Introducing Grace Taing

March 10th, 2010

Man, it is hard to put out a blog everyday.  I am committed to growing this concept so I will keep working as hard as I can with my schedule to give you all a quality product as often as I can.  I hope you all will continue to invite people to The Body Blog and share this concept with everyone you know.  A healthier world is a happier world.  I would love to take an extra day off of work each week to develop this thing better and I hope to be able to do that soon.  I have some good follow ups to get out to you, but I want to make sure to do the participants justice and use their stories to educate.  For today I wanted to let you meet Grace and read about her cleanse week.  More to come tomorrow with follow ups!

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Full Name: Grace Taing
Resides: Huntington Beach
Age: 27
height: 5’7

I am a full time student and I work around 20-25 per week.

My typical diet consist of 16oz of Vietnamese coffee in the morning and a small bowl of pho (if I have a late class), or sometimes a piece of fruit (usually a banana). For lunch I usually go home and eat whatever is in the fridge, which usually is leftovers from the night before, or buy a turkey sandwich at 7-11, surprisingly they are actually pretty good! Dinner is never consistent; I’ll eat dinner super early or super late. If I have to eat late I try to keep it light with steamed veggies and chicken breast. Throughout the day I’ll snack on fruit (apples, oranges etc…). The worst thing about my diet is like Mylene I too am a sugar addict! I love anything sweet, chocolate, and fruity. I think if I cut back the sweets my diet would be somewhat healthy, I don’t eat anything fried, or too heavy.

My favorite foods…hmmm..I love grilled salmon, Vietnamese “crack” coffee, fresh spring rolls, Thai food, Korean food, fruit (i.e. strawberries, blue berries, fuji apples, oranges), dark chocolate cover almonds, and sushi. Since I eat out quite a bit, my average weekly food expense is approximately $50-$60 a week. I don’t drink or smoke.

I don’t work out as often as I like, If I’m up early enough I like to jog down to the beach and back which is about 30 min (maybe once a week). I usually use work as my exercise. I have a 24 hour fitness gym membership but haven’t used it in over a year, sad I know. But I am looking forward to changing all that with the start of this cleanse.

For fun I love hanging out with my family and friends, which usually consist of us eating, and shopping. Relaxing at home and watching movies. I don’t drink or smoke. And I get sick about twice a year, nothing too severe, but usually last about a week or so.

