Going Organic

It has been a long time coming for me and I have finally made a the full jump to all organic products today. We all know old habits die hard, especially when it comes to what kind of food you put in your mouth. I got my start with eating healthy as a child since my parents were really into fitness. When I turned sixteen I decided to get really serious about fueling my body properly as I eyed a future in playing football. The habits I picked up along the way surely laid the foundation for the rest of my life and the commitment to health that was demonstrated to me by my parents is no doubt one of the largest reasons I am the professional I am today. As you would see in any growing individual and professional, my expanding knowledge of anatomy, physiology and nutrition has surely led me to some new beliefs regarding how to fuel the beautiful machine that is the human body. It has been a long time coming as I have slowly and consciously gone from regular super market shopping to hopping on the organic bus.

The transformation has been a couple years in the process. It started when I began learning about the dangers of preservatives, steroid and hormone juiced meat products and the god awful sodium levels you find in most American food. Being a health conscious person and a fitness professional, when I discovered the truth behind what we are ingesting I knew I had to start making immediate changes. First, I drastically cut my intake of "instant" foods which are LOADED with all kinds of sugars and salts to make the meal both appetizing and practically imperishable. As a result I began cooking more of my own food and finding meals that were more natural and less preserved. Once I figured that out, I began weeding out my intake of white or refined food products. I made the jump from white bread, white rice and flour tortillas to whole-wheat bread, brown rice, wheat and corn tortillas. In fact, the last piece of that puzzle I took care of today by switching to whole wheat pasta instead of regular pasta. The next step was going from buying packaged or canned fruits to organic and fresh fruit selections. As for my meat sources, I had to slowly change from packaged, long lasting microwaveable products to non-hormone boosted chickens, turkeys and beef cuts. I am proud to say that all of the lean meats you will find in my fridge are not Mark McGwire juiced birds.

They key to this process for me has been slowly making conscious changes in my food selection, rather than turning my world upside down all at once. Understanding that completely changing shopping habits and store locations which I have been accustomed to for years would not be an easy task, I decided to make short term goals with a long term objective in mind. This approach has worked well for me and it really allowed me to sort out my meal planning and shopping with more sanity. The best part about this whole process is I have felt a significant difference in my mood, my body and my energy levels each time I make better food choices.

The difference I have felt in my body should be no surprise: the more I eat what the Earth provides and is not some genetically altered or man-made synthetic product, the more I am ingesting what our body was designed to use for fuel. If you would have told Americans in the early 1900's that in the next hundred years we would be pumping our cows and chickens full of steroids and spraying our fruits and veggies with toxic pesticides they would have given us a good whack with a belt for being so stupid. Let's be honest, if the stuff is strong enough to kill insects and critters, why would it not have a negative effect on our biology? Making this change is not about being a tree hugging hippy (as Cartman might think) and I am not implying a deep spiritual connection with nature and food is the reason we should eat this way. I have made and will continue to make choices in what food I put in my body because it makes sense, is that so crazy?

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