How to live 100 happy and healthy years, part 1

Hello everyone,

Hope life is treating you well wherever you may be, and that the imminent arrival of fall in the northern hemisphere isn't depressing you too much. It's starting to get pretty hot in Perth, with forecasts of around 25-26 degrees through the week. From all accounts, we're quickly approaching "insane Aussie summer heat", which means temperatures in the mid-30's every day. To be honest, I'm really not too concerned about the crazy heat, because along with it comes the arrival of beach season, and bikini-clad girls everywhere. Good trade-off in my opinion. :)

Next week is the mid-semester study break here in Australia, and it should be a nice change of pace. I'll be partaking in the Australian University Games, which UWA is hosting this year. 5000 student-athletes from all over the country will be coming Perth to compete in their respective sports and socialize at the night events. I had initially signed up to be on the baseball team, but I kinda hurt my back at practice and decided not to play. Since I still wanted to be involved, I got "hired" to be the team manager. Yup, UWA Baseball Team Manager. Big responsibilities... NOT!!! Our team is a bit of an underdog too.. Out of 9 players, we have 2 cricket players who've never played baseball, and 4 girls who usually play softball. I better come up with some amazing strategies if we're going to hold our own against the mighty East Coast teams!!! Whatever happens, should be good times!

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On another note, if you've read my last post, you would have seen that the item #61 on the list of things I want to do before I die is to "turn 100 years old, still be healthy and have an adventurous mind".

Since my arrival in Australia, my interest for health & well-being (and everything it encompasses) has reached new heights. Basically, I'm realizing that I have a true passion for this stuff, and I'm strongly considering steering my career in that direction. I already have a few business ideas in mind and I'll keep refining them over the next year. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to cross #11 "Start and run a successful company that will have a positive impact on the world" in the not-so-distant future.

I really believe that being young is a state of mind, and that you can be old at 25, and you can be young at 100. It depends on your mindset and your attitude towards life. But, it doesn't all depend on that. You can have the best attitude in the world but if you don't take good care of your body, eventually you're gonna run into some trouble.

While it is a complex subject, I believe that to live 100 happy and healthy years boils down to 3 dimensions:

The first one is nutrition, because if you don't eat right, you simply won't live 100 years.

The second one is physical activity, because if you're not good to your body, why should it be good to you?

And finally, the third and probably most important dimension is mindfulness. Sadly, very few people in the western world practice mindfulness/spirituality, and I hope that through my writing I can help you discover its benefits, and perhaps even get you interested in it.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I will write on post on each dimension, and while it may not count towards crossing #24 on my list, Start a project that will contribute to people living a more healthy lifestyle", it sure is a step in the right direction.

I realize that this might not be nearly as exciting to read as stories about surfing, wild parties on the beach, and beautiful Aussie chicks... But if you read on, I guarantee that you'll learn stuff that will have a real positive impact on your life. And don't worry, I'll write a few crazy party stories soon. ;)

Anyways, in today's post, I will focus on the nutrition component of living a long, happy and healthy life. 

I will not be using any references because, well, this my blog and not an academic paper. However, rest assured that I have done a lot of research about this over the years and that this stuff has been proven to work.

All right, enough with all this intro stuff, let's get into it.

First, I want you take a second to picture in your mind how much food you buy and eat in a week... Got it? Now, take that small pile of food, and imagine that there's 51 other ones of similar size next to it. That's starting to be a lot of food, right? It represents the food you eat in 1 year. Now, take the 1 year pile, and make it 100 times bigger. You now have a bloody massive mountain of food in front of you. In my mind, mine is about the size of a house. I eat a lot, so yours might be a bit smaller, but that's not important. The point is, if you want to live 100 years, you're going to eat sooooo much food over the course of your lifetime.

Every little piece of food that makes up the mountain can be one of 3 things. 

It can either low-quality processed food, that slowly but surely contributes to the destruction of your body and your health.

It can be medium quality food, not really bad for you, but not really good for you either. It's just food that gets you through day with decent levels of energy, no more no less.

Finally, it can be a source of high-quality fuel that will not only provide you with amazing energy, but also make you feel better, look better, think better, and perform better at everything.

Every time you eat something,  you're choosing between those 3 categories. What will it be?

I am aware that many people eat the wrong things not out of bad intentions, but simply because they don't really know what's good and what's bad.

As an example of this, I've just started helping a girl I know here with her weight loss program. Long story short, she decided she wanted to lose weight and asked me my opinion on all sorts of crazy diets. Seeing how they were all crap (I believe that the way to lose weight and keep it off is by adopting healthy life habits, not by following some wacky eating scheme for a couple months before going back to eating the same foods that made you overweight in the first place), so I suggested to "coach" her through it. She was stoked to have a knowledgeable person help her, and I'm happy to be able to use my knowledge to help someone else improve their own life.