Day 1 Saturday 02/06/10
Woke up at 8am, and made master cleanse. It wasn’t too bad I drank a third of it; it was basically drinking spicy lemon water. I took all 11 capsules, and had some strawberries and a banana. For lunch I had a spinach salad with half a avocado, lemon juice and a little extra virgin olive oil, and finished the rest of the master cleanse; I took the nine capsules and went to work. An hour into work and I was starving! I had a banana and drank as much water as I could. For dinner I had steamed veggies (broccoli, snap peas, carrots, mushrooms, and asparagus) with some lemon juice. Before bed I had a tangerine and finished the rest of the capsules for the day. I went to bed around 3am and not looking forward to the liver flush.
Day 2 Sunday 02/07/10
Woke up at 8:30am, went for a light 20 min jog. I made the master cleanse and liver flush, the flush was HORRIBLE!! I drank about half the master cleanse and had a banana. I took all fifteen capsules and drank a little more of the master cleanse. Ran some errands, and finished up on some reading. Lunch I had a spinach salad with half of an avocado, lemon juice and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Not a big football fan so I went shopping with a friend while the boys watched the game and barbecued. After 2 hours of shopping and we were feeling super hungry and we went to Brodard and I had two vegetarian spring rolls, and did a little more shopping afterwards. Went home and had some steamed veggies (broccoli, carrots, shitake mushrooms, snap peas, and asparagus) one cup of cooked quinoa and a tropical fruit bar from Trader Joes for dessert. Took the rest of the capsules for the day and went to bed around 10pm, thinking about salmon and sourdough bread.
Day 3 Monday 02/08/10
Woke up at 7am, and feeling pretty good, wasn’t as groggy as usual. Made the master cleanse, and liver flush. I grabbed a banana, took the capsules and off to class. For lunch I had a spinach salad with grilled veggies (onion, asparagus, mushrooms, garlic) and a cup of cantaloupe. Finished my last class of the day and went home. Dinner: ½ of quinoa, grilled asparagus and mushrooms. I did not get a chance to work out today. Before bedtime snack: one Fuji apple. Went to be at 11pm.
Day 4 Tuesday 02/09/10
Woke up at 7am, feeling completely rested and full of energy, went for a 30 min jog. I made master cleanse and liver flush. Before class I had a banana. For lunch it was a spinach salad with half a avocado, tomatoes, kidney beans, and cucumbers with a little lemon juice. Snack: a cup of fresh strawberries. Dinner: Steamed veggies (broccoli, carrots, snap peas, asparagus, and shitake mushrooms) with a little lemon juice and black pepper. Surprisingly I haven’t been craving any meat, or dairy, wish I could say the same for sugar. Russ gave me a good suggestion to help with the sugar cravings, dried mango!  Went to bed around 12:30 am.
Day 5 Wednesday 02/10/10
Woke up at 7am relieved that the liver flush was finally over! Did 30 min of pilates, and afterwards made master cleanse and had a fruit bowl (banana, strawberries, blueberries) for breakfast. Lunch: spinach salad with avocado, cucumbers, and a little lemon juice. For a snack I had a Trade Joes tropical fruit bar. Dinner: one cup cooked quinoa and grilled veggies (shitake mushrooms, asparagus, and zucchini). Went to bed at 10:30pm.
Day 6 Thursday 02/11/10
Woke up at 6:45 am, and for the first time in years without the alarm clock!!! I’m feeling very well rested and ready to start the day! I did 30 min of pilates and made the master cleanse and took the morning set of capsules and had 8oz of freshly juiced fruits (apples, oranges, cumbers, carrots). For a snack I had one banana. I’ve realized the key to helping me stay full is drink lots and lots of water. Lunch: steamed veggies (broccoli, carrots, asparagus, and mushroom) and 1 cup of brown rice. Dinner: just some fresh strawberries. Just one more day of the master cleanse left! I’m really looking forward to this weekend!! I’ll be in San Diego celebrating Chinese New Year with the family, Can’t wait to get my grub on! Went to bed a 10pm.
Day 7 Friday 02/12/10
Last day of the master cleanse! Woke up at 6:30am and went for a 30 min jog. Made the last master cleanse and took the morning set of capsules. Breakfast: a bowl of fresh fruits (strawberries, banana). Snack: dried mango. Lunch: grilled veggies (broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms) and one cup of brown rice. It was off to work for about 6 hours, after that I was so tired I had no appetite to eat anything, so before bed I had one banana and fresh strawberries and finished the rest of the capsules.

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Cleanse phase 2

March 8th, 2010

So until now we have been following everybody doing their cleanses.  You have a good idea that changing your diet to all fruits and veggies can have some dramatic impacts on your mood and energy level.  However, it is good for cleaning out the system and re-setting your body inside.

We still have a couple people that I will get you the end of their cleanses, but now we are going to focus on phase 2.  Phase 2 involves healthy eating for the rest of the trial month.  So for 3 weeks there will be no dairy, no eggs and meat in the form of poultry or fish will only be consumed a maximum of twice per week.  Not two days of meat, but two meals where meat is consumed.  Refined sugars will be cut out or way down as well as fried foods.  After the cleanse we have already started changing the food preferences of our bodies and now we will continue to feed it fresh fruits and veggies while including whole grains, sprouted breads, beans and nuts.  This is the ideal diet for the experiment and the one that is most proven (scientifically) around the world to promote long term health and minimize disease.

In addition to reporting people’s progress I will be asking them questions throughout the month and also providing some critical analysis of their progress for you to get a deeper understanding of how these changes affect the body.

Thank you to The Ultimate Energy Cleanse for sponsoring phase 1.  For phase 2 Yerba Prima fiber and Nordic Naturals fish oil will be the primary sponsors as we continue to clean out and rebuild our bodies.

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There’s something fishy going on in the supplement world

March 5th, 2010

Most everyone knows that fish oil is my favorite supplement.  If you didn’t–FISH OIL IS MY FAVORITE SUPPLEMENT.  I don’t take very many supplements because I believe that the majority of our nutrition for optimal health should be coming from fresh food.  Learning what to eat, how to eat and how to take care of our planet responsibly is what we do here on The Body Blog.  Everyone has a slant though and ours is learning what and how to eat to achieve longevity (live the most amount of years possible) in a vibrant and healthful way (not getting diseases or cancers) while be responsible to the planet.

