Here is what I have learned about meshing the extreme athletic bodybuilding lifestyle together with the longevist/vegetarian/holistic lifestyle by focusing on making the inside healthy first, primarily by focusing on the acid/alkaline balance of my blood, since the release of The Healthy Lifestyle Coach Feb. 15, 2005.
My body composition stats on Feb. 15th, 2005:
Body Fat % = 7.6
Weight = 208
Waist = 33 1/8
Time in ½ mile sprint- 3 minutes and 18 seconds
My body composition today Aug. 28th, 2007:
Body Fat%=6.5%
Weight=215
Waist=32 9/16
Time in ½ mile sprint- 2 minutes and 51 seconds
I am very excited to find out through the preparation of this update that I have lost 2 lbs. of fat, gained 8.89 lbs. of muscle while dropping my overall body fat percentage and my waistline. I improved my ½ mile time as well as my flexibility and range of motion in several joints (at the age of 42 I am by far in the best condition of my life). This has happened since the release of the original press release "The Healthy Lifestyle Coach" on Feb. 10th, 2005 while implementing this unique combination of two different lifestyles. How exciting for me it is to have proof that you can have a healthier inside and a more muscular, toned/ripped physique with enhanced athleticism, at the same time. It's the best of both worlds, if you will. I have implemented the holistic changes listed at the end of this update consistently since Feb. 15th, 2005.
Common sense would tell us that the foundation is the most important part of any structure. It is the starting point. Therefore, to have the ultimate body, we must focus on the health of our organs, blood and cells. What good is an amazing body with ripped abs if it comes at the expense of being unbalanced and is only short-lived because the foundation is not firm.
In my opinion, I believe even more strongly now than ever that we can have the best of both worlds: a ripped physique and a holistic, healthy inside. I know that we can LIVE STRONG, AND LONG. I promise you that I will continue to bring you what I have learned, and what I am learning as I siphon through the onslaught of information and use myself as a guinea pig. I feel privileged to be your coach, your leader by example, if you will.
MORE ON THE HEALTH ON THE INSIDE
The quality of your life is based on the quality of your cells. In order to both survive and prosper, cells must have:
o Oxygen
o Water
o Nutrients (potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium and zinc, among others)
o The ability to eliminate their own waste.
Without these four things, which are dramatically affected by the quality of your blood (your river of life), your cells cannot survive. When any one of the above four is compromised, your cells cannot thrive.
When you break our body's cells down to the smallest particles (atoms, protons and neutrons) you will find that each particle has an electrical energy that keeps the particles in motion. Our bodies literally have an electric energy that is measurable. When your atoms have high electrical energy, your energy is high, your cells can function optimally and your red blood cells don't stick together. When your atoms' energy is very low, your cells cannot function optimally and your red blood cells stick together and move more slowly, and so do you. When your atoms have no electrical energy, neither do you, and you are dead. In order to give your cells the best chance of being completely healthy, our blood must have a precise chemical balance. Alkalinity/acidity is measured on a scale of 1-14, with 1 being pure acid, 7 being neutral and 14 pure alkaline. Your blood must maintain a slightly alkaline pH of 7.365.
To check the PH of your blood can quickly and in evasively
When there is a disturbance to this balance, the red blood cells begin to clump together. When that happens, they are no longer able to efficiently able to travel through the capillaries and feed the cells throughout the body. The pH stands for potential for hydrogen. The pH of your blood is along the same lines as the pH of your pool or your hot tub. When the balance is out of whack the water gets polluted. It's the same thing with your blood.
Everyone's bodies are being pushed to their limits. They, to some extent, are toxic and acidic. The modern fast-paced lifestyle has brought so many things to the table that our bodies were not designed for. Our fight-or-flight stressor hormones like cortisol are at an all-time high. People are not slowing down to rest like they used to. With all the technology and the to-do lists, we are stressed out more than ever. Put on top of that the highly processed convenient foods for the masses with all the chemicals and preservatives and you have a severe problem.
PREVENTING BLOOD ACIDITY
When given the correct internal environment, the human body is an incredible self-healing machine. The more acidic that our blood becomes, the less ability our body has to fight off infection, disease, and premature aging. It is not very difficult to lower acidity of the blood. The following are some areas to focus on if you find that your blood is below 7.36:
THE BIG THREE AREAS OF FOCUS
o Emotions Anger, fear, overwhelm, frustration, inadequacy, and low self-esteem are all acidic emotions. These emotions induce more negative hormones like cortisol. We have all heard it before, but believe me: the mind is much stronger than we ever know. Life is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Watch the words that come out of your mouth. Chances are you are not even aware of how many times you say, "I am sick and tired, I have no time, I am overwhelmed, back to the grind," etc. Even if you feel it, do not speak it.
o Nutrition Eliminate highly processed convenient foods that are full of chemicals and preservatives, and replace them with foods that are fresh and organic. If it doesn't spoil, don't eat it. All food has an electrical energy. If we are constantly eating foods that don't give energy back, we will become toxic and acidic. Some foods that have electrical energy include: most veggies, lemons, cucumbers, most grasses (wheat) and almonds.
