Bring on the New Year

 

Hello All,

 

2014 was a good year over all, I checked my list of resolutions and made good headway on all of them. We started our own small business “Shona Skye Creative” which offers creative photography and also any side projects we do like making light sabers or bits of homemade art. My band the basement gypsies also released a CD “Cellar Door” in 2014 and its on sale on Amazon and ITunes  all of which is very exciting for me. My wife and I spent many a Saturday this year helping out with transporting dogs across the state to a no kill shelter, I have found this is an excellent use of a day by the way.

So all well and good, so what’s in store for the new year??!

1. I want to take my fitness to the next level, I no longer worry about scales I’m more concerned with my size and my strength. As of just this winter I can do one chin up (this was impossible for me for the past 20 years at least) so right off the bat I want to gain more muscle so I can do 10 or 20 chin ups and then pull ups (harder still).

2. This pass year I learned more about primal cooking and in 2015 I want to double that and see how much I more I can learn to cook. Be fearless in the kitchen!

3. My biggest challenge is finding someone who wants my service as a life coach, I have a few people interested but so far no one has committed for more than a day.  Change is hard and very slow in rewards so its not for everyone. I would love to hear from anyone who is need of a little help or motivation.

4. I want to fill each month with new projects and events to attend.

5. I look forward to growing our business in the new year and see how far we can take it.

6. I want to find arrowheads, this is a new obsession for me.

I plan on keeping up my day to day challenges in the new year ,walk five miles every day, eat primal as much as I can, get out side as often as I can, laugh often, write new music,love my family and friends  and continue to work on my blog.

I would love to hear your lists or thoughts, I hope the new year is filled with joy and challenges for you to overcome with your wisdom and strength.

Peace and Love all!

Habit forming

 

You can form healthy habits! (end of blog) OK  here’s what you can do to form healthy habits and nothing is that hard to do.

My old days use to go something like this I would wake up at the very last minute and grab a cup of coffee and race to work feeling stressed and over tired. The coffee would give me enough jolt to make it to work where I would grab some candy out of the machine .  At lunch I would head over to a fast food chain and get a large cheese burger and milkshake and onion rings by 2pm I would be ready for a nap. I would get home and take a nap drag myself out of bed for a large dinner of whatever we had and ate several servings. I would make a giant bowl of popcorn cooked in vegetable oil and   laced with butter and salt. I might have two beers with that to wash it down. I would take my pills for GURD (acid reflex causing me to cough up blood) only to toss and turn all night with burning acid and sleep apnea, only to wake up and repeat. I started to change , first I got a dose of reality I was over 45 overweight and running out of time. I took a sleep study and found that I quit breathing several times a night. My blood work results said I was border line diabetic and I was given a script for my blood pressure. I was on the road to a very painful death.

I wasted a lot of time doing the wrong thing looking for a quick fix, OK this always going to be WRONG!!! This is about your life time not 30 days of no bread and pasta and that’s all.

You need to change forever. Start slow and make trade offs all day long something good for something bad.

 

 

1. Mental health : You have to wrap your mind around the fact that this is a life change.

2. Cardio: You have to move… a lot more then you think.

3. Strength :  Start with your own body weight, then move on to the gym.

My day now starts with me up before my alarm goes off and I start off my morning with a smoothie  of Almond vanilla milk and a banana and some blueberries. Lunch I now enjoy a protein shake followed by a mile walk around my work campus. Dinner is salad with meat and maybe a sweet potato. If I want a snack I will have almonds or banana chips. I often have a glass or two of red wine at night. If its good weather I go for a long slow walk and if  its winter I head to the gym.

 

To this day I add something new each month and try and get rid of something bad. Slow steady movement to the correct path. I make little rules for me to follow and little goals to reach.

I point all this out because I was so out of touch I could not walk two blocks with out wanting to quit. I changed my mindset, quit blaming the world and decided it was up to me.

I still stumble, have bad days but I never stay down. I do not lie to myself. I am thrilled with my results but now my next goal is just as far away from me as was losing all that fat over  the last few years.

You can change, I see it in people everyday at the gym or out on the trails.

Start today, make a list of whatever it is you want to do and start heading the right direction.

 

Peace and Love all

Delayed Muscle Soreness (the dreaded second day pain)

 

So I joined a gym after saying I would never join a gym. OK never say never, gotta remember that. The cold weather is starting and I thought it was time to find some other ways to keep moving so the short story is I joined a gym. The longer story is I am very much a fish out of water and I wanted to share with you my experience when I returned to a gym well really the first time since high school.

This local gym has a great deal $10.00 a month and I have 24 hour access (for those nights when I feel like jogging at 3AM this will really pay for its self). They even offer a free session with a trainer who is very young and crazy fit. Now I’m feeling pretty fit my self in the fact that I walk five miles a day and I toss around a 35lb Kettle bell a few times a week. Well this was an error on my part I am not fit, I was confused with James Bond who I was watching at the time just before I pulled into the gym in my Aston Martin DB5 sleek gray (in the States they pronounce it Ford Focus). My trainer lets call him Dr. No insisted on putting me through the paces jumping jacks, push ups, squats, planks and every now and then Dr. No would ask if I needed a drink of water or felt like throwing up. Well at no point did I throw up, very close but I held it in. Long last the 12 minutes of torture were over and the good Dr. said I had very poor form but was surprised that I had good endurance.  Yeah for endurance and I intend to work on my form. I left the gym and was enjoying the cool air ,drove home just five minutes to my house and found that my legs had turned to rubber in that short time. I sorta danced like the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz into my house and made it to my chair. The memory of the second day pain returned. Delayed Muscle Soreness DOMS!!

No one is actually sure what causes DOMS but trust me its real. I use to workout on Sunday mornings with a martial arts expert and every Tuesday I would suffer. Now all these years later I new the dreaded second day would arrive.

On the morning of the second day I felt such amazing pain from my hips to my knees, my arms, back were just fine (thank you kettle bell) but my thighs were burning from years of never bending my knees or ever doing a squat correctly. In my job I have to go up and down stairs a lot and each step was a fresh new hell. So what do you do about DOMS.

1. Pain killers  ( your choice)

2. Ice then heat back and forth

3. Soak in a hot tub

4. Take two days break

5. Suck it up cowboy and get back on the horse!

I did all of these except I don’t have a horse, I did soak in a hot tub, and took some pain killers, but the thing that helped me the most was I stretched my legs every morning and through out the day I forced myself up and down the stairs. The next day or so was a little bit better and tonight I returned to the gym and hit the treadmill, rowing machine and worked out on several weight machines. I remember my dad saying every August when he coached me in soccer time to get your soccer muscles ready again. That first week was always hard but it got better very quickly.

