The Living Diet

This is it!  The moment you've all been waitin for!  The answer to the number one question I receive is about the be revealed.  I know the anticipation has been unbearable; the suspense insufferable. But before I can reveal the answer, I feel it is important to reveal something else of utmost importance: the question! =P  In all honesty there are actually two #1 questions.  Now, being a mathmagician I know it is in fact impossible to have two #1 questions, one will obviously out weight the other, even if it isn't by a statistically significant amount,  but the margin of error in my tallying is so small that it really is hard to determine which question really is the #1 and which is the #2.  Plus, I already posted an answer to "the #2 question" so we can't call the second #1 question the #2 question now could we?  So for the sake of not having to go back and changing previous posts,  we are going to call the top 2 questions "Question #1" and "Question #1 and 1/2."

Are you feeling a little something like this right about now?  =)

Now that we've got that all "cleared up," let's get to the question.  The top two questions I receive are "What do you eat?"  and "What do your workouts look like?"  Because nutrition is the single most important element to optimal health, I've decided to confront "What do you eat?" question first.  I eat...*drum roll please*...*drum roll still going*........."The Living Diet!"

You know that saying, "All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten."  Well I have my own saying.  It goes something like this, "All I really need to know I learned from Aaron Ogden (or Google)." ;)  What I am about to explain to you is not a scientific phenomenon.  I was introduced to this way of life by Aaron, but as I researched it myself, I found there is information about it ALL OVER THE INTERNET!  It is common knowledge that has been around for centuries.  Many a culture all over the world have naturally followed the diet I have adopted since the beginning of time as we know it.  And they do it, because it is their way of life, not their way to lose weight. That is the first thing to know about a diet: A diet is what you eat; not your plan to lose weight.  We are all on diets everyday. 
Some of our diets are good...some of our diets are unhealthy.  Plethoras of people say "I need to lose weight!  I'm going to start exercising." That's wonderful, but as the all knowing Aaron says, "A good exercise program alone can’t ensure excellent health. Without good nutrition you could even say that your exercise is somewhat in vain. Exercise itself depends on the fuel we give it. If you exercise to be healthy, then you better give your body the high-octane fuel it deserves. Diet is actually more critical than working out."


Life produces life. If you want to be healthy, if you want to feel alive, you must put living things in your body.The American diet is predominantly made up of processed, manufactured food.  It is all DEAD!   It contains little to no energy.  The food we buy out of cans and boxes are almost completely nutritionally and minerally depleted.  Why do you think everything is now "enriched" and "fortified."  We've removed all that is good in our food during the processing process, so then we have to add lab manufactured nutrients back in, most of which aren't assimilated into our body because they aren't natural.  Why do you think you can eat a whole carton of ice cream, a whole bag of Cheetos, or a box of "whole grain cereal," and still want to eat, but if you eat an apple you don't have the desire to continue to eat 9 more servings of apples?  It's because you're body got the nutrients it was craving from the apple,  but those other processed foods have nothing in them to satiate your body's desire for nutrients. Just take a look at these Kirlian photos. Kirlian photography is a scientific way of showing the energy fields emitted from objects. The first shows energy given off of our hands, the second of a fast food hamburger, the third is fresh broccoli.

Which food do you think is going to sustain life?  Again, if you want to be healthy, if you want to feel alive, you must put living things in your body.  Sure processed food is quick and easy, and fits our fast paced lifestyle, but it is KILLING US! Ask yourself this question right now: Do you want to be dead or alive?  If you choose the latter, then read on to discover what the "Living Diet" entails.

