“When you move to the USA, you’ll likely put on weight.”
I remember reading that when I was first researching moving to America, shortly after I’d gotten my first work visa. I thought, “Well, yea — The food portions are much bigger, and everyone knows America loves its food!” After that though I didn’t think much of it and, before I knew it, I was on a plane heading to Virginia and living life for the first time ever by myself. I was loving it! I didn’t know anyone so after work I went running and ate what I wanted — which usually ended up being healthy — and I carried on. Two months later, I was back in England picking up a suit for a friend’s wedding. I needed a jacket two-inches smaller on the chest and a pair of pants trousers three-inches smaller on the waist. Happy days!
Since then, life happened and slowly I’ve gained weight.
At my lowest in the States, I’ve been at 162 pounds; and at my heaviest, 195 pounds.
With that weight, along with my height of five feet seven inches (okay, okay — six inches), I finally landed in the ‘Fat Lad’ category on Body Mass Index scale. This is technically known as obese — bugger — and, because I love science, here is information about being fat from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- In the USA, 41.9% of people are classified as overweight or obese.
- Worldwide, obesity has nearly tripled since 1975.
- Being overweight increases the risks of — well, basically dying but more accurately — heart disease, stroke, Type Two Diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
- Being overweight can also lead to mobility issues, as well as degenerative conditions, such as osteoarthritis.
- Being overweight also can cause sleep issues, such as sleep apnea.
I’ve always been on the short and dumpy side — I enjoy beers and food and honestly have such a sweet tooth that I could live on ice cream and Oreos, but I’ve really noticed in the last 12 to 18 months that I’ve felt fat. Shorts, jeans, T-shirts and shirts are now — shall we say — snug and the stash of I’ll-lose-weight-and-wear-again clothes was getting bigger and bigger. Something needed to be done!
In 2021, I ran a half marathon but during training, I realized that running doesn’t actually help loose weight — Sure, I was fitter, my endurance was higher, and my leg muscles were stronger than ever, but I still had moobs and a belly. (I still have them now, but they’re bigger and squishier!) I tried working out at the gym in my apartment building but, with no motivation, any excuse not to go was easy, such as, “Oh our cat Peach wants some attention this morning — I’ll stay in bed and skip the gym.” Easy.
During a recent visit to a bookstore, L was looking for vegetarian cookbooks — We’re both trying to eat more healthy, and L wants to cut down on the amount of meat she eats — and I found a book called 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse.
Back in England, two of my favourite people on the planet swear by this and I was getting bored in the store (sorry, L) so I started reading the book. Within about five minutes, I’d decided that I was not only going to buy the book but do the 10-day cleanse.
My job won’t make this easy — I have to travel often and I’m usually sat in the car on at least five-hour journeys drinking sugary coffee (Hello, caramel macchiatos!) or Gatorade (which is not actually as healthy as you may think) or travelling through several airports to get to different States (Hello again, caramel macchiato, and more often than not, fried food!). Then, I’m in hotels — usually by myself — which leads to boredom in the evenings and that leads to beer and unhealthy food (damn you, GrubHub)!
What’s the plan then?
According to J. J. Smith, the 10-day cleanse will see me losing 10 to 20 pounds, have increased energy, better sleep, and better digestion, as well as several other great benefits.
Starting on Page 3 of the book, there is a questionnaire that is out of 30 points:
- If you score over 20 points, then you will “significantly benefit from detoxifying your body.”
- Between five to 19 points, you will “likely benefit from a detoxification.”
- Under five points -– Basically you’re the class nerd and what are you doing here.
I scored 20. (For comparison, L scored 6.)
Knowing that, let’s see what this juice journey does!
Here’s how to go about it: I will drink green juice three times a day for breakfast, dinner lunch, and tea dinner. (I hope it all doesn’t taste ‘green’ — if you know what I mean.) I can snack on apples, carrots, hard-boiled eggs, and few other healthy foods. I can drink as much water as I want, but eight glasses is the minimum (easy) and only herbal teas (urgh). Then it reads — and this is where it gets rough: “DO NOT CONSUME refined sugar, meat, milk, cheese, liquor, beer, coffee, sodas/diet sodas, processed foods, fried foods, refined carbs (white bread, pastas, donuts, etc.)” Oh. my. God. I’m going to die! This is basically my diet!
Now in order to see if this healthy green juice can actually help me lose weight and feel healthier, we need some starting figures:
| AREA | MY STARTING FIGURES |
|---|---|
| MY WEIGHT | 191 pounds (13 stone 9 ounces or 86.6 kilograms) |
| MY CHEST | 45 inches |
| MY GUT | 43 inches |
| MY WAIST | 39 inches |
How do I do? Check back soon and find out!
(Let’s see if my spirit endures!)
Thank you brother for this very useful topic that helps us in our daily life
maelumuh
Thank you!
Well, good for doing SOMETHING, my Dad said once, “do something even if it’s wrong”. I certainly don’t remember the situation, but it was the only time he ever said it. Every body is different, and it only took me a half dozen decades to figure out my body. Years ago I heard about Atkins, Keto, carnivore, etc. diets that relied on more protein and less carbs. I didn’t care. I was always fit and slender and could eat anything. I am a firm believer in Changing ones diet, not Going on a diet. This is a very round about way to say “Good on ya for getting started, mate!” I’ve been “Keto” for over 2 years now and many of the problems I had battled since 2008 have gone away. In 2008, my larynx was crished, I got a TBI, and died. I could go on and on, but I’ll just say, listen to your Spouse, and your body. They both really want the best for you, and so do I.
Hi David! Great to hear from you! Thank you for your message! I agree with your comment about changing your diet rather than going on a diet but I wanted to try this to get me started. So far it’s been miserable (I’m not going to lie) but it’s a means to an end. I’m now very interested in Keto, how did you find adapting to it? I’ll be honest and say I don’t know anything about it so I’ll do some research. My biggest issue is I LOVE CARBS! Bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and cereal… And, I’ll eat them any time of day lol! Another issue is my job, with travelling alot I am often eating on the move and getting things balanced isn’t easy. I also have an incredibly sweet tooth! I am sorry to hear about your health issues but am glad to hear that you’re doing well! As always, I apprecaite you getting in touch!
You’re a braver man than me. !!
I’m already a Type 2 diabetic with the usual excess weight. My worry with a juice diet is sugar. Fruit juices are often higher in sugar than is healthy for me. Just speculating, but if you do a juice fast then maybe the weight loss is from off the charts blood glucose levels. Effective but not very healthy.
I was kinda worried about the sugar intake too but the juices are only around 33% fruit. The majority of the recipes are water, leafy vegetables (such as spinach, kale or lettuce), flaxseed and then fruit. Each juice is different so you never bulk up too much on any one item. You’re also able to eat other foods such as eggs or vegetables.