Day 5 of Detox - Being at "Peace"....

Day 5 is done & dusted......

I have to admit, I struggled in the first 1/2 of the day with some of my mind talk, I think there were a couple of reasons for this;

1. I didn't eat my juiced dinner the night before
   I was real comfortable with not eating, I didn't feel there was a "need" to eat it!
   
   
2. I woke up & got up at 5am (on a Sunday), in my sleep I broke my headphones!
   This annoyed me most of the morning, I do my meditation through Holosync which a CD based meditation with headphones ON!! So to have broken a $150 headset is a bit of a piss off!
   

There is learning in both scenario's that I've explored as well i.e. 1) Put my mind under a bit more stress just as I thought I had "got it". 2) Maybe it's time I explore both Holosync and other Meditation forms.

Regardless of the above, OVERALL I'm at peace with everything, I've mentioned this in day 3! Here's what I put on Face Book yesterday;

"Now tat Ive accepted hunger, I now GET how u can be @ peace with hunger! Who would of thought Maori boy from Putaruru would figure that Jedi shit out!"

It's the strangest feeling, I mean sure I have to check myself to not look to the future of Day 8 and "wanting" something when I'm there!
I've read lots of books about "being in the moment" (Dan Millman The way of the Peaceful Warrior, Eckart Tolle The Power of Now & A New Earth are 3 of my favorites) and I've got it through Meditation at times, however it seems to be with me throughout this Detox/Fasting Journey...... Funny, because knowing something intellectually is NEVER the same as knowing it "EXPERIENTIALLY"

E.g People have said to me, I could run a marathon if I trained for it!
I'm sure you can but knowing that you could if you wanted too, to actually DOING it is a whole different level of "knowing"!!

I will do my best to explain what I'm saying about being in the moment;

In the past I have just ate without little regards how much or what (to a point)!!

Now, I'm enjoying every gulp of my juice or every spoonful of my brown rice with raw veggies! While I'm in this state, nothing is a problem, I'm at PEACE with myself & the world!!

It's the best feeling to enjoy the simplest things!!!

Hopefully you get what I'm saying intellectually & if you have been their (really been there) then you know exactly what I mean!!

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More Contemplating....
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Well that's some of what I've been contemplating and become so much aware of! I'm also going to explore a greater depth of how much meat we eat in modern day society.

I mean back in the cave man days as I think it is...... I doubt very much that eating meat every night was in their diet, I'm pretty sure they would of rotated their protein sources (not consciously) but due to seasons, hunting etc......

E.g. They may of had birds 1 night and fish the next then nothing for 3 days, other then plant protein while they hunted a T Rex or something!

So from what I perceive the cave man days to be, it makes sense in modern day society we consume meat/dairy way too much?! I won't get into the organic meat argument today.

So this is why, I think it's worth exploring this! More so now that I have had no meat the last 5days and I have had greater depth of sleep, greater concentration, less flatulence and smell! (Side Note: I don't think no meat is the only reason my sleep or concentration has improved, being at peace has a greater impact then meat I believe!)
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In Closing...
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This is what the Detox is all about for me to EXPLORE me and my perceptions of what I thought or currently think, sure I'm down 4kg but it's not like I was obese or unhealthy prior to embarking upon this journey!

I'm so grateful to have had and taken the opportunity to "detox/fasting & explore" me, without doing this I would still believe/think the same stuff without any regard to something deeper!

Take care and have a great day!

Spida Hunter

P.S. The ULTIMATE proof of knowing someone is at "peace", is check their home life!!! And here's what my lovely lady has got to say in response to my Face book comment above;
Babe you ares doing really really well on your detox its day five and your still of sane mind!!

Fuck if it was me i would have eaten my own fucken arm by now!!... and probably try to hide it!! xoxox :-) proud of ya!

She has a way with words :-)

Day 4 of Detox - Lizard Brain & Meat?!

