Reboot Diet: Day 4

Day 4 of the reboot diet started at 5Am with my early morning wake up. It was the first swim practice of the new year after about a 2 week layoff. I had a banana and apple before practice. The coach said, "happy new year, today we are going to do something special." Kick drills! Lots and lots of kick drills. I was exhausted by the end of practice.

Unfortunately when I have swim practice, I don't have much time afterwards to dilly dally as I have to jet off to work. I grabbed my fruit and headed for the door. Work was pretty good. I was feeling pretty awake and alive and I had some things to work on which kept me relatively busy. But I was HUNGRY! Swim practice really works up an appetite. I had another banana and orange in the morning before having another leafy green salad with lots of raw vegetables. It was very satisfying although I think I have eaten more salad in the last 4 days then I usually do it several weeks. It is a big change from the PB&J, chips, and a pickle that I used to have quite often.

When I got home from work, I did some short exercise in the form of one mile on the bike and then Ab Ripper X. Interestingly enough I felt very strong during Ab Ripper and got a nice core workout. And it only took 16 minutes. I also did some light stretching before getting to the task of making dinner. Pictured above is what we had for dinner. Leftover cauliflower mash from the night before, zucchini with onions, garlic, tomatoes, and spices (the cumin really brought home the flavor although I could have used more tomato) tossed in olive oil and then baked at 4:00 for about 20 minutes, some steamed Kale drizzled with Organic Ginger Soy, and a green salad with fresh avocado, carrots and red pepper. Melissa mixed up some oil and vinegar for the dressing which turned out very good.

After the feast and cleaning up I decided to take the advice of the Join the Reboot web site and do an Epsom Salt soak. A little King Crimson live from 1974 with the Fripp, Bruford, Wetton, and Cross lineup made for some good relaxation.

Today was another good day. I managed a vigorous swim and Ab Ripper X for exercise. My bike ride was cut short by the sun going down but it is encouraging to see that the days are already getting longer. Plus dinner was a success.

We have one more day of eating and then it is on to 5 days of juicing. It is going to be hard for me I think. I am going to have to get up early on work days to make sure I have time to make tons of juice to bring with me. I was joking with Melissa that it will be hard for me to not eat and if I cave, I might end up calling her from our favorite Thai place and saying, "I just woofed down some Drunken Noodles." I don't think that will happen but I am predicting some hunger pangs. I am so used to eating on a regular basis. It is actually a habit that I would like to break. I would like to be able to go without food every once in a while and still be able to perform. You never know what might happen and I might need that ability.

Melissa has done a fast before so I don't think she will have too much difficulty. I will have to work out some mantras to help me stay focused. I may even print out some pictures of my heroes to have at work to remind me why I am doing it all.

Now before I sign off, I want to give you a brief summary of my P90X results. The numbers don't actually convey the results. The mirror does and my 5K PR also is a testament to my advances. But people like numbers so here they are. The first numbers are from pre-P90X and the second are from after the 90 days. Also some of the measurements I will just say stayed the same.

• Body Fat 16% down to 14% (as measured by our scale-who knows how accurate it really is)
• Weight 144.5 down to 140.5
• Chest -stayed the same
• Waist -32 inches down to 30.5
• Hips - stayed the same
• Thighs and Arms-Roughly the same although they look a lot bigger so maybe our measurements were off.
• Pull Ups 6.5 to 9
• Vertical Leap - improved by 2 inches
• Push ups 18 to 28
• Toe touch - we sit on the ground straight legged and bed over and touch the toes. Before P90X, I could extend my fingers half an inch beyond my toes. Afterwards, I could extend them 6.5 inches beyond my toes.

There were a few more measurements but they are not too interesting. Not that any of this is all that interesting but I know some people who were curious about the P90X results (Rachel-http://dirtdivadynamo.blogspot.com/) so I thought I would go ahead and share.

No doubt P90X is for real and I plan to stick with the program in some fashion. I will be biking and running and swimming more but I still plan to also do some P90.