The Living Diet, or the "Fab 5" as I like to call it, consists of 5 ingredients: fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds...in that order.  Thee End!  That is what I eat =)  I consume processed foods as minimally as possible, and I avoid high fructose corn syrup like the plague.  I know the majority of you are now sitting speechless with raised brows, thinking to yourself,  "That's it?!  Where's the dairy?  Where's the meat?  Where's the chocolate?  Aw hell no, I can't do that!"  Allow me to put your nerves at ease by quoting Aaron again:

Optimal health means nothing without balance and enjoyment. Start implementing this diet and remember to create balance in your life while you learn to eat this diet. It is ok to celebrate and eat cake and ice cream. It is ok to go on a vacation and explore new foods. It is ok to have friends over for a summer BBQ. All these activities can add value to your life and won’t necessarily damage your health as long as you are balancing these types of foods with the high nutrient, high fiber foods that come from this diet. The Living Diet cleanses and nourishes the body to help you achieve optimal health, vibrant energy, minimal illness, and ultimately a balanced life. 

I'm an all or nothing kinda gal, so when Aaron told me to start following this diet, I did...all out. I got rid of all my processed foods.  I filled my fridge with produce and my pantry with whole grains (locally made whole grain bread (with only 5 ingredients), steal cut oats, quinoa, long grain rice), and unprocessed nuts.  I'm not really a seeds person so those aren't part of my daily diet.  On any given day, 70% of my food is fresh produce, and about 80% of that 70% is eaten raw. The other 20% I steam.

Here's an idea of what my typical day looks like: 
      First thing in the morning:  Drink Ionix Supreme, 1 tsp of Jurassic greens,
      and about 24 oz. H2O.
      Breakfast (after workouts): Isalean Shake and 1-2 servings fruit
      About an hour/hour and half later:  More fruit,  granola or other whole grain if I want it.
      1st "lunch" (another hour or so later):  HUGE spinach salad  (various mix-ins), with an
      oil/vinegar based dressing (I love Newman's Own brand).
      2nd "lunch" (about 2 hours later): fruit, steamed vegetables and whole grains.
      Couple hours later: snack on nuts and fruit
      Dinner:  steamed vegetables, whole grains, possibly some seafood or chicken.
 
You'll notice I am pretty much literally  eating ALL DAY.  I don't really sit down for a meal until dinner. The rest of the day I am grazing like a cow. 
You'd think that by eating that much I'd look like a cow too, but the truth of the matter is that even with all that food, that often,  I only eat between 1300-1400 calories a day (and I burn at least 1,000 every morning). Some days I have to force myself to eat more to get past the 1100 mark.  That is another misconception our society has tried to ingrain in our heads.  We are taught that calorie counting should be the foundation of our diet.  WRONG!  All calorie counting does is develop a complex about your body and your eating habits.  Nutrients and minerals are the foundation to any healthy diet.  That is why the Living Diet is so beneficial!  That is why Isagenix is so beneficial! (Are you starting to see how this diet and Isagenix go hand in hand)?

I can read the majority of your minds as you're reading this, "It sounds so boring!  Vegetables are gross!  Fruit makes me gassy.  I have to have my meat."  First of all,  if your body has an 'intolerance' to fruit, that should be your first indicator that your diet is unhealthy and you need to start making some changes.  What I found after a couple weeks of eating this diet, is all the processed food I used to like, didn't taste very good anymore. I quit craving processed/refined sugars, and desired holistic foods.  I started cooking with fresh herbs and spices, and found multitudes of holistic recipes online. Now all other processed foods that used to seem so hearty and delicious, taste bland to me.  On my free days (which I have once a week),  I didn't feel the need to try to "make up" for everything I didn't eat during the week like I used to when I tried the Body for Life, South Beach, and Atkins diets.  I actually just wanted to eat close to the same things I ate all week.  In fact,  there were multiple times during the Isaboday Challenge that Aaron made me promise to eat WHATEVER I wanted from 3pm-10pm.  He did it because 1) he knows balance is key to everything in life, and 2) he knows that living the Living Diet provides the way for the body to handle all the other crap we want to put in our bodies.
 