Some guys dig the pain is a sick way because they know they are breaking new ground and they are up for the challenge. Well I don’t care for the pain but I know I can tough through it and so can you. The results you want will come in time, its not easy but its also not impossible.

This time of year I leave for work in the dark and come and its dark. My near by trail is closed when the sun goes down , so for me a gym is the perfect response to this time of year.

I have set some goals for myself for the next 12 weeks and I continue to up date my progress here on these pages in the week to come.

Its now day three and you know what ? my legs are little sore still but not so stiff I’m going have bath and soak a bit yet but I’m glad I was back at the gym tonight. I can’t let Dr. NO think I have quit.. that just would not be right.

Peace and Love all

21 days of paleo

 

Hello All,

First off 99% of this information I gathered from reading Mark Sisson’s Primal blue print, I can not recommend this book enough. It simply changed my life for the better. The one percent that I have to offer is my personal experience trying the paleo lifestyle.

Just to recap about three years ago I started paleo and after losing over a hundred pounds of fat I slacked a bit and a good 25lbs came back. This year 2014 I decided to get more focused on not just the food but working out. The results for me were I quickly lost the 25lbs and replaced it with lean muscle. OK so what is the big secret to losing fat and gaining lean muscle?? EAT REAL FOOD AND MOVE MORE! That’s it ,but here is my take on the 21 day challenge from Mr. Sisson.

 

Give up all  of the following : Bread, Pasta,Milk, Sugar, Vegetable oil, all grains so no Corn .

Still with me??  Ok then what can I eat?

Eggs, Meat, Chicken,Fish, vegetables, fruits, smoothies, Red wine,coffee,Almond milk, almond butter,coconut butter and coconut milk Nuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans

Work out;

everyday no exceptions 10,000 steps that’s less then five miles and you can break it up through out your day. Grab a fitbit or whatever gadget you choose and keep track of your steps.

Push ups, squats,planks and pull ups (still working on these) Use your own body weight for a workout.

I love to workout with Kettlebells but yard work is just as good.

In the primal blueprint Sisson lists his 10 basic rules and  my version is this.

1. Have fun

2.Sleep eight hours

3.Get some time in the Sun and the fresh air

4.Eat real food (nothing processed out of a box)

5. go for long slow walks

6.Use your brain and challenge everything including this

7.Lift heavy things now and then

8. Sprint full out for one minute like your life depended on it (it does)

9. Ignore the scale

10.Be kind ( I believe we all have the power to be good or evil ,why would you want to be the person that causes pain?)

So what I did which now seems a lifetime ago was started with going for a walk and then making my own meals instead of fast food. I  found after 2 or 3 weeks my cravings for sugar went down. My strength is better today then a week ago. I really believe in this lifestyle and I never look at it as I have to do without.

I use to love fast food, now the idea of it turns my stomach. I use to be so lazy I would pace in front of the microwave, now I enjoy going to the farmer markets and preparing my meals. I believe in myself now after a life time of self loathing. I have gained control by changing my thoughts which then change my actions. I can not control outside forces but I can control how I will react to them.

This is the very time of the year I first started, Halloween through News Years I was able to lose about 40lbs of fat and when the New year arrived I was on the home stretch.

This is a life style change my midlife crazy if you like, I live this way 24-7 as best as I can. It can be tough when I have four other people to feed who do not like what I eat and when money is tight I have to eat a frozen pizza here or there but I then adjust my workout.

There is a solution to every problem if you want to find it. I have very strong beliefs based on my own personal experiences. I study a lot of self help philosophy and the common core is taking responsibility for your own actions.

 

I chose to be fat and lazy, now I choose to be healthy and strong. A lot of folks helped me along the way and continue to, so I need to pay back and if I can help you please let me know. If you live in the St. Louis area I hope to see you on the trails hiking or biking about. If you want to contact me send me and email and I will try and help you out.

This is the big event, the curtain is up and this is your stage.

Peace and Love all

and here are some before and after pictures of me I hope inspire you to change and always to remind myself never to go back.

Here’s some more recent pictures of me.

The October Challenge

 

Hello All,

 

I love a fresh start and since it’s the first of October I thought I would start a new challenge for myself. I have gone on a lot about my weight loss but the one thing I have yet to achieve is break 200lbs. I do most things correct and I wrote awhile back about getting off the scale and not worrying about numbers but I gotta admit breaking 200lbs stands out to me. So I decided to drag out my scale and see where I am at.

214lbs!  Now because of my weight training and diet my clothes are down and I feel very good but for the next 30 days I am going to allow myself to fixate on shedding 15lbs or so. I will not being doing anything stupid to rush it along but I will be paying close attention to my intake as well as my workouts. I am documenting everything with all my measurements and I will take some photos as well. At the end of this month I will share my results  and what I discover along the way.

I have a few new things that I will ad to my workouts and if they pay off I will share them as well.

So that’s all for now and check back in 31 days and find out how I did.

 

Peace and Love all!

Fall for this!

 

I so love the Fall of the year, cool nights ( we burn logs on our back deck at night and watch TV or just talk) Halloween is just around the corner and the air is so fresh. It is also the time a lot of us turn to comfort food and leftover candy then its  Thanksgiving  and before long the whole Summer of working out is washed away. I have been guilty of this myself last year. Its easy to reverse your hard work and its cold so you hide for awhile behind your sweaters and coats but your not helping yourself at all. So I set up my Fall workout plan.

 

I walk at lunch now because soon after I get home from work its getting dark, I also get in as many extra steps through out my day  so by the end of the night I have at least 10,000 steps or close to five miles of walking.  I drop and do push ups through out my day as well just to add a little to my day. Every other day I work out with my 35lb Kettlebell and for me I need that day of rest in between.

That’s it, that’s my easy plan and it should go without saying I follow the Paleo diet close to 90% of the time. I enjoy a glass of red wine here and there and maybe once in awhile I will indulge in a treat like ice-cream or a big cookie but I find a little is enough. I don’t make it taboo I know if I want something I can and that has helped me say no more then yes.

So just a reminder to you as well as myself, the cold weather and short days are coming so figure out your plan not lose any ground you have gained in becoming a better version of you!

 

Peace and Love !

Failure does not work

 

First we start off with the spark of an idea, we then plan and at long last we take action and the journey begins filled with all sorts of adventures and pitfalls. I’m not writing about a new adventure film or novel, the action here is all of a personal journey to make that small spark of an idea become a flame that you can share or take pride in.

