Fasting for a Cure: Reset

I am building up the motivation and courage to take on another juice fast in the very near future. I had a phone conversation with my doctor today and he explained a little bit about "bonking" which is what he suspects happened to me. Marathon runners and endurance athletes experience this when their body starts to run out of essentials to keep themselves going. Mainly carbs, protein and calories. It made me feel good to hear a doctor tell me I wasn't just going crazy. He agreed it was a mistake to do racquetball to keep my mind busy during the fast. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was also quitting smoking. Now that I have officially been off the cigarettes for 17 days, I can look back and see how i was a little high strung because I was kicking my habit. That's right, 17 days, F*CK SMOKING. I'm done with that garbage.

I wanted to report on some interesting developments that have occurred since I stopped my detox. I had an issue a few months back with salivary gland stones. There was a kernal sized one blocking my salivary duct under my tongue that I had removed and then it took a good 6 weeks of antibiotics and steroids to get the swelling down. Almost immediately after I stopped juicing my submandibular gland started getting sore. Today, as I write this, I am in extreme pain and the swelling is visible by looking at me head-on and my neck is as hard as a rock. I also had a CT scan today that revealed a Kidney Bean sized stone in the gland. I go on the 23rd to see the ENT specialist and I will probably need to have surgery to remove the entire gland. I just thought it was interesting that my body responded to the diet change this way.

One positive development is that my psoriasis is not out of control like it is most winters. The improvements that occurred during the juice fast seem to have carried over even though I have been eating like total shit lately. I am also on pain meds for the gland which typically magnify the intensity of the itchiness by a billion but it honestly hasn't been that bad (I would normally not use pain meds because they are super addictive and they are really bad for my liver but i promise this pain is the worst feeling ever without them).

THE PLAN
I have reviewed my previous blog posts and the juices I was making and I have come up with a new plan to cure psoriasis. I am leaving for a family vacation in early march so I plan to start immediately when I return (providing my surgery schedule doesn't totally screw everything up).

Since I am totally confident that I can do another 5 days, no problem, by taking it easy and making nutrient rich juices, I plan to juice fast for 7-10 days. 7 is the goal, if I am feeling good, I am stretching it to 10. Not gonna pressure myself to go beyond that though.

I will then spend the next few weeks introducing vegan foods into my diet by groups and documenting their effects on my psoriasis plaques. In between each group introduction, I will be doing 24 hour water fasts to make sure everything moves out of my system before moving on. I will start with protein rich beans and grains and work my way up to meat and dairy. I have this hunch that added sugars and dairy have a lot to do with my psoriasis so I think, ultimately, I will have to convert to a strict vegan diet, at least during the winters when I am less active and the air gets dry.

For now, i need to get this damned stone out of my neck so I can get back on this horse and ride. Thanks everyone who read during my first adventure and thanks for all of your encouraging words and support, it really made a huge difference. I will keep you all updated on the gland stone issue. Until then, here is a picture of the CT Scan. the white dot, next to my jaw on the top right.

Fasting for a Cure: Day #6 - BREAK-FAST!

The word breakfast is interesting because it's what we do when we eat in the morning. We break the fast that was our sleep. In this case, however, the breakfast I am referring to is the one that happened last night after 5 days without eating and some personal debating.

I was laying on the couch and my hands and feet, which have been abnormally cold for days, started to go numb. The sensation was making its way up my arms and legs and there was some slight discoloration taking place. I was also completely out of energy. I am talking totally laid out with no energy to even talk. My mood was going out of control. Happy, helpless, angry, annoyed, depressed, excited, anxious...changing every 2 minutes while I laid on the couch totally burned out. I did some research and realized I was showing signs of malnutrition. Your body stops circulating to your extremities first to conserve energy hence the cold/numb hands and feet. So, after thinking over the consequences of having to start the detox over and let down all of my loyal readers, I decided to listen to my body and give it some calories and protein. I did try to drink a juice first to fix things and there was little to no effect so I proceeded to eat 2 pieces of whole wheat toast covered in peanut butter and a raw cucumber. My wife was encouraging me by saying, "You did really well hunny and I am proud of you." I told her that I preferred to loathe myself for the rest of the night because that's how I deal with failure. I need to soak it in and expose myself to the grief of an unsuccessful attempt so that I can use it to motivate myself in the future. Otherwise the failure is a waste.

I am spending the day working in solid foods like grains, nuts and solid veggies. I am planning to stick to a mostly vegan diet until I can take another crack at this. Now that I have slept on it I realize a few things. So where did I go wrong?

Well, for starters, a juice fast is an opportunity to take it easy and consume very few calories with no fat. Once your body burns off what is in your intestinal tracks, it burns your stored fat supplies for energy and in doing so it releases the toxins stored in those fats and BOOM...you have detox. I have no doubt that I was in this fat burning stage for at least 48 hours and I was feeling great. What I wasn't doing was staying hydrated, which is crucial in flushing out the released toxins. I was also playing racquetball every day. I was doing it to keep myself busy and keep my mind off of eating. My intentions in doing it were good but you can't support a a daily dose of a hyper-cardio sport on a juice fast...I know this now. I will stick to knitting and reading next time. I know that mentally I was there but strategically I might have been lacking. I ignored malnutrition for a good 24 hours because my mind was so strong on this but I ignored science by not doing more specific calculations of what nutrients to consume and what my daily portions should have been. I had a pretty good idea and I was mixing up my veggie doses pretty well but I think I need to write out some of these recipes and make sure I am achieving my marks.

