Living Maxwell

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Do I Ever Cheat?

Last week, I was asked by a friend of mine if I ever cheat.

No, she was not asking if I ever cheat on women but rather wanted to know if I ever cheat on my diet.

While I was taken aback by the question and didn’t have an immediate answer, she followed up with “Don’t you ever eat a doughnut?”

“No, I never eat doughnuts,” I quickly responded. That was an easy one to figure out. The thought of putting a Krispy Kreme into my body never ever enters my mind.

The larger question about cheating, however, really got me thinking and this is what I came up with.

1) My friend asked me this question because she (and probably many others) may perceive me as someone who is depriving himself of certain types of food.

Yet, almost never do I deprive myself of food. I eat raw organic ice cream or chocolate (sweetened with maple syrup or palm sugar), both of which taste as good and as sweet as anything I’ve ever eaten.

Pizza was one of my favorite foods but I have eaten it so little of it over the past few years that my taste buds for it have most likely disappeared. Yes, there is organic pizza but I just don’t have the burning desire to eat it.

The one food that I love(d) and have not been eating is popcorn. It is high on the Glycemic Index but I am thinking about making it with coconut oil one of these days. So, popcorn may be the only exception.

And if I eat popcorn and it doesn’t resonate with me for any reason, it is out.

2) I eat what is good for me. I like to put things into my body that are good for me and that are going to keep me healthy.

The only thing I eat or drink that does not taste good is wheatgrass. The taste of wheatgrass is pretty brutal but I also know that it may be the healthiest food on the planet.

3) I eat what is going to make me feel good, emotionally and physically.

Since the summer of 2004, I have eliminated all refined sugar from my diet. It used to get me massively depressed, so I don’t eat it anymore.

This realization about the connection of food to my emotional well-being plays a major role in my decision about what to eat on a daily basis.

Furthermore, this is another reason why I eat organic food. Eating food that has been sprayed with chemicals, is filled with growth hormones or has been genetically-altered in a laboratory is not food that will make me feel good.

My body knows what real food is. GMO or pesticide-laden food is not real food in my book.

IN CLOSING…

While many people may look at my diet and think it looks quite unappetizing, I don’t view it that way at all.

I very much enjoy what I eat, and it makes me feel good. As a result, the notion of cheating would be eating unhealthy foods that I don’t like.

And why would I want to do that?

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Living Maxwell

Personal

“I Was Told My Brain Was Broken”

In November, I put up blog entry titled The Repercussions of Going on Antidepressants, and I received a comment on this post the other day that both disturbed me and confirmed what I already knew. I thought it merited its own discussion here.

The woman who wrote the comment calls herself NoRx4Me and left the following information:

I was put on an SSRI at 24 years old during a bad marriage. I needed guidance and support, instead I was told my brain was broken.

SSRI’s led to stimulants, mood stabilizers, SNRI’s, and lithium for a short time. I was a mess. I lost 13 years. I have little memory of those years (especially sad, because I was raising two boys). I didn’t grow as a person at all. I quit dating in 2003 and never developed knew friendships either. I didn’t even realize this was odd until I was off meds.

I probably would have responded like some others on here while I was still under the influence and told you the meds were great. With a clear mind and 20/20 hindsight, I know the facts, my life was destroyed.

And they do cause physical problems; I lost a ton of hair, and my teeth are a mess. I look like I’ve aged 20 years instead of 10.

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Living Maxwell

Personal

The Repercussions of Going on Antidepressants

As I mentioned the other day, there were tremendous repercussions for me going on Prozac during college. Yet at the time, I didn’t have any idea that they would be so disastrous.

What influenced my judgment to go on antidepressants was a real desperation to feel better. And to feel better quickly. Worrying about how this would impact my life 5 or 10 years down the road was of no consideration whatsoever. I wanted relief and I wanted it immediately.

These are the key repercussions:

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Living Maxwell

Personal

My Morning Meditation and Visualization

I learned how to meditate in college when I took a Transcendental Meditation class and have maintained a very serious practice over the past 11 years.

For some reason, I don’t remember doing it that consistently in the 90s. Most likely, it was the hard-partying lifestyle that got in the way.

Anyhow, my meditation practice is something that I cannot live without. It calms me down, centers me and gets me more focused. Nothing makes me more relaxed or present.

So, when I get up in the morning I sit and meditate for 20 minutes. The meditation is Transcendental Meditation, which uses a mantra as a way to keep the mind from wandering.

And after I finish meditating, I do something called Creating My Day.

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Organic Sunday Stacks Pancake Mix

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“I Was Told My Brain Was Broken”

Why Tradin Organic is Prioritizing Regenerative Organic Farming

The Repercussions of Going on Antidepressants

My Morning Meditation and Visualization