For many of you, this diet may still seem impossible, or too hard. "It doesn't fit my life style." Let me remind you that you created your lifestyle. You can redefine it whenever you choose.  You don't have to go all out like I did.  Start by adding things into your diet.  Then proceed to remove the things that shouldn't be there (aka processed foods and HFCS).  I'm a carnivore by nature, but I have cut back my red meat intake drastically, and only eat "organic" white meats a couple times a week.  I also L-O-V-E cheese, but I also have asthma, and dairy products are mucus forming, so I have had to live by Aaron's saying that "cheese is a condiment, not a staple."  I also love potatoes, another mucus forming food (when cooked).  I've had to convert potatoes from being my main food, to being a occasional side dish. It's tough at first, but definitely doable.

These are the guidelines.  Start adding in the ones that fit your lifestyle,  then continue to add in the rest to transform your lifestyle.  You'll notice the first 5 are Do's, and only the last one is Don't.

                1. Eat 4 fruits and 4 Servings of vegetables

                (preferably green, leafy) each day

                2. Eat whole grains (not whole wheat), nuts
                and seeds.

                3. Drink at least 64 oz of water each day

                4. Drink nourishing fluids (fresh juice, herbal
                teas, Jurassic greens)

                5. Take supplements that are food based

                6. Avoid processed foods and HFCS

Whenever I help someone adopt the Living Diet/Fab 5 lifestyle, I get asked "Well can I eat this? Can I eat that?" I've learned to respond to these questions in the same way that Aaron told me he teaches his kids how to eat,  "I don't tell them what they can't eat, I tell them what they have to eat."  Simply put, if it isn't part of the Fab 5, it shouldn't be the basis for your diet.  Doesn't mean you can't eat it.  Just don't eat it in mass amounts.  This diet centers on your health: your body needs high fiber and nutrients to operate properly. Try to get to where you can follow the diet completely for one day; then two days. As Aaron would say, "If you can't commit to eating this way at least 3 days a week, then you better learn to cleanse and cleanse often."

Which brings me to my final point.  If you are reading this blog then you more than likely are already aware of the benefits of cleansing.  The problem with cleansing (especially Isagenix style) is it is so amazing, and so efficient at helping us remove unwanted fat, that many people have come to use it as a "Plan B" for not living a healthy lifestyle.   If you want to get the most out of cleansing, and maintain your results without having to deep cleanse every other week, you need to adopt the Living Diet.  If you want a more in depth explanation on why to eat the Fab 5, and why to not eat all the other foods not listed in it, visit http://www.chickenorpig.com/nutrition.html.
 
In summary, if you want to get the results that I did during the Isabody Challenge, you need to remember these 5 points: 
              - A diet is what you eat.
              - Life produces life-Don't expect to receive energy from dead food.
              - The "Fab 5"
              - Focus on nutrients not calories
              - Cleansing is not a Plan B

Tune in next time to learn about all the "yummy" natural supplements you can add to the Fab 5 to help your body help itself...Like apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper...mmm!

"The Master Plan"

Today we address the third most asked question. That's right, I'm still deferring  the #1 asked question.  Don't let the suspense make you lose sleep (Isagenix actually has a product for that if you're indeed struggling with the matter;)  The question is, "what protocol did you follow/How often did you cleanse?"  The answer isn't as simple as one would think; not because Isagenix is complicated, but because I may or may not have ADHD, so following the same schedule for six months just wasn't going to happen.  Not to mention there were other factors to consider. I must warn you that this is gonna be a loooooonnngggg post.  We got six months to cover!

Let's start at the very beginning. Afterall, Maria Von Trapp says "it's a very good place to start."  I started the Isabody Challenge on December 12, 2011.  My schedule looked something exactly like this:

 Allow me to explain my OCD color coding.  I had four kinds of days throughout the entire challenge:  Cleanse Days, Shake Days, "Regular" Days (numbered days), and Free Days. 