Both goals are intimately connected.  Taking it a step further, I believe that in addition to living disease (and sickness) free lives, we are learning how to slow the effects of aging on our bodies which will result in living longer while staying healthy.  Imagine how amazing it will be at 80 years old to run, jump, play like you’re in your 30’s or 40’s.  Wouldn’t it be amazing at 100 years old to be living in your own home, keeping house enjoying all the advancements in future technology and experiencing all that life has to offer?

Exercise is king, nutrition is queen and correct supplementation is the jack.  The ace in the hole is being lucky enough to survive the tragic uncertainties life throws at us.  It is becoming scientifically evident that eating less meat and more vegetables is a major factor to long-lived health.  Also at the same time science is proving that enriching our diets with a plentiful amount of omega-3 fatty acids is health promoting and longevity enhancing.  The most abundant form of long medium and short chain omega-3s comes from sea creatures.  Fish have proven to be the most sustainable, healthy form of this supply.  If eating more fish isn’t the answer (refer to earlier blogs on the safety/dangers of eating more fish) then how do we get more of the fatty acid from the fish?  Fish oil.

All are not created equal though and there are some major differences with fish oil manufacturers.  Just like any major purchase you tend to get what you pay for.  Fish oil can have a negative net impact on you if you end up consuming a brand of rancid fish oil or one with toxins or heavy metals etc.  Sometimes giving your body supplements ends up hurting you if they aren’t high quality and pure.  Vitamins can be the same way.  If you’re going to spend your money to get an inferior or ineffective product, you may as well save it instead of flushing it down the toilet.

So, fish oil, my favorite supplement; friend or foe?  Friend, BUT you’ll want to hear about this: http://www.justicenewsflash.com/2010/03/04/lawsuit-filed-connection-undeclared-pcbs-fish-oil-supplements_201003043556.html

This is what led me to Nordic Naturals fish oils years ago.  This is why I felt good about negotiating a 15% discount with them for all Body Blog readers and members of our Health and Wellness Education group on Facebook.  That is why the founder of the company felt compelled to write this letter for all of us in response to the lawsuit:

March 4, 2010

Dear valued customer,

In an effort to address recent media announcements, Nordic Naturals would like to assure all of our loyal supporters that we have and will continue to ensure safety and purity for our products. We would like to reiterate that all Nordic Naturals products surpass all PCB standards set by California’s Proposition 65, the GOED voluntary monograph, and all international standards. Nordic Naturals products were not listed in the lawsuit filed in California alleging that eight fish oil companies did not properly label products regarding PCB levels under the state’s Proposition 65. In fact, we believe our fish oils are the purest in the world.

Since 1995, Nordic Naturals has been setting the standards for fish oil excellence while delivering third- party test results that reveal industry-leading purity and freshness. We believe that consumers should have access to accurate information about environmental contaminants and that complete transparency around freshness and purity is essential.

We have always taken a proactive approach to provide individuals with information regarding the purity, safety, and efficacy of our products. Using the most advanced testing methods to detect PCBs, third- party tests show that all our fish oils have no detectable levels at one part per trillion of Non-Ortho and Mono-Ortho PCBs (the most harmful PCBs, which are not covered by Prop 65) and total PCBs are well below the Prop 65 limit of 0.09 μg/kg (90 nanograms, 0.09 ppm, or 90 ppb).

Nordic Naturals starts with the best raw material available—fish low on the food chain, which naturally contain low levels of impurities and high levels of omega-3 fats. Our multi-patented manufacturing processes, accompanied by leading-edge processing technologies, deliver fish oil with exceptional freshness and purity levels. Nordic Naturals fish oils are documented to be completely pure, with no detected heavy metals or environmental contaminants when third-party tested at levels 10 times below the stringent European Pharmacopeia, CRN, GOED, and IFOS standards.

As a pioneer and innovator, Nordic Naturals has created a new definition of fish oil quality as it relates to freshness, taste, dosage, and, most importantly, purity, reinforcing our commitment to conduct business truthfully and authentically in the fish oil industry.

We greatly appreciate your continued trust and support. In health,

Joar Opheim CEO

Phone: 831.724.6200 | Toll Free: 800.662.2544 | Fax: 831.724.6600 94 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076 | info@nordicnaturals.com | nordicnaturals.com

Remember that if you are going to take a step forward to better health, knowing what and how to do is just as important as doing.  Nordic Naturals is in my opinion the best fish oil available and with the 15% discount they have given us, they are even more affordable to get the best health possible.  I’ll have future blogs comparing supplements and talking about quality for more than just fish oil.  Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you soon.

