Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Calgary)

AC/DC (Vancouver)

Metallica (Calgary)

Crash Test Dummies (Calgary)

Nickelback (Calgary)

Live (Calgary)

Barenaked Ladies (Calgary)

Stompin’ Tom Connors (Woodstock)

The point of living.

Which, to me, is to find and create meaning. I believe that a life of meaning is a life fulfilled. Life isn’t always about being happy. It’s about doing something you’re passionate about but that doesn’t always mean that you will be happy. If you truly pursue your passion, you can sometimes feel isolated, judged, not supported, alone and like a failure. But if you stick it out, you will be fulfilled. Since watching that movie and from reading blogs and books about life and passion and talent, I’m believing more and more that by following what you love and by realizing your potential, whether you have someone around to share that with or not, it will still be something that you’ve accomplished that noone will ever be able to take away from you.

Too many times in this life we get distracted by shit that doesn’t really matter – drinking, drugs, tv, watching pro sports and other activities where we are a passive observer. Too many people allow their life to become passive and they’re just an observer in their own lives. Sure by doing that for a day or a week doesn’t really matter but some people have been doing that for months or in many cases, years. What happens then? What do you have to look forward to? What do you have to be proud of? Anyone can achieve something they can be proud of. Whether it’s reading one book a week, going for a 5k walk/run everyday or doing 100 pushups a day, as long as you are consistent, you will create something real that noone can ever take away from  you.

This post is a bit rambly but it’s simple people. Do what you are passionate about. What makes you happy can be the easy way out. The road less traveled is to create something that can be your own. By pursuing your passion.

Clarity of self doesn’t have to be fully developed however, since even a bit of clarity about who you are and what you want is all it takes.

Once you have this clarity, you will choose to spend time with people who are more your type of person. You won’t just hang out with someone because they want to hang out with you.

You will start having people in your life who are positive influences and will contribute to your life rather than taking away from your life.

I strongly believe that nobody should put someone else ahead of their goals. I believe that your passion and your goals are the most important part in your life – it gives you a sense of meaning – and to put someone ahead of that will only cause you pain and regret over not being able to realize your potential and go after your passion.

I’ve felt my clarity of self becoming stronger the past few years. I felt as though I had lost myself when my mom died in 2001 and I only realized the impact that had on me about 2 years ago, looking back on everything I had gone through.

For me, I felt like it all started to come together once I started to have opportunities being presented to me simply by me doing what I was passionate about and creating my own path.

Being flown to China, being flown to Mexico, competing in disc sports competitions and meeting the legends all would not have been possible if I hadn’t put myself out there, connected with new people and taken risks on more than one occasion.

Do you feel as though you’re searching for your clarity of self? Are you aware of this journey or are you moreso just enjoying the ride?

Having a dream to be somebody, to do something or to go somewhere.

What is your dream?

Mine is to challenge myself, to do something I’m passionate about, to inspire others and to be constantly learning. I’m doing that right now through disc sports. You can follow me at http://www.frisbeerob.com.

Are you working at your dream(s)?

What I’ve decided is that in order to continue on this lifestyle after the detox, for the next 6 days I’m going to mostly do the detox meals but I’m going to start introducing meals that I will be eating after the detox into my diet. I need to learn how to make this a habit moving forward so I’m going to do some meal planning over the next few days and come up with something that will work for me. I’m excited to go through my cookbooks, choose some recipes, go shopping and get cooking.

Here are my results after 6 days on the detox:

Starting Stats (Friday, December 4):

• Total Body Water: 121.4 lbs
• Dry Lean Mass: 44.4 lbs
• Body Fat Mass: 66.6 lbs
• Lean Body Mass: 165.8 lbs
• Weight: 232.4 lbs
• BMI: 34.3
• Percentage of Body Fat: 28.7%

3-Day Stats (Monday, December 7)

• Total Body Water: 121.2 lbs
• Dry Lean Mass: 44.3 lbs
• Body Fat Mass: 61.1 lbs
• Lean Body Mass: 165.5 lbs
• Weight: 226.6 lbs
• BMI: 33.5
• Percentage of Body Fat: 26.9

6-Day Stats (Wednesday, December 10)

• Total Body Water: 120.2 lbs
• Dry Lean Mass: 43.8 lbs
• Body Fat Mass: 58.0 lbs
• Lean Body Mass: 164.0 lbs
• Weight: 222.0 lbs
• BMI: 32.8
• Percentage of Body Fat: 26.2

