Jojo Speaks

Leading a healthy lifestyle is vital to our overall well-being yet it is something that most young adults find difficult to do. After going through a stage of hard partying with excessive drinking and smoking and all other things that need not be mentioned, I have finally “woken up” aka matured and decided to lead a healthier lifestyle. Being in nursing school has given me lots of “eye opening” experiences as I was constantly exposed to sick,dying people. Diabetes, heart problems and cancer are the most common diagnosis (if not the deadliest as well) that I have seen as a student nurse. I think young people have this notion that they are invincible and that only the old get sick…well here’s a rude awakening for you young people out there…. I have seen young adults suffer in the hospitals because of their poor lifestyle choices and/or elderly patients that suffer because of the poor lifestyle choices that they have made that can be traced back to the beginning of their adulthood or even younger.

It truly is heart breaking to see a 50 yr old patient, who has emphysema, still continue to smoke.

So, I have come to the realization that I must break my bad habits before I become an addict of some sort. It’s now or never. Why wait to hear some bad news before making positive changes in your life? The first change I decided to make was to quit smoking and stop drinking pop. When I think about it now, it really is gross how much sugar there is in those things. And then I decided to start going to the gym which in turn helped me improve my diet a lot. I suddenly felt no urge to go to fast food restaurants and buy junk food every time I would see them (why waste the hard work I have put in the gym?). Along with all this, I became determined to make a conscious effort to become a more positive and open person.

I would love to take all the credit for the changes that probably saved my life but it is an undeniable fact that without the positive influence, knowledge, and genuine caring a special person has brought into my life, who knows if I will be at the same page I am today. So thanks special person

My slow yet steady progress is not always easy to maintain though. Running and working out feels great but I still get lazy and skip days if not weeks without going. I haven’t bought a pack of cigarettes in ages but funny how I can still call myself a “social” smoker. I have poor self control as I can’t seem to resist a good alcoholic beverage or a tequila shot when in that infamous party mode. Like come on, really? Are people really that boring that we need alcohol in our systems to have fun with each other?

Yes, I still have a lot of work ahead of me but let’s face it, that’s the beauty of it all. To keep on challenging myself with the purpose of striving to be the best person that I can be.

As I think of new ways to improve my lifestyle, I came across juice fasting. My old me would never have thought of giving up food as I am a person that just loves food. As I read more about it and its benefits though, I became more and more sure that this is something I would like to try. So for weeks, I slowly prepared myself (mentally and physically) and really thought long and hard if this is something I could really see myself doing. At first I wanted to do a juice fast for two weeks but most articles online only recommend 2 to 3 days of juice fasting and if a person were to do it for more than a week, they should go consult with a physician first. Thinking that 3 days is too short for my body to start feeling different, I decided to go for 1 week (7 days) on a juice fast. I will be recording my whole juice fasting experience here on my blog with my daily recipes!!!

I will now leave you with a picture of what my diet will consist of for the next week.