So many people are within a stones throw of reaching their goal when they are set upon with what they consider to be failure. Failure is not a permanent state unless you allow for this. Failure only happens when you stop working and surrender to this brief moment and make it your status forever. My constant rebel yell is “change your thoughts and change your life”!! I once saw a cartoon in Mad magazine of a man digging for treasure. He had dug pits everywhere and found nothing, the cartoon revealed in all of the pits he was only a scoop away from finding his treasure. This is how failure works, we listen to the voices of doubt in our own mind, we allow energy vampires to suck the joy out of our work towards a goal and we become tired and fed up and quit. This is the difference between the man who finds the treasure and the man who does not. What is your goal? How do you reach it and how long will it take?? Do your work, investigate everything you can on this spark and build your fuel for your fire. Some people will try and stop you and tell you “you can’t do that!!” what they are really saying is they can’t do that and can not stand the thought of you doing it.

I make new goals all the time and for the past decade have been some of the best times of my life. Inspiration can be found in so many places, read about the efforts of the people who reach their goals and you find all of them had endless struggles to fight up hill against all sorts of odds when the fates seem to be against them. The trick is to keep on working towards your goal. Failure to me is the lack of work.

I’m working on a new CD  of original music and my goal is to make a CD that impresses me! I tried this a few years ago trying to impress other people and I regard that as a failure on my part. My aim was not on the right target,I should have made it for my taste. Lesson learned, so I am starting again. I have several tracks finished and each one I listen to again and again and If I am not moved by the music it goes in the bin. The result of my efforts this time will be a success because I have made a CD that brings me joy, if it sells and other people enjoy it how wonderful for my ego and my bank account .  Whenever I think back on my past failures each of them carry the same handle –I quit working on them!

Do the work, never give up on what you believe in and enjoy your days!

Peace and Love all!

Good bye Scale!

 

In my journey into better health I have to remind myself to watch out for anything that does not serve me along my way. Recently I added a fitbit to track my daily steps and I found this to be a very useful tool. I can see just how active or lazy I was in a given day. Do I really need to have a gadget on my wrist to inform me if I was lazy or not?, no but I do enjoy the reminder and I find I feel better when I have walked at least my 10,000 steps. Some days I don’t do as well so I might move more the next but most days I have no problem with 10,000 steps. In short its fun and useful to me, I would not be lost without it but I have it and I will take the little atta boy it delivers on a good day.

Now comes a subject touchy to many of us and I have decided today its time to step off the scale. The common bathroom scale has some valid points as a reference guide but it does not tell the whole picture. It will tell you how much you weigh at this given point in your day. I have weighed myself several times in one day (absurd when I think about it out loud) and I have seen almost 10lbs of difference in a day. Down 3lbs and I feel great,gain back a 1lb and my mood is shot for the rest of the day. I am a very sensitive person and so I have come to terms with the scale just does not serve me. I have seen so many examples where the numbers just don’t add up to what is really going on. I have added kettle bell work outs to my life and as I add muscle I am trimming down more and weight seems to be the same. Less fat more muscle, clothes are loose,I feel stronger so why should I bother anymore with this wee machine??!!

 

I have problem areas of too much fat around my stomach (love handles) but I do take a tape measure and check that once a week. Now this is a tool to pay attention to, measure your widest area around your belly once a week, men should be under 40 inches and women under 35 inches for better health. I know at one point my belly was something like 58 inches and now thanks to paleo eating and primal workouts my gut is around 42 inches. I have away to go but I am no longer going to judge my health by the number on the scale.  I feel the same way about age, If we did not have calendars what age would you call yourself? I feel very young at 50, I remember thinking that thirty was a very old age at one time, then I turned 30 and it was just another day. I look forward to improving my health  and my mental well being, so every now and then I stop and look about and see what works for me and what does not. Make a check list perhaps of your daily habits an see if they are good for you.

I’m spring cleaning my life, I no longer want to have burdens that pardon the pun weigh me down. So for me its time for the scale to go, I was going to make a big deal of when I dropped below 200lbs but I am choosing to live in the present and celebrate each day that I am doing my best. 

Wishing everybody the best in your search for what is healthy and I hope my little insights help someone out, I know I stand by the thought of challenge everything you are told and find out for yourself.

 

Peace and love all!

Coffee smoothie

 

Hello All, I tried this tonight after a long day and I was looking for some energy before I  took off for my evening walk.

This was for a single serving in case I really goofed up. I took my regular size travel cup and more then half filled it with room temp coffee. I add several ice cubes and some cinnamon, a cup of Greek yogurt , one egg and topped it off with some almond milk. Tossed in the blender for 30 seconds and tasted pretty damn good.

Give  it a try sometime!

Its been a little of thirty minutes since I drank it and I’m refreshed and ready to go hike my nearby trail.

 

Cheers all!

Energy for the whole day

I asked out loud if I could help anyone and a friend asked me out about energy and my wife has asked me about feeling drained and what is the answer.

I would start with first of all a good nights rest. We all need to recharge and 7 or 8 hours is a must, if your only sleeping fours hours then you are going crash. If you have poor sleep habits (I sure did), then you need to work on it. some tips for better sleep get away from the unnatural lights TV, PC’s cell phones. When the sun goes down my lights start to turn down as well. I prefer candles and sitting out in my yard and watching the sunsets. Its my time to unwind. You can watch TV shows anytime now so why not enjoy a glass of red wine and enjoy your evening outside.

Food is perhaps the most important thing for energy because it is our source of fuel. Make smart choices and you will go all day, bad choices and your blood levels will crash and burn. I know for years I used to eat fast food for lunch and everything single day around 2pm I wanted to take a nap. When I got home after five I would be  hungry again and then sleep for an hour and eat and then stay up all night with just a few hours of sleep and repeat the whole mess again.

When I discovered that my problems came from food within days I started to feel better. So what to eat??

Protein is a great way to get energy so , eggs are at the top of my list every day for breakfast, so many ways you can make eggs, just the best!

Chicken, red meat, fish and yogurt all things I eat every week.

 

Vitamin B

Dark leafy veggies like spinach , kale, and turnip or mustard greens.

 

Fruits:

Blueberries , raspberries, pineapple, coconut, bananas, apples.

Nuts: Almonds, cashews, walnuts

Smoothies: My personal favorite smoothie is very simple and tastes great and is filled with nothing but good stuff for you.

I add one banana, a cup of frozen blue berries, small cup of Greek yogurt,a spoonful of almond or cashew butter and then I fill the blender about half way with almond or coconut milk. If I have any kale or spinach on hand I toss that in as well.

I do not skip meals and I never eat bread (bread converts to sugar very quickly and slows you down) I also do my best not to eat any sugar(sugar gives you a false energy and then you crash even worst then before).

