Bri’s Blog: Eat to Live, Live to Heal

WHAT’S MY TAKE ON HEALTH?

When it comes to health, I truly believe the key component of this vast concept is ‘heal’-ing. Besides the fact that “heal” comprises 4/6 of the word itself, health, I believe that a lot of one’s emotional, mental, and, of course, physical well-being arises from their ability to heal.

Now, every single person is going to have a different relationship with healing and health – as with everything else in life. My healing may or may not look like your healing and what heals me may or may not heal you. However, this is Bri’s Blog and I’m here to share what has worked for me and perhaps it will, in fact, work for you, or at the very least provide you insight into another perspective.

SO HOW DO I KEEP HEALTHY?

Physically, my health is a balanced fusion of exercise, eating habits, and mediation / yoga. To break that down some more…

EXERCISE

Every day, I make sure to move my body somehow. Miguel and I spend a lot of time at the computer editing and producing music so it’s important to move. This entails walking for 45 minutes to an hour, dancing (at @forward_space of course, this is pure elation), stretching, doing yoga (even if it’s for only 10 minutes), strength conditioning, and deep breathing. Lately, with Little Lady in tow, I’ve found creative ways to accomplish these tasks.

For example, I do yoga and stretch while playing with her on the ground, and I deep breathe when I’m feeding her; I certainly don’t have as much time as pre-babe, but instead, I’ve become more creative with how and when I take this time for myself. So I’d advise moving, even for just 20 minutes. Endorphins rush, blood flows, and your body feels good.

Eating Habits

In 2011, I went drill-sergeant-strict vegan. I had already been vegetarian for several years and I watched “Forks Over Knives” (highly recommended). I was convinced, it was just what my body needed and made me feel so great. I lost weight, I had more energy, I felt less bloated and I lived-in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, so there was a plethora of vegan, hipster, delicious restaurants and cafes to support my new lifestyle.

I deflected the family jokes and ridicules with ease – remember this is 2011, before the mainstream vegan movement – and tried every kind of seitan, tempeh dish you can imagine.

2.5 years later, in 2013, after countless rejections of chocolate chip cookies (non-vegan ones of course), Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream, and tuna fish, (I’ve loved tuna with mayo since childhood), I decided to modify my diet. I figured there’s a balance between honoring certain beliefs and morals and honoring certain desires – like a bite of Häagen-Dazs Vanilla ice cream.

These days, I eat eggs and fish. However, I don’t eat cheese, milk, or animal products as they simply don’t sit well with my system – or with my daughters for that matter, with the exceptions of a random seldom bite or taste. Pre-babe, I wasn’t eating eggs, but the Doctor recommended a bit more protein, so I’ve gone the route of farm-raised, cage-free, organic eggs – we actually have chickens so we get eggs from them. (Sidenote: If you live in the woods like us, I highly recommend getting some chicks. The up-keep is pretty simple and you get delicious, fresh, organic eggs which saves so much money too!) All of this to say, every now and then I’ll have a bite of said delicious chocolate chip cookie or tiramisu (Häagen-Dazs), but generally I’m an 80-90% vegan with the exception of some fish and eggs to give babe the protein she needs – I’m exclusively breastfeeding these days.

All of this to say…

I feel like what’s best and “healthiest” is something only your body will know to be true for you. Whether that’s raw-vegan or crazy-carnivore or Keto, what feels right for you, for your system, is the way to go. Telltale signs of this include feeling energized / good after you eat (rather than feeling tired), having the ability to wake up well-rested in the morning, feeling limber, and fresh. And this point is logical, but the “cleaner” the food – aka the more the natural – the better for your system. How long does it take your body to process the food? What ingredients make up the snack? Like any machine, the less work the machine has to do, the better for its longevity and output.