Super-Health Heroes

Here are links to a few of my super-health heroes… people who have taught me a great deal about health, fitness and vitality:

Fred Bisci: http://anydoubtleaveitout.com/

Jack Lalanne:  http://www.jacklalanne.com/

David Wolfe:  http://www.davidwolfe.com/

Joseph McClendon III:  http://makeyourfate.com/products-change-your-breakfast-book.html

Matt Monarch:  http://www.rawspirit.org/index.php

Sounds Like Someone I Knew

It is oftentimes remarked that vegetarians are frequently not particularly good examples of health and vitality.  Would it surprise you if I said that I agree with this criticism?  The vegetarians who display minimum standards of health and vitality, are those who have merely eliminated meat.  They [still] consume vast quantities of cooked grain and starchy foods.  They do not eliminate sugar from their diets and, often, they cook all or most of their vegetables!  They do not usually drink fresh vegetable juices.  On such a diet it is difficult to have a healthy body.

–Normal Walker

The above quote summarizes my own situation for the past 16+ years.   That’s when I became a vegetarian.  Of course, I did notice some health benefits as a vegetarian.. especially when I ate a vegan diet.   However I never got the tremendous health, energy and vitality that I hoped for.

Now I understand why.  Though I eliminated meat, I continued to eat a lot of VERY harmful junk:   processed sugars,  cooked grains, breads,  and fake meats.   Processed starches (carbs) and sugars are as harmful,.. or more harmful… than meat.   So I eliminated one very toxic element (meat) but continued to poison my body with these others.

A month ago, I finally changed to a natural healthy (still vegetarian) lifestyle.   I have eliminated processed sugars completely!   I also no longer eat bread, nor cooked rice.  I no longer eat fake meats.

Instead, I now focus on eating LOTS of raw fresh vegetables and “superfoods”.   Green Juices are my staple food.   Each day I have 1-2 Green Juices consisting of:  Spinach, Parsley, Celery, Carrot, Apple, & Ginger.  Sometimes I add Wheatgrass and Kale too.   It’s like a mega-shot of energy and nutrition!   Each day I also have at least one “Superfood Shake”… consisting of (all raw & organic):  cacao,  maca, spirulina, AFA algae, bee pollen,  udo’s oil,  coconut oil,  hempseeds,  sprouted rice protein, goji berries, maqui berries, yacon, and digestive enzymes.

And, of course, I love to eat big green salads.. with Kale, Spinach, Lettuce, Cucumber, Avocado, Olives, Red Peppers……..

Since changing to this new way of living, I am finally experiencing the super-energy and super-health I was aiming for.   I have energy all day, every day.  I run 9 miles a day without fatigue… and workout (with weights) twice a week.

I no longer have energy crashes during the day.   I’m not extremely moody, as I used to be.   Instead I feel steady energy from when I wake up until I go to bed… and a steady, positive, happy mood.

The most amazing result, for me, is that my sugar cravings TOTALLY disappeared after only TWO weeks of eating like this!  Since I was a child I have craved sugar and battled with these cravings.  Suddenly– they are gone!  I walk by bakeries all the time and feel no urge to eat anything inside.

A nice side benefit is that I’m actually adding some muscle to my body too… and have lost 10 pounds (5kg) of fat.  My goals are not cosmetic, but it’s still a nice side benefit of getting healthier, more energized, and stronger!

So the secret to super-health is actually very simple:

A Natural GREEN Vegetarian Lifestyle–   full of fresh Green Juices,  Healthy Shakes,  and Big Green Salads.

Enjoy!

How I’m Getting Healthier

I’m now back in (rainy) San Francisco after completing the Shikoku 88 trip.   My focus here is on getting healthier.

Progress has been good.  I’m feeling great.   I have lost a total of 9 pounds (~4 kg).   I’m running 9 miles (15km) a day,…  4-6 days a week.

All that is fine, but honestly, fitness has always been easier for me than health.  I’m naturally active and energetic and I enjoy being outdoors.

My struggles in the past have always been around food… and specifically with sugar.   I’ve been a “sugar addict” for most of my adult life.

I became a vegetarian 15+ years ago.  That was definitely an improvement to my health.  However,  I remained a sugar addict.