Snacks:

I like a handful of almonds or a cup of Greek yogurt .

Water:

I drink water all day, if your even a little dehydrated it wall slow you way down.

Metabolism:

This is your bodies thermostat for burning fat, so to keep the fires burning I do all sorts of little tricks. I add hot sauce to my meals, I add cinnamon to my coffee and I eat a lot of hop peppers as well.

Walking:

The number one thing we all need to do more of. Get off your butt and go for a walk. Walking does so many good things for us I could write about it and nothing else. Just walk , go around your block, walk through the woods just get moving.

Lift weights:

When you build muscle you burn fat 24/7. The more muscle tone you have your body will work for you instead of against you.

Sunlight:

Get out and spend some time in the sun, your body craves it.

Meditation:

Now this is new for me and I admit I have a long way to go on learning this,but your mind and spirit I feel have to be on the same page as your body. Find a quiet spot and choose a word and repeat it , when your mind starts to wonder away from the word, take note of it and resume with your chant. I was amused at how often my thoughts kept trying to interrupt my little chant.

  Start slow but everyday try adding some new things to your life and at the same time remove a bad habit or two.   I will continue to post my recipes as I stumble on them and please write me if you have any questions. This for my pal Kina,every now and then you meet someone who just has a glow about them !

Peace and Love all!

Scottish Shower

Well this one I fully admit I had real doubts about. Why on Earth would you want to take a cold shower??!! I mean you hear jokes about someone being so horny they need a cold shower,or every January we see people run into the icy winter waters for a few seconds and then race back to the shore. I watch them from my  living room with multi layered sweaters on.  What is the attraction?

Well I got suckered in by Ian Fleming who created James Bond, after Sean Connery rose to fame playing Bond Mr. Fleming would add touches here and there to make Bond Scottish. In one novel he said Bond would start his day with a “Scottish shower” sounds either racist or a sex act involving a Kilt and  an item to be named later. Turns out it a way of taking a shower to stimulate for the day,it involves starting with a hot shower and then going very cold and then back to warm and then finish off in icy cold North sea fashion.

Just a few things its supposed to do for you:

1. Improve circulation

2. Relieves depression

3.Increase metabolic rate

4. Keeps skin and hair healthy

5.Increase testosterone

6. Increase energy

7. burns fat

So if it works for 007 I figured what the hell, so I dove into my first Scottish shower!

I will spare you the details of my shower routine but the main result was WOW !!!!!, I’M WIDE THE FUCK AWAKE AND READY TO TAKE ON THE DAY!!! I mean I stepped out  of the shower ready to kick ass, my skin felt good and I just felt very much alive!

I’m a moody guy from time to time and I got to admit I came out feeling pretty good for the rest of the day.

Does it do all the things I listed? I don’t know about all of it, I do know it gave me energy and put me in a better mood which made me move better all day. So if this is some type of placebo , well then excellent it fooled me.

I’m adding this to my healthy life style changes, this falls under not a cure all for everything ,but a real step for me at least in the correct direction.

Give it try and let me know what you think.

Peace and Love all

Here’s todays basement gypsy song!

Don’t think twice, its alright

 

Sometimes we fuck up, I tend to more then most. I try and do my best with my food intake and my workouts but I still mange to make errors in my  judgment and sometimes I choose the wrong path because it turns out I am painfully human. The trick is to not beat yourself up and throw away all your past efforts.  My Friday and Saturday nights are my prime time to slip up. I’m not blaming my Scottish blood I just happen to like to have a drink or two. Now its 2am and some late night taco place is open , perfect lets eat until I’m sober.  I have done this once or thirty times but now I pay the piper the next day. If I did the crime then I will do the time and work it off and have a hard week ahead of me.

I don’t beat myself up, I except that I fucked up and get on with it.  Life is way too short to live with measuring each calorie and worrying about the scale etc… If you spend most of your days following the rules of good health it will start to become second nature to you and not drudgery. I still look up new foods to see the calorie intake but overall I have learned what’s a good portion for me.

This week it has rained most nights and we have had some places we had to be so we did not get in our regular bike ride or after dinner walk. So I new it was coming so I pushed myself to get in as much walking as I could during my work day. I stop and do some push ups on the back staircase whenever I go up or down them. I always park as far away from my building as I can. In short you do what you need to do, and what you can’t you make up later . Keep moving forward and don’t be so hard on yourself.

Do your best , don’t stress out and make the best choice you can every day.

Peace and Love all.

Todays basement gypsy song was easy to pick.

This is a long slow road

Lose 30lbs in a month!!! The way companies sell their diet pills and useless workout plans never fail to amaze me, and the desperate people who other wise very smart allow themselves to be tricked by this notion you can change your body by taking a pill .

I spoke with someone today about a crazy diet pill that has great results in weight loss. Typical  jacked up amphetamines that will make your heart explode. If your goal is health why would you want to harm yourself instead of feeling better?

This will take a long time to get yourself in shape, if your as bad off as I was it could easily be years. So what, take the right steps everyday and do not look back. Lets compare  people trying to lose weight  using diet pills to someone eating real food and working out.. I have by the way tried all sorts of pills I was as foolish as anyone else.

So the person who takes the pill will first feel a lot of energy, now this is very seductive because the same person before the pill was too lazy to move. The rush going through there system has them buzzing about and their mind is racing along with their stressed out heart. Most of these pills take away your appetite and suppress any hunger pangs. So you start lose weight, very quickly! Now the person gets on the scale and they see the numbers dropping off and even though its hard to sleep anymore they don’t seem to mind because they are just not tired. Now a few weeks go by and they are down 10-15 lbs only they feel odd, can’t put their finger on it they just don’t feel good. Oh well take some more pills. Now all this miracle weight loss is muscle loss and what is left is just fat. So after a month you just can not take it and you toss out the pills and go grab a pizza. So you binge for a few days the problem though is you have loss all that muscle and now that you have returned to your old habits you fill that muscle with fat. This is why people say diets don’t work and why you see overweight people getting heavier after diet.

My way now (after being the person I just described) is too set my goal of just being a better and wiser eater and more physical. I just don’t want anything in my system that does not help me. In the first week of eating good and starting a daily plan of walking you will feel better. Each month you see steady weight loss of about a pound a week. Your clothes will be the first thing you notice as they get looser, then you start to lose the fat in your face. In three months time you may be be even 20lbs down. In the next three months you will look to up your walks and go a little further, maybe start bike riding or join a gym. Each day you will feel better then the day before.