Day 5 tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Reboot Diet: Day 3

As I reflect on Day 3 of our reboot diet, I have to summarize it by saying that today was a good day. So much better than yesterday. I think yesterday's juice was too fruity and that got me off to a rough start. Plus I was in a hurry yesterday and had to drink it down pretty fast. For those of you who have never chugged freshly squeezed apple and pear juice, it can do a number on your tummy. Specifically it can create a very gassy situation. This morning's juice seemed to sit with me better. Details in a moment.

Since I was so tired yesterday, I decided to forgo the morning exercise and get an extra 30 minutes of sleep this morning. I still woke up 30 minutes earlier than I normally do and made my hot water with lemon. I never drank coffee or tea so I never really experienced the benefits of a nice hot morning drink. Lemon is good for the liver and since I am doing a cleansing diet, it is recommended to give the liver a hand. Although I could see getting into this habit even when we are done with the reboot diet.

After my hot lemon water and my banana, I had a nice green juice with the following ingredients (remember this is for 2 people).

2 red apples

1 pear

2 green apples

2 celery stalks

2 medium carrots

about 2 cups of fresh spinach

half a lemon

very small piece of ginger

Ginger can go into any juice according to the guidelines on the reboot web site. And it does add some serious taste to any juice. But you have to be careful not to use too much or your juice may bite you. Also the lemon gives it a nice zing.

This juice has lots of variety and is quite refreshing. It was really a great way to start the day. It really got me pumped up for the day. Plus I had more time to sip and enjoy it although I still was a little hurried in getting out the door to get to work but I made it on time.

I have this trick to help me drink the proper amount of water each day. I carry a CamelBak drip-free water bottle with me no matter where I go. My commute in the car is about 20 minutes. I find that this time is ideal for sipping water. I can get a good 10 or more ounces in me before I even hit my desk. Drinking water is key not only in the reboot diet but also all the time.

I was very busy today at work which is always nice. I made it to about 10AM before having my second breakfast of a banana and an orange. I was task swapping (what most people call multi-tasking but most people really mean task swapping) which helped me keep my mind off the can of peanuts that is sitting next to my desk. I will probably resume the mid morning handful of mixed nuts once the reboot is over.

For lunch I went to Martins and got a salad from the salad bar. Today's salad was better than yesterdays. Today I included some crunchy lettuce along with my mixed greens and spinach. I don't think this whiter, crunchier lettuce has nearly as much nutrients at the darker leafy greens but the crunch gives the salad some more texture which makes it better. I also included a few pieces of cut fruit as a little dessert. It was really only a few bites of fruit but it was a nice treat. I really don't know if the fruit from the salad bar is organic or not. Also fruit is supposed to be eaten by itself and mostly in the morning. But I get so hungry in the afternoon, I usually have some more.

In fact, that is exactly what I did later in the afternoon. I was on a 2 hour support call with a vendor. While he was researching some things and poking around on our server, I had another apple. Then later another banana and finally another apple on the way home from work. For a long time now I have been in the habit of eating an apple on the way home from work. In fact, whenever I travel by car, I always make sure I have some apples. Eating apples while you drive is a great way to keep alert. The crunching and sugar from the apple are great for staying awake. In fact, I think it is way better than my old method of drinking Red Bull to stay awake.

Once I got home, Melissa and I did our P90X Post 90 Day Fit Test. That took about an hour and while it was not an intense hour, it still counts as exercise. Melissa did 75 in and outs for goodness sake. If I have time, I will report on the results of my P90X either later in this blog or tomorrow.

After P90X, we made up dinner. We had what I will call a medium salad, some leftover soup from the night before (that soup was a disaster in my book and even though I added some red pepper and garlic, I still did not get through it all), a small baked sweet potato, and the cauliflower mash recipe from the jointhereboot.com website.

It was all very good and much more satisfying than last night's meal. While I was eating, I did feel like I was getting filled up. Shortly after finishing though, I had a momentary craving for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but it passed.

So again, today was so much better than yesterday. Some of it has to do with my mood, attitude, work schedule, as well as what we ate. I am tired but at the same time I seem to be bubbling with some energy. I feel like I am accomplishing a lot. I was able to get some laundry folded and get all my swim stuff together for tomorrow and write this blog. I am not sure if I will reach my goal of getting to bed by 10 but I still feel pretty good about today, tonight, and the future of my overall diet and training.

