I studied “nutrition and healthy living” 8 years ago.
Quickly I learned the impact different foods have on us physically and mentally.
What I stumbled upon literally shocked me and, thank goodness, saved my life!
I’d recently had a stroke, minor, but still a stroke. I was 45 at the time. I went for an MRI because of my unbearable headaches — I was scared that I may have a tumor.
The doctor reported back to me with the results of the scan and said:
“You don’t have a tumor, but you did have a stroke. Do you remember something odd happening to you?
He showed me the images where you could see the small lesion. That announcement skyrocketed my heart rate, and I almost had a heart attack.
The doc immediately told me to lie down, relax, and put me on oxygen.
Luckily, the stroke had no physical impact, but I was stunned.
How could I have a stroke at my age, I asked. He explained it could happen to anyone at any time and that it was because of clogged arteries or a heart valve problem.
Then I remembered a moment a few weeks prior when I went for breakfast with my kids and tried to order but couldn’t speak or move for about 30 seconds.
My kids and the server were asking me if I was ok. I could hear them but couldn’t reply until I snapped out of it, sweating and anxious.
I thought it was a stress-related blackout, but that was the stroke. Now it made sense.
My question was:
“Why could my arteries possibly be clogged? I generally eat a whole balanced diet and exercise a lot — this doesn’t make sense.”
The doctor explained:
“There can be many reasons. You may be eating too much of something causing the plaque to build up in your veins — it could be hereditary or something else. We must now put you on statins and blood thinners and run tests.”
And that is what they did, and I went along with them for 1 month until I flipped a switch in my mind and said to myself:
“Rob, this can’t be right, or your solution to heal yourself and not have another more severe stroke. You must study and figure out what causes your health condition and why.
Side note: I was 60 lbs overweight at the time with a hugely bloated belly, felt terrible, was constantly sick, couldn’t sleep, was depressed, and on 10 medications for various ailments that wouldn’t go away!
Why am I telling you this story today?
For me, it’s essential and my mission to spread the message about what “real and healthy food” is to as many folks worldwide as I can.
What is the opposite that causes diabetes, obesity, and a whole host of other metabolic and mental health disorders and can lead to a very miserable life and early death!
I’m out and about all the time. I can work from anywhere but rarely from home because I prefer to sit outside at a lovely cafe, by a hotel pool, and write from there.
I enjoy the atmosphere of things happening around me. It stimulates my brain much more than sitting alone at home, in an office, or desk.
I also live alone and like it that way.
So working and training in nature is fun, stimulates the creative side of my brain, and I meet and talk with lots of interesting people from all over the world.
I am not joking with what I’m about to say.
Most folks I meet, be that couples, individuals, young, middle-aged, or older are mostly overweight and don’t look that great.
Somehow, every time people ask me what I do and why I’m so slim yet fit and lean.
That’s always my golden opportunity to launch into what happened to me, how I changed my food and lifestyle, which made me healthy, lose all the excess weight, and stay alive — and to hopefully help them too!
I keep my monologues to 5 minutes max to not take too much of their time or bore them.
However, mainly, the people I talk with want to know more and start asking many questions about my diet and exercise schedule. So the conversation often can run an hour or more.
That’s when I know I hooked them, and they will give it a shot to change their habits and lifestyle too.
What did I do to drop the fat, regain my health and find the fountain of youth again?
I’ll make this short and sweet with the 10 simple steps I took:
1 — Stopped drinking alcohol like a fish.
2 — Quit consuming anything with sugar in it.
3 — Ditched all processed grain-based foods.
4 — Never again touched fast food or junk snacks.
5 — Through the cookie jar out.
6 — Started to eat lots of protein with meat, fish, seafood, and eggs.
7 — Switched my diet from high-carb to low-to-no-carb and went with high protein and healthy fats instead.
8 — Took up walking 15000 steps a day, bodyweight workouts, and swimming almost daily.
9 — Learned to meditate and calm my anxiety and nervousness and reset my mind to peace with positive thinking.
10 — Took myself off all meds and have not been on any for the last 8 years!
That’s the short version, but it nicely sums it up.
Final Thoughts
I lived a crazy, fun, adventurous, and versatile life. I was king of the hill, or so I thought until I tumbled and hit the gates of hell.
The stroke turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It woke me up and made me look at myself deeply in the mirror and say:
“Rob, if you don’t do something to fix your physical and mental health, you will not make it to 50 and will continue to live a miserable life.”
Now, I’m 54, healthy and happier than ever since I changed my lifestyle and learned about food and the importance of spending time in nature and looking after myself.
I will continue to do my best to help and educate people about food, healthy and effective exercise methods, as well as positive lifestyle changes.
Live-Well.
Rob
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