As of this writing today 5/13/14 I am with in 12lbs of my goal which I hope to reach this Summer. I will then start my next goal which I plan to reach by Fall. I’m already thinking about another touch winter coming so I need to have plans for that. This does not end this is long road I am walking but for me its worth it.

Make your plan, take your time. If you slip up,repeat start over and keep going.

 

Peace and love all

 

Diadem of Thought

We can all improve. Wherever you are in the world right now is because of your life time of thoughts. Some folks believe that luck rules the world, they are the haves and the have not's. Here is your lot in life and you have no  control over it. I admit to wasting a lot of my life just by being a dreamer and being lazy. I love to sit and read and watch TV and I spent a lot of my life just watching people and ignoring myself. It really got to the point when I would see a photo of myself I was surprised to see what I looked like. I just did not care about myself, I was far more interested in al these important figures in history or novels etc..

We all matter and we all  have something to offer the world. It starts with thought. How do you want your life to be and what do you need to do in order to achieve it. The meaning of life to me is to evolve into a better person and then share the knowledge for the next person and together we fulfill  the dreams that each of us harbor deep inside.

If you have the power to think of something to do, the rest is just a matter of doing it. There is endless power in a seed of thought. The giant Oaks lay asleep in an acorn, so it is with a thought until you apply action to it.

What risks are you willing to take in order to reach your dreams? When we see a fit person and and think well they are so luck to look like that, there is no luck there is great effort we ignore. I work with a lot of women in my office and I was speaking with one lady about her morning routine. She has all of her outfits chosen for the week on Sunday. She gets up very early so her hair and makeup are perfect. She fits in time to workout every day and takes care of the food she eats. She looks great and is very healthy and this is not luck. This is effort.

Luck is the dividend of sweat!

Study your shortcomings, do your homework and investigate the answers to you problems. If you want to change there is more information today then any other period in the history of man.

Make today the day of change and do not look back.

Love and Peace all.

I will walk 10,000 steps (just to be the man who walks…)

 

So my wife wanted a Fibit to track her sleep habits and calorie intake. I would paraphrase Malcolm X and say what ever it will take to get you on track. Fitbit and Jawbone and a host of other pedometer gadgets us the # 10,000 like it is a magical number. It’s not at all really, it turns out back in the early 1960’s in Japan they had a walking craze not unlike the jogging craze in the states during the 70’s. The pedometers they used went to 10,000 steps and the number stuck as a goal . The average person (read American here) walks about half of that in a day. The main point is to move more. Now the great thing with recording all these little bits of info is it does get into your head ,Hey I need to move more!

Here’s some numbers to chew on (no calories here):

3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat, so you need to burn 3,500 more than you take in to lose just 1 pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your diet every day (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories) you would in theory lose 1 pound a week..and by the end of the year if you stuck to just this you could with very little effort lose 52lbs of fat….sorta.

Nothing is ever straight forward when it comes to weight loss, consider your water weight,the amount of muscle gain or loss. Lots going on there inside of our bodies,but the evidence seems to be overwhelming that the more we move the fitter we are.

Lets go with the 10,000 steps for now as a goal, grab one of these cool gadgets ( I was lucky and my friend gave me one Thank you Sunshine!) and start walking your normal day and at the end of the day how did you do? Did you get passed 10,000 steps or di you not pass 3,000? If you average 5,000 on a regular basis its not that hard to add on another 5,000. Every step counts through out the day, are goal is too reach at least 10,000.

Lots of little ways to get in a few hundred steps here and there; park at the far of the parking lot, take the stairs,at my office instead of instant message I walk to someone’s office. Get in a morning walk and an after dinner walk. It all adds up.

Now for my wife counting the calories in and the calories out was a real turning point for her and she is down over 15 pounds in a month or so just by being aware of food intake and moving. She says things now like I want to eat that but I am already over my limit and I don’t feel like walking anymore, or she has gone all day and forgot to eat ( never had that kind of memory problem myself) and is way under her intake for the day. The main point it removes endless eating and shines a light on how active you are.

I get a little obsessed over the scale which is not the best of plans but I don’t care its worth it for me cause I get such a charge when I drop another pound. Now I’m turning my obsession to getting in my 10,000 steps . Well got to go I have sat enough for now.

Peace and Love all

Here’s your basement gypsy song of the day, in honor of fight to be fit.

True North

“What’s it going to be then eh?” This is a much repeated quote in the novel  a Clockwork Orange. It has different meanings as the story unfolds and each time it is asked. Its something I ask myself not in the pick a fight way young Alex does in the book but in which direction are you heading.

Everything you are in your life is a direct result first of your thoughts, then your action or non action. A compass points to the North so we don’t get lost when we stumble off the familiar path. You start out with a plan and a dream now the thought is in place, follow up with the action. All to soon these muddy, weaker thoughts creep in and we give up. Keep your thoughts pure and avoid the energy vampires (see earlier posts, these guys are real!).

I don’t know or really care why anyone would want to put you off your dreams , but avoid these dregs at all costs.

So I ask you What’s it going be then eh??

Me, I’m  chasing all of my dreams the clock is ticking and this is not a dress rehearsal.

 

Peace and Love all!

!

I want a treat that I don’t have to feel bad about!

About two years ago I discovered that we owned a blender!! As always I had no idea what’s in our house. So I tried different things and came up with lots of nice tasting smoothies. This is my latest and I don’t have  any idea what it should be called but what it tastes like is fantastic!

I was reading my friends Facebook page and she posted a nice breakfast smoothie and I found out what I was missing in my smoothies!

 

 

This purple smoothie (good a name as any) is very simple to make and in one blender full was enough for two tall glasses.

Ingredients:  1 banana. some spinach leafs,frozen blueberries, coconut milk and almond butter.

I sliced up the banana and tossed it in the blender, added some frozen blueberries about a cup full or so(I’m a guy I do not measure food). Balled some fresh spinach leafs (again no idea how big a ball) tossed that in. Filled the blender about half way with the coconut milk (mine is vanilla flavored)and for good measure I added a spoonful of almond butter!

Zap until it all seems to be smooth and you now have a very nice drink packed with flavor and energy for you a summers day.

I did a little search on the calorie count for folks who count calories and a good guess would about 260 calories more or less.

I have no idea what is inside all the store bout juices and smoothies , I enjoy knowing what I am adding to my body.

If you have any questions or comments please drop me a line.

Peace and Love all!

Zucchini and onions

 

Hello all, my wife thought it might be a good idea to share some of my recipes, so I decided to share a brand new one to me and I would post about the steps and how it ended up. Baked Zucchini chips!