So, the fast is over for now. I intend to keep this blog and update it whenever the need strikes me as I search for a diet that will cure my psoriasis. I am also planning another juice fast that my wife wants to do with me when she is done nursing our youngest child. I know it has been a short fast but I learned some awesome recipes and I plan to keep juicing in my daily routine. My family likes the pineapple, carrot, banana, grape juice that I make in the morning and it's a real eye opener. The recipe is listed below. Try it! I still have not had coffee, meat, cigarettes, or alcohol in almost a week and I plan to keep it this way while I rethink my diet. I am committed to the no smoking thing. If this fast taught me anything it is that cigarettes are the LEAST of my needs. For you smokers out there, quit eating for 5 days. You will laugh at how mild your addiction is compared to a food addiction.

Island Eye Opener
1/4 of a Pineapple (with skin)
2 Oranges (peeled)
4-5 Medium Sized Carrots
1 Cup of washed grapes
1 Banana
 *Juice carrots, grapes, oranges and pineapple (in that order) and pour into blender. add banana and liquify. share with your family. enjoy!*

Again, I plan to use this blog as my outlet as I search for a cure for psoriasis so stay tuned. I just need to think things over. Come up with a new game plan. IT'S HALF TIME AMERICA!

Fasting for a Cure: Day #5 - The Big GAME!

I had to double check the internet to see which NFC team was playing in the Super Bowl today. The only reason I cared to look is because I have football squares and I wanted to write a team name down on my cheat sheet instead of NFC or AFC. Other than the squares I have little to no interest in who wins this game. Since my family and I are watching the game at home I decided to create a vegetarian finger food platter for them to enjoy while I feast upon juice so after I enter these words into my blog it will be off to the kitchen to let my creative cooking skills flow.

The big game that I am referring to in the title of this blog is racquetball. I have played every day since Thursday and my record is a whopping 11-4. The 4 losses are all to the same person but I also beat him 3-1 yesterday and ran him like a DOG the whole time. I have been going so often mainly to keep me busy during times when I would otherwise be eating food. If you think about how much time you spend preparing and eating food on a daily basis its pretty ridiculous. It's also comforting to know that both my mind and body are nourished enough to play and win at a sport right now. It's statistical evidence that my body is doing just as good, if not better, without the aid of solid foods. As I type this I can feel my energy is getting lower so I wonder if this is an effect that will eventually wear off and leave me searching for a new energy source. I am going to remain hopeful that my energy will stay up.

The Psoriasis on my scalp is improving, especially behind the ears. I don't want to jump to conclusions and say that the juicing is working but I know it can't be hurting. It's also a strong possibility that I am just going through a good phase where a section decides to get slightly better which happens a lot with Psoriasis. I like to believe that it's my much improved diet that is the cause and as I have said before, this is the beginning of a long journey to completely rid myself of this disease.

I never thought I could go 5 days without eating. It blows my mind really. There are already so many valuable things I have learned and experienced in just 5 days. I am learning self control on a whole new level and I feel great. Before I did this I felt great, so I thought, but there were slight issues in my intestines and bowels that have gone away. I don't know if this is for everyone but there was always a little bit of pressure down there that I never noticed until it went away. Almost like a bloating that I have just always had and got used to. It's strange the things that you don't notice until they are gone and once they are gone how much better you feel.

Fasting for a Cure: Day #4 - Bowling for Hunger

I woke up much earlier than normal today because my wife was singing Paula Abdul's "Straight Up". She wasn't singing it loud and most mornings I sleep right through the chaos of boys crying and toys being thrown all over but today was different. I felt like I was done sleeping. one of the biggest side effects of this juice fast is that I have began to adopt normal sleeping hours. I also find it easier to fall asleep when I go lay in bed. In the past, I would lay in bed and then play games on my iPhone for 2 hours and maybe watch a movie on Netflix before actually falling asleep. Normally, I go to sleep around 2am and wake up around 10am.

My psoriasis is starting to hurt, like a fresh scratch. I think it is because my skin has so many vitamins in it that my plaques are no longer dried up bunches of dead skin...they are actually alive...if that makes sense. This makes scratching an itch an unpleasant experience with bloody, painful consequences.

