Friday, September 26, 2008

bodies and food and water and stuff

I think bodies are cool, on a lot of levels. I mean, I don't even try to understand all the stuff about the percentage of brain we use. And how our blood cells build new ones...or something. And how we have immunities, muscles, guts, veins, skin, etc. And it all somehow knows how to work together and help us function and heal and move and stuff.

Did you know that, All the blood vessels in the body joined end to end would stretch 62,000 miles or two and a half times around the earth.

And, The heart circulates the body's blood supply about 1,000 times each day.

And, The lungs produce a detergent-like substance which reduces the surface tension of the fluid lining, allowing air in.

And, Each square inch of human skin consists of twenty feet of blood vessels.

And, Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood we have only 206 in our bodies.

I love bodies. I was thinking about it yesterday when I left the gym. I was having a hard time believing that one tiny little personal trainer could make my body hurt like that. I loved the pain though. Bodies are resilient. And I was thinking about our brains. My trainer made my body do things that I would have never tried on my own or thought I could do. It made me wonder how much we assume about ourselves and how many of the limitations we put on ourselves are just in our heads. I know this is true, because more than once my trainer has tried to get me to do something and I totally know I can't do it. Then he'll put his hand out to pull me up or he'll put his arms under the weights too, to make it look like he's gonna help me. He never helps me, but when I know he's there and he could help me if I needed it I can do anything he tells me to.
I don't know what has sparked these thoughts or this new fascination, but it's cool. And I know the food and junk we put in us effects us too, big time. When I drink lots of water I feel so much better. And when I snack on raw almonds or carrots I fell a bajillions times better than if I snack on chips and salsa or M&M's. It's too bad cuz junk is delicious and I love candy. But I've never had a really healthy day and gone to bed saying, "Man, I wish I woulda drank more Diet Coke and less water today." Or, "Wow, why didn't I give in at that party and eat the cheese cake instead of the grapes?" It's a slow hard process, but our bodies love healthy!
I realized a couple days ago that it's been SO LONG since I've done real grocery shopping. I've been so busy and I run to the store every now and then and grab a couple things but I've realized when you meal plan and shop like that it's a lot less healthy and a lot more money. So today I'm making a list, planning dinners, and Paul and I are gonna have healthy, well rounded meals all next week. We'll see how I do, and how much better I feel, but I think it's important so I'll try it. Paul just has to deal with me and my cooking, cuz we usually see each other every night after work. I don't think I'll hear too much complaining. He's not picky and he likes healthy too.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Did you go that body exhibit dwntown yet? You should, it's cool.