6 Day Results

• Total Weight Lost: 10.4 lbs
• Total Body Fat Mass Loss: 8.6 lbs
• Change in Body Fat Percentage: -2.5%
• Change in BMI: -1.5%

Based on my lean body mass and knowing that athletes should be in the 6% – 12% range for body fat, my ideal body weight will be around 175 – 185 lbs (if I don’t gain any muscle mass). But in September I was around 171 lbs lean body mass so if I can assume that I will end up with a lean body mass of around 175 lbs based on my weight program, then my ideal body weight will be around 185 – 195 lbs which seems like a much more ideal weight for me. I’m thinking if I can lose another 30 pounds, I would be happy at 192 lbs. I know that I would be much faster, would be able to jump higher and would feel better all around. I would probably also have to buy a bunch of new clothes which is ok – I’ll just make a trip to Value Village – much better than buying new clothes since their clothes don’t shrink!

In any case, I’m excited to be more aware of what I’m doing with my body but more importantly, what I’m putting into my body.

Ingredients for dinner!

Since I work for International Fitness Holdings (World Health, Spa Lady and Bankers Hall Club), I have access to a gym quite easily so I made sure to get in a 20 minute cardio workout each day, and I also went throwing/running (self caught flight) on Saturday for 90 minutes and then played ultimate last night for over an hour so getting exercise in is an important part of a healthy living, not just the detox. I will be starting to do more weight workouts soon which will help me see even more results but I just need to make sure that I’m getting a bit more protein in my diet. I will probably be going with Vega Energizing Smoothie after workouts and adding spirulina to my morning juice.

The best way for me to measure results easily was to use the InBody 230 (which we have at each World Health location) and is a body composition machine that tells me numbers like water weight, dry lean mass, body fat mass and lean body mass. I measured myself Friday morning of the cleanse and again this morning to be consistent after I had one meal in me. Here are the results:

Starting Stats (Friday, December 4):

• Total Body Water: 121.4 lbs
• Dry Lean Mass: 44.4 lbs
• Body Fat Mass: 66.6 lbs
• Lean Body Mass: 165.8 lbs
• Weight: 232.4 lbs
• BMI: 34.3
• Percentage of Body Fat: 28.7%

Ending Stats (Monday, December 7)

• Total Body Water: 121.2 lbs
• Dry Lean Mass: 44.3 lbs
• Body Fat Mass: 61.1 lbs
• Lean Body Mass: 165.5 lbs
• Weight: 226.6 lbs
• BMI: 33.5
• Percentage of Body Fat: 26.9

3 Day Results
Total Weight Lost: 5.5 lbs
Total Body Fat Percentage lost: 1.8%

As for the detox itself, here are a few results from that:

Total spent on shopping list: $125 (roughly $42/day).
However, a lot of the stuff I bought for the detox will last a while (cinnamon, salt, chamomile tea, tamari) so when I went back to the grocery store to buy more supplies to do another 3 day detox, it cost me around $60, so in reality it’s more like $25/day, which isn’t that bad. Looking at what I’ve eaten over the past few years, $25/day in food would be a good amount. If you think about eating out, buying drinks, buying junk food, it adds up really fast. Moving forward, if I can average around $20/day on food that works out to $600/month which I’m ok with. There is no price on health and it’s worth eating good food. Based on articles like this, we only spend about 10% of our income on food. However, other countries spend more. Part of the reason is that we’re bombarded on a daily basis Wendy’s, Subway and McDonald’s by meals that cost only $1.99. However, the nutrient quality of those meals is zero so while it might be cheap, it’s not doing any good for our bodies. I’m ok spending a larger percentage of my income on food if I’m going to feel better, be happier, live longer and perform better in sports and in life. Hands down, one of the easiest choices I’ve ever made.

Kitchen supplies I recommend to have: crock pot, grater, lemon squeezer, sharp cutting knife, cutting board, juicer, glass dishware (small and large bowls for storage/transportation) and a lunch bag.

Recommendations: Honestly, I found that by following the directions, everything went really well. I liked that the soup made enough for 3 days since that took the longest to make. You certainly come to appreciate knife skills – each time I made lunch, I found it getting easier and easier. I also found that I came to enjoy the little things – grating the ginger, squeezing the lemons, and even washing the juicer every morning after I made breakfast. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would to cook so that kills my excuse in the past that I don’t like cooking because it takes too long. If I was really worried about being more efficient with my time, there are much better ways to do that – I’ve learned that skimping on preparing food shouldn’t be the way to gain more time.