My focus has been up since day #2. I was explaining the mental effects to my buddy the other night and I used this example. I went shopping for fruits and veggies the other day and it was really crowded and I was alone. I grabbed the wrong carrots by accident and I had to double back and put the other carrots back through a crowd of people. Under normal circumstances I would have a mild sense of social anxiety about this maneuver and I might say something to myself like, "Whoops" or "Oh, not those ones" simply because I was alone, it was crowded and I felt like I was being watched or judged on some level.  I think it is something we all do, and it is totally normal to sort of talk to yourself when things get slightly awkward in public. Since my head was so clear and my anxiety was so low, I performed this carrot swapping maneuver with all the poise and confidence in the world. I simply excused myself as I reached in for the correct veggies and slipped in and out like Vanna White as she turns letters on the Wheel of Fortune board. As I walked to my car it dawned on me how good I felt and how well I had handled an otherwise stressful, pre-dinner trip to the grocery store. So, mentally, I am experiencing great benefits from fasting.

I went bowling this afternoon with some close friends and their kids. I felt I displayed great patience when dealing with all the kids, together, being semi-psychotic. It was good times. There were hot dogs, chocolate milks, twizzlers, hamburgers and chocolate going around and I held strong. I always found eating and drinking to be sort of an inconvenience when bowling anyhow. It's also worth noting that my hunger doesn't really start to bother me until the evening. That's when my mind starts to really mess with me and I seriously considered calling the whole thing off last night while I made dinner for Noah.  Each day that I go without eating makes me a little stronger willed. It's like a long car ride. The first few hours are the worst. You are filled with the anticipation of the journey ahead of you and you are settling in to what you know will be your home-on-wheels for the next day or so. Then, once you get rolling and you start to see unfamiliar terrain out your window, you settle in and enjoy the ride. Next thing you know you are at your destination.

4 days down, my right foot is on the dashboard and I can feel the breeze through my window. I know there is a lot of road ahead of me but it's just asphalt and paint and not nearly as bumpy as I thought it would be.

Fasting for a Cure: Day #3 - Acupuncture!

With day 3 almost behind me I am feeling more confident than ever that I will kick this juice fasts ass. I lifted some weights last night and tried out my asparagus/broccoli protein drink recipe and I am not at ALL sore today. This is usually a good sign when you are doing weight training because most of the soreness you get the day after working out is from damaged muscles that are lacking the protein needed to repair themselves. I am not gonna go out and do power lifting 3 times a week but it is good to know that my normal weight routine will be unaffected by this fast. I also played racquetball last night and this afternoon. The first game was rough, i quickly ran out of energy and felt dizzy. I took it easy and managed to play more and when it was over I felt good and energized. I think there is just an adjustment period as far as continuing to exercise while fasting. Between racquetball last night and this afternoon I already noticed a difference in my energy level and my body's tolerance to heavy cardio workouts.

Today I went to see my acupuncturist, Monica. We had been talking via social media prior to my visit so we were both on the same page as far as what I am trying to accomplish this month. I did a little bit of reading up on acupuncture and she did some research and asked around amongst her colleagues about psoriasis. She had already told me over the phone that skin conditions are hard to cure with acupuncture and her colleagues aren't holding out much hope for this. I like that she is taking a chance on me and going against what others are saying. It proves to me that her and I are on EXACTLY the same page.

When I went to her office we had a long discussion about my medical history. She also added some positive notes by pointing out that while the success rate of acupuncture and psoriasis isn't the best, there is enough evidence to prove that psoriasis is related mostly to diet so the fact that I am fasting and doing acupuncture might just be the x factor in proving the naysayers wrong. After our discussion, a pulse check and an examination of my tongue, she was able to determine a few things about my health.

1. My Liver Qi is off. In eastern medicine, Qi is the energy that flows through the body. It is essentially life, in its purest form. Qi must be balanced otherwise one part of your body may be drawing more of this energy while another part of your body suffers. Causes of imbalance are the same causes that mess up your body in western medicine. 

2. My lungs are perhaps an area that needs attention when balancing the mess that is my body. Lungs are closely tied to skin because they are one of the few internal organs that draws their energy from an external source. The lungs also control your Qi so they are a huge factor.

I think this assessment is as accurate as it needs to be to get started with the acupuncture treatments. recent blood tests have proven that my liver is very sensitive and I ingest everything on the "bad for your liver" list on a regular basis. I also mentioned in earlier posts that I suffered from Asthma and Chronic Bronchitis as a child and then decided to become a smoker in my teens so, yea, I would say my liver and lungs could use some special consideration in this month of healing. I am realizing that this could be a long road but if eastern medicine teaches us ANYTHING it's that your mind is the most powerful tool that you have to keeping yourself healthy and strong. I am confident, in my mind, that I will cure this disease and in the meantime I will make choices the help me achieve this. 

So I laid on the table, face up, and with the strange music that only a holistic doctor would have playing in the background she started putting pins in me. Starting with the ears which was actually painful. After a few seconds it calmed down and I could feel a tingling sensation coming from my ears. The extra pain I felt on the ears was probably due to the fact that it was the first wound and my expectations might have been playing a role at this point. After that she stuck a few in my feet, hands, arms and then one in the middle of my chest that felt really awkward....something about a person driving a projectile into the middle of your chest that makes you feel uneasy. Then she provided me with all of the comforts needed to do some relaxing and left me alone for...i don't know...20 minutes? I practiced breathing during this time and did some impromptu meditation. It was nice. I feel good and I am excited to go back next week.

