Posts Tagged ‘Detox Week’

A friend of mine told me earlier, in regard to this whole reboot/detox thing, that I might live longer, but he’ll live happier.  While I get what he was trying to say (and it was in jest anyway), it’s an invalid argument, for a few reasons.

One, it presumes one person’s definition of “happy” is the same as another’s. Me, I think being married and having three kids would be miserable. But I know other people find joy in that. So I don’t think they’re less happy than me just because I don’t find happiness in giving over your life to child terrorists.

Secondly, and probably more to the point, if I wasn’t happy eating/living the way I do, why would I do it?* Is there a correlation between free consumption of greasy foods and dead animals and increases in enjoyment of life? As someone who has lived both very straightedge and very not straightedge at all, I can tell that, yes, moderation plays a big role in living a balanced, harmonious life, but I can also report that my general disposition has not changed whether I’ve been a meat-eater, a vegan, a smoker, a drinker or an ascetic. (Well, actually, that’s not true — I had pretty bad bouts of depression/anxiety when I smoked regularly and ate meat, but there’s a spurious correlation there.)

As I told my pal on the phone, these reboots or whatever aren’t much of a deviation from my normal diet — just stricter to give my body a bit of a cleanse and break from excess starches, fats and toxins. And yes, I get a bit hungry, or crave certain things, but I’m happier knowing I have the self-control and discipline to carry on, rather than sad I’m not having pizza or a beer. And that’s the thing that may be lost on a lot of people: This is as much a mental exercise as anything physical. Same as getting myself to run a 5k was: It’s a challenge to my mental endurance with the added benefit of physical conditioning. Self-denial is no way to live. Self-enrichment is.

And with that, here’s the final menu for System Reboot Week 2011. Thanks for watching and bearing with my excessive blogging about food and health and whatever.

• Breakfast: 1 caro-bana smoothie from Go Raw Cafe
• Lunch: Half-order of raw pizza from Go Raw Cafe
• Dinner: Sweet Tomatoes! One big ol’ salad (lettuce, cabbage, carrots, onions, cucumbers, peppers, cauliflower, vinegar, olive oil, sunflower seeds), one cup curry split pea soup, half a cup of vegetable soup
• Evening snack: One piece raw “fudge”
• Beverages: Water, herbal iced tea (decaf), maybe a quarter-serving of Kombucha tea (raw), a few sips of Green Protein juice.

* Yes, by doctor’s orders, I have had to make adjustments I otherwise wouldn’t have thought of doing myself. But I’m not unhappy just because I can’t eat endless amounts of cheese and whole eggs. I was definitely less happy when I was told I was 30 pounds overweight and at risk of a heart attack.

Man, you know what I haven’t had in a while? Capriotti’s. So guess what terrific sub was dancing in my head while I was hungry as a mofo today?

I do think that, as usual, one of the great revelations of Detox/Reboot Week will be the utter lack of necessity for so much bread in my life. It’s hard: I know that most breads I eat when I’m out, especially from places like Capriotti’s, are nutritionally useless, usually just lumps of bleached, processed flour that do little more than provide a starchy sponge to soak up the oils and juices of a sandwich or whatever.

Don’t get me wrong: I love bread and am not giving up on it completely, but every time I do one of these intensives, I cut back long-term in one way or another. The first time, I stopped eating so much fake meat product. The second time, I stopped keeping bread around, stopped having chips with sandwiches, etc. This time, I think I might try a different approach: Instead of eating out at Capriotti’s/Jimmy John’s/sandwich shop X (which totally defeats the purpose of not buying bread in the first place!), it makes more sense for me, if I’m craving a sandwich (look, it happens), to have Ezekiel or some other sprouted/flour-free/nutrient-rich bread available to make it myself.

The thing to remember is that none of this is about self-denial. It’s about having as much awareness of every ingredient going into the machine as possible. But, on the flip side, it’s also  about moderation. I’ve driven myself nuts about being strict in my food and beverage choices. And I’ve found when I loosen up the restrictions and relax a bit, I’m less likely to go overboard, and have been much happier. Being very mindful of what I consume 75 percent of the time means that the other 25 percent of the time I can enjoy myself without fretting over a breadstick.

Of course, we’re not at the finish line yet, but will be in about 24 hours, after which I’ll be easing back slowly into a more balanced (but improved!) routine. And I really can’t wait until I can run again, though given the heat now, it’ll have to be at 4 a.m. just to stay cool!