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The Health War: Soy benefits?

March 4th, 2010

Halt on the cleanse for a minute.  Here on The Body Blog we have been advocating a diet more rich with plant foods, less processed foods, and minimal meat consumption.  For anyone who eats the typical American diet, this can be a tough pill to swallow.  We are change averse as humans and so to open our minds up to new things generally takes a tremendous amount of will power.  For people used to eating a lot of meat, even if they are considering eating more plants, they tend to look at meat-like substitutes.  Generally, this means soy and the wide array of soy based products available in the market place.

A common obstacle for people is a crap load of conflicting information about soy.  Is it good for you?  Does it promote breast cancer?  etc etc.

This type of press usually evokes a sense of fear and since people as a rule are change averse gives them a reason not to have an open mind.  I would like to remind all the readers out there that the Japanese diet, specifically studied in Okinawa is rich with soy products and they have had some of the lowest cancer rates in the world.  I say that to remind you when you are reading an article knocking soy to think logically.

Here is a recent article that gives some scientific evidence about the benefits of soy:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neal-barnard-md/settling-the-soy-controve_b_453966.html

I just wanted to make the case for eating a healthier, less processed, more plants, higher fiber diet while you are reading about everybody making changes with their cleanses.  You can do it too.  You should do it (for better health).  Thanks for reading and tomorrow I have a special revelation about my favorite supplement: fish oil.

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Mylene’s first couple days on the cleanse

March 3rd, 2010

So I introduced you to Mylene yesterday, and now I wanted to let her share the first two days with you.  Some cleanses are a couple days, so me a few weeks.  Some don’t want you to eat which would be more accurately a fast and some don’t specify you change anything about your eating habits.

I will point out that fasting is completely different although not a bad thing.  The purpose is the same, to encourage and stimulate your body to release toxins that are stored in your fat stores and organs but they just do it in different ways and to different degrees.  The Ultimate Energy Cleanse remember is designed to clean out some toxins and encourage your body to reset a little bit while eating very healthy foods.  The healthy foods are key because hopefully after the cleanse you will want more of them and less “bad for you” food.  We are getting close to the time when I will start giving you post-cleanse updates for people so make sure to subscribe to The Body Blog (top right of the home page) at www.worldhealthhub.com

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Mylene Jimenez

Hello hello! Just to refresh your memory my name is MYLENE JIMENEZ! I’m one lucky girl to have such a great friend like Russ in my life to guide me through this cleanse and hopefully a great life changing experience. Let me just remind you all that I probably wouldn’t have done this cleanse if I didn’t trust both RUSS and the product. Before I bore you with my personal diary I just want to also remind you that though it may sound like I was having a tough time with this… I am not your typical 9-5 working girl… I’m a restaurant manager at PF Changs and during this cleanse I was in the midst of working 9 straight long days! Might I also add that I love COFFEE and pretty much anything and everything sweet! My typical day would consist of at least 2 cups of coffee and something sweet….

Day 1 Saturday 02/06/10I woke up late today at 11am and had to rush and buy ingredients for the cleanse! I was taking so long I had one of my best friends Grace make my master cleanse and bring it to work for me! I took all the capsules needed for the morning….Breakfast: 1 banana with almond butterLunch: bowl of berries (strawberries and raspberries) 1 banana and took all the capsules needed. Dinner: Buddha’s Feast from PF Changs, which include the following vegetables: shitake mushrooms, carrots, snap peas, broccoli and asparagus. I ordered this dish steamed!I came home from work at around 11pm and took the rest of the capsules I had to take! This was one tough start for me…. I worked from 3:30pm till about 2am the night before and was feeling exhausted from the moment I woke and by the end of the day I was feeling horrible….. The caffeine and sugar withdrawal was kicking in already

Day 2 SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!! 02/07/10I woke up at 7:30am this morning and made my master cleanse and hurried to work by 9am! I made it early and made my liver flush which turned out quite thick! I didn’t have a super juicer like the VITA MIX or anything … I just used a normal blender that was conveniently at the work place. Breakfast: For breakfast the liver flush kept me quite full for the most part. I finished the other half of the grapefruit after it took me about 30 minutes to drink the thick liver flush! Lunch: Bowl of mixed berries with raspberries and strawberriesI was able to go home today by 3:30pm to watch the rest of the Super Bowl!!! So I was actually able to fix myself something to eat! When I got home my boyfriend and his friends were all chowing down on delicious looking sub sandwiches and chips and salsa not to mention pecan tarts that looked so delicious! Being it was only my second day … I had to keep strong.. I had only just begun.. I was determined not to crumble… with that said for dinner I had the following…Dinner: ½ cup of quinoa with broccoli, red onions and avocados … let me remind you that today was SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!! Ahhhhhhhh… this was one tough day… I took all the capsules needed today… the only thing I had issues with was chugging down the thick liver flush I had made!!!