I know I have been rambling a lot but I want to say this because it has been on my mind. There are a LOT of people who are telling me things like "manage your expectations" and "there is no CURE for Psoriasis" or other people who fasted and blogged about it but didn't get very big results, so the bar on this kind of thing is really low. I want to make it perfectly clear that I intend to ride this thing out and I am CONFIDENT that I will find a cure for this. As I said before, mind over matter. It's also important to stick to the plan. Lot's of juice fasting bloggers make exceptions like eating solid fruit and even eating ENTIRE meals on occasion complete with alcoholic beverages (I fail to see how this is even a fast at all...stop wasting your time...you can't detox with wine and whiskey and ONE meal is a break in the fast...it's like starting over...you don't get timeouts in this game). If you have psoriasis and you are reading this I want you to understand that a big portion of the Psoriasis community is angry and helpless because they have seen a lot of doctors and experienced a lot of failure on fixing this. I am not saying this to put anyone down I just want to provide a beacon of light for the people who haven't given up yet. Don't listen to what negative people have to say about your condition. Be positive, don't give up and LISTEN to your body!

Click HERE for an interesting article from yesterdays Chicago Tribune about Psoriasis.
I think everyone should give acupuncture a try. Especially if you are not sick. Eastern medicine is all about prevention. Click HERE to like my acupuncturists office on Facebook and you can win a free session.
Click HERE for their website.

Fasting for a Cure: Day #2 - Night Terrors

Okay so the title is a little misleading. I was up earlier than usual today because I was having a very vivid dream of bicycling through Detroit. I was with my riding partner (who was a combination of Cari, my normal riding buddy, and my wife) and I was commenting on how I had never ridden all the way to Dearborn before so we were going for it. We got to the city limits and I got hit by a car, didn't even see it coming. I woke up with a racing heart and my wife said that I yelled pretty loud when the car in my dreams struck me. I don't know if this has anything to do with my Juice fast but I don't usually have very vivid dreams and I went to bed at a decent hour last night so I will take it.

The experienced fasters all said the first 2 days are the worst. I am halfway through the 2nd day and I am happy to report that I am not hungry. realistically I am getting TONS of nutrients and a belly FULL of vegetables whenever I want it. I am drinking a 24oz juice for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a smaller 12-16oz juice in between meals. Lemon and ginger are awesome for masking the taste of bitter greens and beets (I have always hated beets.../gag) so I am actually enjoying most of the drinks. I am chasing each juice with a 20 oz glass of water and I have been keeping my water cup topped off all day. I know I am doing a good job of flushing out my system right now because I am urinating often and when I do it is mostly clear. I will spare you the details of my bowel movements but I will say this...ORANGE!

The cigarette cravings have passed and they have been replaced with food cravings. I think being addicted to cigarettes has helped me to understand my addiction to food better. A person without a prior addiction might actually think they were hungry when an image of a cheeseburger with fries popped into their head. There is a helplessness that occurs in my mind when I see my family eating dinner or I drive past a fast food restaurant. It is my addiction working to weaken me mentally. It's kind of like "I really want a cheeseburger, and if I don't cave in now I will probably just cave later, what a waste of time...." I literally start to feel a drop in my self esteem and I can feel my mission slipping away. An addiction is a monster inside of you that has strings it can pull to change you emotionally. This is a dangerous thing. I saw this coming and I am cool with it. I know that the tables are turning in my favor every hour that I go without food. Occasionally I need to remind myself that I am perfectly fine and I don't have a need for food right now but it is hard when I spent my entire life eating because I was bored. I wonder if I ever really experienced hunger in my adult life or if I just went from one mouth watering sin to the next.

There is a crabbiness that overwhelms me in the mid afternoon. I feel irritated x1000 when it hits me. It comes out of nowhere and reduces my tolerance for other humans down to a ZERO. A little carrot juice kicks it out of me but it's a pretty negative side effect and I am hoping its just a withdrawl symptom that passes. I plan to go lift weights at the gym tonight to replace my evening cravings. I will follow up my workout with a double broccoli and asparagus protein drink instead of my usual Muscle Milk. I have acupuncture tomorrow and I can't wait to write all about it. If you haven't done so yet, make sure you like these guys on Facebook because they are running a contest and giving away free acupuncture. 

Fasting for a Cure: Day #1 - The Results Are In

Well, there isn't a whole lot to report about how I am feeling or how the fast has affected me since I just started this morning. I am holding strong on the hunger factor. I don't usually eat until the afternoon anyhow so I don't anticipate problems until the late evening, when I am notorious for taking frequent trips to the kitchen to graze on whatever catches my eye. When I sat down to write this blog I felt really annoyed and crabby. I think my sugar was getting low because I ran upstairs to make a carrot/apple juice and after 2 sips I was feeling better again. I am still kind of anxious and crabby but it has been 2 days since I had a cigarette and I would be lying if I said I wasn't craving tobacco even more than food at this very moment. My son, Noah, has really taken a liking to this juicing thing. He comes into the kitchen every time he hears the juicer fire up and he asks me for a sample. He was especially fond of the mango/orange juice I had when I first woke up. He wasn't a big fan of the bok choy/spinach/celery/cucumber/kiwi/pear/apple/ginger juice that I made for lunch but I gotta tell ya, it was not that tough to drink and I kind of enjoyed the buzz it gave me (like I had too many cups of coffee or something).

