Over a year ago (prior to being primal), I often found myself tuning into the Oprah show when Dr. Oz was making a guest appearance. Reading through all his credentials, it made sense to me at the time that his advice was the best advice. Albeit with good intentions, Dr. Oz preaches the conventional low-fat, whole grain diet. An article by Dean Ornish can be found on his website which talks about how to reverse heart disease in 28 days. Straight from his website…”A plant-based diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products in their natural, unrefined forms not only helps to reverse heart disease, but also possesses anti-cancer and anti-aging properties.”
Interestingly enough, Dr. Oz recently did a segment on his show where he allowed viewers to go behind the scenes of his routine colonoscopy (a screening for colorectal cancer). Surprisingly so, an adenomatous colon polyp was discovered. Adenomatous polyps are the kind that can become cancerous within 10-15 years, if not removed. Dr. Oz considers himself a pretty healthy guy. He exercises, doesn’t smoke, eats a conventionally “healthy” diet, and has no family history of colorectal cancer or colon polyps. So, what happened then? According to Dr. Jon LaPook, “Patients who smoke, eat diets high in red and processed meats, drink too much alcohol, don’t exercise, and are obese are at increased risk of colorectal cancer. So Mehmet’s healthy lifestyle may actually have protected him from having a bigger polyp — or even colorectal cancer by now.” To all my fellow primal eaters, what do you think?
When engaging in a conversation about G7, too many times I have heard the same thing. “Oh that’s a great program, but it’s not for me” or “I’ve heard about that CrossFit thing…I can’t do that.” I always respond the same way, and I share the same story. It’s a story about my mother, Aida C. Garza.
Growing up, I never really viewed my mother as an exerciser. My dad was the exerciser. After work he would come home, change into gym clothes, and either head out to play basketball or go lift weights at a gym (or both!). My mother was a stay at home mom with 5 kids to handle, and with all our neediness, she often didn’t make time to exercise. There were countless times where she had to rush to my school…I forgot my lunch…my cheerleading bloomers… or a permission slip for a field trip. She always came to my rescue. She was Supermom! We made it almost impossible for her to have any time for herself.
It’s not to say that she never exercised. I do have some memory of Mike and I visiting Kruger Field with her a few nights a week, waiting in the stands while she walked with some friends on the track. I also remember staying home from school one day and seeing her do some crunches along with a trainer on television. That was the first and last time I ever saw my mom do crunches. As we got older, things got even busier for my mom, especially once she began finishing her degree, so her exercise engagement became non-existent.
Several years ago, my mother was diagnosed with osteopenia. She was very worried about this and decided it was time to start exercising again. She began walking on the treadmill 4 times a week for 1 hour. My dad had set up a nice television and DVD player in front of the treadmill, so she often watched her favorite tv shows during her walk. During her treadmill days, I’m pretty sure she got through all seasons of Sex and the City…twice, but you’ll have to ask her about that! It was a lot of walking, and she says she enjoyed it. I don’t know how much I believe that, though. I think she enjoyed the tv shows and movies…not so much the walking.
My mother is a beautiful woman and has always had a great figure, but she had very little muscular strength. When Mike and I started CrossFitting in the backyard, she continued to walk on the treadmill inside our house. This went on for half the summer until we decided it was time to get her stronger. Little did we know how strong she would get!
She was a little reluctant to start CrossFitting, especially since walking was the only mode of exercise she knew. She, too, thought CrossFit wasn’t for her. At 53 years old, she, too, thought she would never be able to do it, and I honestly don’t even remember how we convinced her to finally join us in the backyard. My mom started from the very beginning. Push-ups against a countertop…pull-ups with the black band…she couldn’t even squat without Mike holding onto her hands.
It’s incredible to see how far she has come in such a short amount of time. If you walk into G7 today, you will see her doing so much more than when she started. Push-ups on her toes, dead hang pull-ups with no band assistance, legit squats (toes pointing slightly out, knees pushing out, butt below parallel), and 35 lb. KB swings. She even got her name up on the “Leaders in Strength” board twice (so far).
So the next time you think you can’t do something or feel like G7 isn’t for you, think about Aida C. Garza, my Super Strongmom! It’s a true story. I promise! If you don’t believe me, come to G7 and see for yourself.
Strongmom!
In case you haven’t seen it yet…here is a video of my mother’s first dead hang pull-up. Yup…I’m proud to say it…my mom can do a deadhang pull-up!
Over a year ago, I thought I knew the meaning of health. With a Bachelors degree in Health Promotion and Fitness and a Masters degree in Health Education, I was sure I knew health. Cereal with fat free milk for breakfast, a sandwich with baked Lays for lunch, and some other grainy product for dinner. A huge portion of my day was dedicated to exercise…not so fun exercise…consisting of miles on the treadmill and repetitively boring weightlifting in a gym. I never understood why it took so much exercise to maintain my figure at the time. Being “healthy” was difficult. It was not something I would wish upon anyone else because deep down inside, I knew it was almost impossible to do. Being “healthy” didn’t taste good, it didn’t feel good, took up too much of my time…there was nothing good about it.
When introduced to the primal diet, I admit, I was stubborn. It was hard for me to believe that foods that were really high in fat could be good for me. For most of my life, I had been taught otherwise. Low-fat this…fat free that…turkey bacon…egg whites only…margarine (not butter)…whole wheat bread…whole wheat tortillas…fat is BAD…whole grains are HEALTHY! Because of this, for years, I did not eat red meat…I ate flavorless eggs…I didn’t touch white bread…and I dreaded my workouts…running miles on end.
Thank you to my two brothers for helping me get to know health. Because of you, Roberto, I can finally enjoy the food I eat. Food is delicious!! And Mike, because of you, I gladly roll my long socks onto my legs in preparation for a great workout. A workout that doesn’t require me to spend over an hour on a treadmill.
Everyone deserves to eat good food and to have great workouts. Please stop drinking that tasteless milk. Stop pretending those hours on the treadmill are fun. Being primal is easy. It is healthy. E-mail me at beckygarza@g7athletics.com if you want more information on how to know health and love it!
Social Media