Tomorrow will undoubtedly be a long day. I will get up at 5AM to go to swim class. It will be the first swim of the new year and the first swim after a couple of weeks off. Likely the coach will put the hammer down on us. However it will be the first swim class that I go to where I did not do Plyometrics (jump training) the night before so maybe my fresh legs will help a bit.

I think that about wraps it up for now. Thanks for reading.

Reboot Diet- Day 1 and 2

Day 1- Sunday, January 2, 2011.

This morning was day 1 of our 15 day Reboot diet. We got up late. In fact we have been sleeping in a lot on Sundays recently and today turned out to be no different than the last several Sundays.

Our first order of business was to do some Sun Salutations which is a very short bit of yoga.

Then we had heated water with lemon and then later our morning fruit. After our morning fruit, we made a yummy green juice (spinach, celery, apple, and lemon). The green juice was invigorating. With each sip, I could feel a burst of energy.

Then we went to Whole Foods to pick up a few more fruits and vegetables and to have a big salad from the salad bar. My salad consisted of mixed greens, lots of spinach, raw cucumbers, raw yellow and green squash, some broccoli, and some carrots. It was a lot of chewing but I took my time and made a meal of it.

After we got home from the store, I decided to take a long hot bath. Hot baths are recommended during the detoxification process. Although this was only day one, a rainy Sunday afternoon is perfect for a long hot bath listening to live King Crimson. I usually mostly listen to the music but if I do let the mind wander, I usually think about what I can do to be more healthier and think about my upcoming training.

After the bath, I reheated some homemade split pea soup that I made the other night and we had our afternoon snack. We then completed our final P90X routine and did all of our post P90X measurements. We still have to do the fit test so I won't be posting my results until we get a chance to do the test.

After P90X, we had our dinner which consisted of a baked sweet potato, a raw salad with lots of leafy greens and raw vegetables. We also steamed up some kale and at that as well. We did not put anything at all on the kale just to see how that would go. It was actually not bad sans spices or oils. I think I could get used to eating it that way.

After we completed the after dinner cleanup, I must admit, I was still a little hungry. But I had a big glass of apple juice to tide me over until bed time. As we get into the diet, it is natural to feel hungry as the process of releasing toxins into the bloodstream can make one feel hungry. I don't really think I have released too many toxins yet. To be honest, today's diet was only slightly different than my normal diet. A bit more raw perhaps and more salad than usual.

It will probably be hard to sit at my desk tomorrow and not snack on peanuts, Lara bars, and yogurt like I used to. But I will bring plenty of fruit and I plan to bring a 16 ounce container of a green juice and some homemade soup for the afternoon. Lunch will be a big salad from the Martins salad bar. That will be easy enough. I have some healthy dressing that I keep at work. I don't like to use the dressings at the salad bars because I don't know what is in them. Probably HFCS and/or other sugars or sugar substitutes.

Finally, this reboot diet was inspired by the movie Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Great little film that I highly recommend. But I also got some additional inspiration from a book Melissa gave me for Christmas. Jack LaLanne's "Live Young Forever" is his latest book. In the book he outlines several things for optimal health. One of them is juicing and exercising every day. Also he does not eat sugar, or white flour, and stays away from processed foods. The stories in the book are a true testament to the lifestyle I am striving towards. When Jack was 70 is swam 1.5 miles fighting high winds and currents. That may not sound too impressive but he was also towing 70 small boats and each boat had a person in it. Still not impressed? He did it all while handcuffed and shackled. Wow. What a role model. At least to me.

I feel like the diet we are embarking on is a great way to jump start our nutrition so that we can live a long and healthy life. It may be hard as we are used to eating certain things. But I think I can do it.

Day 2-January 3, 2011

Day 2 was a lot harder than day 1. I got up an hour early to do some light exercise and stretching and to have my hot water with lemon and eat my fruit. Then I made a morning juice of pears, apples, and lemon. It was quite tasty. While I finished getting ready for work, Melissa made me a green juice to take with me to work.