I'm naming this sucker "GREEN BITCH"

So I got my lab results from the doctor today. I promised I would post all of my preliminary health stats and photos once I have them all and they are in my hand so let's get to it. 

Weight: 287 

Blood Pressure: 130/78 (normal)

Glucose: 116 (normal 50-140)

Sodium: 138 (normal 135-145)

AST-liver: 25 (normal <35)

ALT-liver: 54 (normal <78)

This is extremely good news by any standards! My weight is a little higher than it was a month ago but I have been focusing on getting stronger by doing weight training 2-3 times a week so most of that is muscle weight (and maybe a few sins that I committed in my final weeks of solid foods). It was just 6 months ago that my AST and ALT numbers were through the roof and a liver ultrasound confirmed that I had Fatty Liver Disease. a little bit of smart eating and a lot of bicycling took care of that with very little effort. So this fast comes at a good time. I am already WELL on my way to good health and now I can focus on maybe losing a couple more pounds and most importantly, getting rid of these psoriasis plaques. 

My legs are affected the most by my psoriasis. The dark red spots are where I literally scratched the plaques off in my sleep. Psoriasis is extremely itchy. Imagine having mosquito bites ALL OVER your body and multiply the itch by 10. That is what it's like having psoriasis. In fact, when we go camping it makes me laugh a little to hear people complain about the itching from mosquito bites. My body has literally become desensitized to something as minor as a mosquito bite itch. That and the mosquitos just don't prefer to feast on me...I am damaged goods to them these days. I also have psoriasis on my scalp, chest, trunk, back, and feet but I am going to document these 3 areas to get a clear idea of the progress.

Staying positive, holding up well, time to go hang out with the boys for a little while.

Here Goes Nothin'

Here I am on the eve of what I consider to be the greatest challenge I have ever faced in my life. I am pretty certain that I have a food addiction and I was raised in an environment that supported large portions and unhealthy diets. Starting tomorrow I will consume only raw juices for the entire month of February and I am ready as I will ever be. I am happy to report that I am not having any second thoughts and I actually feel a little bit excited. I am going to head out to the market this evening to get my first days worth of produce and tomorrow my box arrives from Door-To-Door Organics so I should be covered until the weekend.

I visited my doctor today to gain his approval and ask him to monitor my fast. He has agreed to monitor it but he wasn't crazy about me not taking protein. He also said that in his professional opinion I need to see a dietician before beginning. He made this suggestion knowing full well that I was going to ignore it and start my fast tomorrow regardless. He did say that I need to research to find which combinations of fruits and veggies will give me complete proteins to avoid catabolism. He also said that I will be getting weekly blood panels done to check my progress and he would fax me a cheat sheet with the results for my blog. I agreed that if I was experiencing a severe protein deficiency after one week then I would incorporate a vegan protein powder into one juice per day but I want the opportunity to try it the natural way for at least a week.I also gave him the web address to this blog which he folded up and placed in his wallet. Prior to this he was having trouble reading his own writing on my medical records so hopefully he finds it before day 29. I told him to leave some comments to raise the level of legitimacy of my blog and attract new readers. I can't help it. Once a business man, always a business man. [YOUR AD HERE - CONTACT ME TODAY]

They got my weight, blood pressure, and blood today. I also took some pictures of my psoriasis this morning but I am going to wait until I have all of the information and make a blog post about it. Just know that when those stats come up, they are a snapshot of my current health before any juicing at all. I will post a weekly progress blog by Thursday of every week for those of you who just want the results and not my fantastic insights and anecdotes. 

I have had a week to accept and prepare for this juice fast. I am a strong person and I am fully prepared to accept my struggles for the sake of healing myself. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life and (insert other generic cliche about new beginnings here). I got my list of busy work, my doctor on board, acupuncture appointments, my new church, my juicer is ready to go and the weather is BEAUTIFUL in Detroit. Thanks for reading along, if this blog manages to inspire or entertain you, please let me know in the comments.

The Top Selling Doctor and My Countdown to Starvation

Tomorrow is my last day to eat food. I don't plan to do anything out of the ordinary but I am making a badass lunch when I get home from the doctors tomorrow that will consist of all my favorite korean foods. I actually have to fast from 10pm today until I go see the doc tomorrow morning because he is doing fasting blood work. I haven't technically asked his permission to go on a juice fast but as I mentioned in earlier posts, he is big on natural healing and he will probably just tell me to go for it. If I am wrong, and he doesn't, well, I am a free thinking adult and I am paying for the blood work...no turning back now!

Speaking of paying for medical services...

