about this journey here. If other people enjoy even a portion of the spike in quality of life that I’m experiencing, this newsletter will be worth every moment of effort, every very silly bit of rudimentary video/art, and every post that I get 85% done with, only to punt.
Presenting: Newbtrition!