Thanks to everyone who has commented on face book or the blog upon reading this Detox Journal, some great points and some real positive feedback about to quit or not!

Well it's day 4 write up so I guess I haven't quit yet!!!

I have to say, I'm real "peaceful" with my hunger, the strangest feeling (for me). I mean, if I was hungry in the past I WOULD EAT, no questions no drama no attachment to the type of food, I would just eat!

This has served me well, I mean I don't care what I eat hence why this Detox is "easy" to eat, sure some of it like the Wheat Grass drink takes a bit to get use too, but where people will say "I can't eat that I don't like it", for me if it's good for you, I'll eat it (mostly)! Brasoul sprouts are still crap!

Actually, since embarking on this Detox journey, my life has been "peaceful" (post 30hrs), nothing seems to bother me I just go through my day at "peace"! If something comes up in a form of perceived stress, I just deal with it without the emotional attachment. Sure, I may have 30sec of grrrr, but I can't think of a time that it has impacted me more then that!

INTERESTING, when you "connect the dots"!

Here's another interesting point; Protein & Meat!

I'm a protein based eater, it's how I prefer to eat and it's what I'm most comfortable doing i.e. too many carbs only play havoc on my system, where meat does not......... or so I thought!!!!!!!!!

This detox has been a "no meat" and mostly veggies juiced, with 1 main meal of brown rice & raw veggies for lunch. I'm pretty staunch on my protein thinking I mean it has served me well relative to carbs!


But what can serve you can be your double edge sword! Without any meat in my diet over the last 4days, I've noticed things like;

• body odour
• sweating
• flatulence
• poo's
  
• All smell different & a lot less of it!!

Now, this leads me to believe that too much meat/whey (or poor quality) is "blocking our system", I notice this with whey protein and this is why I prefer rice protein!

Now, I'm not saying that "meat is bad" and I'm a born again Vegetarian, BUT I am now observing meat both in terms of quality/quantity in our diet and I think this deserves some SERIOUS change in perception!!!

I don't have all the answers in this "observation" however, things people have said to me in the past about meat seem to make more sense now that I've taken meat out of the diet!

Again, I'm not saying we should remove it completely BUT it definatly should be addressed the quality and quantity we eat!!!!

Clever Mind Talk:
I say this all the time, "the smarter someone is in life and I.Q the better their justifications to defend their behavior!"

Well, F#$% me, I'm that guy!!! As painful as it is for me to admit this. I'M THAT PERSON!!

Last night, I almost threw it all away at our family dinner time AGAIN!!! I had all these justifications for it that sounded so good (to me), here's a couple;

* I'll eat fresh veggies (instead of the juiced celery, carrots, spinach etc..)
* I've achieved what I wanted, so why not?
* I'm neutral with the Detox i.e. my mind talk has stopped after 30hrs and I'm actually enjoying the limited food and REALLY enjoying my lunch of veggies and brown rice, i.e. I have NO attachment to the detox/food/habits anymore, I'm far more aware and chose with a neutral stance not to eat anything other then what is prescribed!

Sometimes, you just need to hear it straight and my lovely lady after I asked her, "do you think I'm cleverly justifying my actions of stopping for this one meal?"

"Yes, I think you are!"

Once I quietened the voice of "but but but but........", she was right I AM THAT GUY!!!

So I made my juice put 3 oranges in it (not in the plan) sat down and ate dinner with the family!

Seth Godin calls it the Lizard Brain, I call it Mind Talk and this is MIND Talk at it's best!!!!! The part of your brain that puts up a form of "resistance" to make you believe what you are saying is true when something becomes "uncomfortable"!!!!

Pic from Shawn Phillips Blog

I'm grateful for this experience, mostly! Some of me is a bit annoyed that I was dumb enough or shall I be more truthful and say EGOTISTICAL enough to think I'm more aware then my own "mind talk/Lizard brain"!!!! The best learning's are those that you experience!!