When we started talking about her current eating habits, it quickly became obvious that she's pretty clueless about what's good and what's not. Not having breakfast? No problem. The difference between simple and complex carbs? No clue. The concept of eating several small portions throughout the day as opposed to 2-3 massive meals? Never heard about it.

Helping her is not going to be the easiest task in the world, but I'm well up for it and I have no doubt that I can help her reach her goals. The results so far are very encouraging.

I got a little sidetracked here, so back to the main point. A lot of people want to be eat and be healthy, but they don't really know how.

So what do you need to eat to maximize your health, your energy, and your longevity?

The Basics

There's no one right way to do it, but here are a few general principles that I believe are the key to healthy eating.

-Start everyday with a large glass of water. It re-hydrates you and revs up your metabolism. 

-Never ever skip breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day.

-Eat something every 3 hours (never let yourself get really hungry)

-Eat reasonable portions (if you follow the previous point, it becomes a lot easier)

-Drink at least 1L of water and 1L of loose leaf green tea everyday

-Cook with olive oil and don't use too much of it

-Eat as much fresh food as possible (if you live close to a market, I highly recommend you go shopping there. It's more fun, and you'll find yourself buying way more fruits & veggies)

-Whatever you buy at the grocery store is what you're going to eat that week, so don't set yourself up for failure (and never go grocery shopping hungry!)

-Avoid restaurant food whenever possible (you'll save tons of money too!)

-Allow yourself 1 cheat meal per week  (treat yourself and eat whatever the hell you want. Can't go crazy over this whole nutrition thing either)

-When eating snacks, have a set portion (don't eat directly from the bag)

-Have fun with it. Eating healthy doesn't have to suck. Once you figure out how to do it properly, it can be as delicious, if not more, than eating crap processed food. No joke. If you don't believe me, maybe I'll cook for you sometime.

You probably already knew most of that stuff, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to re-iterate it just in case.

The Best Foods in the World

Before I left home a couple months ago, I read an amazing book that probably changed my life forever. It was written by, Dr. Richard Béliveau and it was about the best foods in the world to prevent cancer. I won't go into great lengths about why certain foods are way better than others at preventing cancer, but I have compiled a list of the foods we should try to eat everyday to maximize our health and longevity. Try to incorporate these foods into your daily habits and you'll soon notice a difference in the way you feel.

• Garlic – 2 cloves
*Personal advice: Just start adding fresh garlic to all your recipes. Honestly, everything is tastier with garlic and it makes the kitchen smell amazing too.

• Brocoli - ½ cup

• Onions – ½ cup
*Same as garlic.

• Spinach – ½ cup
*Try eating it with a homemade vinaigrette of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, salt, pepper.. It's delish.

• Soy – ½ cup
*You can eat tofu, edemame beans, or drink soy milk (look at ingredients though, and buy soy milk that has "whole soy beans" in the ingredients, not "soybean protein"

• Chia seeds – 1 tablespoon
*Just mix them into a smoothie or add them to your cereal, it doesn't taste anything and it's one of the healthiest (and least known) foods on earth. You can learn more about them here: http://www.sacredessence.com.au/images/Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Chia%20Seeds.pdf

• Tomato sauce – 1 tablespoon
*Eating pasta sauce every few days should do the trick here.

• Tumeric (mixed with black pepper) – 1 teaspoon
*Tumeric (curcuma en français) is spice used a lot in indian cooking. Its anti-oxydant properties are increased by 1000x if consumed with black pepper. What I recommend you do is pre-mix the 2 into a shaker and just sprinkle your food with it. It has a really nice taste and gives food a nice little kick.

• Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon
*Sprinkle in a smoothie or cereals, it's easy and makes it tastes great.

• Goji berries – ½ cup
*Only learned about them recently, they've been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years and are considered to be the most nutrient-dense berry on the planet. You can find them in most health stores.

• Blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries – ½ cup


• Dried cranberries – ½ cup

• Grapes/Raisins – ½ cup
*The easiest way I found to eat goji berries, cranberries, raisins, and blue berries is to simply mix them into a home-made trail mix. The one I tried today was unbelievable: Goji, yogourt-covered raisins, dried cranberries, and almonds.  It's the perfect snack, and it's one of the most healthy things you can ever eat.

• Dark chocolate (70% or 85% cocoa) - 40 g
*One of my favorite power foods :) Biggest challenge is to not eat too much of it!

• Orange/Grapefruit – 1

• Green tea – 3x 250ml (or more)
*My favorite powerfood.  I drink about 8-9 cups of green tea a day and I really don`t think I'll ever. Do yourself a favour and buy some proper loose leaf green tea, you'll notice a massive difference with the cheap stuff. If you're not convinced that it's worth switching from coffee/black tea to green tea, just read this: http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-beverages/organic-tea/health-benefits-of-green-tea.html

• Red wine – 1 glass
*Yup, it's true. 1 glass of red wine with dinner is not only a great way to relax, it's great for your heart.


