Category: Improve

Improve – How can we improve ourselves? Discover how we can we be healthy, fit, and experience well being.

Why I am becoming a Vegan – My road to vegetables

Becoming a Vegan sounds pretty dramatic right?  I thought so too.  But I have been slowly working my way to veganism since about 2012.  The reality is as of the first of this year, I became a vegetarian.  Was it an overnight decision? Not really.  It was the result of four years of consciously eating better.  Eating whole foods, and plant-based foods.

Let me start my story back in 2012, when my beloved dalmatian, Buchi, and I went for a walk.  He found a chicken bone on the parkway and started to eat it.  I didn’t want it to splinter in his digestive track, so I pulled it out.  Unfortunately, the hand that was holding his mouth open was the one that extracted the chicken bone, so he immediately closed his mouth with bite force.  My pinky finger was still in his mouth and he bit through it at the first joint.  Shear pain!

I went to the Emergency Room, and they fixed me up.  I went through pinky therapy (seriously!).  But the major outcome of all of this was the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.  Of course, this was pretty shocking and I didn’t know what to do. Continue reading “Why I am becoming a Vegan – My road to vegetables”

5 Things to Expect from Crossfit

Crossfit ® became part of my life just over a year ago. It has been one hell of a journey and it is continuing for me. During this past year, I have learned a lot, I have grown physically and mentally, but most of all I have become fit. I’m not anywhere near my fitness goals, but I am on my way. I have learned some things about Crossfit that I thought I would share here, most importantly, what people should expect when they start doing Crossfit.  I should note that I do not work for a Crossfit gym or have any other relationship with them, other than being a paying member.  I am just sharing my experience here on how it has changed my life for the better.

First, let me tell you my story on this Crossfit journey.  I began a couple years ago weighing in at 274.   This was not something I wanted, the overweight guy who started huffing and puffing running up a few stairs.  You see, my father died at age 54 and was well over 300 lbs for a long time.   He was also an alcoholic and due to his physical situation, he was at least a dozen meds.  Back in the 80’s there was no real control over the pharmaceuticals that a patient was taking, so different doctors prescribing different medicines was a recipe for disaster.   This is what we think killed him, but the weight and the prior heart problems didn’t help.

Despite knowing all of this, I swore I would not follow his path. Continue reading “5 Things to Expect from Crossfit”