I’m excited to see what my results will be like after 12 days of doing this. Thanks for following my journey so far!

1. I feel amazing and I want to keep going
2. I’m enjoying eating healthy, going to bed when I’m tired, being clear headed and being happy
3. I want to see what the results will be after 10 days (although I will post the results tomorrow morning after the first 3 days

After the 10 days are up, I’m planning on keeping some of the meals moving forward; however, I will be adding in some recipes from a few nutrition books I have – most notably the following books: Eat Raw, Eat Well: 400 Raw, Vegan and Gluten-Free Recipes, The Eat Clean Diet: Recharged and The Paleo Diet Cookbook.

Juicing for breakfast…delicious!

So far I’m finding the detox really easy – I eat roughly 6 times per day, drink a lot of water w/ lemon and ginger root, drink chamomile tea when I don’t have water and I exercise and sleep (8 hours per night so far). I’m looking forward to the rest of the 10 days so if you’re not sure about doing something like this, I would highly recommend it. It’s a great way to kickstart your transition to eating clean and living healthy again. Eliminate the bs in our lives – ads for fast food restaurants, drinking too much alcohol and worrying about other people bringing us down – for starters. It’s all about eating clean, exercising and minimizing stress.

Chia seed, honey and coconut milk pudding

The best part about Day 1 though was that I was getting tired around 9:45pm so I decided to go to bed. Normally I would stay up as late as I could until I could barely keep my eyes open – some nights that means I’m up until around 2am but I decided to listen to my body last night. I set my alarm for 7am, thinking I’d wake up early and get some work done. I didn’t have to rely on my alarm – my body woke me up at 6am and I felt super rested and awake. I didn’t want to lay in bed and I was immediately up and out of bed. This is great!

Alfafa sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, tamari, tori and avocado salad

I’m excited to keep this going and I think I’m going to extend the detox to 7 days and I will probably carry some of the meals on after the detox is over – a glass of water with lemon and ginger upon rising I really like. I will probably keep juicing one of my meals everyday and I’ll keep the 2 snacks in daily – celery, carrots and cucumbers in the morning and activated almonds in the afternoon.

And I’m actually finding this really easy to do. Although I did go to a pub last night for a bit to celebrate Gian-Carlo Carra’s 40th birthday. There was a lot of beer and birthday cake but I didn’t have any although I normally would have had a few beer and a few generous bites so it was nice to not indulge.

Wednesday night I got an email from the Hungry for Change website about a 3 Day Guided Detox. I initially subscribed to their newsletter after watching the documentary Hungry for Change…

Aside: This documentary, along with documentaries like Vegucated, Food Inc., Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, The Future of Food and books like The China Study, In Defense of Food, The 100 Year Diet and Born to Run have impacted and influenced the way I look at food and nutrition in a big way. However, I have always struggled in putting my knowledge into action. For me I felt like it was always so easy to go back on my bad habits – eating out, buying food in boxes and eating junk food. I’m an emotional eater but I always felt like I just needed to replace the bad food with good food when I got emotional. But I made excuses – living on my own, not having enough time, not having enough money. But I’ve been wanting that to change for a while for a few reasons: 1) To feel and look better so I can perform better in my sports, my job and in life, 2) To save money and stop supporting companies who produce bad food, and 3) To be consistent and practice what I preach. There’s nothing I dislike more than hypocrites and so being one myself was a hard pill to swallow. When I got the email from Hungry for Change about a 3 Day Detox, I knew this was the solution I had been looking for. It would provide me structure to start cutting bad food out of my diet, it would kick start my healthy eating lifestyle and it would inspire me to take the time to cook. As I write this, I can smell the soup simmering that I just made for dinner the next 3 nights and it smells AMAZING. I’ve always loved vegetables and so I’m excited to start making them a bigger part of my diet.

Hungry for Change 3 Day Detox Groceries

…which brings me to now. When I got the email on Wednesday, I immediately printed off the grocery list and the recipes and decided I was going to do this. For me mostly but I also wanted to share my experience with others – my fans, the members of the gyms I work for and for my friends and family.