Well the problem is we had a late dinner and I had two glasses of wine and in short I will do all of that tomorrow. So here is a recipe I know very well and use a lot. This is my post dinner I need something to eat more then just a snack.

I take a small onion and dice it up, I then slice one zucchini or yellow squash into very thin slices. I add a little virgin oil to a frying pan and toss in the veggies, As everything starts to cook I add ground sea salt and pepper. I stir everything and the onions get a little blackened and I keep turning the slices of zucchini. This goes on for about 15 minutes and then at the last minute I sprinkle on some parmesan  cheese.

I pour all this on a plate and add some hot sauce! You can add whatever you like,if I have bell peppers I add some slices of them as well.

I end up with a very nice hot and spicy meal that is very low in calories but fills me up. This also works for me on nights when I have a lighter meal for dinner at 5 pm and now its 8:30 and I wish I would have had more. So altogether about 20 minutes of time to prep and cook and a filling snack that will not ruin your diet.

If you don’t like onions switch them out with bell peppers, I like to add as much color to my dishes and the flavor is great. So in short all you need is Virgin oil or coconut oil, Zucchini, one onion and a sharp knife. Add the spices you like.

Once you get into cooking healthy dishes you will never want to go back to fast food or crap out of a box.

As always drop me a note with any questions.

Peace and Love all!

Back to the woods

 

Going along with all this Primal way of living the thing I enjoy the most is perhaps the most primal of all.

Fire!

I love watching these shows on TV about survival , and the best thing Is always at night when everything is done and they build a camp fire.  It brings a lot to someone alone, so much comfort on many levels. wilderness a fire means ,comfort from the cold and pests, protection from larger attackers. A source to cook food, or to boil water etc..

What does a fire offer to the modern person safe in their steel and glass work place?  I think it stirs up something primal in us, something lost from our past. Just this week a friend called and said she wanted to stop by and catch up. She brought plants from her garden and wine and beer to share as well as a new dog in her life.

I built a fire in our fire pit on our back deck, it was a cool breezy night and there was plenty of light from the fire so we sat around drinking and catching up. I find I get transplanted every time I sit by fire. A thousand past memories stir up as I poke at the fire, camping trips, sledding in the park,ghost stories and romance.

How often have you seen a film and people set the mood by building a fire in the fireplace even if its in a penthouse in New York. The same deep mysterious images filter in. I  have read about it’s a good idea to go barefoot and walk on the grass and feel the Earth “move”. That might seem like hippie shit to you,but there is something very nice about the effect.

We are very busy in our air conditioned world, with heated car seats, mp3 players blasting in our ears, cell phones always in our hands..we loose touch. The nice thing nature is near by waiting, I live in the suburbs,but I’m lucky enough to live near a trail where railroad tracks use to be, this path follows an old creek and deer,wild turkeys  and sometimes a fox or two show up.  I see folks use the trail to workout ( I do as well) but they seem to ignore the beauty all around them.

If your feeling stressed out, I would offer a simple walk listen to the woods and then settle down for the night by a fire. Give your head a break from the constant noise of the modern world.

Peace and love all!

The pay off: when things start to go right!

So much time seems to be spent on the things you must give up in order to be fit. I would like to share the other side of the coin.

I started to feel better from the first week. When I was into my second or third week I noticed I did not crave sugar. I also noticed I wanted to move more. Small changes were starting to happen, very slow but steps in the correct direction. Just from my story I really got a lot out of every time I dropped into a new weight range. Wow not over 300lbs I’m 298..I would take that as a victory! One of the first thrills was to sit in a booth and have room to move. I remember still not being tired after 2pm in the afternoon and thinking that’s odd.

I started my journey right after Halloween on purpose, I wanted to see if I could survive the holidays plus the winter. Very tough to do, but so what I wanted to change. Very important little thought that by the way I WANTED TO CHANGE!! Taking a tip from those books my wife had when she was expecting our first child, great books that would explain what to expect in the first month and fourth etc..

So what can you expect in your first months?

A slow but steady increase in your energy.

Your tight clothes getting slack.

You can expect compliments and questions from people, “what’s your secret ?” I  love that one a lot.

People will admire your success and you might even make some new friends along the way because of changing your old lazy ways.

If you are doing everything right with in 12 weeks you can be down a good 10% of your weight and added muscle. Now lean muscle weighs more but you will be much leaner.

You will sleep better at night and feel good when you wake in the morning.

Your focus at everyday things will be much stronger.

Best of all it continues to get better each of the things I mentioned.

As time went on I looked for more food choices and I never feel like I’m doing with out.

I use to think of 30 as being old, then 40 well that must be old. Nope and now I’m 50 and I fell stronger then when I was 20.

The difference is I no longer diet, I live paleo everyday to my best and it is paying off.

I no longer desire any candy or deserts, I m mean zero temptation at all. I find it hard to imagine all the junk I use to put into my body. I am amazed I was able to pull myself out of the nose dive that was my health. If I can , then so can you! I’m speaking to whoever out there has had enough of diets and feeling ill. I have not been sick for several years now, I ‘m off all medication and even my depression which I suffered most of my life seems like a memory now.

Why wait any longer? make today day one and go for a walk, start getting rid of those meals from boxes and frozen pizza rolls, pasta, bread and sugars. Eat lots  vegetables and meat along with fruits and nuts. 

Move your body everyday. Park your car at the back of the parking lot, take the stairs, go around your block four or five times after dinner. The payoff starts right away even if you are the last to noticed it.

As always please leave comments or questions.

Peace and love all!

Here’s a basement gypsy tune for you.

The good the bad and the ugly (the voices in my head)

 

 

I have set myself up for failure many times. It took my wife to teach me a simple but very powerful lesson of “start as you mean to continue!!”. This was a game changer for me.

I have written in earlier posts about this idea and it needs to be repeated often,well at least for me.

No sooner then you come up with a gran plan for yourself your same mind that dreamed of this adventure starts to plot against you. Your too old, young, ugly ,poor, weak , you never did it before, you’re a quitter  etc.…Not really sure why I have had a fear of success ,or why my inner self felt safer in the background. To very honest I still feel that way very often, the difference is how I act.

I believe in choice of my own feeling above everything else. If you can master your feelings, take control of your vessel through the mire of the dark sea that life can feel like, then you win the game. If I feel like giving up then I must except I alone am to blame for this. Never because of the circumstance. In my quest to no longer be a fat man, and by all means this is JRR Tolkien like journey for me every day, I keep having to reach deep and get through whatever the challenge is.

I’m a quiet person overall again by choice,but I will not be wronged. I bend for other peoples opinion without voicing my own often because I have nothing more to offer other then an argument which I always feel is a waste of time. I think in time the truth always comes to the surface.