• Fresh salmon – twice per week
*Best source of omega-3's. If you don't like fish, I really recommend you start taking Omega-3 supplements.If you're going to take 1 supplement, that's it right there.  It works wonder for both your heart and your brain, 2 pretty important components of the ol' body.

The funny thing about this list is, most of the items are actually quite tasty. It's just a matter of getting in the habit of eating them daily. I've been doing it for about 2 months now and I actually feel like I'm eating the tastiest meals/snacks I ever have. I also feel like a million bucks everyday, physically, and mentally. I have lots of energy, my thoughts are clearer, and I recover much faster from my workouts.

If you have any questions about any of this stuff, feel free to get in touch with me. Also, if you're trying to lose weight or add muscle mass, I already have drawn out nutrition plans that are tried and tested (by yours truly). I'll be happy to share them with you.

Cheers and happy (healthy) eating!

Phil

What do YOU want to do before you die?

Recently, I've been watching, and re-watching an amazing show called The Buried Life. Some of you might have watched it already; it aired on MTV earlier this year.

This reality-documentary follows 4 friends from Victoria, BC (Duncan, Ben, Dave, and Jonnie) as they travel across North America in a big purple bus. The purpose of their adventure? Knock off every item of their list of "100 things to do before you die". The items vary from silly things to more serious enterprises, and while some are fairly easy, some are super hard to achieve. For every item on their list they accomplish, the boys help a stranger achieve one of their dreams. Amazing concept, amazing show.

Every episode is an action-packed 21 minutes. Everytime I finished watching one, all I wanted to do is get up, go, and conquer the world. For real.


If you want to check it out, you can download the torrents here . Alternatively, I think you can watch it from MTV Canada's website. If it's any incentive... The item they try to achieve in episode #1 is "Party at the Playboy Mansion". Easy.. right? ;)

After having been so captivated and inspired by this show, I started thinking... What do I want to do before I die? And since I'm a firm believer that having a to-do list (whether it be for a day at the office, a day off, a year abroad,etc) greatly increases the chances that we'll actually get shit done, I went ahead and started working on my own list. It is not complete, but I'm happy with what I got so far.

The exercise is actually quite fun and I spent a few hours with a big smile on my face dreaming up these ideas... And really trying to let me mind free of any limitation. I keep saying it (and this show serves as an unbelievable example of this), if you REALLY want to do something, and you can dream it up, there's a way to make it happen. It might mean coming up with creative ideas, getting help from others, working hard, and taking a few risk, but it's possible. And that's all that matters.

I invite you to start working on your own list... And if you need a few ideas, here's my own list so far.

1.     Marry the woman I love

2.      Have children and watch them grow up and live a happy, fulfilled life

3.      Climb a mountain of more than 6000m

4.      Surf in Bali

5.      Go to an NFL game

6.      Go to a NCAA football game at the University of Alabama (Roll Tide Roll!)

7.      Do a road trip across the Southern United States

8.      Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans

9.      Go to the Carnivale in Rio de Janeiro

10.  Help someone achieve their own dream

11.  Start and run a successful company that will have a positive impact on the world

12.  Live one year in Europe

13.  Live one year in Australia

14.  Live one year in South America

15.  Live one year in California

16.  Live 6 months in Asia

17.  Live 6 months in Hawaii

18.  Go back to Ibiza

19.  Go to KaZantip

20.  Be in Montreal when the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup

21.  Write a book and be published

22.  Learn to speak Spanish fluently

23.  Make a speech that will inspire people

24.  Start a project that will contribute to people living a more healthy lifestyle

25.  Do a meditation retreat in a Buddhist monastery in Tibet

26.  Find my spiritual mentor

27.  Go to the soccer World Cup

28.  Donate blood every year

29.  Give something amazing to my parents to thank them for everything they've done

30.  Spend a week at sea

31.  Spend a week in a forest

32.  Grow something and cook it

33.  Have sex on a beach

34.  Spend one day in silence

35.  Do a tour of Europe on my bicycle

36.  Open my own sports bar

37.  Live with “indigenous” people for a month

38.  Go Heli-Skiing

39.  Scuba dive with whales sharks

40.  Scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef

41.  Volunteer abroad for a month

42.  Learn to sail

43.  Raft down the Amazon river

44.  Participate in Burning Man

45.  Go to a major electronic music festival in Europe

46.  Go to Oktoberfest in Germany

47.  Go to a futbol game in South America

48.  See Tiesto perform live

49.  Visit more than 100 countries

50.  Compete in a Muay Thai fight in Thailand

51.  Compete in a jiu-jitsu competition in Brazil

52.  Throw a party that people will remember for the rest of their life

53.  Produce my own red wine

54.  Jump off a 20m cliff

55.  Become President of the Montreal Canadiens

56.  Invent something

57.  Start a foundation

58.  Party like a rockstar in South Beach

59.  Achieve some of the items on this list with my children
60. Achieve some of the items on this list with my grand-children
61.Turn 100 years old, still be healthy and have adventurous mind

To be continued... 

So, what do YOU want to do before you die?