With the grocery list in hand, I went to Community Natural Foods tonight with my friend Amber, a fellow health nut who is taking holistic nutrition at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and can relate to me as she has had her own food issues. It was great having her along as she is not only supportive of me but also can talk me through it, give me some great advice and doesn’t judge me for the food decisions I make. I think that’s one of the most important things to have – a supportive network who is by your side no matter what.

What my fridge looks like

After Community, we grabbed a tea at Starbucks and talked about both of our stories as it relates to food. For me, it’s mostly emotional – I eat pasta because it reminds me of dinners my mom would make. I eat chocolate chip cookies and drink pop because it reminds me of my dad. Although I know it’s not good for my body, I have come to terms with it because I believe it helps reduce my stress about not being around my family and seeing them as much as I’d like. However, ideally I can solve the emotional issues so the food issues won’t exist anymore. I never feel good after eating bad food – it’s just like a drug though, you think you need that fix but realize after how destructive it can be. For her, it’s about how guys made her feel – which is something a lot of women have to deal with – so it’s been really hard for her. But, I feel that with the support of people who care about her, she’ll do it, and she already has in a big way. It’s because of friends like Amber that I’m able to improve myself and help teach others and for that, I’m so grateful to have her in my life.

Potassium balance soup – smells delicious while simmering

After saying good night, I headed to Safeway to pick up the last of the items I needed for the detox. As I was reading through the list, I thought I needed a bottle of tamari since I wasn’t sure what it was so I phoned Amber. Just as the phone was ringing, I walked past a women who was asking one of the Safeway employees if he knew where the tamari was. After Amber informed me I already had some from Community, I approached the woman and asked her if by chance she was also doing the Hungry for Change Detox and that if she was, she could pick up a bottle of tamari from Community. I found out that her name was Anisa and she was indeed doing the detox. The reason being was that she had fallen off her regular diet the past few months – she has breast cancer and has been juicing since she was diagnosed. She believes the reason she got cancer was from stress in her life so while she works on reducing the stress, she’s trying to eat a clean diet to fight the cancer off. She went to the clinic in Tijuana for treatment (a clinic I’ve had a few other friends attend) and was telling me all about the tests and the quality of treatment there compared to Canada. We spoke for probably 20 minutes and it was so great to be connecting with someone who was aware of what she eats and is actively trying to find a better way to live – I refer to people like Anisa as being awake – the majority of people I met are asleep – they don’t question life, they don’t learn about the things around them and they aren’t open to learning and bettering themselves.

Almonds soaking in distilled water – for activation

For me, this was confirmation that I was on the right path and the detox is the right thing for me to be doing right now.

In total, I spent around $125 on all of the groceries and about 2 hours preparing all of the meals.

As I sit here writing this, I can smell the soup simmering and I am just so excited to be getting my nutrition back on track. In order to be the best in your job, the best in your sports and your best in life, it’s so true that your body needs the right fuel. For me, this detox is the beginning to that lifestyle.

I will be sharing stories over the next few days but mostly I wanted to do this for me and to see what it’s like.

More information on the Hungry for Change 3 Day Guided Detox can be found here:

• 3 Day Detox Plan (Fri-Sun) - http://www.hungryforchange.tv/article/3-day-detox-plan
• Shopping List - http://www.hungryforchange.tv/article/shopping-guide-preparing-for-the-3-day-detox
• Affirmations and Healthy Lifestyle Tips - http://www.hungryforchange.tv/article/affirmations-and-healthy-lifestyle-tips-for-during-the-detox

I have watched most of my food documentaries on Netflix. You can get more information on them here:

• Hungry for Change - http://www.hungryforchange.tv/
• Food Inc. - http://www.takepart.com/foodinc
• Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead - http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/
• Vegucated - http://www.getvegucated.com/
• The Future of Food - http://www.thefutureoffood.com/

Some great books to help you learn more about nutrition and food:

• The China Study - http://www.thechinastudy.com/
• In Defense of Food - http://michaelpollan.com/books/in-defense-of-food/
• The 100 Year Diet - http://www.thehundredyeardiet.com/
• Born to Run - http://www.chrismcdougall.com/
• 4 Hour Chef - http://fourhourchef.com/
• 4 Hour Body - http://fourhourbody.com/

I look forward to sharing in your journey as well – whether you still haven’t gotten started, are just beginning, or have been on your path to healthy living for a while. I believe we can all teach each other something about food and eating.