So back to my topic of these voices I have and I deal with them. My father taught me that prejudice does not hold up to the light of the day when exposed. I use that when I challenge my own thoughts. Simply I address the voices of descent.

Is it true what I think?

Will this event actually happen?

How do I know it will fail?

Have I done everything in my power to succeed?

I challenge any ugly thoughts I get, I question where did this stem from? Sometimes I’ve picked up someone else’s fear and made it my own fear.

The bad thoughts come in when I not only want to quit but I want to just surrender and give up ever trying.

It took me about three years to get it into my head that I must eat right and I must workout on a regular basis. This is elementary logic but I could not fully grasp. Always ,always something would creep into my head telling me to give up.

James Allen wrote that we are a sum total of our thoughts, so if your in jail or president of the school board or waiting on tables your thoughts delivered you there. I love this thought, this brings me to the good thoughts.

Change your way of thinking and you will change your life….real simple. If you make a fist or hold out your hand to welcome its up to you. No one else should have control over your thoughts .

I decided I like being in charge of my own thoughts, first thing I did was to question every thing I heard on the news, then politics and religion . I wanted to know my own thoughts not someone else with an agenda. I slowly started to feel a weight come off of my shoulders (and off the scale). I will always question everything I hear and then find out for my self. I know of hardly anything that is just black and white.  I post little quotes that inspire me and reread them, not unlike how some people reread the bible for comfort and wisdom. I remind myself why I want this goal, why I am on this adventure.

I will continue to ramble on writing these thoughts and I hope to inspire anyone looking  to improve themselves. I not sure if I can or will help anyone I do know it helps me keep my eye on the prize!.

As always please drop me not if you have any questions.

Peace and Love all!

Eat Real Food!

The most important lessons in life are very simple. Our planet has sets of rules that humans learned over their lifespans and shared with their children …along the way we have lost some of the most basic rules.

If you want to feel good, I’m mean like a little kid on Xmas morning good,then challenge your eating habits and take a 30 day challenge and only eat real food.

Meat

Eggs

Fish

Vegetables

Fruit

Nuts

Avoid the following :

Sugar

Bread

Pasta

All Processed food

Your body will be so happy and you will feel like a child. This is a very simple fix that has changed my life forever,

I will never again eat any fast food!!

 

My diet for most of the week goes something like this.

I wake up around 5:30am

Cup of coffee, grab a piece of fruit and head off to work.

Lunch: smoke sardines in oil and some hot sauce.

Dinner: Salad with avocados, some type of meat diced up for the salad. Sweet potato maybe twice a week. Greek yogurt for desert. Glass of red wine.

On the weekends I vary my schedule because of family events or going on road trips for dog rescue (yeah dogs!!) So I might opt for a homemade glass of juice for my breakfast.

Pick up a cook book, used healthy cooking oils, like coconut or virgin oil. The internet is filled with endless tips to get you on track. I have found I love cooking and try new foods all the time.

There is not much else to say about something so easy, eat real food and your body will reward you,eat junk food and your body will revolt against you. No basement gypsy tunes today I rather show you pics of myself before I followed these simple rules, I also don’t have any sense of humor on this because there is nothing funny about how we have been not just misled but flat out lied too about health.

Peace and Love all!

My personal work out

Hello all, to be healthy you need to eat real food ( future post) and you need to move.

Follow these two rules and you will be far ahead of the average American.  My story may be similar to yours regarding exorcise in any form. I was not very good at it.

Some basic things up front, some folks win the gene pool, they are lean and fit,muscular and get to eat whatever they feel like and they look great in every single picture. Then there’s everyone else or so I was lead to believe .

There is another group who should be mentioned. These are the people who make a lot of correct choices along the way so when they are out at social events or holidays they can afford to indulge a tiny bit. I have a friend on  Facebook  who always  look great, yet always seems to be eating sweets and cookies etc.. I accused her of witchcraft (the only thing I could come up with) she let me know she spends several hours a week with her pal Jillian Michaels!

See that’s the key to a lot of fit people they make that choice to counter whatever so called bad food choices with hard work. I have to admire them and it does work the proof is in the pudding ( yes that was pun). So if you’re the type that can hit the gym or workout along with a video coach good for you. I could not.

My wife told me to start as you plan to go on! So if you plan on going to the gym for three hours each day ,well I knew I would not. I had to find something for my lazy self. several things fell into place all at once for me.

The railroad tracks near my home wore removed and Grant’s trail came in its place. As of this writing 8 miles of smooth paved trail that twists along some sections of woods along side Gravois creek ( U.S. Grant use to ride his horse up this creek to visit his girlfriend Julie Dent) . So I started walking on this trail, its filled with bike riders, joggers and families. I would measure out a half mile seemed like a good turn around point so I could say hey I just walked a mile. No pain in my knees, I would listen to music and after awhile I would push my distance up to two or three miles.

I also rediscovered bike riding. I love to ride the trail and have done the full 16 miles several times when I have a quiet day  to myself. I also started walking a mile every day at lunchtime around my work. Very rare that I don’t get my lunch time walk in.

Now anything under a five mile walk does not faze me at all, same with anything under a 10 mile ride is not a big thing to me. I found out thought that’s enough if I eat real food in moderation.

My new discovery is the KettleBell. Russian have been using these weights for years as   a  way of getting stronger. I use a 35lb kettlebell and I find a very tough workout. Send me a note if you have any questions regarding all the moves I do etc..

 

I also walk whenever I can, I walk down the hall instead of sending someone an instant message, I always take the stairs and I toss in some push ups when ever I can.

All these slow baby steps add up very quickly I have found. So pick your workout, it can be simple walking through the mall, bike riding, swimming, dancing,hiking through the woods, yard work, playing with your kids or your pets. The main thing is to get off your ass as often as you can . The more you move the more you will want to .

 

Peace and Love all!

 

Todays basement gypsy video has a some pictures of Grant’s trail my home away from home!

Passion, no really it matters

Hello all, I want to start off with a quote.

“the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

 

Long before I met my wife, my mother asked me what type of woman I wanted to marry, I said she must have passion, I may have also mentioned Sophia Loren I’m not sure,but we have been married for over 20 years and I have never been bored. I chose my partner based on her passion for life.

I love witty people and talented people and crazy people who live the way they believe in spite of their families and peers.  I like to step out of my comfort zone and meet new people now, I used to hate that. No idea why I just did not feel like facing my fear that I had trouble even defining.