The whole family went to the Urologist this morning to talk to the doctor about my youngest son, Sam. He is being seen for a condition he was born with called a hydrocele. It's basically fluid that makes it's way from his abdominal cavity and into his scrotum. Because it was so large when he was a newborn, it caused problems in his testicle descending. The urologist originally wanted to do surgery but we made a decision to hold off. Now, there are a LOT of mixed opinions on how long to wait to fix these things and when it is okay to put a child under anesthesia. We have talked to medical professionals and used the internet to research. We don't know what to do so today, we packed everyone in the car and went to discuss with his Urologist and ask questions.

Now, if you haven't figured it out yet, I have a low opinion of MDs. Let's face it, they are running a business so they streamline the way they see patients in order to run a more profitable operation. The Urology office that Sam has been going to is one of those places where they have a billion urology specialists under one roof, 5 receptionists and a huge building that calls itself an "institute". My wife went to a similar place as her OB/GYN during pregnancy and I recently saw an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist at this kind of office so we have personally witnessed the horror of having to work with one of these "Institutes"

Sam's doctor is once again calling for surgery. 2 of them at one time. 1 to fix each problem. This doctor of his is kind of a jerk. First he told us that our son is a bit of a "faker" when his exam of squeezing his testicles caused him to cry. Uhhh...no dude, he isn't faking. A stranger is squeezing his balls while another stranger restrains him, we taught him well. He probably also has picked up on the fact that his parents think you are a DICK. After his exam he went on to sell us on why he still thinks Sam needs surgery. Instead of discussing other options with us he was prepared with a sales rebuttle for every question I had for him. Those damn commercials tell you to "talk to your doctor" and "ask your doctor"....who writes those shitty commercials? Seriously, most doctors don't have time to talk and they HATE when you take up their precious time to ask questions. 

Most doctors these days (and I say most because I trust my D.O. who I am going to see about my juice fast tomorrow) are sales people. Much like an appliance salesman, they put you in a chair in a setting that is unfamiliar to you but oh-so familiar to them. Then, they have a discussion with you that you have never had before and answer all of your questions with precisely the right answer to convince you that you need what they are selling. I have been selling things my entire adult life and I am a solid salesman, we can smell our own. The only difference between the appliance salesman and the doctor is that the appliance guy can tell you a price up front and guarantee their product....funny how a $100,000 education makes you exempt from these standard business practices.

So, as an adult, I can choose alternative forms of medicine to correct my health and the world praises me for it but as a parent, I have to do what the doctor tells me otherwise I am a bad parent...and this poor kid has no say in the matter. less than 48 hours till my juice fast begins. I am confident that I will gain enough clarity to make a decision about this whole mess. 

Less Than 72 Hours to Go...

Busy day today. Also really tired. I plan to minimize my food intake from here on out. I have an appointment with my doctor this week where he will be doing a full blood panel and I will post the results to my blog. I will also get some snap shots of my psoriasis and do a formal weigh in and post that info. I will be seeing my doctor regularly for the duration of my juice fast so these key result indicators will be updated weekly.

I have been offered acupuncture support from Monica at Acupuncture Healthcare Associates of Michigan. I have accepted. We are doing weekly sessions so I will be sure to report on those visits as well. Thanks again Monica!

Went to church today. Some of my religious friends have told me they will pray for my strength during this fast. It's actually really comforting the amount of support I have been getting from friends. They all seem to be confident in me and excited to see the results. Anyhow, I decided that I should do some praying as well. This was my first visit to a church in many years so it will take some adjusting. The interesting part was that the reverend who was leading the mass talked about Yin and Yang. He compared it to the ups and downs of life and how the winter months can get us down but to give thanks even for the darkness in life because it makes the brightness shine that much brighter. The concept itself is rather elementary and it has been used as an example countless times. As I said earlier I am pretty tired today so I found myself staring at the image of a Yin Yang that he propped up for us to see and zoned out while focusing on his eloquent wording. He also mentioned that winter can be used as a time of rest or repair. To cleanse ourselves for the busy seasons to come. Far out man!

Doesn't it seem like whenever you go on an introspective journey that the world around you supports you. It's like realizing something really important and then immediately realizing you were the last to figure it out. I have been having a lot of Aha! moments. They are reassuring. Each one brings me closer to serenity and helps me realize that February will be full of Yin and Yang but no matter what I will be experiencing a new side of life and for that, I am thankful. 

4 Days to Prepare for My Juice Diet

I went out and played poker with some friends last night and did some drinking. I know it's probably better to ease into this juice fast by watching my diet and taking it easy on my body but a farewell to alcohol and snack foods was in order. I regret it today because in my old age I get hungover from drinking just 3 beers. At any rate, I still have to prepare for February, my month of detox.

I am a smoker. Not a heavy smoker (2-3 cigarettes a day after the kids go to sleep) but I am definitely addicted to tobacco. I have smoked for over 15 years with a few breaks in between and some heavy spots where I was up over a pack a day. I have absolutely no excuse for continuing this habit. Between my glucose and liver problems and my inflammatory issues, I am already a heart attack waiting to happen. I dare say that if I simply quit the cigarettes i would probably see an improvement in my Psoriasis without even having to go on a juice fast. As a child, I was on an albuterol inhaler and a nebulizer because I had severe asthma and chronic bronchitis. Yet still, as a teen, I decided I wanted to be a smoker. It is almost ridiculous to watch me in the summer as I pull up on my bicycle from a 30 mile bike ride, take off my riding gear and light a cigarette.