The first two weeks I really had to ease myself into the whole system--not because I had food addictions, but because I was addicted to those toxic "synthetically manufactured supplements" I mentioned in the last post, and I was full of multiple anesthesia's from a double date with surgery I had at the end of October, and I had had more than my fair share of run ins with Bicardi and his cousin, Corona, in the 18 months prior to starting. During my "Intro Weeks," I simply shot 4 oz. of Cleanse for life in the morning along with an Isalean Shake.  I also took many an epsom salt bath (just you wait til I post the pictures of the results of those!)  After I got my body aclimated to cleansing again,  I started a 9-day system (modified due to the fact I was still healing from surgery and needed calories in order to do my 3 hours of wonderful physical therapy everyday).

Now back to an in depth description of my color coding: A cleanse day is exactly what it sounds like...it's a cleanse day.  I drink 4 oz. of Cleanse for Life, every 4 hours.  I also have a scooby snack (see "Elixers of Life" post if you don't know what Scooby Snacks are) and a few almonds every 90 minutes.  Along with that I drink approximately 120 oz. of distilled water and anywhere from 24-48 oz of Herbal teas.  Yes, I do have to make trips to the water closet here and there, but drinking that much liquids never really disrupts my daily schedule. Then again, I am a teacher. We are known for our insanely strong kegal muscles (sorry if thats TMI).  =)

Shake Days are the days that I actually drink 2 Isalean shakes.  The morning starts out with an ounce of Ionix Supreme (what better way to start the day than sending your whole body into a minor seizure from the taste of this life supporting tonic?), and a cup of "Horse Water."  Horse water, which is commonly known as Jurrasic Greens, is a concoction that Sir Aaron Ogden, "aka Boss," introduced me to.  It is a flash dried mixture of Alfalfa, Barley and Kamut.  I call it Horse Water because well,  it smells and tastes just like water in a horse trough.  (I actually don't know what water from a horse trough tastes like, but I'm pretty good at inductive reasoning and I hypothesize that it tastes a lot like it smells, and Jurassic Greens smells just like it, so there ya go).  If you can afford IsaGreens, I would highly suggest you just use that instead.  It tastes much better!!! (Notice I put 3 exclamation points on that statement).

Back to the daily regimen.  Now that we are wide awake from our spine tingling supplements, we go work out.  At about 7:30am workouts are all done and we indulge ourselves with an Isalean Shake.  I'll go into more detail about my actual diet in a later post, but here is the basics of what I eat: I eat all "raw" on these days, and limit my calories to approx 1300-1400. Snacks through out the day consist of fresh fruit, nothing canned or processed!  Lunch #1 always consists of a spinach salad of some sort.  Lunch #2 is another variety of vegetable (steamed broccoli, roasted asparagus, sauteed bell peppers, balsamic marinated tomatoes, cucumber,onions, etc.).  Dinner is of course another Isalean Shake.  As with Cleanse days I also take Scooby snacks and almonds about every 90 minutes to 2 hours, and consume a small reservoir worth of liquids.

"Regular Days" are very similar to shake days.  The main difference is I don't drink 2 shakes.  Everything follows the same protocol except come time for dinner I will eat another meal.  This meal usually has some sort of meat (often fish), a whole grain (quinoa is my favorite), and of course, more vegetables.  I also let myself snack on whole grains on these days.  I love Rosemary triscuits and whole grain granola! 

Free Days are a slight variation of "Regular Days."  I still drink Ionix, Horse water, and  a shake in the morning, but on these days, come approximately 12:00pm, after I have eaten all my healthy stuff for lunch,  I eat whatever else I want to until breakfast the next day.  The Boss has taught me that cleansing is a lifestyle, not just a "Plan B" pill for eating and partying too much.  But with that, he insists that I have a free day once a week to enjoy life.  If you don't enjoy cleansing you won't make it a lifestyle, so you have to have balance. I LOVE eating out! I especially love eating different ethnic foods.  I use my free day to nurture this hobby of mine =)

Onward to January!!

January is *deep voice* "Deep Cleanse Month!!"  You will notice that I did indeed cleanse on New Year's.  Some say I am crazy, but to those haters I simply say "I'll send ya postcard from the Caribbean when I'm on the Transformation Cruise."  Ok in all honesty, it was difficult, but there are harder things in life than not eating on New Year's.   