Find your passion and act on it! Go for your dream girl, job, car etc… time is flying by very fast!! I will not waste another day holding back on my feelings. I tell my friends I love them and they make a difference in my life. My co- workers daughter recently sent an announcement to her high school graduation. Her mother said she only has so many cards to mail out but insisted on sending one to me. A very simple gesture that made a big impact on me. So I told her mother how I felt right away and let her daughter know how chuffed I was. It matters to share your feelings with the people you know.

I use my passion to push myself to learn guitar and mandolin, to work out and eat healthy.

I use it also to try and understand the choices I make.

I question my moods, how did I get so happy only to be let down. What had changed???  I have learned the only thing that changed was me letting it happen.

I choose to be optimistic, I know when I meet a downbeat person it’s a real drag, who needs another bitter person to let you know how bad the world is?

I’m very lucky in when I need inspiration I always seem to find it, could be a song or an old novel. The main point is I go seeking wisdom instead of sulky and blaming the world.

Its your life, you must be the captain of your ship! Get moving towards your goal.

If your goal demands time, 4 years of school..no matter what else you do 4 years will pass and you could be living your dream or you could be 4 years older and no closer to being happy.

I know for myself music can alter my mood, I can loose myself and transform my thoughts with a few choice songs.  Perhaps its not music for you no matter , discover what makes you tick and use it to keep you on your path.

Try this, make a list of people you admire, it can be anyone.  Right out ten people, what is so special about this group that is so unique you?

 

As an example.

1.John Lennon,  poet, wit , activist, (fucking Beatle for goodness sake)

2. My friend Jeff, flat out one the nicest folks to walk the Earth.

3. Myrna Loy,  Sexy and confident, when she would walk into a room everyone knew it.  She was so lovely Jimmy Stewart once said “there’s something wrong with a fellow who does not want to marry her!”

4. Vincent Van Gogh, artist with amazing passion.

Just a brief list of people who turned my head and made me wonder why are they getting so much out of life. The bottom line is their driving passion. It does not have to be Vincent taking himself to extremes, it can be the quiet way my pal loves fishing by himself.

We have as far as I know one life, I want mind to be filled with all kinds of adventure and few regrets. When my wife asks if I want to dance,I take her hand and say you bet, even if we are the only couple out there. I do not want to miss one chance to express myself.

So make your list , and see what you can take from these people of passion and spice up your days.

Peace and love all.

Todays basement gypsies tune is from the film “Into the wild” true story of a young man who stepped outside of the safe world of his parents and entered into the wild.

Picture this…

Hello all, the most important weapon in my personal armory is the ability to picture just about anything (good or bad).

It does not matter if we are speaking about weight loss, quit smoking, drinking, getting a new job the list goes on and on. I decide this is what I want, from this point on several things start to fall into place. I get excited with the challenge, I gather facts and read articles on line, I seek out people who have reached this goal and ask them questions.

I then picture I have reached my goal and then what??? So it’s a new car you want. I sit and picture all of it, trading in your old rust bucket, calling your insurance agent, shopping online, walking about the car lots, the over eager salesmen. The new car smell and checking out the new dashboard, what side is the gas tank? I mean I will go into deep detail until the bloom is off the rose and I get down to the nitty gritty and its just a car. I have new higher payment, I’m worried if I get a scratch in the parking lot. Did I buy a new car for me or did I do this to impress someone ??

This little trick of being able to visualize the outcome has helped a lot.

So how do you do it? Well for some people its easy and they just do it(bastards)  For me I had to practice . I noticed some writers could really pull me into their novels, I could smell the rain or the fresh cut grass. So as a wanna be writer I tried to describe in great detail a room I know well. As an example I picture my office at work, not just a desk and a computer and phone. I thought about the shadows from the plants that cross my desk in the late afternoon. The sound of the women who sit just outside my door when they make phone calls. Where my coffee mug sits in conjunction with my pen and calculator. With practice I could feel like I was sitting at my desk even though I was out riding my bike. So I would then do it in reverse, sit at my desk and picture everything I do to prep for a long bike ride, the smell of my garage and lifting my bike down from a hook on the wooden rafters.  My mind grew stronger at drawing these mental pictures and soon I made a vision of how I wanted to look within reason of a short fat bald fifty year old man. Picture all I want I’m still a short 50 year old man, but I don’t act like one. I act the way I feel , very strong and full of energy.

So what do you want? If its an item a big tv or a new house, work hard save your money, take out a loan, call your rich uncle, or rob a bank. Its just money and with money you can get a lot of things,but not much else.

If you want to change your life then start right now with the image of who you want to be, that is the first step in the dance of life. You must be able to picture yourself at the finish line and how you will proceed from there. So in short start acting right now like the person you want to be.

What are you waiting on?

In all of my posts I will tend to ramble on and go off target, hang in there I always get around to the point in due time.

Peace and love all!

As always send me questions or comment love to hear from you.

Here’s a little video from the basement gypsies enjoy!

My Juice Fast (Very fast)

 

I broke all of my established paleo rules and decided to try a 30 day juice fast. In short I chose to give up all the lessons that brought me weight loss,excess energy and general well being. So I chose the Blood moon and dove right in. I started my day at 5:30 and skipped my morning coffee, the fog soon set in to my already questionable mind. I drove my daughter to school headed off to work somehow without my beloved travel mug. I was naked and afraid or at least I was craving some Columbian deep roast . I drank a store bought protein juice because I was too weak to entertain the idea of hauling out the juicer that weighs more then me and sounds like a plane crash.

So by 9am my headache starts first one in a very long time, I know this has to do with my withdrawal from the magical mystical coffee beans, so I push on. Now its lunch time and I go for my daily mile walk near my office. My head is no longer hurting its more like a steady throb of blood beating the life out of me. I stumble through my day no idea of who I was rude too and make my way home.  I enter my castle and think aloud I feel like shit how this be good for me, I do not need to go 30 days to prove how wrong I was, I knew that at 6am this morning.

So I had a nice salad with avocado and some slices of roast beef on the side. I drank a nice cup of black coffee and BOOM the fog lifted and I was able to enjoy a nice two mile walk after dinner.

My little lesson is when you found the plan that works for you ; STICK WITH IT!!! there is nothing wrong with trying new things and I always say challenge everything and see for yourself. So for me a little home made juice sounds pretty good here and there but over all I think I will stick with my veggies and fruit as a solid.

I am looking for people who need a personal life coach, I do not have all the answers (please see above) but I have learned  how to change my way of thinking and reach my goals in weight loss, my  work life and most  of all my personal life and how I feel about each day and everyone I meet.

I try to keep my posts funny and perhaps teach a little along the way. Please feel free to write me with any questions.

Its good to be back on track writing again and drinking coffee!

 

Peace and Love all!