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Introducing Mylene Jimenez

March 2nd, 2010

Going from the tallest guy to now the shortest girl, Mylene is an awesome person I must say and know how she ate before this cleanse I would just like to say:  If she can do it, so can you!  The Ultimate Energy Cleanse can be a challenge as Billy described yesterday.  It takes discipline and determination.  Think about it though: what worth doing in life doesn’t?

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Mylene Jimenez

Irvine, Ca

28 years old

5′1

I am a Restaurant Manager @ PF Changs and I work around 50+ hours a week!

My typical diet consists of at least 2 cups of coffee with a lot of cream and sugar.  I try to eat breakfast as often as possible and when I do I normally eat cereal..(cereals like Apple Jacks, Cheerios, ) for lunch I eat whatever is convenient… I love sandwiches, soups, salads, fruits sushi, rice.. I LOVE FOOD and I love to try all kinds of things…I’m very open minded when it comes to food…I recently tried Venezuelan Food and loved it!!!  I usually end up stuffing myself at lunch and usually don’t have an appetite for dinner…  If there is one thing you need to know .. it is that I LOVE, LOVE anything sweet!  I’m definitely a sugar addict!!!  I don’t smoke or drink.. my only little vice is sugar :)

I DO NOT CONSIDER MY DIET HEALTHY.  I try but it gets ruined by all the sugar.

Favorite food???  I love anything and everything… I just love anything that has good flavor… I especially love anything sweet like apple cobblers, cupcakes you name it I love it.

Weekly food expense?? $100 bucks??

I just got a membership at LA Fitness and I work out 3 times a week now!  I do at least 30 minutes of cardio and about an hour of weights.. I do change it up and try to take classes as well… Working on getting fit!

FOR FUN?  I like to hang out with friends and eat out!  Thats really all I have time to do… I love to relax at home and watch tv shows I never have time to watch on HULU!

I DO NOT DRINK OR SMOKE!!

No KIDS, boyfriend only

I get sick hmmmmm… maybe once a year…it’s quite mild when it does occur…

Mylene’s first 2 days on the cleanse on The Body Blog tomorrow.

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Meet William Strickland

March 1st, 2010

I am going to give you all 6 feet 9 inches of William (or “Billy” as I knew him from the volleyball world) Strickland in one dose today.  He has been inquisitive over the last year about eating healthier.  It is certainly not a weight issue, but he seems to have a genuine interest in this whole “health thing.”

In the professional world William is not like (most of) us.  He is a California attorney AND a professional beach volleyball player on the AVP tour.  The point of this whole experiment is to illustrate that we are all pretty much the same in that we are busy no matter what we do for work.  Living a healthier and greener lifestyle is like making any kind of change: hard at first and then it becomes easier.  We may not all be able to relate to being an attorney or professional athlete but what we can relate to is not having a ton of extra free time.  We can choose to invest a little bit of time and effort now into becoming healthier or we can spend a lot of time wishing we did later in life when we are in a hospital bed contemplating our choices.  So once again, I would like to thank all the cleanse participants for doing this and sharing with the world.  I would also like to thank the people regularly reading this blog and sharing it with others.  Recommendations from people we trust is the tried and true marketing strategy.  Ok Russ, shut up, and William (Billy) the stage is yours!

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Full Name: Bill Strickland

Resides: Manhattan Beach, CA

Age: 29

height: 6′9″

What is your occupation and how many hours do you work each week? Lawyer and volleyball player  - 50hours

What your typical diet consists of: Lots of milk. Cereal. Eggs. Salad. Turkey. some red meat. rice. beans. chicken. Fish. pasta

Do you consider your diet healthy? (the first answer that comes to mind) somewhat.