Here’s Thursday’s menu, for those playing along at home:

• Breakfast: 1 banana + 1 cup Dynamo juice blend
• Morning snack: 1 Pure bar
• Lunch: Salad (lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers) with a splash of balsamic vinaigrette
• Afternoon snack: Celery and organic peanut butter
• Throughout day: A handful of raw sunflower nut meats
• Dinner: One can organic split pea soup
• Evening snack: Few sips of strawberry smoothie
• Beverages: Aside from the above-listed juice, water all day, plus a few swigs of Trader Joe’s Green Protein juice.

Tomorrow: Eating out (but staying on course)!

Sometimes I envy people who have jobs where their actions are routine or comprising only reaction, like the guy who quality checks the box of cereal coming off the conveyor, or the supermarket cashier who swipes groceries across a UPC scanner. They have a specific job to do and can do it — barring physical malady — on demand, without much thought or motivation. Meanwhile, us alleged creative types are expected to produce something out of nothing on specific deadlines, and more times than not, that something just isn’t coming.

Usually, when I have all the time in the world, I can’t seem to get my head in gear to write a story, draw a page or concoct a report. But when I have no time at all, that’s usually when my brain decides it’s inspired to do all of the above as well as launch plans for a million other things. This is probably why people tend to procrastinate in general — we seem to work better under pressure, against deadline.

I’ve been going back and forth the last few weeks with bouts of too much and not enough time/inspiration. Oh, sure, I hit all my deadlines, but sometimes the road to getting there is filled with a lot of stops at gas stations and rest stops. Of course, being in the midst of Reboot Week isn’t helping. I’ve been doing pretty well in general, no weird headaches or anything, but the hunger gets to me a bit, especially mid-day, and it’s hard to focus on anything when all my brain can do is look forward to food this weekend.

But it’s already Wednesday night, and I’m looking forward to the next few days: Going to make some curried vegetables tomorrow, then on Friday I’m hitting Go Raw Cafe for some awesome vegan nomz, and later that night, eating out with Sara for the first time in a week at Sweet Tomatoes. Until then, though, here’s what I chowed down on today:

• Breakfast: 1 banana + 1 cup Dynamo juice blend
• Morning snack: 1 Larabar
• Lunch: Lentil & vegetable soup
• Afternoon snack: Carrots and organic hummus
• Throughout day: A handful of raw sunflower nut meats and a few raw almonds
• Dinner: One raw flaxseed pancake (made w/coconut oil and a banana)
• Evening snack: Strawberry fruit smoothie
• Beverages: Aside from the above-listed juices, water all day, plus a few swigs of Trader Joe’s Green Protein juice.

Hunger can be pretty distracting. I guess this is why “they” are always stressing the importance of good nutrition in educational success for children. Works the same for adults.

I was pretty distracted today, especially any time I came across a tweet or conversation related to food. Visions of pizzas and pad thai danced in my head as I noshed on clusters of sunflower seeds. So my work slipped a bit, though I am just about wrapped up my next story for Seven, and hopefully I’ll be able to make some progress on that skate deck (it’s due Friday).

Otherwise, still going strong. Here’s today’s menu:

• Breakfast: 1 gala apple + 1 cup Dynamo juice blend
• Morning snack: 1 Pure par (raw/vegan/organic)
• Lunch: Veggie stew (leftover from yesterday)
• Afternoon snack: Celery and organic peanut butter
• Throughout day: A handful of raw sunflower nut meats
• Dinner: Raw flaxseed pancakes (made w/coconut oil and a banana)
• Evening snack: Mixed tropical fruit
• Beverages: Aside from the above-listed juice, water all day, one 11-ounces serving of coconut water, plus a few swigs of Trader Joe’s Green Protein juice.

Tomorrow’s probably gonna be my rough patch, as not only is it hump day, but I’m attending a Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival meeting where, inevitably, pizza will be served.

I had a doughnut yesterday. It was one of those old-fashioned donuts from Starbucks, all cake-y and cinnamon-y and terrifically accompanying my iced decaf soy mocha. But it was still a doughnut, a 400-calorie, fat-and-cholesterol-rich pastry that I’ve held up as the antithesis of healthy living for almost three years.

Oh, sure, there are probably plenty of foods I eat on occasion just as bad if not worse than the doughnut: Pizza. Birthday cake. Grilled cheese. But back when my whole “oh, wait, I have apparently become a fatty and am racing toward a heart attack” thing started, among the other gastronomic pleasures I denied myself in lieu of not spending a life dependent upon Lipitor, the doughnut became something of a dangling carrot for me. I’m fairly certain I declared to Twitter and my girlfriend a few years back that once I came down to my target weight (either 170 or 175 lbs., I don’t recall), I’d reward myself with doughnutty goodness. Well, meeting and beating that goal came and went, but I eschewed the sugary reward.