I felt pretty tired at work today and had trouble motivating. I had a mid morning snack of banana but definitely did not eat as much as I usually do while sitting at my desk. By lunch time I was darn hungry. For lunch, I had a salad from Martins with some healthy dressing. It was good but it was a lot of salad. I decided to heat up my homemade split pea soup and have that with my lunch rather than an afternoon snack. It was the highlight of my day as far as food goes.

For dinner we made some vegetable soup and stuffed squash. I have to admit, neither really did it for me. I ended up not finishing it all and left the dinner table still hungry. I had a banana and as I write this I am having some apple juice hoping that it will tide me over until I fell asleep.

Overall, I would summarize the way I feel as - tired. Of course today was the first day back to work after nearly 2 weeks off so it is not too unusual for me to feel tired under the circumstances. Also this is the first day in at least 90 days that I have not done an hour or more of exercise.

We shall see how tomorrow goes. I was craving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich earlier. I am hoping that the way I feel now does not become the trend. I am sure if I made up some fresh juice, that would liven me up but honestly, I am too tired.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope yours was safe and enjoyable. Melissa and I typically stay in on New Year's Eve and plan our goals for the new year. While most people celebrate on New Year's Eve, I hold off on the celebration until New Year's Day. My celebration this year went something like this:

I woke up at 7Am and made myself a fruit-protein smoothie. I have a new smoothie recipe that uses a protein powder that is plant-based rather than using whey protein (usually derived from sickly cows). It is yummy and super nutritious as well as being Vegan which is something I am striving for. I also include Udo's Oil which is packed with Omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids.

After my shake, I loaded up my gear and headed for the park to meet friends for a New Year's Day mountain bike ride. We got started at Poor Farm Park about 8:30 AM. There was really no one else there. Typically we like to ride down at the river but the trails down there were trashed because of all the snow. Poor Farm was wet but not too bad.

We had a great ride. We were out there for about an hour and 30 minutes with a total actual ride time of 1 hour and 11 minutes. We had a few breaks in the woods including a scary moment when Mario crashed. I just happened to look back up this steep snowy hill that I had just descended when I saw Mario flying over his handle bars and letting out a pretty good yell. My other friend Jeff said, "do you think he is alright?" Just then Mario let out another yell. He had already been on the ground for a few seconds when he yelled again which was not a good sign. Turns out he was bruised up a little bit but mostly he had gotten the wind knocked out of him. He recovered well and we all rode for another 20 minutes or so. He may have a broken pinky but has to fly out of town on business Monday so I doubt he will get it checked out.

After our ride, I went home and made some fresh juices with Melissa (more on that later). Then while Melissa ran her 4-mile run, I took my brand new road bike out for its maiden voyage. I rode for about 45 minutes around the neighborhood doing intervals. I rode fast until I found Melissa running and then slowed down and gave her some water. Then I took off fast again. Interval training gets the best results.

After my road bike ride, Melissa and I hit the store to do some quick shopping. Then we came home and did our P90X, 90-minute Yoga routine. We were both tired but we had to bring it. And bring it we did! It is hard to believe that we are now done with P90X. I don't think I have ever followed such a regimented workout schedule for so long and I am happy to say that we made it through with no injuries and pretty good results. We have one more day of stretching tomorrow and then we take all our post P90X measurements. I will of course report on those results here.

That about wraps up my summary of our New Year's celebration. Now onto goals, plans, and goings-on for 2011. Our first order of business is to go on a 15-day reboot diet. I have written about this in previous blog postings. Tomorrow we start. We will eat pretty much all veggies for 5 days along with fresh juices. Then after the first 5 days, we will only drink fresh juices for 5 days followed by another 5-day round of all veggies and juices.

This diet is not a diet in the traditional sense. We are not trying to lose weight. Rather we are rebooting our system by cutting out all sweeteners, added salts, and processed foods. The intent of the diet is to reset our palate so that we desire good foods over bad foods. I describe good foods as lots of fruits and vegetables and no processed foods. I have already cut all junk food from my diet. Now we will step it up a bit.

