Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

For the weekend of Sept. 17th through the 20th, the Fairfield Half Marathon that I participated in last year will go virtual, due to the virus. I plan to participate, most likely on Sept. 18 or 19.

I have been running a lot these past few months. I’ve been doing a lot of speed running on the treadmill, getting to 4 miles in a half an hour for the first time last month. I have also been doing some incline work on the treadmill as I don’t do so well on hills. I think I’m in great shape for the run.

It’s hard to eat potatoes and GBOMBS foods (greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds) and not lose weight. I basically avoided foods like nut butters and avocados for the month of June. It was a good learning experience and I do like to challenge myself. However, I did miss my breakfast of oatmeal and especially the almond butter.

The weight I lost was due to keeping my same level of activity and not increasing my calories. I am happy to be back at my normal routine. I’m still highly active but I do require a lot of calories. That’s why I love bing plant based. I can eat a lot, asI always had a big appetite, and not have to worry about gaining weight.

I didn’t do the typical potato challenge, spearheaded by my friend Andrew “Spud Fit” Taylor. I did a modified version that also included all the GBOMBS foods (greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds) from Dr. Fuhrman’s list. The reason is because I have eaten Dr. Fuhrman’s suggested foods since 2012, and I couldn’t imagine going a month without them. Plus, I know Fuhrman’s plan will keep me in optimal health.

So why did I bother with the potato challenge? Well, one reason is the diet always intrigued me. People have the incorrect idea that potatoes should be avoided because of their carbohydrate content. I think the challenge proves otherwise. I also did the challenge because I wanted to explore other kinds of potatoes. I always liked them so why not explore what other options are out there? It would also allow simplicity. This way, I don’t have to think about what foods I’µ going to eat. I just know it will be either a potato or one of the GBOMBS foods.

I was always interested in doing a potato challenge, ever since I heard my friend Andrew "Spud Fit" Taylor did one to get healthy. In the process, Andrew lost a total of 115 pounds. He also reversed the depression he was dealing with prior to his challenge.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Andrew about his potato challenge. I learned why he did it and what it accomplished. The whole point of the potato challenge for Andrew was to take the thought out of food. It was a way to remove additions to food. Instead of having to think of what to eat everyday, he could focus on other areas of his life.

[youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZrX2u75_lI"]

Recently, my friend Terry Gleason and I had an opportunity to interview Dr. Michael Klaper, who is a pioneer in plant based medicine.