I now believe that sugar (refined carb) is as destructive to health as meat… or even more so.   And it certainly is much more addictive.  It took me several months to break my meat eating habit.  It has taken me years to break the sugar habit.   I tried countless times…  with great willpower.  Quite honestly,  I wondered if I would ever really break the cravings for sugar.

Well- I have.   I now feel no cravings for sugar.   I walk by bakeries that used to tempt me… and feel no desire to go inside.

How have I done this?

The number one secret–  Superfood Shakes.

There is a theory that states that our strong food cravings are a result of lack of nutrition in our diet.   In other words,  we keep eating and eating and eating because we are not getting enough powerful nutrition from the dead foods (junk food) we are consuming.  I believe this theory may be correct.

Superfood shakes are simply a blended drink containing 9-10 of the most nutritious and healthy foods on the planet–  all raw and organic.   My Superfood shakes include:   Maca,  Spirulina,  Cacao,  Hempseeds,  Bee Pollen,  Marine Phytoplankton,  Powdered Spinach/Kale/Barley,  Coconut Oil,  Flax Oil/Borage Oil,  Sprouted Rice Protein,  Goji Berries, Maqui Berries,  and Digestive Enzymes.

That shake packs in more nutrition than most people get in a week or more of eating!   Since I started those shakes,  my sugar cravings have disappeared.  I have stopped eating junk food completely.   My energy level is great– and it’s constant and steady throughout the day.

My recovery time from runs and other exercise is much faster too.  In the past, if I ran 9 miles one day, I’d usually need to rest the next day.  Now,  I run 9 miles on back to back to back days.  No need for “recovery days”.

I drink 1-2 of these shakes a day.

In addition, since getting back to San Francisco I have also been drinking fresh Green Juices every day.    These are freshly made organic juices which include:   Spinach, Kale, Celery, Parsley, Apple,  Carrot, and Ginger.    I have 2 of these a day usually.

These juices, like the shakes, are packed with Super Nutrition!   They are tremendously alkalizing (and thus energizing).

So that’s my “secret”:    2 fresh Green Juices a day,  and 1-2 Superfood Shakes a day.      Those sustain me for most of the day.   Other than those drinks, I might eat a big salad… and/or some brown rice pasta with tomato sauce and olive oil.     That more than fills me up and satisfies my hunger– which amazes me.    I used to eat 3-4 times that amount of food and still feel cravings for sugar (especially late at night)….  and I wasn’t running at that time.

So now I’m eating far fewer calories,  have much more energy all day long,  am running 9 miles most days,… and don’t feel hungry.

This is what happens when you eat/drink foods packed with super-nutrition!

Onwards to Health and Fitness

The Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage is finished and it was a fantastic trip.  Culturally, it was great.  It was a completely different kind of travel than the usual backpacking or vacationing we all do.   Strolling through tiny villages… up and down mountain paths.. in rural Japan– Wow!

Of course, there was also a spiritual component.  Even though I don’t know a lot about the specific type of Buddhism practiced by the temples  (Shingon Buddhism…  founded by the great Japanese Buddhist monk Kobo Daishi)… it was impossible not to feel a sense of peace, calm and mindfulness while walking and visiting the temples.

Lastly, this was a significant fitness challenge.   We averaged 5-6 hours a day of walking,.. plus 20-30 minutes at each temple.   We took some buses and trains too… in order to finish the whole walk in 30 days.   Needless to say, my aerobic fitness level was fantastic by the end of the trip (something I’m maintaining and building on).

On the other hand, this was a very difficult trip nutritionally.  Being a vegetarian in rural Shikoku is not easy!  We ate a TON of Udon noodles.  Nearly every day, that was our lunch and dinner.   Which means we got a lot of processed carbs  (think:  eating spaghetti for lunch and dinner every day).

Now that I’m back in Osaka, I’m eating much healthier.  I’m also running every day (about 7 miles a day.. every single day).

One of the big realizations of this trip was that I have been living with a mediocre standard of health for about 7 years.  I let my standards slip… every so slowly and gradually.   During that time, I added nearly 20 pounds of fat to my body.

As I strolled along every day, I thought about this… and I projected forward.  I imagined what kind of health and energy and vitality I wanted for the rest of my life.   Did I want to go down the path of most people in the modern world….  or did I want the kind of life-long super-vitality of people like Jack Lalanne (who works out 3 hours a day at age 95).

