Lee Johnson is a #1 best-selling author, ghostwriter and ‘book enabler’ who lives in West Vancouver, Canada. Lee’s one of our most avid followers since the inception of Just Add Good Stuff and so we thought we would ask him to write a personal story about how he has transformed his life through better health, diet and exercise. Here is Lee’s real life story (thanks Lee for your ongoing support!):
I’m Just Adding Some Good Stuff!
I think many people these days are realizing that the computer principle of GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) also applies to what we put into our bodies. If we continue to feed ourselves junk food with low nutritional value and laced with a cocktail of dubious chemicals, we should not be surprised by the inevitable results: obesity, malnutrition, deficiencies, and diseases.
In recent years some of my friends have opted for a healthier lifestyle, with increased levels of exercise and wiser food choices. Some have gone further, becoming vegetarians and vegans, and one of them also runs a company producing hemp seed products.
Mmmmm, I think to myself; do I really want to do that? On the one hand I totally get it: if I want to live longer and enjoy a good quality of life, I need to watch what I eat. And increasingly over the past few years, I have done that. Plus, I need exercise… particularly because as a writer i spend most of my day sitting at a computer… and so I made a commitment to walk at least 5 km every day. And I do that.
On the other hand, I’m not yet ready to discard all remnants of my old lifestyle. I still love boerewors and biltong (traditional South African spicy sausage and jerky-type dried meat), although now I probably eat them only every couple of months. I love taking my partner to De Dutch for a pancake breakfast, but again, that doesn’t happen more than two or three times a year. And I must even admit that a couple of times a year I will buy a small box of Timbits or a sausage and egg McMuffin.
So, yes – I have definitely made some good, positive changes to my diet and lifestyle. And, while I am still reluctant to make the transition to vegan or vegetarian, I have taken the advice of my friend Mike to heart. I am ‘just adding good stuff’.
Here’s what I do: instead of making a dramatic swing to ‘the other side’, I just try to make small changes, one baby step at a time. For instance:
– I still have cereal in the morning, but now I use almond milk. I used to LOVE dairy, but now I’ve cut that out completely.
– On top of my cereal I slice up a banana and sprinkle a mixture of nuts and seeds: flax, chia, sliced almonds, chopped walnuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
– I have stopped using sugar altogether (after years of taking 3 spoons of sugar in my coffee). Now, coffee tastes even better.
– I don’t drink pop (except an ice cold Coke once or twice a year when I have a real craving — I was once Creative Director for an ad agency handling the Coca-Cola account!) and now only drink fruit juice diluted in 70% water.
– In my wallet I carry a list of superfoods, and each time I go shopping, I cross off one ‘bad’ thing and make sure I buy one ‘good’ thing. Quite literally, I am ‘just adding good stuff’.
There are more things I could add, but I think you get the picture. I still give in to the occasional craving for a slice of pizza or a choc-dipped ice cream cone, but in small baby steps, I know my diet and my lifestyle is becoming healthier all the time.
And right now, that’s good enough for me.
Lee Johnson
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“Lee Johnson is a #1 best-selling author, ghostwriter and ‘book enabler’ who guarantees you a published book in 4 months or less.”
