This blog is about you. It’s about you taking charge for your own health and happiness. Anyone that spends any time with me knows how passionate I am about health.
It wasn’t always that way. Fitness, sure. But not health.
I was never concerned about veg & fruit intake. Hell, I never even ate vegetables until I was 19 and at university. And that was only because I had to, as they didn’t give me enough meat and potatoes for my growing body!
Here’s the things. The UK government suggests 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. If you want to just about survive, maybe that would be OK. The truth is that it’s woefully inadequate.
Japan recommends it’s citizens….. wait for it…..17 portions!
Does that seem like a lot? They are one of the healthiest ‘Western’ nations on Earth. So they must be doing something right.
Over the last few decades our soil has degraded so much. We used to (a hundred or so years ago) have several feet of ‘top soil’ – what we need to grow nutrient rich foods. Now? It’s a few inches.
The fact is that the nutrient quantity (and quality) has diminished considerably. We’re no longer getting the nutrient profile of our grandparents or great grandparents.
We need more in us. And most of the should be veg. Not fruit. Notice I call it veg&fruit, rather than fruit&veg. Always skew towards veg. Non-sweet veg (so easy on carrots, beetroot). Focus on green veg. Here’s my take on it.
80% veg, 20% fruit
80% veg green, 20% colour
And now for the magic number?
I don’t know.
Here’s what I roughly have. Bare in mind that a portion is 80g. So your 5-a-day is about 400g of veg&fruit.
I typically have between 15-20 portions of veg a day (not counting super food supplements of wheatgrass, spirulina and other green powders).
How on earth do I manage that. And why.
First the why. It keeps me sharp, energised and ready to tackle whatever the work or day might throw at me.
How?
First up is breakfast. If there’s one meal to change, it’s breakfast. Sorry, but coffee/tea, toast, cereal, a fry-up or most other breakfasts is not going to optimise you for a day at work.
I never thought I could change my breakfast but when I did… boy do you notice the benefits.
I now have a pure veg juice (~250ml), something along this kind of profile:
Celery
Cucumber
Courgette
Lemon
Ginger
Spinach
Kale
Cabbage
Peppers
And then about a litre of green smoothie. Which is as above but in addition I blend up:
Nuts & Seeds
Avocado
Coconut Oil and/or other good oil
Handful of berries
Coconut/Almond Milk
Water
Ice
Green Powder Mix (Amazing Grass is my preferred blend)
Spirulina
Pea Protein
Chia Seeds
Gogi Berries
If you want to see the full process, click here to access a free video course taking you through the steps.
I know all this sounds like a lot of work. And it is. But it means that before I even leave the house I’ve consumed 10+ portions. And if you include the green powders, it’s more like 20!
Then for lunch and dinner I can go easier, but typically if I have a salad, or a curry or stir-fry, I have around 600g of veg in there! I know because I’ve weighed it!
So each meal is about 5-7 portions of veg. Bringing me to an average day of about 15 – 20 portions.
All this veg keeps me full, focussed and forward moving in my goals and ambitions at home and at work.
It’s also helped to keep me energised and healthy. Since starting this regime I’ve not had a regular cold. Before I’d get 3-5 a year! Once or twice when I was hit with some virus, I overcame it far better than in the past. Does this make me immune to illness. Hell no. But it means that I can stack the cards in my favour. In any case, I’m not doing this to never get ill. You can never say never. But I’m doing it because day-to-day I feel better.
I have more focus, determination, energy, vibrancy and personality than without it.
If you want to succeed at work and at home, you must learn to up your energy levels. That comes with hyper-consuming veg (as part of it – for a full picture click here).
That’s why I say “No Way to 5-a-day” and encourage you to aim for a minimum of 10 a day (emphasis on veg).
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Learn how to make a green juice & smoothie here (free)
Learn just what else it takes to crush it at work, home and play here