So take home message today for me:

1. The obsession with meat (in my life & I'll bracket all hard core meat eaters) needs to be addressed both in quality and quantity!


2. My Mind Talk almost "owned" me with some very clever justifications


3. I'm that guy as per above :-)

Day 5 here I come!

Thanks for following this journey feel free to post anything you want about it, I'm enjoying the comments and the read!

Day 3 of Detox- To Quit?

Day 3 of Detox is done and dusted.....

I ate according to the plan except I had a extra miso soup before bed last night. Today was a strange day, I had no amount of "mind talk" going on today and I actually delayed alot of my eating times, not to test my man hood on starvation but quite simply because I was "at peace" with this whole detox thing and felt I had reached my "goals":

1) To Cleanse the system from the inside out
2) To break patterns that I was unaware of and explore them
3) To have fun doing it!

Now the first 30hrs wasn't much fun as I observed my mind talk "own" me, but since I "cracked it" or think I've cracked it, I have a strange "peaceful" feeling about it all.

This Peaceful feeling is a feeling of BEING NEUTRAL, I feel neutral towards my patterns. Which means I have NO ATTACHMENT to the "stuff" that surfaces. Real life e.g. When I eat my only "real meal" of brown rice & raw veggies, in that moment I'm at peace, I'm happy & grateful.

Who would of thought a "hard core" meat eater would actually get satisfaction out of a vegetarian diet, to the point that my partner and I are talking about having a meat free night, and subscribing days to particular foods! Will keep you updated on that one!

I was at peace so much I even contemplated stopping the Detox, simply because "I'm neutral" towards my stuff or most of it. In a round about way, this is what it's all about!!

Don't get me wrong there is still stuff that comes up e.g. I miss eating with my family, sure I eat with them but it doesn't feel the same. The other night they had rice and chicken, I'm not a rice fan normally but I was like it would be nice to eat the same as them and be a "part" of our family dinner.

So the question remains........

Will I stop the Detox? I don't know, a part of me says it's ok cause you are "neutral" and then another part of me says, "justification" for stopping.

What do you think?
Am I a failure?
Do I need to harden up?
If I stop the detox....

Or is it ok?

There's no right or wrong answer just your own thoughts, would be great to hear them!

Thanks for following,

Spida

Day 2 of Detox- I think I've cracked it!!!

As day 2 comes to an end of my 7 Day Detox, I think I've gone through the "toughest" part of this Detox!!

Weight this morning 90.5kg from 91.2kg the day before! <800grams.

Yesterday, was tough! I had so much "mind talk" about wanting to quit and how hard I wanted to quit & I had so many justifications for it as well!!

First thing today, was NO different!! I went to Yoga and had the same "mind talk" going on in my head and 1/2 way through I was thinking this is "too hard" AGAIN!!!!

Yoga turned out to be the "turning point" for me, after it I showered up and met with my lovely lady and daughter, I was still rough at this point, however an hour later when having my "main meal" at 2:30pm I thought, I've done it!!!

This is the "turning point" and I quietly ate my lunch with no "mind talk" to combat with!! I was at "peace"!!!

So I'm hoping Day 1 and 1/2 of Day 2 were my "hardest days"....... I'm hoping :-)

What my day looked like:

• 7am: Drink Lemon/Ginger
• 7:15am Wheat Grass drink
• 8am Veggie Juice
• 8:30am to 1pm MIND TALK Galore!!!
• 10am Yoga
• 11:45am Green Tea
• 1pm Meditation
• 2:30pm Main Meal = Brown Rice, steamed veggies & raw veggies
• 5:30pm Veggie Juice = Carrot and Apple
• 7:30pm Veggie Juice
• 9pm Wheat Grass & H20
• 9:20pm Peppermint Tea
  

I didn't do BJJ tonight, I wanted to keep my "good feel" that I discoverd during lunch and I didn't want to tax my energy levels that I had just got back!!