In order to do the reboot, we had to get a juicer. We got a nice Omega VRT330 Dual-Stage Vertical Single-Auger Low-Speed Juicer. Low speed juicers ensure that the juices do not get heated up during the juicing process thus diminishing the quality of the juice. The juicer is really cool. After we got it, I immediately went out to Whole Foods and filled an entire cart full of fresh organic fruits and vegetables. We are ready!

I plan to blog about the whole experience so tune in frequently for short updates about the reboot diet.

And now onto fitness goals. I have tentatively mapped out my 2011 race schedule. It is ambitious but as followers of my blog, you know that I like to bring it! Here is the schedule so far as I see it. Important to note that some of the races are tune-up races with the main goal to get used to racing.

• April 2-Monument Avenue 10K -Melissa and I are signed up as are Melissa's brother and his son.
• April 10 - Chasing Chics Sprint Triathlon-First road triathlon ever for me-got a new bike just for the occasion.
• April 16- Fredericksburg Offroad Duathlon #1-Hope to beat my time last year
• May 22 - Ground Force IT Sprint Triathlon-Another road tri.
• June 12 - Xterra East Coast Championship-Off Road Olympic Distance Triathlon
• September 4- Shenandoah Mountain 100-Redemption!

As you can see, this is pretty ambitious. However, with the proper training and nutrition, I think this is very doable. I will of course be blogging about it.

Again, Happy New Year and stay tuned for frequent updates about the diet and training.

One Year Later

A year ago today I was laid up on the couch recovering from knee surgery on both by knees. I was pretty much living on the couch with occasional trips to the bathroom. I would also periodically use my arms to drag myself up the stairs to swap out my ice. I was also not really eating too much. Melissa would leave me with a box of crackers and I would have either a Dr. Pepper or Red Bull now and then. After a few days, I was able to go back to work. Each day after work, I would do some leg raises and then ice for the rest of the night. For those of you who have been with me on this blog from the beginning, you pretty much know the story.

Today I would like to reflect on my year - post knee surgery. After doing physical therapy religiously every day for several months including riding the stationary bike, I felt well enough to try a race. I did the Fredericksburg Offroad Duathlon #1 with some friends and while all my friends beat me, I still did pretty well all things considered. I also completed 3 10Ks, the National Offroad Duathlon Championship, and I made it through 75 miles of the Shenandoah Mountain 100. No doubt, I have recovered well and was able to do more than many people are able to do.

Currently I am doing P90X with my wife. We start our 11th week tomorrow. Doing P90X plus swimming twice a week has left little time for biking and running but Melissa and I both are looking at doing more races next year including more triathlons. In fact we are in the process of shopping for road bikes now. There are so many bikes out there to test ride and then follow up with Internet research. It is truly amazing how many choices there are out there.

Personally I like the idea of working my way up to a full Ironman Distance Triathlon. But first I have to start small with a Sprint Triathlon. The triathlon distances break down something like this:

Sprint: 400 Meter Swim, 12 Mile Bike, 5K Run

Olympic Distance: 1.5 K Swim, 40K Bike Ride, 10K Run

Half-Iron Distance: 1.2 Mile Swim, 56 Mile Bike Ride, 13.1 Mile Run

Full Iron Distance: 2.4 Mile Swim, 112 Mile Bike Ride, 26.2 Mile Run

As you can see, a Full Ironman Distance triathlon is no joke and I see this as more of a dream distance at the moment. After all I am just learning to swim properly and I can do about 100 meters without having to take a little break. I have a LONG way to go. Plus there is another issue-what I consider to be the biggest issue and perhaps the one thing that may keep me from achieving what I believe the rest of my body can handle. My darn knee.

My left knee is still bothering me. Some weeks are better than others but lately it has been a nuisance. It has not kept me from doing all my workouts but the way it feels, I am not sure I can run more than a few miles on it. After I swim, it feels great but then my day of sitting at my desk makes it start to ache a bit. Sitting seems to be my worst enemy. Of course yesterday we swam for an hour, test road bikes for a least an hour including climbing a decent hill about 5 times, and we did Kenpo X. I was able to do all that fine but this morning, the knee feels a little sore in places that it shouldn't. I probably should have iced again last night but I did not.

