Calories. Protein. Water.

I have been watching my calorie intake and trying to compute how many minimal I need a day.  I heard the other day that you take your healthy weight (what it should be) and multiply it by 100 and that is the minimal amount.  My goal is 166 lbs. With that said, 1,666 calories would be my daily target. Obviously as I incorporate more cardio I will need to make adjustments.

Protein. A lot of sites and people say for my body size I should be consuming around 80 to 100 grams, more if I am bulking up (which I'm not, first things first, lose the pounds).  Upon hearing that I started to analyze just how much I would need to consume.  Then I heard Kristina from rawfullyorganic.com talk about how your body doesn't actually get all of that protein in its blood stream.  Percentage wise, it sounds like more protein gets in the blood stream when it comes from being juiced or comes from a plant based source.  Meats have more protein in them but the amount that actually gets absorbed versus excreted without ever being used, places the protein in vegetables, more viable and possibly reliable.

Water. I'm consuming between 100 to 200 ounces per day. I'm trying to consume a 16 ounce glass every hour to an hour and a half that I'm awake. This way the water intake is spread out throughout the day and isn't a daunting task.

I'm still learning a lot of things. Growing up mainly on the standard American diet of meat and potatoes with greens and fruits there but not as the primary focus, helped me to believe I needed some form of meat with every meal. Now... at 31, I am learning so much and my eyes are open.

After the juicing is over, I do look forward to eating regular meals... but will be sure that those meals are going to be more in line with "raw" eating and most likely organic whenever possible. Why? Because regardless if you believe in evolution or a higher being, this Earth has been growing vegetables and fruits without major issues for thousands of years.  Until "man" and science got involved. Now we have tainted produce. The article below was published on Jan 21st, 2013... only 3 days ago. Already over 30,000 people have liked it on Facebook. Along with it having been tweeted over 1,200 times and shared on google+ over 425 times. The article sheds light on just one of the many problems in commercial crops. "Regulators Discover a Hidden Viral Gene in Commercial GMO Crops" http://independentsciencenews.org/commentaries/regulators-discover-a-hidden-viral-gene-in-commercial-gmo-crops/

You don't know, until you  know. Then, after you do know, you have to make a decision to apply that knowledge or what you know doesn't matter. With that said, my wife is probably tired of me talking about "food" and the new things I keep learning. I'm not turning into a vegetable (or a fruit). I'm just becoming knowledgeable about things that have escaped my radar (or flew under it) for years. The more I learn about the health benefits of different vegetables and fruits, the more I am in awe about how much I've been missing.

No sense in clogging my arteries. Having a sensible and balanced lifestyle that will help add years to my life and give me more time with family and friends is going to be key.