Of course we all want life-long super-vitality.. but then the next question came:  am I willing and eager to do what it takes to have that vitality?  Am I ready to raise my standards much much higher in this area of my life?   In the past, I have wanted to… but didn’t.

But I really got associated to the consequences of both paths (the normal and the super-health path) on this trip.  I could see and feel what kind of life I’d have,… depending on choices I make now.

And so I decided to commit totally to Super Health and Fitness…. with the same no-compromise attitude I have towards being a vegetarian.

My decision is to be a model of health, fitness and vitality now… and for the next 4-6 decades of my life… and to eventually help others live this way as well.

I’m starting a new blog called EffortlessFitness.com to chart my progress on this path.   I’m adopting a natural raw food (vegan) eating habit and have committed to doing 12 marathons in 12 months (starting sometime next summer).

The starting point (last month, before Shikoku):

Weight:   170 pounds  (77kg)

Sugar/Carb-addict (ice cream, candy bars, pasta, rice)

Pizza lover

Coffee addict

Where I’m at now:

Weight:  164 pounds (74.5 kg)

No ice cream or sugar in 3 weeks

Drastic drop in carb intake

No pizza in 5 weeks

Taking 2-3 “Superfood Shakes” a day

Running 7 miles a day, every day

Feeling 1000x better.

As  additional leverage for myself…   I have been thinking about 2 old friends who each died, suddenly, of heart attacks.   Both deaths came as big shocks to me.

I also think of many family members whose health has deteriorated.  I’ve watched their vitality and energy drain away.  I’ve seen their passion for life fade.   People who used to be full of life and humor now constantly complain about being “tired” all the time.

Then I think of Jack Lalanne and his wife…  both full of passion, energy, enthusiasm, strength and happiness.  Jack is 95 this year… his wife is in her 80s (I believe).

I hope, in the long-term, not just to transform my own health… but to learn strategies to help others make the same changes.  I know that many many people want to do this… but feel betrayed by their own minds and bodies… by deeply entrenched habits and cravings that feel impossible to break.

(Of course, the massive multi-billion dollar food & pharmacy industries are working against them… bombarding people with advertising and conditioning and supporting these unhealthy cravings).

So that’s the new mission I have adopted– first make the change in myself…. then help others do the same!

Onwards!!!!!!

Osaka Lunch

Today we met with several of my students in Osaka.

This is one of the great pleasures of my business… to meet so many wonderful people all over the world.

We had lunch at Solviva Restaurant in Osaka.. and talked for 3 hours.

This, to me, is the essence of being a “hobopoet”…  connecting and learning from incredible people.

I had a great time!

Tomorrow we take a bus to Tokushima-City.. to the starting point of the pilgrimage.   Monday morning, I’ll put on the white shirt and begin!

Osaka

I’m in Osaka now…  and it’s quite warm (81 degrees F).  I was expecting cooler weather!   Perhaps this is lesson number 1– beware of expectations

I’ve got a bit of a cold today…  and I’m not surprised.   After 5 days of very little sleep at a Leadership Seminar,.. then a 12 hour flight.. my body is tired.   I’ll be resting and relaxing for the next 3 days and hope to recover by then.

Tomorrow we’re having lunch with some of my students here in Osaka.   On Sunday we (Tomoe and I) will go to Tokushima-City– the location of temple #1 and the start of the pilgrimage.

I start walking Monday morning.

Cloud Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown

Tomorrow I fly to Japan and soon begin the 88 Temple Pilgrimage on Shikoku.

I feel excited and nervous at the same time.  Have I trained enough?   Will I be able to manage with very little Japanese?  How will I find food and accommodation? Is my backpack too heavy.. is there something else I can eliminate from it?  Have I forgotten something I’ll need?

Such are my thoughts at this moment.

But then I change my focus.   I imagine entering the temples–  washing my hands at the entrance,  ringing the bell,  bowing 3 times….  meditating for a few moments.   I imagine strolling through the Shikoku countryside… up and down forested hills… alongside rice fields… next to the shore… through towns and cities.

I imagine nearly 2 months without the usual distractions of modern life.   Two months to just walk, meditate, meet people…   Two months under the open sky.

Nervous, I grin about walking into the unknown…….