Two years ago, I liked the idea of running ultra marathons but with my gimpy knee, I know that is not in the cards. So then I starting leaning towards the triathlons. There are some additional workouts I can do to strengthen my knee and get over the knee pain. If I work on it, I may be able to work up to my dream tri distance. I feel motivated to do it.

I used to play soccer. That was my passion and is still my exercise of choice. Unfortunately soccer is too hard on my body. If I am sore today, it is because I pushed myself in a workout. When I was playing soccer, if I was sore, it was because I got kicked, stopped up, run over, flipped, or otherwise bruised by the opposing team or the ground. Unfortunately the toll of soccer still haunts me today. My ankles are stiff and make some wicked cracking noises and of course my knees are not pristine either.

In summary, I still have a lot of work to do in order to reach my athletic goals. Conquer the knee, train like a beast, dial in the nutrition, and have fun doing it. I am lucky to have a very supportive wife and an income that lets me do all these things. For instance, one race I was looking at - a Half Iron Distance tri- costs $150 just to enter. Plus I would have to rent a wet suit. And as far as support goes, Melissa is the best. She continues to push herself and she has really made some significant gains in her fitness over the last year. From my perspective anyway.

Next time I write, I hope to have a new bike and maybe I can post some pictures.

BRING IT!

Thanksgiving Recap

I am a little behind the times but wanted to bring everyone up to date. This past Thanksgiving we continued with tradition and traveled North to PA to visit with Melissa's family. The whole gang was there with a total of 24 people for Thanksgiving dinner. Diane and Scott are such amazing hosts and really know how to make everyone feel comfortable and well fed. My thanks goes out to the whole family for their hospitality.

Besides the tradition of having Thanksgiving with Melissa's whole family, we also have another tradition that we followed again this year. On Thanksgiving morning we all go to the Gobble Wobble 5K run and 2 mile walk at a nearby YMCA. Last year, I was a spectator due to my knee issues. In fact, I remember being in great pain during the whole stay last year. But this year, I had planned to run the 5k. I was hoping to run it barefoot but did not get enough barefoot training in to make that happen. In fact, after the Shenandoah Mountain 100 at the beginning of September, I want on 1 long run and then only 2 or 3 very short runs. In the weeks leading up to the 5K, I did not run at all. BUT and this is a big But, I have been doing P90X and swimming so I knew I was in great shape.

As it turns out, I got a PR at the 5K. I ran the hilly course in 23.08 which is about a 7.27 pace. Considering I had not been running hardly at all and taking into consideration the hilly course, I thought that was a good accomplishment for me. Melissa also PR'd and ran the whole course with out stopping at all. She really burned up the course and I really proud of her accomplishments. The fact that both of us did so well is a testament to the benefits of doing P90X and swimming.

Since we got back from Thanksgiving, all I have been able to think about is training and racing. I have been pretty jazzed about my run time at the 5K and am looking forward to doing some triathlons this spring as well as the Shenandoah Mountain 100 at the end of the summer.

For the past several New Years, Melissa and I have sat down and put together goals and plans for the coming year. This year we will be planning our training and race schedule. We also are looking forward to a system reboot starting in the new year. After watching the movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" we have decided to try a juice fast.

The system reboot is really not a fast. It is a 15 day program of eating certain foods to help the body detoxify, give the colon a break, and reset the pallet so healthier foods are more desirable. During the middle 5 days, only fresh juices are consumed. Not the kind you buy in the store, but the kind you make at home with a juicer. I will post an example of the 15 day plan at the end of this blog.

Well that about wraps it up for now. We are continuing with our swimming and P90X for now. In future blogs, I plan to summarize the "results" of our 90 days of P90X, as well as lay out my training and race plans. Of course, I have lots of shopping to do too.

Here is an example "Reboot" plan from the jointhereboot.com website.

