Tag: health documentaries

Health Documentaries I Have Recently Watched

Recently I have watched quite a few health documentaries.  Good health is important to me and I like to be informed and keep up with the latest info on health.

Here is a list of the health documentaries I have seen – some are available on Netflix and others I checked out from my local library.  The library is a great source for books and dvd’s on health and well being, in my opinion.

  • Hungry For Change – I have seen this before in the past but it was good to review it again
  • Food Matters
  • Food Choices
  • Cowspiracy
  • Plant Pure Nation
  • Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue
  • Carb Loaded – A Culture Dying to Eat
  • In Defense of Food

Engine 2 Rescue dvd

The above, Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue I found at my local library.  It is about a Texas firefighter, Rip Esselstyn, who eats a plant based diet and he goes to two different families homes to convert their pantries and their eating habits.  I found it interesting and a good health documentary for someone looking to convert to better eating habits.  He has also written several books based on the Engine 2 Diet.  I am on a wait list at the library for his newest book called The Engine 2 Seven Day Rescue Diet.  If my library has the book then I like to check it out there first and see if it is something I am interested in buying.

 

In Defense of Food health documentary

In Defense of Food is the most recent health documentary I have watched.  I also found this at the library.  This health documentary is a fairly recent release – it says 2015 on the back of the dvd case.  I like the philosophy behind this which is “Eat Food – Not Too Much – Mostly Plants” -Michael Pollan.  I find the information in this documentary reasonable and an easy to follow plan compared to some of the other health documentaries I have recently viewed.

Overall, these health documentaries all have a common thread – too many people are not eating the right foods and the health of our children and society in general is suffering.  If more people focused on eating a plant based diet, avoiding processed foods and excess sugar then there are many conditions and health problems that can be avoided, or even in some cases reversed, according to claims in many of the health documentaries I have recently watched.

One of the reasons I have watched so many of these health documentaries lately is because I have an interest in maintaining good health and teaching my children to be healthy and be conscious of what they eat.  Today there are so many food choices and lets face it – a lot of them are just really not that good for you.  If I can influence my kids to have some idea of what is a healthy food and what isn’t then I feel like they are more likely to make better choices in the future as they get older.

plant pure kitchen cookbook

After watching the Plant Pure Nation documentary on Netflix I found out that there are several cookbooks that go along with the documentary.  I found the one above, Plant Pure Kitchen, at Barnes and Noble a couple weeks ago.  I have already made a few of the recipes and they are good.  (As you can see I have several marked to try with sticky tabs)  My kids even like the nacho cheese sauce which is actually made without any cheese or milk and tastes great.  There is a page that explains how to build, or make, veggie burgers that is informative and there are a few veggie burger recipes in the book, too.  I have been making my own veggie burgers for the last six months and really do not miss beef.

get healthy go vegan cookbook

The Get Healthy Go Vegan Cookbook was one I had checked out from the library and liked so I found it at Half Price Books last week and decided to purchase it.  There are a lot of good recipes in this book as well and I have tried a few and enjoyed them.  They are all plant based and easy to follow.

So, as far as going Vegan – as it seems many of the health documentaries suggest as being the best diet – I am not there yet.  I am trying to eat less meat each week and to be honest with you I don’t really miss it.  I think going without any type of cheese or dairy is a little harder though.  Also, my husband and my three sons are probably not going to be too thrilled if I totally quit cooking meat or buying cheese.  It is hard to change habits of others – probably harder than changing your own habits.  So for now we are focusing on eating more vegetables, fruits and whole grains and I am sneaking in vegan or vegetarian recipes when I can.

-Kimberlee

 

Categories: Health

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EOM Fitness for January 2015

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This past month my fitness routine consisted of five or six workout days per week using my Cathe Ripped with Hiit workouts and yoga dvd’s or routines from Yoga Journal magazine that I have saved.  I have been alternating the two doing a Hiit workout one day and yoga the next.  I have really been enjoying this schedule.

Ripped with Hiit Upper Circuit with the cat
Me and the cat doing the RWH Upper Circuit workout
Ripped with Hiit Upper Circuit
Another upper body exercise from Cathe’s Ripped with Hiit Upper Circuit dvd
Yoga with the cat on the mat
Yoga with the cat on the mat

Scheduling your workouts is part of the key to getting them done, in my opinion.  If I make a schedule up on Sunday, that is usually a non workout day for me, then I am going to commit myself to getting them done.  “It’s not about having time, it’s about making time.”  I have seen these words before somewhere and they are very true – everyone is busy these days – even my retired parents and in-laws always seem busy – but you have to make the time and make the commitment to yourself to be more physically active.  I know that I always feel better and have more energy on days that I workout.

Fed Up documentary from library

Another thing I have been doing this past month is watching health documentaries – I know this sounds really boring but they are actually really informative about many things concerning the health of Americans and their diets and I find them interesting.   Some of them can be found on Netflix and some I checked out from the library.  The video in the photo above, Fed Up, is one I checked out from my local library.  A friend of mine recommended it to me.  This is a real eye opener about the food industry, how much sugar and artificial ingredients are really in those so called healthy foods you see at the store.  This documentary also goes into detail on the health of our children and how many are becoming diabetic at an early age due to poor eating and lifestyle habits.

back view of Fed Up dvd
back view of Fed Up dvd

The other two documentaries that I thought were really informative were Hungry for Change and Fat Sick and Nearly Dead 2.  Both of these are on Netflix.  If you are wanting to learn more about eating better, juicing, and changing your lifestyle habits to become healthy, lose weight and get off prescriptions, I would advise you to watch these two documentaries.  My overall health and eating is good but these documentaries oped my eyes to even more changes I need to make to how I eat and what I eat for it to make a positive impact in my daily life.

For the month of February am thinking of doing my P90X3 workout.  I am not going to do the whole three month program again like last year,  I am just going to use it mixed with some other workouts for the month of February.  I have been doing my Ripped with Hiit and yoga for over a month now so it is time for a change.  If I change things up then I don’t get bored – that is another key to making your workouts fun, challenging and keeping you interested in sticking with it.  Also, I believe it is a key to seeing results because your body needs a change.

So check back at the end of February for my end of month (EOM) fitness update – of course you can also check back sooner as I will be sharing other posts before the end of February on various things.

Have a great Superbowl weekend!

– Kimberlee

 

 

 

Categories: Exercise Health

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