Even after shedding another 10 or so pounds, I still didn’t pop a doughnut into my face, even when buying dozens of them to cater various events. Oh, sure, I’d nom down on a Retro Bakery cupcake at the drop of a hat, loaded with artery-defying buttercream, but a doughnut? Not once, at least not until a trip to Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland, Ore., but I was on vacation, man — that doesn’t count (also, I had a vegan doughnut, which definitely doesn’t count). But yesterday, knowing I’d be starting a stricter diet today and after getting good cholesterol and triglyceride numbers back from a blood test, I went for it. And felt guilty immediately afterward (also, my tummy hurt a bit).

So, here we are: Day One of System Reboot Week. It used to be called “Detox Week,” but I kind of feel like that has some negative and inferred connotations, so I’m changing it. Because, really, what happens is I get lazy. I do one of these intensive weeks of eating all-vegan, eschewing processed foods, breads, beverages, etc., feel better, maybe drop a few pounds, and then for a few weeks after, I find myself cooking more often, eating generally better, drinking less alcohol, yadda yadda. But then the glow fades, I go out of town, I drink enough to require liquor-soaking greasy fast food, and eventually, I’m at the point that I need to, well, reboot.

Let’s be clear: I’m the lightest I’ve been since my 20s, my cholesterol and blood pressure are ideal, I run five-to-seven miles a week and eat a mostly vegetarian diet (with fish nomz thrown in for Omega-3/protein goodness). So it’s not like it’s that drastic for me to ixnay the peripheral “junk” (except the bread — that’s probably the hardest part). But sometimes you can just tell when it’s time for a refresher, you know? Hence, the next five days, I’m following the usual rules:

• No processed foods
• No dairy, no bread, no pasta
• No soda or alcohol
• Obviously, no meat or animal products — including eggs and foods made with eggs
• Only eating combinations of vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes, organic and raw whenever possible

I’ll likely not be running this week, as I won’t have the calorie intake to support that, which is fine, because my legs could probably use a week off, and I have a lot of other stuff to get to, including a painting for LVSK8 V, an article for Vegas Seven, and the usual batch of comics/music/stuff.

Here’s today’s menu, for the curious:

• Breakfast: 1 banana + 1 cup Dynamo juice blend
• Morning snack: 1 Apple Pie Larabar (raw/vegan/organic)
• Lunch: Organic Lentil & Vegetable soup
• Afternoon snack: Celery and carrots with organic hummus
• Throughout day: Approx. 2 handfuls of raw sunflower nut meats
• Dinner: Homemade veggie stew (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, celery, onion)
• Evening snack: Mixed tropical fruit
• Beverages: Aside from the above-listed juice, just water all day, plus a few swigs of Trader Joe’s Green Protein juice.

I found a recipe and bought supplies for raw, vegan pancakes. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Two great fists, one great party

So, yeah, as evidence by the photo above, I wrapped up Detox Week 2010 at one of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino’s Palazzo Suites celebrating the 10th anniversary of Penn & Teller in Las Vegas … completely clean and sober. And having a grand time.

(That’s the one-and-only Brandy Bell in the photo with me, as if you needed to be told.)

Thus concluded another successful, and relatively painless, eschewing of processed and animal-based foods/beverages. I don’t know if the going went easier because this session was only seven days (as opposed to the 10-day stretch last December), or if it was because I had already acclimated to reduced crap/carb consumption (I can’t tell you the last time I bought a loaf of bread), but it did, and while I’ll be happy to eat a little bit less restrictively, I am again left with a sense that some permanent change will remain.

Every time I do some regimented routine to improve my health, it seems to have small after-effects. Like when I did the From Couch to 5k deal — while I did expect to run occasionally, I didn’t expect it to be something I continued to crave often. And I expect to see more lasting, subtle impact from Detox Week 2010 as well.

Yesterday was a bit of a rush, as I darted about doing more prep for my trip this weekend, and more promotion for the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, about which you’ll hear a lot from me next week. Last night, I went to the studios of KUNV with Deryl Skelton to appear on Nate Tannenbaum’s “Playing Favorites” program. It’s a combination interview/music show, in which — as the title indicates — guests play their favorite songs. Deryl and I talked about Tales from the Boneyard and the Comic Book Festival as well as ourselves, but Deryl really stole the show with his always-entertaining personal stories derived from 30 years of working as an artist in comic books, syndicated strips and commercial illustration. The program airs next Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. on 91.5-FM here in Vegas (or stream that baby here).