So Day 2 is now done and I think I'm "over the hill" with so much crap filtering through my head and my low energy levels!!!

Some Explanations:

Energy Levels: They are a bit low due to the drop in calories, I haven't done the math on how many calories I'm consuming however I would guess that it's 1/2 of what I normally consume

Mind Talk in my Head: This is interelated with the above, when ever you go "cold turkey" your body goes through some form of 'withdrawls' & mine is having less calories......

Part of my "belief system" is I DON'T GO HUNGRY!! It's part of Maori Culture to have food regardless of occasion i.e. death, happiness etc... So to be hungry is a real challenge to me!! If I've wanted to get leaner I eat more veggies/protein and less carbs BUT I don't go hungry (or real hungry)! So this is/was my biggest challenge to date, shifting my perception around this......

What's installed for me tommorrow?
I have no idea but I'm starting to actaully enjoy it now...... right I'm off for my peppermint tea :-)

Day 1 of Detox

I've been getting lots of comments about the Detox and what I'm doing, well over the next 7 days I will reveal what I'm doing and how I'm progressing, it's a way for me to keep me honest and share with you the reader on my highs and lows of letting go of old patterns!

My reasons are very simple for doing this 7 Day Detox;

1. Clean my system from the Inside (From time to time we need to "cleanse" our internal cells & organs, allowing our body to revitalize and rejuvenate!)


2. Let go and become aware of patterns/habits I have (This is part of the explore the "mind talk" that comes up when I'm breaking habits and or being hungry!)


3. A fun Challenge! (Can I even do it? What "stuff" will come up to enable me to justify certain behaviors....)
   

I have no desire to "lose weight" although I suspect I will due to the "cleanse" that occurs from allowing your gut/cells/immunity etc... to recovery from the day to day "stress" we impose upon it! Plus the type of Detox I'm doing is mostly liquid juices with 1 main meal during the day and NO protein in meat form!

My Measurements are as follows;

WT = 91.2kg
Arm Flexed = 39cm
Chest = 104cm
Waist = 91.5cm & Skinfold = 28cm
hips = 95.6cm & Skinfold = 25mm

To be honest, although I am not concerned with “losing weight” I would love to get both numbers in hip/waist down in the next 7days!!!

I have also cut back on my training as this Detox is not designed for someone who is active or in my case Very Active :-), so my training for the next 7 days looks like this;

1. Wednesday 3rd March 2010 = Rest


2. Thursday = Yoga (may do BJJ but not sure)


3. Friday = Rest


4. Saturday = Run/Walk (Preparation for EHP City 2 Surf)
   


5. Sunday = Rest


6. Monday = Upper Body Weights


7. Tuesday = Yoga (& may do BJJ)

Again, I may do more or less depending on energy levels. I've already decided to eat more of the fresh food I'm eating to provide more energy/calories for workouts.

Here's what my day looked like today on Day 1 of Detox:
4:50am
juice out of 1 fresh lemon and fresh ginger. Fill the rest of the glass H20

5:10am
Wheat Grass & to make a green drink

5:30am Breakfast
Vegetable juice= carrots, beetroot, cucumber, spinach, parsley. 1 tab 1000 mg of vitamin C & 1 tbls fish oil (I ate the spinach, parsley)

8:50am Between Break-Fast and Lunch
Green Tea (I was struggling at this time, this is when I have a big breaky normally and my mind was talking all sorts of s#$%, once I had the green tea it seemed to "stabilize" my mind talk/mood!)

12:30pm Lunch
Brown rice with a mixture of raw & steamed vegetables = broccoli, mushrooms, radishes, spring onions, ginger, 1 cup of miso soup and extra virgin olive. 1 x 1000mg of vitamin C, 1 tbls fish oil.
(Very filling surprisingly actually!)