 

Following the conclusion of my first 9-day system I had a few regular days (remember those are the days that just have numbers), and then started another 9-day cleanse.  This time I followed Isagenix's suggested schedule.  Then we had a bunch of regular days because I had a basketball tournament in Fremont, California, and we all know Cleansing on road trips is next to impossible.

February was an exciting month, because I got to really start working out (without wearing my boot), and by the end of the month I was cleared from surgery.  For the months of February and March I pretty much just did two cleanse days a week.  I did shake days prior to cleanse days to make sure my body had the nutrients it needed to effectively cleanse.  I followed them with a shake day to reload my body with the nutrients it needed to complete my workouts.  During these months I was simply doing 50 minutes of high intensity circuit training, and 45-50 minutes of low intensity cardio (65% maximum heart rate).

April brought in a slight change of schedule.  The Boss man somehow convinced me that I should participate in his Adventure Race.  I volunteered at the Moab Adventure Xstream Series race to get a better look at what all this adventure bidness was all about.  After seeing those participants I told The Boss that we were going to have to workout harder.  A lot harder! So we did. April 16th I started training for the 12 hour Adventure Race to be held in June. With the increased working out, I decreased my cleansing to once a week, and increased my daily caloric intake by 200 calories for each additional workout.  I still did the same workouts as the previous months, but added running/hiking/biking to my weekends.

May was crunch time!  Only 28 days left of the Isabody Challenge, and only 2 months until the big race.  As far as cleansing goes, I finished the challenge with another 9-day system.  Workout wise,  I continued with my morning workouts, and added running (hills) or biking every other day, during the week, road or mountain biking for 3-4 hours on Saturdays, and hiking on Sunday. (Perhaps this might help some of you skeptics understand why I was so tan in my after pics.)  

 

In June...oh wait! That's The END!  I finished the Isabody Challenge on May 28, 2012. Ironically enough, May 28, 2010 was the date that I lost control of my life. It was 2 years to the day that I got it back. I don't consider it a coincidence... more of an omen, really. 

 

Obviously there are some minor intricacies that need expounding upon (cleansing aids, workouts, diet rules, etc.) which I will continue to post about, but this here is the foundation for how I achieved what I did. I hope it helps all you aspiring Isabodists =)

 



~The Elixers of Life~

The second most commonly asked question I receive is... (yes, I said second...don't start questioning whether you remembered to take your Brain Boost today, and start looking for a previous post that answers the #1 question. It hasn't been posted yet. I'll get to the #1 question later on), "What products do you use?" Most people are surprised to hear that my arsenal is quite small. Although I firmly believe that all Isagenix products have their place, and are beneficial to our health, the fact of the matter is I'm a school teacher, a.k.a. practically on welfare.  Although I've kind of become an "Isagenix Celebrity," I haven't made millions off of Isagenix (yet!), so I can only afford to use the basics.  BUT... I tend to try to live by the saying "Quality not Quantity" anyway, and using the basics is what got me the results that everyone seems to be after, so I'm planning on sticking with them even after I surpass Jimmy and the Escobars in total earnings! *cough cough* That was a joke ;)  So here they are, the products I use: 


"The God Send"

 

I use Ionix everyday!  It is like life support. One ounce fuels my 5am-1500 calorie workouts, keeps me awake for my 11 hour work days (thank you B vitamins), and keeps me from being incarcerated for physically harming my boss (gracias adaptogens).  I totally feel the difference when I forget to use this, and my students notice too (mainly because they leave class with more bruises the days I neglect to shoot this cocktail down).




