Hello, Gentlemen,

Thanks for being one of the first to grab this. You can always say you were here from the start.

What you can expect from this publication is straight-talking men's chat. I don't know about you, but I no longer feel care-free and invincible.

I've reached the point where I realise that life matters. It's too short and I need to live well. Not just for me, but for my family.

I'm not selling anything. There'll be a single sponsor at the bottom of each issue. But that's it.

This is a place for reflection, observations and a little light-hearted entertainment from our perspective.

The blood test results were in and I was shocked at what I was hearing. Reduced kidney function? That wasn't even what I went for. It must be a mistake!

But a second test confirmed it and my life changed. At least for the foreseeable. I have a third test in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I figured I would do everything I could to look after my kidneys.

If I can do that until the next test, I will either A: Get told I'm fine and it was just down to lifestyle at the time. Or B: I've damaged my kidneys but have lived the last weeks giving them the best. 

Win-win(ish).

The surprising thing was, I have always kept an eye on what I eat. At that time, I thought I was eating well for the majority. How wrong was I?

It soon became apparent that a lot of what I was doing wasn't good for my kidneys at all.

I learned a few years ago that limiting coffee improves sleep. But I was a tea monster.

I was told red meat isn't great for kidneys and should be limited to once a week. Yet my fridge was full of it.

I'd been avoiding sugary snacks and desserts pre-scare for months. But I wasn't eating "clean".

Processed foods. Ready-made sauces, packs of 2-minute noodles, bread. Even the frozen chicken I thought was clean had been injected with extras.

Salt contents that dwarfed the daily recommended dose in a few bites. Added phosphates, bad oils, fake sugars and emulsifiers.

A cocktail of shit designed to lower costs, preserve "food" and make it edible after being frankensteined. Prioritising shelf life, transport and profit, over customer health.

A concoction that'd give even the healthiest of kidneys a run for their money.

I walked into the kitchen to begin to figure out what I could eat. It was everywhere. In everything. To me, it was all poison.

My heart sank and my head raced. What had I been doing to myself? How is this right?

It was The Missus' weekend to work this week. I was at Lidl doing the big shop with our 16 month old son.

To his merit, the lad's as good as gold, so no dramas on the way round.

While I was bagging my shopping for the week, Koby was sitting in the trolley chair. Waving and smiling at every single person who walked past.

He didn't care who they were. Old, young. Black, white. Male, female.

He didn't care if they were the happiest smiling person in there, or if they'd just kicked off with the cashier.

He was waving.

And honestly, it was an absolute joy to see every single one of their faces light up as they smiled and waved back.

But the lesson for me here wasn't just, "Spread cheer. Say hello. Smile, it's infectious etc."

It made me wonder why he was doing that. Surely it wasn't for them. He doesn't give two fucks about anyone else yet.

It was for him.

Now, I'm not saying we should all walk around waving, like Forrest Gump greeting Lieutenant Dan.

But it's definitely food for thought.

Ps. Anyone who says it's more expensive to eat clean is talking gonads.

On my way into the pool, I noticed a woman was walking rather than swimming.

I didn't think much more of it as she wasn't in the lane where I was headed.

A few minutes later, another woman was swimming with a man so close that he was about bumping into her.

Next I hear some commotion in their lane, "Can you not keep splashing us please?" one woman said.

I swam to the other end to see a lifeguard waiting for the man. Something about it didn't sit right.

"Hi Mate, you are allowed to overtake. But I've noticed you're the fastest in this lane. You'd be better in the fast lane."

"I'm not fast enough for the fast lane. Then I've got one woman who should be in the slow lane and another walking round."

He swam off as a group of women congregated to call him an arsehole.

It seemed everyone there was against this bloke. Yes he was splashing them, but with his head down trying to swim. Were they not in his way?

Training is my big focus right now. I'm at the gym for 5:30 and at work for 7:00. But that's by necessity. I'm not one to preach about the 5am club.

The health scare was a kick up the arse. I always used to preach the old adage, "Life changes when you realise you don't exercise because you feel good, you feel good because you exercise." Although, I'd forgotten that along the way.

Creatine's off the list. Apparently that's no bueno for kidney function. So my obvious next question was, protein powders. Because let's face it, hitting protein numbers can be a ballache.

The cleanest Whey protein I could find was My Protein Unflavoured Impact Whey. I'd used their products before and this hasn't let me down.

That's me for this week.

It's true what they say, life really can change in the blink of an eye.

As I grow older I feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility. To do what I can to be here as long as my kids need me.

You can drop me a message if any of this has struck a chord with you.

Same time next week.

But in the meantime…

Remember Gentlemen, Life Matters.

Lewis

Right That's it.

PS. This publication is made possible using High Level

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