Electronic Diet

Towards the end of “About Heri”, I wrote about regular exercise.

Not just for the body, but for the mind too. Exercise is not just sweating or lifting weights. It’s challenging yourself. Your whole body or mind screams “stop!” but somehow, you find the motivation to continue to the next step. Then it continues.

You win when you push past the point where others quit.

First is physical exercise. You can either do cardio, which is lighter activity for long periods of time, or inversely intensity training. I mix trail running, martial arts, weights, cold showers, hike and serious handyman work. Physical exercise not only makes you look good, it brings a range of proven health and mental benefits. Skip it, and you’re trading years of life for years of laziness.

Second form is diet. Eating less. Eating clean. Or eating at defined times – or not all. In 2015, I did not eat any type of artificial sugar or processed foods. It was a challenge ! I have friends who stopped drinking alcohol for months. Every 3 months, I do not eat for a whole weekend. Why? Because in many ways, modern life encourages us towards over-eating, and also pushes us towards ultra processed foods, stuffing us like geese at a foie gras factory. Severely cutting your diet taking back control. There are also multiple proven health benefits.

Third form of exercise is what I call “financial diet”, which I do once a year. No coffee. No treats. No trips. Just the basics—food, bills, taxes.. This can be hard socially. How do you tell friends you cannot have lunch with them? What if a family member needs something? 😅 But you learn. Most expenses aren’t needs. They’re habits. And bad ones at that.

In January, I will do a fourth form of exercise: electronic diet. No devices except for work. No Netflix. No YouTube. No online payments. No scrolling the endless scroll. I will go outside more, read more books, and play more games with the kids. Move more. Think more. Write more. Breaking free from the array of electronic devices controlling our physical and mental life.

It’s not about rejecting the modern world. t’s about proving I don’t need it. It is also building resilience. Because what you have today might be absent tomorrow, temporarily or permanently, and you don’t want to be caught like a deer in headlights.

Some might think this is pointless. Unusual. Even stupid. But it’s not. It’s just like starving a junkie.

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