So where am I going with this? I thought it would be worth mentioning that if I am going to truly DETOX for 29 days then I can't afford to make an exception for cigarettes. So, that's it. I am at the bottom end of what I am calling my last pack of cigarettes. I am not one of those people that is sentimental about their vices. I am not going to "miss" cigarettes anymore than I imagine a crack addict misses crack rocks after being sober for 5 years. I plan to remain off cigarettes permanently and I don't see any reason why this won't be the case. I quit while my wife was pregnant with our first son. It was a solid 4 months. I came back to it because I was bored, weak and didn't care about my health.No solid foods, no cigarettes, NO PROBLEM. Failure is not an option. As I mentioned before, I am compiling a mental list of things to keep me busy during my fast. Options OTHER than failure. Here are some examples.

- Write and Record a song on guitar and vocals
- Change the current direction of my business and increase sales and productivity
- Teach my kids new things and spend more one-on-one time with each of them
- Paint my house
- Volunteer
- Go to a museum or theatre

The list is much larger than this, but you get the idea. The busier I can keep myself for 29 days, the better off I will be. I will also be able to test and see if the detox is really helping me mentally focus based on how well these tasks get completed. So, February isn't just going to be a month where I stop eating crap. It's going to be a physical, mental and spiritual overhaul. I am actually looking forward to this. Bring it on February!

5 Days Until I Starve Myself to Life

As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the reasons I have decided to fast for 30 days is a condition that I have called Psoriasis. It started when I was 23 years old as a small patch of dots on my left leg that quickly turned into a bunch of spots ALL OVER my body. The classification is Severe Guttate Psoriasis, though the patches on my legs and arms have been scratched over so many times it is now being called Severe Plaque Psoriasis. For those of you that have this annoying disease, I feel your pain. Since there is no cure, as a sufferer of this ailment you are given a few choices, all which are extremely inconvenient or risky.

1) Mild sufferers can go to a well equipped dermatologists office 1-3 times a week and sit inside of a box that throws ultraviolet rays at their skin for 30 minutes at a time. Again this is for mild sufferers AND it's only if your psoriasis decides to respond to light therapy. Psoriasis is a fickle bitch that has a mind of its own.
2) You can go to the same office 1-3 times a week and lay in a tar bath for 30-60 minutes at a time. It smells terrible but this seems to be more effective for ALL types of psoriasis and doesn't discriminate like the light treatment.
3) You can take topical creams and ointments like Dovonex, Clobetesol or Eucerin compounds that contain tar, steroids and other anti inflammatory meds. The problem is (and you can ask any psoriasis sufferer) these topicals work for MAYBE a month, if you are lucky, and then your condition becomes immune to them and it comes back worse.
4) Finally, you can take immune suppressing bio meds that stop your immune system from functioning properly. Since psoriasis is caused by a "glitch" in your immune system, researchers have found a way to block these bad signals with the help of frog DNA. The problem is, it also blocks the same receptors that fight off serious diseases like Tuberculosis. People have DIED because of these meds and some experts believe they cause cancer.

Regardless of the form of treatment, there is NO CURE for psoriasis. I never really cared and since I am married and I am not a self conscious teenager anymore, I came to terms with it years ago that I would have spots all over my body for the rest of my life. Then, last summer I woke up and had a terrible pain in my left knee. A few days later it was in my right knee, then my hips, then my elbows. I went to the doctor and he told me I had Psoriatic Arthritis. SHIT! Apparently, the inflammation can make its way down into your joints over time. My mom has this condition so I knew how painful and life changing it can be. I immediately went to my dermatologist and he told me about Humira (one of the above mentioned bio meds). I figured it was worth the risk now because I have 2 small boys and I don't want to have them running circles around me by the time they are adolescents. I want to toss the football around and ride bikes with them. They ran some tests and told me that my liver enzymes were high and I had to see my primary doctor and have him sign off and tell them it's okay to treat me. DOUBLE SHIT!

My doctor is a D.O. He is not the kind of guy that writes prescriptions and treats symptoms. The work they do in this office is almost holistic. To give you an example of the attitude at this office, my original doctor had a baby and decided to give up her doctoring career to be a Yoga instructor. So, needless to say, he was not crazy about me taking bio meds. He and I talked about risks and he said, "I am not going to sign off on this until we fix your liver issue" and that was it. He told me to eat right and exercise. So I started riding my bike and eating right. Since that day I have lost about 40 lbs and my liver enzymes, blood sugar and cholesterol is lower than it has been in a decade. Oh, and the arthritis....GONE!