Day 1

Breakfast

Apples and Pears (raw or baked)

Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

Lunch

Arugula, Fennel, Avocado Salad

Afternoon Snack

Carrot Ginger Soup

Dinner

Reboot Green Salad*

Portobello Mushroom Caps (2) with Fresh Salsa and Guacamole

Steamed Kale with Garlic

Herbal Tea

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Day 2

Breakfast

Grapefruit

Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

Lunch

Shredded Carrot, Fennel, Radish, Cabbage, Celery Salad with Fresh Dill, Lemon

Afternoon Snack

Steamed Cauliflower with Fresh Lemon, Sea Salt and Pepper, and/or Carrot Ginger Soup

Dinner

Reboot Green Salad*

Stuffed Squash with Mushroom, Leek, Red Pepper

Green Vegetable Soup

Herbal Tea

---

Day 3

Breakfast

Strawberries and Ripe Bananas (up to 2)

Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

Vegetable Juice – Cucumber, Celery, Apple

Lunch

Green Salad with Radish, Fennel, Red Pepper and Fresh Dill

Afternoon Snack

Green Veggie Soup

Dinner

Reboot Green Salad*

Roasted Beets and Sweet Potato

Steamed Kale

Herbal Tea

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Day 4

Breakfast

Apples and Pears (raw or baked)

Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

Lunch

Seaweed Salad with Avocado

Afternoon Snack

Carrot, Celery, and Cucumber sticks with Guacamole

Dinner

Reboot Green Salad*

Baked Spaghetti Squash

Steamed Kale with Ginger-Honey-Soy dressing

Herbal Tea

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Day 5

Breakfast

Strawberries and Ripe Bananas (up to 2)

Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

Vegetable Juice – Cucumber, Celery, Apple

Lunch

Cabbage Salad with Carrot, Cucumber and Fennel

Afternoon Snack

Veggie Broth

Dinner

Reboot Green Salad*

Roasted Sweet Potato

Steamed Kale with Garlic

Herbal Tea

*See recipes under HOW TO MAKE tab for a variety of choices.

---

Just Juice.

Day 6 – Day 10

• There are three main types of juices: Fruit juices, Vegetable juices and Green juices. Examples from each category are below. On a typical day of juicing, we suggest having 3-4 juices, at least 16 oz. each. Ideally, 2 of these juices will be Green. Take a look below for some combos and feel free to experiment!

• JUICING Tips *Have a cup of hot water and lemon first thing every morning, along with at least 16 oz. of filtered (if possible) water. *Remember to drink water throughout the day, in between juices. Juices do not replace water intake. *Apple/Pear is optional in all juices. Feel free to omit. It is permissible to use 1-2 Apples or Pears per juice. *Lemon, Lime and Ginger Root can be added to any juice. *Each juice should be at least 16 oz. *Have Celery juice or Coconut water after a workout or sauna, to replace electrolytes and re-hydrate the system. *Do not drink too much liquid before bedtime. *Keep fruit juices to a minimum until you know how your body reacts (fruit is the most cleansing of all, in other words, it passes through the body most quickly.)

  
  

  TYPICAL DAY OF JUICING

  First thing

  Hot Water with Lemon (gentle cleanser) plus a separate glass of Water, at least 16 oz. (for hydration)

  Morning

  Fresh Fruit Juice

  Mid-Morning

  Fresh Vegetable Juice

  Early Afternoon

  Fresh Green Juice

  Mid-Afternoon

  Herbal Tea or Coconut Water, fresh if possible

  Evening

  Fresh Green Juice

  Night

  Herbal Tea or Coconut Water, fresh if possible

  
  

  JUICE EXAMPLES

  Fruit Juices

  *Green Apple

  *Apple, Pear, Ginger

  
  

  Vegetable Juices

  *Carrot, Apple, Beet, Ginger

  *Cucumber, Fennel, Celery, Spinach

  
  

  Green Juices

  *Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Green Apple, Lemon

  *Romaine Hearts, Kale, Spinach, Parsley, Celery, Lemon, Ginger

  *See recipes under HOW TO MAKE tab for a variety of choices.

