Polow Lynn Polow’s World

Health enthusiast and plant based runner Polow over the years has adjusted his diet to reflect his healthy ways and change in lifestyle all in an effort to progressively create a better way of life for himself. Polow has not only only worked to improve his lifestyle but also has helped others along the way, teaching fellow athletes the proper nutrition and the importance of juicing and cleansing. This month we chat it up with Polow as we follow some of his work in the A and his juice bar Juice ATL.

MSM: As runners our journeys all tend to begin at different points of our lives for various reasons. For you when did that journey begin?

Polow:  My running journey began in 2016 which stemmed from being overweight and in bad health in 2013. I found myself in the hospital about to have surgery for clogged arteries around my heart but I decided not to take the surgery, I decided not to take the medicine and to change my lifestyle which consisted of eating different and getting more exercise. In 2016 I decided I would run my first 5K and eventually got bit by the running bug and I’ve been running ever since then.

MSM: You’re a very active runner, always on the move and always consistent with the miles, give us some insight to your run background and some of the races that you’ve run.

Polow: Man, at this point I’ve run so many different races. I live in Atlanta so of course I’ve ran the Peachtree Road race a dozen times. I’ve also run the Publix marathon ,Publix half marathon and the Miami marathon. At one time I ran a marathon every weekend for four weeks in a row which was pretty fun. I’ve ran in Vegas, which was pretty cool but I would have to say my favorite run so far was a half marathon that I ran with Lululemon In Vancouver. Lululemon is an awesome company, as they flew me out and stayed in a nice Airbnb. They showed me a great time. It was really like I wasn’t running at all because I was looking around at all of the beautiful scenery and before I know it the race was over I would definitely do it again and I also think another one of my favorites was the 50 miler that I ran with a group of people from Selma Alabama to Montgomery Alabama the same route that Martin Luther King other Civil Rights greats marched for our freedom and rights. Those are the definitely some of the most memorable!

MSM: You’re from the ATL, Bunkhead to be exact and most of all you’re a runner of color. As you find yourself running through the neighborhood do you find yourself as being a person of inspiration to those in the community?

Polow: I don’t like to say I’m an inspiration but I’ve definitely been told by others that I’ve inspired them start on their health journey whether its running, eating better, walking or just moving! I always say you don’t have to do what I do but please do something to move the body. 

Just know that all things are possible. You just have to show up and never give up on yourself. Sometimes things don’t work out the way we think they should work out so we quit, quitting is not the answer! Have faith and keep moving forward!
Polow 

MSM: Let’s get into your diet, you’re a vegan and a health enthusiast with lots of knowledge when it comes to diet. Being a Vegan how does that help you both mentually and physically? 

Polow: So being vegan has definitely helped me mentally and physically. Our bodies tend to use a lot of energy to digest food, so it’s my belief that when you eat more plant-based diet your body can digest this food much easier with saves you lots of energy hence my energy levels are always up which is why I’m always able to move around and recover so easily. Also eating a plant-based diet means you stay away from a lot more of the processed foods which are full of chemicals so once you eliminate those types of foods you take your whole mental and clarity to an entire new level I think everybody should try it! But that’s just me.

MSM: We’ve had our share of runners who are vegans and one thing we love to focus on is the misconception that you can’t be an avid runner while being a vegan, meaning always having to deal with the myth of not having enough fuel to make it through runs. For our readers take us through Polow’s diet, meal prep and how you fuel yourself prior to running.

Polow: Personally I don’t like to eat much before my runs as I don’t like too feel heavy I want to be lite on my feet. I wish you guys could see me right now as I’m writing this, I’m eating a big bowl of fruit and when I’m done writing this I’m going to takeoff for a run, but I don’t meal prep at all. I usually do my runs early in the morning so all I want is some fruit and maybe a green tea. If I’m doing a long run I might have avocado toast but after my run I make sure I get some good nourishment and that could be a number of things from a big salad or a bowl of oatmeal, a plate of quinoa and sweet potatoes and leafy greens, it all just depends on how I’m feeling. But please believe its plant powered.

MSM: Speaking of diet, Watermelon!!! You’ve been on a watermelon diet for the last 21-30 days which sounds crazy but what most don’t know is that there are so many benefits to eating Watermelon. What made you decide to go with this challenge and what have been some of the benefits you’ve seen from it?

Polow:  So I’ve been experimenting with fasting since 2016 after I was told I was going to need surgery but I’ve done 10 day water fasting which consisted of 21 days of fresh juice and water. I’ve done 21 to 30 days of eating all raw foods and then I started doing what’s called mono meal eating, which is eating one particular food at a time. Like most animals do. We are the only creatures on this planet that have three or four sometimes five different items on our plates at a time. Eating one particular food at a time really helps with digestion I like using watermelon because it’s full of vitamins, minerals and full of water which helps flush and clean the body out. There’s so many benefits to fasting that I have experienced when it comes to mental clarity and better digestion. I also used to suffer from very bad allergies and I no longer have those issues. Add that to me being a runner, my recovery time is so much faster than most people because fasting is an inflammation killer! 

MSM: The cool thing about you is the wealth of information you have and the willingness to share it through the avenues of social media. Polows World which is your youtube channel is one of the places people can essentially watch and learn as well as see your journey. Give us some insight into Polow’s World.

Polow: On my Instagram I get many questions usually in my DM‘s about fasting or just health in general or running. From what shoes I wear to things of that nature. I created A Polow’s world so I could make long form content to try to answer a lot of the questions in one video but now I am expanding on that idea as we speak building a website which will create more content to help people on their journey.

MSM: I’m sure you are an inspiration for many but where does Polow find his inspiration, what is it that keeps you going, keeps you working so hard?

Polow: Honestly my inspiration comes from from being able to help other people. I get excited when people hit me up and say that’s something I did or said help them get thru there day or week, or when someone hits me and says they tried fasting or eating plant based for the first time. That’s my inspiration.

MSM: We’re all for supporting our fellow brothers and sisters businesses ESPECIALLY those that are black owned. You are the proud owner of Juice ATL, home of some tasteful and wonderful cold press juices. Growing and starting a business is never easy, what went into Juice ATL? How was it getting it off the ground? 

Polow: Blood sweat and tears lol, for real lots of work! I’m not going to lie. I tell people all the time if you want to start a business, definitely be ready to put in lots of work! Having a thriving business is a constant work in progress. 

MSM: Pressed juices made daily, what are some of the juices you offer to customers and for those that are interested like myself, do you guys ship? 

Polow: We offer A variety of juices different green juices, different fruit juices and also different root juices right now we have about 13 juices on our menu and we just started offering different grab and go snacks along with sandwiches and wraps. We’ve been experimenting with shipping for about three months now and it’s getting better but we are not quite there yet hopefully by next month we will have it locked in a little better.

MSM: For those that are ever in the Atlanta area where is Juice ATL is located and most importantly how can we support?

Polow:  We also have a gym PT CrossTraining and we’re and located in BuckHead check out our website JUUICEATL.COM & you will find the location there! And if you ever come visit and great review always helps!

MSM: For our readers what are some of the things we can look out for from Polow?

Polow:  Right now the focus is creating more content to help others on their health journey. Next year I plan to start training for an iron man and we’re also we are building JUICE ATL second location which is coming very soon.

MSM: Where can we keep up with Polow?

Polow:  On my Instagram @polizzy and YouTube Polows World.

MSM: Any last words you’d like to share with our readers?

Polow: Just know that all things are possible. You just have to show up and never give up on yourself. Sometimes things don’t work out the way we think they should work out so we quit, quitting is not the answer! Have faith and keep moving forward!