My Lifestyle Update and Check In

It's been about 5 months since getting back from the United States and when Bruce and I started taking real steps to change our lives. I thought it would be a good time to check in and assess the progress.

Bruce and I at 'Sails' restaurant we recently dined at in Auckland by the harbour bridge. Aren't we glowing!

• Smokefree (Quit date 4th January) - 10 months
• Refined sugar and gluten free (Quit date early July) - 3 1/2 months
• Alcohol free (Quit date mid July) - 3 months
• Crossfit (Start date early September) - 2 months (and it still hasn't killed me!)

Other changes:

• Reduced coffee intake to 1 per day in the morning
• Increased green tea as a replacement to coffee
• Buying most vegetables from farmers market and meat from a butcher
• 'Meat free' days

People say to me 'wow that's too extreme for me' or 'I would just focus on cutting down'.

I'm an all or nothing type of person. Moderation just doesn't work for me in most cases. I feel like it takes far more willpower and effort to be forever monitoring and thinking about how many chips I've eaten from that family size pack in one go or the amount of wine that it takes before paying for it the entire next day for the sake of an inebriated evening that lasts only a few hours. Abstinence just feels easier. It means I don't even have to start that battle with the angel Vince and the devil Vince on my shoulders. I feel relaxed!

Physically I am feeling really good. I have an even amount of energy throughout the day. I used to crash in the afternoons. On the weekends I would nap a lot. I still enjoy a nap on the weekends but I don't feel forced to do it any more. This is definitely due my body no longer relying on the rush of sugar from the high amount of bread and refined sugar I used to consume most lunchtimes and shifting to healthy fats and oils for energy.

From my early twenties I had suffered from psoriasis in my nails and then eventually psoriatic arthritis in one of my fingers, my back and my knees. As of today, my nails are completely clear of pitting and scaled areas and I have no arthritic pain whatsoever. Psoriasis is classed as an inflammatory condition and it is becoming more and more evident that the food you eat can have inflammatory effects on your body. I believe that cutting out gluten and refined sugar is a huge factor to my recovery.

Also from my early twenties I have suffered from anxiety. Over the past few months I have felt more grounded and calm than I have in years. Anxiety is something I need to manage and live with every day but it is hugely noticeable that it's something now less in the forefront of my mind. I believe this is contributed to the reduction in caffeine, no alcohol and regular exercise.

I don't feel like my life changes have been drastic. Especially with the support of my husband who is finding his own reasons and seeing his own results from being healthier. I think what is drastic is the way we have changed as a society to allow the high rates of obesity and diabetes and other inflammatory conditions which were once rarely heard of.

So far so good. I like the path I'm following. I'm happy and content with life at the moment!

Green Tea

What do you know about green tea? Have you ever tried it? Most people have heard of green tea being very good for you and full of antioxidants. You never hear much about its flavour though right? In my own experience, the flavour is an acquired taste but well worth the benefits! Green tea should have a warm light taste. It should not be overpowering or bitter. There's some rookie mistakes that can be made when preparing this tea so read on and all will be revealed.

Quick list reasons for trying green tea:

• In the office, drink instead of water
• Much lower caffeine content than coffee
• It's cheap
• Very low or no calories
• Gives you a break from your work
• High in antioxidants
• Refreshing
• Different flavours to try like ginger, lemon and berry
• You look awesome when drinking it

About Green Tea

Green tea has long been associated with health. It originated in China but is now well known and recognised world-wide. There are numerous varieties of the tea depending on the tea plant it was grown from and the way the tea is prepared.

Preparation

I've learned from my own mistakes, which due to the awful result you tend to only make once. For the perfect green tea:

• DO NOT use boiling water! This will destroy the flavour and some of the beneficial ingredients. Instead add some cold water to your teacup. I normally do about one fifth of the cup. Then add your freshly boiled water for the rest
• DO NOT leave the teabag (or tea leaves) steeping indefinitely! This will taste fine for the first few minutes and then eventually start to turn overpoweringly bitter and metallic. You'll never be able to finish it! Make sure to keep to the directed brewing time which is normally three to five minutes

Caffeine content?

