Discovering the Primal Blueprint introduced me to the concept of having a lifestyle of clean eating, frequent and regular movement, lots of sleep, and good social time rather than a diet, an exercise program, sleeping some, and spotty time with friends. I found that shift in thinking valuable for living a better life.
Stream
Lessons From My 10-Day Detox Challenge
My journey to even healthier eating really got started in late 2011 when I discovered Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint. Mark taught me that a healthy approach to life is as a lifestyle not a collection of programs. Since then I have found several others who have what seem to me to be logical, down-to-earth approaches to diet, exercise, and sleeping. Dr Mark Hyman is one such person.
When Dr Hyman announced his 10-Day Detox Challenge I signed up. I felt I already ate a pretty toxic-free diet but knew I’d learn something new. And I did! The foods he had us ban from our diets weren’t that much different from the foods I tend to avoid anyway — sugar, grains, legumes, and dairy. He also had us avoid high-glycemic and starchy foods. Ok, that’s a bit different so I was curious to see what difference that would make.
Ten days of clean eating gave me more energy and better, deeper sleep. I already had a 30-minute per day exercise program and lots of walking so that wasn’t a stretch for me. The lesson was that during the three-day class I attended in the middle of the Challenge I wasn’t able to do my exercise program and that’s when I appreciated the value and wisdom of exercise in living a healthy life. Without the exercise I was a bit stiffer and less focused. With the exercise I had better focus and clarity and limberness. Those little annoying body “issues” were absent during my 10 days.
When you participate in a Challenge like this one you tend to be thinking about food in a different way so food is on your mind more. Not in the the starved-human way but in the what-eating-habits-are-others-following-right-now way. I’m aware of how much sugar people eat in general but I was hyper aware of it during the class I attended. The amount of sugary drinks, bread-centric foods, and unhealthy snacks consumed was astounding! And then there was the ice cream social with whipped cream, hot fudge and caramel sauces, sprinkles, nuts, and even cherries. The smell of the sugary treats made my brain sit up and demand to have some while my taste buds were shuddering at the thought of that stuff in my mouth. The taste buds won, fortunately. Toxic food really does play a big role in our lives.
That experience was underlined when this thought came across my computer screen to get me to think a bit more on the subject:
When we remove diversion of food, we open ourselves up to an opportunity for deeper healing. Feelings that were covered up by food come to the surface and we deal with the root causes behind them.
Food became an adventure for me. It brought my husband and me together for dinner together every night, something we’d slipped away from because of busy schedules. We found fun ways to prepare the foods we love that were on the approved foods list in new ways to make them more interesting. And I found several new, delicious smoothy recipes for my breakfasts.
Day Eleven. I went on a food binge! I was eating “approved” foods, but in mass quantities. I recognized a pattern I have, two actually. When I restrict myself when doing diets or challenges I “reward” myself at the end with a feast. And that feast is consumed in my chain-eating style; as I swallow one bite the next one goes in. Not good.
I also learned that I can’t eat sweet foods, even sweetened with dates, because that short-circuits my control. Sweet foods are a bad idea for me, at least for now. I’ll be curious to learn if down the road that goes away as I continue to eat non-toxic foods.
Because I slipped on Day 11 I’m repeating the 10-Day Detox Plan and then going on to the Transition phase. It’s going to be fun and interesting.
Even if you think you eat and exercise healthfully and are healthy, I challenge you to do a 10-Day Detox Challenge of your own so you can witness first hand how your body feels. Then you can decide for yourself how you want your lifestyle to look and feel.
It’s Too Hard!
It’s human nature to resist change. But…life is change. And one form of change is learning new things, things like information, habits, actions, attitudes, and behaviors. That learning pushes your envelope, your limits sometimes, and even your comfort zone.
The Bumps and Dips Along Your Path
Road signs help us navigate our trip — our journey. Signs like Stop, Yield, Curve or Sharp Curve, Slow Children Playing, Deer Crossing, Dead End, Detour, Speed Limits, Bump, and Dip help you adjust your driving.
It’s the Bump and Dip signs I want to talk about. They jar you the most and without doing much damage to you or anyone else. You know what road signs on streets and highways look like. How well do you heed them?
Acceptance Action
It seems to me the world has it backwards or upside down on what to focus time and energy on. Remembering the Serenity Prayer (Grant me the Serenity to accept the things that can’t be changed, the Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference) helps me put my energy in fruitful activity. It takes being mindful and present to remember that guideline all the time — life is a work in progress.
Thinking Thoughts That Thump…..you in the head
This thought got me to thinking: If you are thinking something that doesn’t feel good — it’s not true. I alternated between thinking it was a brilliant observation to thinking it was missing some situations that contradicted the conclusion.
Live A Life Of No Regrets
While it takes a bit of effort to live in focused energy, it’s well worth it. Focus, energy, and mindfulness are 3 of the keys to high performance living as well as to living with grace and ease. The same techniques and approaches that people with ADD learn to manage their syndrome works for entrepreneurs and others who want more from their lives.
Follow Your Heart and Dreams
Experiencing the joy of people who are following their dreams is exhilarating. Seeing how much impact those people have on the world is humbling. What passion do you bring to your life? Are you depriving the world of your gifts? Stop it! 🙂 You deserve to be one of those people, someone following your dreams and sharing your gifts with the world, no matter how seemingly small they may be.
How Do You Recognize Your Stress?
Stress can sneak up on you and wallop you if you aren’t watchful. Knowing the little signs will help you stop your negative reaction to stress so that you can surf it rather than drown in it.
Who’s The CEO In Your Life?
The wind during today’s LIFE Live stream was so bad that it made it hard for people to hear or understand all of my words. So, here’s the transcript, below the video, of being your own CEO and experiencing a high performance life.