This has been an awesome year so far! It started off rough, but things are going great. I have finally taken my own advice and have worked my butt off to get myself back to where I can do more. More specifically, I have lost 40lbs thus far and that is pretty significant weight to take off of my knees. I'm finding that I can actually jog some now! As much as I want to start sprinting again and get into all the sports I was competitive in... I know that a baby step approach is the better way to go. In fact, that is how I have achieved such significant weight loss: I focused on walking... then walking faster... then getting my heart rate up... then my diet... repeat diet 5 more times... then slowly lifting weights. Now, it's finding a balance between all of those and ensuring that my habits change. I'm not doing anything else differently until those core changes take affect and become my habits. (It has also helped that I got my dog back. Making sure he is healthy has allowed me to make me be healthy as well).
Eating better has been the most notable difference. I really took onto health and nutrition and realized this fact: I wish my school's taught this stuff... or force taught it. I now understand why I felt why I did during practices when I was younger, and how different I felt in games. What I was eating for lunch trashed me for practices... and was trashing the opiate receptors in my brain and I became addicted to bad fats, mass quantities of salt and that terrible high fructose corn syrup. So, when my knees gave out and my activity waned, my addiction to terrible foods reared its ugly head. But, I couldn't hide it through my activity. In a strange and very heartening way, the self-described activities I lost brought out a diet issue that was not only plaguing my activity, but my moods. Since I have tracked what I eat, I found horrible trends. The amount of salt in our overly-processed foods is insane. The average American eats more than twice the amount of salt we are supposed to. In fact, a large percentage of restaurant dishes contain more then the whole daily allotment of sodium. When I cut it back to what I am supposed to, I had dreams of licking potato chips = no joke! I didn't eat them, I just licked off the salt. That's indeed pretty nasty, but again, what a realization from my subconscious addictiveness to processed foods. Then, I noticed my potassium & magnesium were out of whack as well. By researching and incorporating ways to steady the levels out between those minerals, numerous positive changes ensued and I can do things I couldn't before! In fact, I can now ascertain how I feel by what I've eaten and how well I've slept.
My doctor loves me because I bring her research 
. She has told me that America's worst epidemic is its diet and the food industry. Now, after educating myself, I wholeheartedly agree. I believe there should be a massive push for preventative medicine, not reactive medicine. The medicines/ingredients/everything we put in our stomachs on a daily basis deserve just as much scrutiny as the FDA gives it's medicines. In as so much as High Fructose Corn Syrup should be banned - and I'm sure there are many others as well.
Now, as I use this paragraph to gracefully step down from my soap box, I must say that I still will eat pizza, hamburgers, steaks, white breads and some candy. It's all about moderation and balance. Anything that has high fructose corn syrup or enriched (insert any ingredient here) I usually run from, fast. Some friends and I have even started a group that come keep each other in check and stay in touch / offer support to help us become healthier. Life is far to precious and the people in our lives are too.
So, I still have some work to go before I steady out and maintain, but I have to say the road has been amazing and I adore the fact that my blood pressure is like it was when I was 17. How awesome is that?!
Be well everyone, and again: thank you for supporting my artistry. You feed a large portion of my spiritual side and in turn given me strength to do the best I can to be a better musician.
~Chad
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Author: Chad Beall
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