Caffeine is a psychoactive stimulant. Many of us depend on it just to wake up properly in the mornings and get through the day. It is present in many of our drinks and food such as coffee, tea, energy drinks, cola. Too much can promote anxiety if you have a predisposition and also affect your sleep.

At one stage in my earlier 'office' working career I was drinking up to 5 long blacks before lunchtime and thought it was normal but didn't understand why I had suddenly developed anxiety issues! The answer (or part of it) was right in front of my eyes.

Green tea has a very low amount of caffeine compared to regular coffee or cola. Drink green tea to cut down on your intake and help your body get back to natural alertness! Here is a rough guide of caffeine found in your average servings of drinks:

1. 80 mg - Red Bull
2. 75 mg - Regular coffee
3. 40 mg - Green Tea
4. 35 mg - Coca Cola

Flavours?

I'm not a veteran green tea drinker and couldn't even tell you which variety of green tea I drink (Wikipedia has a huge list of different varieties of green teas!). Right now I'm enjoying a cup of 'Bell - Zesty Green Tea Pure' which has become my favourite of the supermarket brands. Like I mentioned, green tea's flavour may not 'grab you' right away and fortunately there's added flavours that could help you transition to this healthier drink. Check out your local store's shelves for flavours like berry, ginger, lemon, lime and mint green teas.

Antioxidants?

The revered antioxidant. Isn't it amazing? It's advertised as a benefit of many healthy foods and products but what does it actually do? Oxidative stress can affect our bodies in many ways. It can produce free radicals which are damaging to our cells and have been linked to autoimmune diseases as well as cancers. Green tea having antioxidants can reduce this oxidative stress and thus reduce the amount of free radicals affecting our cells. On the flipside though, antioxidants are not without controversy and some studies have shown that they have no beneficial effect at all.

What's the difference to other tea?



There's actually all sorts of other teas and tea plants including white tea and black tea. There's herbal teas too which often don't contain any actual tea plant but due to the way they are brewed, they're still called tea. White, green and black tea can actually come from the same plant. The differences come down to the way the leaves are processed. Generally, black tea is processed for longer and green tea is only withered and steamed which retains the green colouring.

Wrapping it up

For myself green tea fits in to a healthy 'paleo' lifestyle really well. It has helped me reduce my caffeine intake and is also a great substitution for alcoholic drinks or coffee. I have a shelf full of different teas but green tea is my staple especially during the work day. I have a double glass walled cup which I love and it helps to keep the heat of the drink from escaping for longer.

So in the words of that Dilmah guy from the TV ads, 'Do try it!'. You've got nothing to lose.

Fresh Starts

Hi, I'm Vince.

I'm 31 years old and this is the year things are going to change for me.

This blog is about me becoming the best version of myself that I can be. I want to test how far I can go by allowing my body the opportunity to heal and grow like never before.

I want to share what I've learned about health and nutrition and fitness through study, exploring the web and practice too. I'm hoping also that in some way this blog can help other people who are looking to make a positive change to their lives.

I also want to chronicle my journey starting right here today. So here's a bit about myself...

I live in Auckland, New Zealand with my husband Bruce (we got married this year in L.A. after an eight year engagement). We have two Pomeranians named Andre (he's five) and Sookie (she's four). There's also the Birman cat, Hunter (he's seven). We bought a house this year and let me tell you, the price's in Auckland to buy a house are insane. We've got a little two bedroom not far from work in a nice suburb. We're happy!

This year I decided to quit smoking and quit alcohol. It's been eight months not smoking and about three weeks today not drinking. Bruce has quit too, except for drinking on special occasions but no more wine during the working week like we used to!

We've also been living the Paleo Diet lifestyle full time now for about two months. I had been doing Paleo on and off for the past year before that. Although, cheese isn't Paleo, but gosh it's hard to quit cheese. Ever heard of emmental cheese? It's so tasty! Anyway you can see my story leading up to where I am today by reading my other blog post here.

We have a blender and make green smoothies for most days breakfasts. This recipe is my favourite. Our blender is an Optimum 9400 and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a great quality, commercial grade blender at half the price and on par with the Vitamix.

My plans for this blog are to diary the things I learn and also explore my own reasons for quitting nicotine and alcohol and why I want to upgrade myself through my health in all aspects.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you back again! Heres to fresh starts!

Vince