  ---

  Day 11

  Breakfast

  Bowl of Fresh Pineapple

  Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

  Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

  Lunch

  Arugula and Avocado Salad

  Afternoon Snack

  Vegetable Soup

  Dinner

  Reboot Green Salad*

  Baked Zucchini with Tomatoes and Herbs

  Herbal Tea

  ---

  Day 12

  Breakfast

  Apples and Pears (raw or baked)

  Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

  Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

  Lunch

  Cucumber Salad with Baked Sweet Potato

  Afternoon Snack

  Vegetable Soup

  Dinner

  Reboot Green Salad*

  Roasted Brussels sprouts

  Herbal Tea

  ---

  Day 13

  Breakfast

  Grapefruit Wedges with Raisins (up to 4 oz. of dried fruit)

  Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

  Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

  Lunch

  Arugula and Fennel Salad

  Afternoon Snack

  Raw Carrot Ginger Soup with Lime

  Dinner

  Reboot Green Salad*

  Steamed Broccoli and Spinach with Roasted Garlic Cloves

  Herbal Tea

  ---

  Day 14

  Breakfast

  Apples and Pears (raw or baked)

  Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

  Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

  Lunch

  Seaweed Salad with Watermelon Radish

  Afternoon Snack

  Sweet Potato/Yams and Carrot "Fries"

  Dinner

  Reboot Green Salad*

  Herbal Tea

  ---

  Day 15

  Breakfast

  Bowl of Fresh Pineapple

  Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

  Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

  Lunch

  Raw Mixed Greens with Cauliflower Mash

  Afternoon Snack

  Coconut Water, fresh if possible

  Dinner

  Reboot Green Salad*

  Garam Masala Collard Greens

  Herbal Tea

  *See recipes under HOW TO MAKE tab for a variety of choices.

  **********

  CONGRATULATIONS!

P90X Continues

It has been some time since I have posted anything and wanted to give a brief update on our progress with P90X. We are in our 6th week and I am really enjoying the program and have even started to see some results. I feel stronger and in pretty great shape. And I am getting into a sort of shape that I have never experienced before. Whereas before I could run, bike, hike, and play soccer at a pretty intense level, I have never had a focused program of upper body and core work like one gets with P90X.

The P90X program does focus a lot on appearance. Tony Horton talks about "getting the most ripped abs of your life" and the whole Beachbody.com franchise of which P90X is a part of is very much focused on-well, a beach body. The funny thing is, I find myself posing in the mirror to see if there are any discernible changes in my physique. The other day, the light caught me just right and I noticed that indeed, I could see a few small muscles that I had not seen before. Now I am even more motivated to bring it! I figure if I can see the results in the mirror, I must be doing something right. Not that I will be showing off at the beach in my lifetime. That is just not me.

Ultimately I know that all this hard work will only help me in my other athletic endeavors. For instance, swimming takes a lot of core muscles if you do it right and the P90X workouts are a great supplement to swimming. Regarding the swimming, this will be our fourth week of swimming with a coach on Wednesday mornings as well as on our own on Saturday mornings. It is a little tiring getting up so early to swim but it is such great low impact exercise, that I plan to continue.

The only downside to doing P90X is that it is time consuming and leaves less time to bike and run. In fact, I have not been on the bike for a while. But that's ok. By the time the new year starts, I should have a better idea on what I want to do as far as races go and I will have a great base to work from. After all, we are working out an average of 86 minutes every day. And I must say, I am loving it. We missed one Kenpo X workout although on that day we swam for an hour, ran 2 miles, and I did a 2.5 hour mountain bike ride. So while we missed out on the unique benefits of Kenpo X, it is not like we sat around eating donuts (something I don't ever eat since late 2009).

Another great benefit is getting the opportunity to workout with Melissa. She is also bringing it hard and is also doing great! She is getting stronger and in great shape! It is nice to be able to work out together and to share the power of hard work and sweat.

Doing all this exercise and working a full time job does leave less time for blogging so I imagine I won't be writing as often as I have in the past. I appreciate you reading and please feel free to leave comments. That way I know someone is reading. Thanks.