Okay, I know... Its been a while since I made any updated posts. In fact its been a long while. The reason? Several recent changes took place causing things to spiral a bit out off control. I changed jobs, changed majors, lost money and experienced a variety of other occurrences that would cause meltdowns in most. In fact I think I may have reached that point several times. These changes (both expected and unexpected) led to a huge increase in stress. It wasn't all bad though. This has given me the opportunity to study and learn a few things about how I react to stress both mentally and physically. I will be writing more about my experience with stress in a future post, but for now I want to focus on the single most affected area of my life during this seemingly stressful time, my eating disorder.
Yes that's right, I said eating disorder. Most of you who know me would not think I have an eating disorder. In fact if you look at my photos you will see an extremely lean being with visible abdominal muscles and well rounded muscle tone. What you don't see is the battle constantly being waged in my head that keeps the body in this shape. It took a great deal of work to reach this point and nothing less than complete mental control can get you there. Unfortunately if you lose control even for a short period of time the changes are quick and painful.
About my eating disorder... I don't starve myself or make myself throw up. I don't binge eat to the point of exploding. What I do is eat to compensate when a lot of pressure or stress is thrown my direction. It starts small. Something like a cookie or a small bowl of ice cream. No harm there right? In fact I don't even notice any changes in my body. I think "no big deal, tomorrow I'll be right back on track". But that isn't the case. Sugar is said to be more addictive than cocaine because of the physical effects on your brain. This is even more true for those who have cut out sugar to a great degree. So the next day I eat a little more junk food each time feeling horrible afterward knowing that I am hurting my body little by little. A few days later I notice something in the mirror... My skin feel thicker to the touch. Slightly pudgy and rubbery. I feel horrified at the sight of this though I am assured by others that there is nothing to worry about.
As even more stressful events enter my life I am quickly consumed by my eating habits. I realize I have started eating white flour, sugar, and a variety of other heart stoppers. My caloric intake has increased dramatically and I have also turned to coffee as a means of staying energized as my energy rapidly decreased once my body was no longer getting the vital nutrients it needed. This was even more harmful because I had decreased my intake of water and by adding coffee which is a diuretic my body had become overly dehydrated. I frequently felt exhausted and would get to the point of falling asleep where I sat just to re-boot.
As all of this was taking place I thought my weight must have increased heavily. However this was not the case. My physical appearance had become more bulky and chubby, but my weight was actually at the lowest point of my life. I suspect this was due to the lack of strength training. I believe my muscles were depleting and being replaced with fat.
Despite all of this which has taken place I have noted that my physical abilities still surpass those of nearly everyone around me.
This isn't the first time I have battled this disorder, nor do I suspect it will be the last. What is important is that you realize at some point that YOU ARE BEING CONTROLLED by your mind and by this addiction and there is only one person who can make the changes that will lead you down a path to good health and long life. That person is YOU!
I have realized this from the beginning but once you start down that path it is hard to recover. I won't lie... If you have been eating potato chips, french fries, hamburgers, soda, pastries, ice-cream and pretty much anything else served in fast food "restaurants" or the inner aisles of your grocery store you have a long road ahead of you. But if you truly WANT TO FEEL GOOD then you must start somewhere. Start by reading some of my older posts to get an idea.
I have already started the work to get myself back on track. I am up at 3 AM doing sprints. I have increased my water intake and decreased my caloric intake as well as eliminating coffee. I have switched back to healthier food choices while struggling to avoid the junk.
For those who are interested you can start now!
Start with me!
Try it for 30 days and I promise you will feel a thousand times better!
If you want to try it here is what you need to do.
Start by cleansing yourself.
On Day 1 cut out all drinks besides water. Carry a large cup with a lid and straw with ice water and drink 4 or 5 of these throughout the day (not all at once). Also on this day, cut out any pastries or cakes. Find something else to eat! Preferably fruit and veggies!
On the 3rd day either continue the previous pattern and if you are capable throw in some kind of exercise. It doesn't have to be much, but doing anything will help get you in the right mental attitude for what is to come. If you start small and build up you will find it much easier to transition. I started with some pull-ups and push ups as they were the most convenient.
On the 4th day Continue from the third day and if you are feeling up for it, do something to actually get your heart pounding. I suggest a light walk, jog, or bicycle. This doesn't have to be far and is once again aimed more at setting the right mental attitude.
On the 5th day you should be eating much healthier while continuing to exercise for at least 30 minutes. Don't forget to stretch before and after exercise to avoid other injuries.
After the first 5 days you will start to get the picture of what it will take to get where you want. After 5 days you will already notice changes in your energy levels as well as physical composition. The more you do this the more motivated you will become. However, there is a lot more to developing a well rounded and healthy lifestyle so please check back for more posts on what you can do as I can't possibly cover it all here.
No matter what happens, NEVER give up on yourself! It isn't too late to avoid being hooked up to an oxygen tank and tubes for the rest of your life!
One last thing I want to share before I go.
Despite my eating disorder I do not look overweight and many people even now ask me what I eat to stay in such great shape. To get back into shape I will be reverting back to my previous diet as the results were amazing! If you want to try this diet you are more than welcome to, though it is truly a tough one to master. Here it is:
Breakfast
45 - 48 oz smoothie (requires a blender)
Ingredients:
2 Bananas sliced
1 1/2 cups Almond Milk
1 cup Water
1 cup Spinach Leaves
1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds (this is just a bonus, but is not required)
You can also add 1 Tbsp honey for flavor but be careful because this is basically sugar and can have a harmful effect. I don't recommend using honey for more than a week.
Add Ice for thickness and blend until smooth. With this amount of smoothie you will feel extremely full which should hold you over for at least 3 hours.
Snack 1 (3 - 4 hours after breakfast)
1 box raisins with 1/4 cup walnuts (about 320 calories)
or a raw food bar (the CLIF bars aren't too horrible as far as ingredients go and they do taste pretty good. Stick with the raising or other berry flavors to avoid unnecessarily bad ingredients)
You could also try popcorn here if it is a kind that doesn't have a lot of butter (that stuff will make you feel horrible!)
Snack 2 (2 - 3 hours later)
This snack should be some kind of fruit like an apple, peach or pear. It will be a low calorie snack that is only meant to hold you over until lunch.
Lunch (3 hours later)
For lunch I highly recommend a salad with dark leafy green vegetables. Add fruits for taste or other veggies. Use an olive oil based dressing to keep it healthy.
Snack 3 (2 hours later)
If you get hungry before dinner you can eat another piece of fruit. My regime doesn't include this snack though. I will hold out until dinner.
Dinner (before 7 PM)
Dinner will be either another smoothie made similar to breakfast. Or will be some kind of lean meat made from animals fed a natural diet. Some of these meats include pork chops, chicken, fish, and turkey (I particularly enjoy the turkey burgers). I like to cook my meat on the George Foreman grill to get rid of excess fat and season them as needed.
This diet is based on my needs and what I have found to work for changing my body after a year of study. It may need to be modified some to your own needs and circumstances. Nonetheless, now you know what I was eating to get in the extreme shape you see in the pictures. I don't care what mypyramid.gov tries to tell you is healthy, please for your own good, ignore that crap and simply test a variety of healthy foods to find out what works for your own body!
And remember, NEVER give up on yourself! ALWAYS KEEP FIGHTING! If you never stop fighting, you will eventually win the battle and will have the life you always dreamed of having!
Until next time!