Favorite Food(s): Fish. sushi. Pasta

Weekly food expense (average/approximate): $130

What you do for exercise (if any) and how often: Play volleyball, lift weights.  20-30 hours per week.

What you do for fun: movies, play guitar, talk on the phone with friends.

Do you drink/smoke? yes drink, no smoke

Kids? Married/Significant other? single

How often would you say you get sick? How severe or mild? How long does it

last? once every two months I will get a head cold for a week.

weight: 225
Friday 2/12 – I was Pretty excited about the cleanse and felt that I
had all the supplies I needed, having spent $200+ at trader joe’s
which was a record for me by far. All my grocery bags sat on the table
because there was no room to store all the stuff. My roommate had
decided to bail on the cleanse, unfortunately. I cooked up a large
batch of quinoa and added in my Cumin, which I did not know very much
about before, but really love it. I also started working in a lot of
cayenne pepper for taste. I went to my friend’s 30th birthday party in
Hollywood that night and turned down a few cocktail offers in favor of
water. People were very interested in the cleanse. Their main response
though was to make sure that I was not doing it in order to lose
weight, because I am already skinny. I am assured them it was not.

Saturday 2/13 – I did some sprint workouts at Mira Costa high school,
but kept it relatively light. Stuck with my regular foods – quinoa,
almond butter. I took this Saturday night to just rest, which is the
first time in a long time I have not made it out on the town. It was
nice to have an excuse to take it easy. I was feeling pretty tired so
it was easy to fall asleep.

Sunday 2/14 – Met up with a friend who was visiting from New York at
Joan’s on Third, which looked like one of the most delicious food
courts in the world. I ordered fresh squeezed orange juice because I
did not know what the other food was cooked in. Before coming though I
made sure to fill up on a quinoa. Later I went on a walk down to Palos
Verdes.  I found it slightly difficult to plan outing because I would
need to coordinate “my feeding” with my plans, because I could not
just rely on stopping by a food place. I either had to bring the
quinoa in a Tupperware or make sure I was not away from the house for
more than three hours.

Monday 2/15 – Trained volleyball against Keenan and Jennings with a
coach so it was a very fast paced practice. On top of this it was a
unusually hot day. I struggled a little bit at first but started to
feel a little bit better throughout the practice. I felt that my
muscles were fatiguing faster due to my cleanse. Had celery and almond
butter for lunch. Later in the day went for a long hike, which turned
out to be my worst idea. It was a beautiful hike in Malibu, but after
I could barely move. I just lay down for two hours watching tv. I felt
like I badly needed a Gatorade. I stopped for coconut water, even
though I do not think I was supposed to have it this day. And downed a
whole quart of it. Thought it would replace the missing electrolytes,
although I don’t really know what I am talking about.

Tuesday 2/16 – This was the worst I felt. I exerted too much energy
yesterday between the training and the hike. Had my regular food all
day – quinoa, broccoli, onions, almond butter, and various fruits. Got
my juice from whole foods – became friends with the guy there. I tried
a double shot of wheat grass for the first time in my life, which I
did not like. I am not sure if this is due to my overall bad state,
though. I had decided to give up on the cleanse telling myself that my
training was more important than the cleanse, and I was not able to
train the way I wanted. I got a good pep talk from Canyon Ceman who
made me realize that my expectations for training need to come down
during the cleanse and that it would be worth it. Russ Marchewka also
lent encouraging words. I pushed on through it and just rested my body
all of Tuesday. Finishing the cleanse became more about a will power
thing for me than obtaining the benefits of the cleanse.

Wednesday 2/17 – Still felt pretty bad in the morning, but started to
feel better around mid-day. Took it pretty easy all day, eating the
regular foods mentioned above. I did a light run and stretched out on
the beach making sure I did not over exert myself. I went to see
Wolfman that night in the theatre and resisted the popcorn, even
though the person next to me was eating it. I missed going out to eat
dinner with friends – that night I had to pass again.

Thursday 2/18 – Had mango, apple, and banana for breakfast. Trained
for volleyball for about two hours and felt much better than I did on
Monday. Have been craving milk though after workouts.  Had a big lunch
of millet and quinoa mixed with spinach, snap peas, and onions that I
cooked in olive oil. This was by far the best meal that I had. Went to
another movie on Thursday night, When in Rome. This was not my choice,
but it was okay. Again the smell of popcorn was a little bit
overwhelming. At least this time though the person next to me was not
eating it.