So this fast comes at a time in my life where I am starting to truly believe in the natural functions of my body. I am not such a believer in what they do in the doctors office these days (and who is?) and, as I have said before, most conditions like Psoriasis, can be attributed almost entirely to lifestyle choices. So, for 29 days I will CHOOSE to eat nothing but nutrient rich raw juices. After that, I will CHOOSE to reintroduce only healthy, beneficial foods into my diet and hopefully, I can CHOOSE to not have psoriasis anymore. Again, to my fellow Psoriasis sufferers, I feel your pain and let us not forget the one positive side to having this disease is the strong bond that we feel towards each other, knowing we have the same daily struggles. 

6 Days Until I Quit Eating Food

Since I let all of my social network friends know about my plans to fast for a month, I have gotten a lot of feedback. Some have done 2-5 day fasts before. Some regret not going longer and others said they were surprised they made it. It gave me anxiety to think about this last night. Why would some people wish they had gone further while others barely held on? Which person was I?

Well, I am typically a lazy procrastinator. I think I like to keep peoples expectations low so that I can either choose to be lazy OR exceed their expectations with flying colors with only the mildest amount of motivation. I am the underachiever. The guy who, in high school, was told by all of his teachers, "If you just applied yourself..." When I turned 27 I married a teacher. She is the most amazing teacher I have ever met and I am convinced if she was around to play a part in my education, things would have been a lot more positive, but perhaps fate has made her my wife so I can learn to be a better adult and father to my children. So, in the case of fasting, am I the lazy procrastinator who finds an excuse to bail on the juicing? Or do I put in a little bit of effort and exceed everyones expectations?

I am preparing to be the latter. I am making a mental list of things that I can refer to when times get tough so that I can be positive and try to enjoy this. Aside from the blog I am going to try to avoid making a big deal about this. I will remain as humble as possible and focus my mind on tasks OTHER than fasting. I think about the two types of juice fasters out there and this example comes to mind:

It's the 9th inning in the big game. Juicer A bangs up his knee when diving for a ground ball at short. He lays there, wincing in pain, and eventually leaves the game. His team loses and he talks about how much his knee hurts afterwards and maybe cries a little. In the same game, Juicer B takes a fastball off the ribs while batting. The trainers come out of the dugout to check on him and he sends them back. He walks it off and hits the game winning home run. An xray later shows he has 2 broken ribs.

The point is, if you focus on what needs to be done, there are no physical limitations that can stop you from achieving your goal. This example is completely fictional and hypothetical BUT I am sure it brings to mind a lot of real-life situations that you have seen or experienced (ask Kirk Gibson about his 1988 Home Run). I think my mind is headed in the right direction and I am confident I will find that comfortable place that allows me the strength to go 29 days without food.

T Minus 7 Days Until Detox

Gerson, Fasting, Juicing, Cleansing, Detox...call it what you want...I am in!

In exactly 7 days I will embark on a 29 day journey to improve my overall health. Lucky for you, you can sit and eat solid food and read my blog daily for your own entertainment. I, on the other hand, will be consuming nothing but raw fruit and vegetable juices the entire time. I am doing this for a combination of reasons but mostly because I have chronic health issues (liver disease, diabetes and psoriasis) that I can attribute almost completely to the series of poor lifestyle choices that I commonly call my 20's. I am starting the blog now because with any worthwhile, life changing event, there is a great deal of preparation involved.

I need to stock up on veggies and make sure my juicer is working. Speaking of which, I have a $99 juicer that will get the job done but I am considering replacing it if I decide to juice regularly.  I have a subscription to Door To Door Organics (www.doortodoororganics.com) and they deliver me all the organic produce I need every week. I recommend them. Their food is top notch and if you email them with concerns, they get back to you within hours and are SUPER cool about taking care of their customers.

I also need to prepare physically. I have been on a consistent workout routine since the middle of last summer which included mostly cardio in the form of cycling until the winter months, where I hit the gym and have been doing weight training combined with running and racquetball for the last 3 months. I have built a good amount of muscle mass in this time and, unfortunately, one of the side effects of juicing is catabolism. Catabolism is the break down of muscle into amino acids and simple proteins. Since I will have a severe protein deficiency, my body will break down what I have stored in muscles and use that. It sounds brutal but it is part of the cleansing process. For this reason, I plan to drink 80 grams of protein shakes every day, until I start my fast, to ensure I go into this with a positive protein balance.

The last part of the preparation is mental. This is HUGE. One of the major benefits of a juice fast is mental strengthening however, from what I have read, the first few days are a big struggle. So how do I prepare mentally? That's a good question. First of all I am sending this blog out for the world to see. I am making it real and creating an outlet that will hold me accountable. Secondly I am limiting the amount of TV that I watch and cutting down on exposure to computer screens and my iPhone. I have replaced these mind rotting devices with an epic novel by Haruki Murakami. It's a 1,000 page stack of literary awesomeness called 1Q84. If you want something a little shorter that will absolutely blow your mind, I recommend "The Wind Up Bird Chronicle". Outside of these changes to help me mentally prepare, I am going to take it easy. Do things I enjoy and try to coach myself out of stressful situations. Hopefully, this will give me the extra strength I need to make it through any breakdowns I may encounter due to hunger pangs and shock.

Now where did I put that McDonalds cheeseburger...?