Eating and Such

Dear Mary,

I think it's time for me to stop eating fried foods.  Yikes.  It's scarier in writing than just mulling it over in my head.  I've been fascinated lately with this idea of "clean eating."  After watching a couple of informative documentaries (Hungry for Change and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead), I'm pondering this idea for health reasons, not just weight-loss.  

Last night Evan (my little brother) and I ran five miles in the cold.  We're training for a marathon in June.  I've been training since October and am amazed at how my body still refuses to run the first mile.  I've found that it takes a mile to really warm up while I limp and gimp like an awkward, lame dog trying to get down the street.  I wonder if part of it's a lack of proper nutrition.  I usually can start running in normal fashion by the second mile and keep a pretty steady pace (though slow) throughout the run.  But I'm usually pretty sore afterward, and I can never run two days in a row.

So, I'm wondering  if adding in more fruits and vegetables, cutting out the sugar and wheat products, and rethinking the way I feed my body would make a better runner out of me...among other things.

And the funny thing is, it's all a very terrifying prospect.  If I were fearless, I'd just do it.  Just go out and buy a juicer, all the fresh vegetables, all the fresh fruits, pitch all the processed garbage in my cabinets, and eat clean from this day forward.  But eating is a funny thing.  It's not so much about food as it is about custom, social habit, and even personal beliefs.  If it were all a matter of putting the right nutrition in one's body, we'd all be eating healthier, living longer, and looking and feeling better.  But it's not.

More on this later as I sort it out.  As for the other things you mentioned in your last letter, I agree with you whole-heartedly.  Funny thing that we should be reading the same authors and coming to the same conclusions so many miles apart.  And like you, I prefer to remain an observant student at this time as I find myself unable to argue my position for lack of knowledge on the subject.  But that's part of the learning process, keeping silent until I know what to say.  Oh that I would always have the wisdom and self-control to do so!

A picture of Charles to make you smile.