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No Impact Man made an Impact (on me)

February 28th, 2010

Watching this movie kind of reminded me of the movie I commented on awhile back, Julie and Julia.  It really is the intriguing story through someone’s journey of personal growth.  Watching the movie, I couldn’t help but think about all the things I put my girlfriend through and all the sacrifices I have asked her to make in helping me stick to the project at hand.  The most inspirational thing is that Terri has kind of run with it and now she inspires me to be a more responsible steward to the planet because of her devotion to it.  We aren’t what you would think a stereotypical hippie, but part of a new generation with a stronger social and global conscience of responsibility and accountability.

An important thing to remember is not to let smug form in a cloud above your head (like the South Park episode).  We will never inspire others to make changes if the attitude that we project is:  ”I’m better than you are, why don’t you be more like me?”  If you act like you are better than me and that pisses me off, why would I ever want to make changes to aspire to be like you?  I don’t want to be you.  I want to be me!

This is the challenge that I feel I have in front of me.  See I have found great benefit in working to eat healthier and understand nutrition.  I have found great satisfaction in taking small steps to have less environmental impact.  However, I find myself putting duct tape over my mouth (metaphorically) when I start to get preachy as I inevitably do.  I don’t want to tell others what they should do.  I just want to tell others about what I feel I should do.  If that inspires you to take actions on your own and in your own unique way, then I feel happy about that.

Colin Beavan had similar experiences that I can relate to.  He advertised that he had no impact but the sobering point in the documentary is when he is talking to an ex-hippie who lets Colin help him with his urban farming plot in the city.  The man points out that even though Colin talks this big talk he still has to charge is computer with electricity to blog (he didn’t always have the solar panel), he still has to take the train to go visit the farm he buys food from, his wife works at a magazine that prints millions of copies a year using paper and ink products not to mention electricity etc…BIG surprise that Colin isn’t perfect?  Not really, he’s human living in a modern world with rule sets that govern everyday life.  He’s making an honest effort though.

I, Russ Marchewka advertise a concept to eat perfectly, but I don’t do it perfectly all the time.  I strive to be better but always fall short of the standards I hope to achieve.  I am busy just like everyone else and I eat processed foods occasionally, and sweets sometimes that have sugar, eggs and milk in them.  Honestly, I really do try to avoid them, but I am a normal human being that doesn’t always read food labels.  I screw up and fail to meet my own standards more often than never.  The point is that if we are motivated enough to set high standards for ourselves, even if we don’t meet them, aren’t we still better off for having tried?  I’d rather shoot for the stars and end up in the clouds than never tried at all.

I don’t want to go without electricity for 6 months.  I have a lot of stuff going on, BUT I can turn off the lights more frequently and shut down my computer instead of leaving it on.  I can walk to Trader joe’s more often instead of driving my car over there.  I can actively search out products to buy that have less or no packaging.  When I do buy things in packages I can try to buy only those which I can fully recycle.  These are all little things that aren’t glamourous but could make a real difference if everyone did them.

The same for health and nutrition.  Little steps like learning that it takes 500 times more water to raise a pound of beef than a pound of spinach and yet calorie for calorie there is more protein, vitamins and minerals in the spinach than in the meat.  Learning is the first step to making changes.  Once we learn something, our conscience takes over and tells us to make changes or not to care.

It’s not realistic to live in a city and not create trash or waste, but its possible as shown by Colin Beavan in “No Impact Man.”  The same for me and what I do.  It’s not realistic to eat perfectly all the time, eat raw organic foods, drink pure 100% clean water, breath non-polluted air etc.  It can be done though and I feel like the lesson in this is exactly the same as in the movie:  If it can be done, you’re not doing it, but you support the idea, then why not push out of your comfort zone a little bit and make a couple small changes that you know you can?  In addition to making a few small changes, try and inspire a few others to do as you did: make a few small changes and inspire a few others.

Look, I am not trying to get a movie or a book deal out of this blog.  As I have said before, my only motivation is to share some sensible ideas with whomever is reading.  If you like what you read then please share it with a few others and so on.  All I want is to create a website that allows people to get easy to understand information about eating better, living better and being better tenants of the planet.  As with any website the goal is to make some money, but all I want the money for is so that instead of working at a job for money, my job can be working to educate others on what I am so passionate about.  I am not trying to fool anybody or trick anybody into supporting what I do.  However, if you are someone who does support/agree with the ideas that I am sharing in some way, then maybe you can take that small step to helping me achieve my dream too?  Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you soon.  Please don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and join our Health and Wellness Education Facebook group too.

