600 Days of Juicing!

March 21, 2013

Health, Life

Kale Lemon Carrot JuiceI just happened to type the date we started juicing (July 29, 2011) into Excel and noticed it’s exactly 600 days ago today!

I can’t believe my beautiful wife Bev and I have been juicing for 600 days – this July will make it 2 years. In that time, I’ve lost 54 pounds – almost a pound every 10 days, not a bad average. I’ve also changed my life in other ways – stepping out of a high-stress, 70-hour-a-week executive job as CIO and going back into the classroom full-time as a computer science professor, spending more time with my sons (both under 5), walking ~10-20 miles a week.

I had my cholesterol checked as part of Heart Healthy Month while participating in the Fitness Challenge at UNG, and my LDL went down by more than 20% (from 171 to 139), total cholesterol was down 20% (from 236 to 195), for the second year in a row. I expect next year’s numbers to be even better.

The last few months, in addition to drinking fresh vegetable juice three or more times per week, I’ve also added more beans, brown rice, and raw veggies (Bev’s making an incredible Avocado/Bean/Corn salsa, all whole food/plant-based and delicious!), and I’ve been good about keeping the sugar and white starches out without feeling deprived.

A few folks have asked me what helped, and besides having a great wife to get healthy with, three Netflix documentaries and a YouTube video have helped along the way:

  • Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead – great motivational jump-starter on vegetable juicing
  • Forks Over Knives – interesting medical documentary on eating mostly plant-based whole foods
  • Hungry for a Change – practical look at how eating plant-based whole foods changes the way you look and feel & the harm sugar does to your body
  • Sugar: The Bitter Truth – UCSF Medical Professor Robert Lustig talks about how sugar (fructose specifically) hurts your liver, metabolism, and more

In short, more healthy, good foods in, some bad foods out, more exercise, and a little convenient, ultra-healthy juicing, and I’m just 16 pounds from the weight I married Bev at, and by my calculations, I should be there in 6 months or so.

I’d love to hear what other folks are doing that’s working over the long haul – no fad diets, please – and especially any additional Netflix selections you’ve found that offer good health insights and motivation. Comment below if you’ve got one to share – thanks!

About Bryson Payne

Author of Teach Your Kids to Code, TEDx Speaker, and Professor of Computer Science at the University of North Georgia.

View all posts by Bryson Payne

One Response to “600 Days of Juicing!”

  1. Shawn Tonner Says:

    Glad you and Bev continue to live well and prosper. Little boys grow into men faster than I ever imagined – parenting was the best job I ever had.

    While I have not tried juicing, my low-carb/low-sugar lifestyle is radically improving the way I feel and look. I’ve been at it since March, 2013. Interestingly, just had a dental check-up and learned that my gums are also benefiting. There is a bad relationship between carb and gums. Digestion of carbs, unlike other foods, starts in the mouth and can do some pretty serious gum damage. My hygienist was delighted to see significant improvement in my generally average mouth. So – there is a cool factoid.

    I start my new position in the library at Florida International University on the Biscayne Bay Campus on Monday. Mark retires and joins me in Miami in spring 2014. In the meantime, just me and the dog and Mark every few weeks.

    I’m happy, well, and wish you the best.

    Shawn

    Reply

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