"The Daily Bread"

 

I have a shake every day that isn't a cleanse day.  Let me repeat myself...I have A shake every day that isn't a cleanse day.  The only time I have two shakes is when I am actually following a 9-day cleanse, which I think I did four during my whole 6 months of the Isabody challenge. I know that right now I probably have a bunch of people thinking, "This is blasphemous! Isagenix says to drink 2 shakes a day!"  But let me remind you,  my products haven't been being paid for.  Am I against having two shakes a day?  Heavens NO!  But my bank balance currently is.  However I can assure you, as soon as I have enough money on that Isagenix debit card of mine, I will be converting to two shakes a day.  Shoot! I'd drink 5 shakes a day if I could afford it =)  and that my friends, is not a joke :)    

 

"The OxyClean"                  During the Isabody Challenge I was typically in "deep cleanse mode," which means I used the Cleanse for Life just how it is prescribed.  I took 4 oz. four times daily.  I say 'typically' because I didn't start the challenge in deep cleanse mode.  I had been taking a lot of "synthetically manufactured supplements" (I'll let you figure out what that means, and if you can't, just message me on facebook and I will give you the straight up verbage) for a year and a half, and I had just had reconstructive surgery on my ankle, and an arthroscopic surgery on my knee (at the same time) just 2 months prior.  My body was still swarmed with anesthesia and other toxic chemicals.  Had I attempted to start the Isabody Challenge with a deep cleanse, I would have more or less gone into anaphylactic shock (that might be a slight exaggeration). For the first two weeks of the Isabody Challenge I followed more of a  "maintenance" schedule.  During those two weeks I drank 4 oz. of cleanse every morning.  After that, my cleanse days were regular old "by the book" cleanse days. Nothing special.

 

"Scooby Snacks" A.k.a "Life Savers."  I use scooby snacks on cleanse days, and 9-day system shake days.  You're probably wondering by now, "What the hell is the difference in a shake day and a 9-day system shake day?!?"  Sorry,  you're going to have to wait til I post my 6-month schedule to get the details on that =(  Anyway, back to the scooby snacks.  On cleanse days, I follow the OOOOLD manual.  I eat a scooby snack and 2 (okay let's be honest, 3) almonds every 90 minutes.  When I'm doing a 9 days cleanse, I will eat about 6 scooby snacks on shake days.  I don't use them any other time.  They simply help me from having cravings and being tempted to cheat.  They are the only thing I eat on cleanse days.  I don't use any "negative calorie foods" or nuttin'!

"The Draino"
Anyone who has cleansed knows that the exodus of toxins is not always pleasant or "easy going." Our bodies have to work hard to get rid of toxins.  Add in the amount of work required to repair itself after working out every morning, and its multi-tasking abilities freeze up fairly quickly. Isaflush is like the extra RAM (no pun intended...ok, maybe it was slightly intended) our bodies need to get rid of all that junk.  I take 2 capsules at night, right before I go to bed, on cleanse days only.  Wake up in the morning, *insert Plucky Duck voice here* "toxins go down the hoooooole!"  **If you don't know who Plucky is, YouTube it...I strongly suggest you YouTube it =)**



"The 'all the things I would never take by themselves because they are disgusting' capsule"
How many of you can say that you have supplemented ACV (apple cider vinegar), cayenne pepper, or alfalfa in their raw forms?  I for one, being the subservient guinea pig to Mr. Aaron Ogden that I am, have done so, and I was not a happy camper.   I use this magic pill as prescribed--twice daily--when doing a 9-day system, and once in the morning on all other days.  You might be wondering why I only took it once when I wasn't doing a 9-day system.  The answer is quite simple you see...Isagenix hadn't released the Brain Boost when I did the Isabody challenge, and I have nagging teenagers desiring my undivided attention for the majority of the day, and I simply forgot to take the 2nd capsule when I was not intently focused on cleansing like I was during the 9-day systems.  Now you might be asking, "well why don't you take 2 capsules now that you are using Brain Boost?"  The reason for that my friends is that I haven't done a 9-day system since the challenge ended, so I simply haven't ordered any magic pills.

There you have it!  All the products I used during my 6-month Isabody Challenge.  Tune in to the next post (hopefully before next Sunday) to enjoy a day-by-day documentary of which days I actually used each product (cleanse/shake days) for 6 months. This is something you DON'T want to miss =)