3:30pm
Carrot & Apple Juice with Miso Soup (Miso soup was not in the plan but I had it anyway)

7pm Dinner
Juice of beetroot, carrot, celery, cucumber, wheat grass, pepper, spinach, 1 tab Vitamin C. (I ate the spinach and pepper.

9pm
Peppermint tea

10:10pm asleep

To sum up Day 1 in words, tiring & hungry! But it's done!!

7 Day Detox & the Fear of the New Website

Just a quick update before the tribe at home wakes up!

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7 Day Detox
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Tomorrow I start my 7 day Detox where I will blog about it everyday from the, highs, food, lows, to the mind talk etc.... I'm excited about doing this Detox because it gives me an opportunity to "explore" habits and addictions that go underneath the radar i.e. unconscious patterns!

Obviously there are lots of benefits to doing a Detox ranging from;

• Weight Loss
• Cleanse from the Inside
• Increased Vitality
• Greater Energy
• Break free of Patterns
• Understand the body more
• Plus lots more

My main reasons are nothing more than a fun challenge i.e. can I do it? Break my normal eating patterns, give my insides a clean from the toxins, kind of like a "internal bath"!

So stay tuned tomorrow for Day 1 of the 7 Day Detox!

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EHPFitness.com Is Here
....................Almost!
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I've been procrastinating on making this happen A LOT FASTER, for the simple reason of my own FEAR!!!

I'm a self taught geek and I've outsourced all of this project to the "experts" which has been a blessing and challenge. Now it's 95% done and I'm holding the chain again figuring out how to use the site etc.....

This is my way of saying I'm scared again :-)

But to face this "fear", I'm going to go on record and say in April will be the realease date of the new site! I've got excuses for this not to happen i.e. baby due any week now BUT that only sounds good to me, I'm going to dig deep to get it all sorted by this date!!

Stay tuned for more details!

Spida Hunter

The Month That Was = February

February has now been and gone and we are over 15% of the year GONE, never to be seen again until 2011!! Man, how time flys........

Discipline is one of the most (if not the most) determining factor to reaching your goals, the fitness marketing guru will have you believe it's their "secret programme" BUT I can assure you it's NOT!!!

The "secret" is showing up CONSISTENTLY and that requires DISCIPLINE to do what needs to be done in the daily grind!!!

I've set goals for the year;

• Dead lift 220kg
• Meditate 90% of the year
• 250 workouts in 2010 (Stole this number from Alwyn Cosgrove)
  
• Read 10-12 books, just to name a few!
  

Here's how I'm looking so far for the above;

1. Dead lift (this has not been a focus, I just train at this stage :-)
2. Meditation
   Jan 2010 = 26days
   Feb = 27days
3. 250 Workouts
   Jan = 10 (started late)
   Feb = 19 (All MS & PE workouts are with Fighters in preparation for March 13th Fight Night.
   2 x Yoga (aiming for 1 per week in March)
   4 x Metabolic Strength
   6 x Power Endurance
   5 x Run (In preparation for City 2 Surf 12km run 21st March & 1/2 Marathon in June)
   
   
4. Reading Books = 0/Nil/Nothing :-) Just started reading first book today (Cardio Strength Training by Robert dos Remedios)

So as you can see, I'm not perfect BUT I'm DOING!!! I often "play" with the idea of measuring other things as well and I have no doubt I will! What I do know from all of this, when the end of the month comes to a close and I get to look back, it's bloody satisfying I can assure you! :-)

Sure there is room for improvement, but I can see exactly where I need to improve to raise my "numbers" if I'm on track or if I'm off track! That's the beauty of measuring!!

Take home message of all of this, measuring what you do actually tells the story of HOW you are doing and allows you to "adjust" things to suit!

March Goal:

• 4 x Yoga (1x per week)
• 7 Day Detox
• Raise my total training #'s to 22 workouts
• Have read 1 book.
  

All this while we are having our next baby any time soon........ So no guarantees on how I will go with achieving this but I'll give it a go :-)

Thanks for reading,

Spida Hunter.