[Short article about the 88 Temple Pilgrimage, click here:  88 Temple Pilgrimage and here: Overview of Shikoku Pilgrimage ]

Training Details

This week I have reached my peak mileage– training for the 750 mile Shikoku hike.    The actual start of the hike is about 2 weeks away.

I’m following the same basic training schedule as I did for past marathons… modified for walking with much higher mileage.

The big challenge of this hike is that a marathon is just a one day event…   but for this hike I must sustain 16-20 mile days every single day for 45 days.

The Shikoku 88 trip therefore requires a much greater level of aerobic fitness and endurance.  With marathon training, for example, I peaked at about 45-50 miles a week during my training.

I’ll hit about 95 miles this week.   During the hike I’ll be doing 120-140 miles a week–  starting lower during the first couple of weeks, and relentlessly ramping up as the hike goes on.

Which is to say, I’m in the best aerobic shape of my life already…  and it’s going to get better!!

That was ONE of my motivations for this hike.   I find that exercising just to exercise is boring.   I prefer to train for inspiring, challenging and interesting events.    I would never have done this kind of mileage if my only goal was to “get in shape”.

But the Shikoku trip inspires me.   First, it’s a physical challenge– which is motivating.  Second,  it’s a cultural challenge.  I’ll be hiking around rural Japan and must adjust to the culture, food, people, etc.  (and I speak only a few Japanese phrases).   Thirdly, this is also an opportunity to re-connect with nature– doing most of the hike in rural and semi-wilderness areas. Finally, this is a spiritual trip…  an 1100 year old Buddhist pilgrimage route.  I’ll be meditating every day during the pilgrimage.

Here in the West.. and increasingly all over the world…  people my age are in terrible physical shape.   It makes me very sad to see this.   I’m 42 and in the best shape of my life.   I say that only to illustrate that age is no excuse.

Of course, I know that a lot of people are unhappy about their physical condition.  They have tried many things but just can’t seem to sustain consistent exercise.  My Mom is one such person.

The problem with a lot of people, I think, is that they associate exercise with discomfort and pain.   They exercise just to exercise… or to “get in shape”.    Some people may like that… but for most people that’s boring and unpleasant.

It’s much more inspiring and motivating to think like an athlete.  Athletes don’t “exercise”… they “train”.  They train for a purpose that excites and motivates them.  Maybe they want to win a championship.   Or become a professional.   Or whatever.

The point is that they have a BIG DREAM–  a BIG REASON to exercise.   They don’t just lift weights and run “to lose 40 pounds”.

This is the secret to consistently exercising.  Find a big inspiring PHYSICAL challenge and dream.  Maybe you always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail?  Or bicycle across Europe?  Or climb Mount Ranier?  or whatever.   It can be small or big.    The only important thing is that you get excited thinking about it.

The next very important step is to schedule this event!  Pick a time in the future that gives you enough time to prepare for the event (this depends on your current fitness level).  Then buy the tickets, register, etc…  Commit totally to doing it.

Once you do this, you’ll be inspired to train every week.   You’ll know that big event is coming… and you’ll be exercising for a reason.. for an adventure!

This is exactly what I did for Shikoku.   When I decided to do it, I’d been sedentary for several years (by my standards).   I was not physically ready for the challenge…   but I calculated how long I needed to prepare…  then chose a date.  Then I told EVERYONE I was going to do it… all my friends and family.

I got a little map and picture book for the route… and that got me more excited.  I watched a couple of Youtube clips about Shikoku.   And I got more and more excited.

That’s what kept me going… that’s what motivated me to walk 4-8 hours a day  (4-5 times a week).    That was the rocket fuel that energized me.

Now I feel great.   I’ve lost about 7 pounds of fat and gained a bit of lean muscle.  I have momentum.

The trip itself will increase my health and fitness level.

And afterward I won’t quit.  I’ve learned that valuable lesson from the past.    And so I already have my next physical challenge and adventure planned:   cycling around Italy for a few weeks. And after that… hiking in Patagonia…  and/or the Appalachian Trail.

So… get out there!   Don’t just suffer and sweat in the gym for no reason.   Choose an inspiring physical challenge/adventure and TRAIN for it!

Shikoku 88 Videos

Here are a couple of videos by people who have done the same “Shikoku 88″ route I’ll be doing in a couple of weeks:

Breakthrough

Watch this show, it’s fantastic! I hope it inspires you.

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