"LET YOUR MEDICINE BE YOUR FOOD AND YOUR FOOD BE YOUR MEDICINE"
Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.), the Father of Medicine, who compiled a list of over four hundred herbs and their uses.
It is absolutely a certainty that we must strive to live a balanced life and eat as high quality natural organic foods as we can get our hands on. WE MUST, ONLY USE PHARMACUETICALS (DRUGS) AFTER EVERY OTHER NATURAL AND HOLISTIC REMEDY IS USED. Then we must try to release as much stress as possible and focus on health, energy, laughter, and longevity and wait as long as we can. At this point and only at this point, if the symptoms persist, should we consider drugs. GET OFF AS MANY DRUGS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
o Healthy lifestyle choices Get plenty of rest, the right amount of exercise, and keep acidic addictions such as coffee, tobacco and alcohol to a bare minimum. If you are presently using one of them, do not cut cold turkey. Cut usage in half and seek some social support. Hire a trainer, go for walks, hang around a health club, etc. Eat less per meal, eat more meals per day, and start moving/walking more. Keep it simple.
"THE FUNGUS AMONG-US"
Candida albicans is a microbe known as yeast, and it is a normal inhabitant of the body. For a variety of reasons, it can become a pathogen--a disease-causing fungus that feeds on the body and weakens the immune system, which the medical community often views as the source of allergies, AIDS, chronic fatigue (Epstein-Barr), herpes and many other illnesses.
The naturally occurring yeast resides in the gastrointestinal (G.I.) tract. The primary diet of the yeast and fungi that live in our bodies is sugar, grains, and glueten for energy and protein for development and growth. They (the yeast and fungi and their mycotoxins) greatly contribute to the over-acidification of our systems, thus producing a myriad of disease and symptomlogy.
Candida is quickly becoming recognized by holistic medical practitioners as "the disease behind the other diseases".
I believe that bodybuilders (we are all bodybuilders) who are eating clean need to learn this concept just as much as the average under-active American who is eating highly processed garbage. As extreme athletes, we are pushing our systems to the limits. We are tearing our bodies down daily, and this includes our muscles, as well as our nervous, hormonal, endocrine, elimination and recovery systems. We are releasing incredible amounts of lactic acid into our systems, adding to the already acidic system.
I have a personal regimen that has worked very well. When I get up in the morning, I take a serving of L-glutamine and a serving of green drink. The green drink is usually a mixture of different kinds of wheat/barley grasses, and I take it with warm water to help with absorption. This L-glutamine is a calorie free way to help fight catabolism, which is the process of your body using its own muscle for energy.
Then, I suck on an organic lemon as I drive to my club. I do some interval cardio, stretching, prayer/meditation, goal setting/incantations, and some visualization (with a vision board) before my first client at 6:30 a.m.
I wait one hour, and then I have my first meal, a 5-ounce organic breast and some green beans. Throughout the day I will eat every three hours with protein and carbs combined together. My 6:00 p.m. meal is almost always an organic salad with either fish or tuna. I eat very lightly at dinner, forcing myself to be hungry, and I eat a small protein snack at 8:45 p.m. Then it's lights out at 9:00 p.m. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man/women healthy, wealthy and wise. Because of the gravitational pull of the earth, hours of sleep between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. are considerably more valuable at helping the body regenerate than hours between 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.
I think that taking in a minimal amount of chicken, fish and red meat is OK. It can allow us to build muscle and take advantage of an intense athletic/fitness routine, while still allowing us to keep the internal system alkaline and balanced. But the key is organic and high quality. Any food that is prepared for the masses is going to be low quality and create a toxic environment in our bodies.
Another key is this: As hard as it is to slow down, try to socialize with family members, laugh and be in a light-hearted mood when eating. Dinner time is a great time in my house. It is a very important time of reunion and talking. On the health side of things, the bottom line is that if you eat food in a hurried, stressed state, the body will break down, assimilate, and process the nutrition in a vulnerable state. The cells cannot do their job to their full capabilities and will transfer that emotional stress into the cells. Do yourself a favor and slow down at least once a day, visit, laugh, and enjoy the conversation.