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No Impact Man

February 27th, 2010

We’ll take a one day break from the cleanse stuff.  I will introduce you to William Strickland on Monday and he’ll tell you his story.  For today I wanted to remind everyone that The Body Blog, besides giving health and nutrition advice is also committed to going green in 2010.  What good is living for 100+ years in good health if all that extra time is spent on the planet that we f***ed up?

Most of us likely have seen Avatar or Dances With Wolves.  Movies like these communicate the important relationship that we as humans have with nature.  I am not talking religion with you, but simply pointing out that everything we have we owe to nature and the world around us.  Sure our ingenuity and intelligence enabled us to evolve and rise to the top of the food chain.  Our consumption habits can only last so long though.

I watched “No Impact Man” last night.  It is the story of an author, Colin Beavan who lives in New York with his wife and young daughter.  He decides to do an experiment for a year to erase his carbon footprint.  Essentially he takes steps throughout the experiment to reduce and eliminate different aspects of his life that create greenhouse gases.  First he eliminates buying products with packaging so as to not create trash, stops using motorized transit, buys locally grown food that travels less than 250 miles to the farmer’s market he buys at and cuts the electricity to his home for 6 months using only a solar panel to power his computer.

The movie is a combination of following “no impact man” around town seeing what he does and a series of personal interviews with him, his family and friends to give a personal touch to the whole experiment.  Major media outlets in New York follow his progress and have him on their shows to promote the project.  You may have heard of it before.  I vaguely remember his project being on my radar but I don’t remember it having much impact on my thoughts or feelings when I heard about it.

Well times are a changin’ and now that my awareness is greater and my eco-responsibility heightened, I want to help promote this concept as well.  There are also a lot of thoughts and feelings I have on the matter as they apply to health and nutrition.  Turns out that the health of the planet and our personal health are connected.  Strange huh?  In addition, there are a lot of similarities that I noticed with what the man went through and what I am feeling in this process of trying to promote health and nutrition.  I would love to share them with you tomorrow.  For today, maybe you could spend a couple minutes to research “No Impact Man” on the internet.  I highly recommend watching the movie as well.  That way you can more fully understand what we are trying to do here at The Body Blog.  The goal of any idealist is to of course change the world.  Then reality hits and we realize that all we can do is inspire you to change your world.  If all we do is change ourselves in the process then the journey is worth it, albeit a little disappointing when we realize how much more there is to be done.  See you tomorrow.  Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you soon.

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Back to business, Theresa finishes the cleanse

February 26th, 2010

Sorry about yesterday.  What a pain in the ass having to change my passwords to EVERYTHING online.  Don’t do anything with a company called me2everyone.  I thought I could help increase our world wide exposure and all I ended up doing was screwing myself over.

So anyway, here are Theresa’s days 5,6,7 of The Ultimate Energy Cleanse.  The Body Blog will be introducing you to a couple more people in the next week doing the cleanse.  After that we will being following up with everyone after the cleanse and seeing how they are doing.  Blood results will be posted after the month is over.  We are starting to get some interesting results!

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Theresa Stoumbos

Day 5 (2/10/10)

Morning= Master Cleanse and an apple with an increased amount of Yerba Prima capsules.

Lunch= Salad (spinach, pineapple, carrots, cucumber, bean sprouts, olive oil, artichoke) and caffeine free tea

Dinner= Didn’t get home from school until after 8.30. Tired and really thirsty so I made a second master cleanse and that kind of became my dinner (I’ve got to stop being so lazy and make a salad for dinner. It’s just that Wednesdays and Thursdays are my long days at school). Increased amount of Yerba Prima capsules. Caffeine free tea.

Day 6 (2/11/10)

Morning= Master Cleanse- banana – cleanse capsules

Lunch= avocado with cucumber and apple

Dinner= steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and artichoke with a spinach salad (spinach, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, olive oil, and plume vinegar) Prima Yerba capsules

Dessert= Banana

Day 7 (2/12/10)

Morning = Master Cleanse – cleanse capsules

Lunch = salad (spinach, cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts, olive oil and plum vinegar) – handful of raw almonds – banana

Dinner= Quinoa mac salad – apple – cleanse capsules

Dessert = banana with drizzled maple syrup

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