After that, it was off to the mall to do my civic duty and VOTE. Yes, kids, I consider it a duty, not a right. Engagement in this country’s political process is the only way to have a voice, so if you’re not personally running for public office, you’d better make sure you’re making your choice for who is. Early voting continues through this week, but if you’re not already registered, well, you suck. (Unless you’re under 18. Then you get a pass.)

After snarfing down some bad veggies and rice from a food court vendor (they only had fried rice, not steamed, so I barely ate any of it, poking around to avoid egg), I zipped over to the Rio for the after-show party for Penn & Teller. It was a lovely affair, decorated for the Halloween season, attended by the usual suspects plus just about every comedian and magician in town, but the best part? The SOUNDTRACK. (Because I mixed it.) But really: Good times.

I barely slept last night due to a combo of getting in late and our dogs being assholes as usual, so I was way too pooped for a run this morning. Tonight will continue shenanigans, as an emergency band practice has been scheduled due to some last-minute personnel changes for next week’s Brass Lounge gig (more on that … next week), and then I have to pack up to drive out to SoCal tomorrow, so … yeah. Geez, and I still haven’t even really talked about that here, have I? I will later, for real.

So, with that, I leave you with Day Seven’s post-menu. Enjoy, and thanks for playing:

• Breaksfast: One gala apple, one cup Dynamo juice blend
• Morning snack: Apple pie flavor Larabar
• Lunch: Trader Joe’s lentil and vegetable soup
• Afternoon snacks: Raw almonds/walnuts, carrots and hummus, celery and peanut butter
• Pre-dinner snack: One banana
• Dinner: Steamed, mixed veggies over rice (see above, bleh)
• Late-night snack: A few dried papaya spears
• Beverages: Water, a sip or two of Kombucha, about a serving of Green Protein juice blend

It’s interesting that people who don’t eat meat are usually called “vegetarians.” I mean, think about the inference there: These are vegetable eaters. That’s all. They eat vegetables. Pretty limiting, right? As much as “meat-eater,” I suppose — “You only eat meat, right?”

In my case, it might have been true. I’m not a big fan of fruit. I mean, I eat it. And some fruit I plainly love (hello, honeydew, my old friend). But most I merely tolerate. Meanwhile, give me a cluster of broccoli or a stalk of celery and I’ll go to town. I love veggies. I love roots. I love leaves. And when I eat too many veggies … well, there is no such thing as “too many.” But when I eat too much fruit, I can tell. I just don’t feel right. I think I ate too much fruit yesterday. You’ll see it in the menu below, but it was basically all fruit until dinner time.

Anyway, that was day six of Detox Week 2010. Spent way too long at a desk in front of a computer, probably about 15 hours. My back is not amused. I haven’t run since Friday, and haven’t been to the gym in a week. And I’m not sure I’ll have time even after Detox Week ends tonight. I’m realizing more that I have very little time left to prep for Long Beach Comic Con, which starts Friday morning, but I planned to drive out Thursday night. Now I’m reconsidering that. The show starts at noon, and I only need about 15 minutes to set up, so in theory, if I leave Vegas at 4 or 5 a.m., I should be able to make it to Long Beach in time, but … I don’t know that I want to risk that. Keep the spare bedroom open, Jason.

Some other stuff went down yesterday that I don’t want to talk about, but it throws a serious curve in my schedule for the next week and a half — and given I’m out of town for three of those days, that’s not good. I’ll talk more about it later, but right now, I just need to find solutions.

With that, let’s unroll the fruit-tastic menu from day six, as I embark on the last day of Detox Week 2010:

• Breakfast: One banana, one cup Dynamo juice blend
• Morning snack: One chocolate brownie Pure bar
• Lunch: 16-ounce Strawberry Whirl from Jamba Juice (frozen strawberries & bananas + apple-strawberry juice — the guy there assured me there was no sugar or anything added to the juice)
• Mid-day snack: A handful of raw almonds and walnuts
• Afternoon snack: Carrots and celery with organic hummus
• Dinner: One more reheating of the homemade veggie stew with steamed broccoli, cauliflower and asparagus
• Evening snacks: A few spicy “krispys,” a few dried papaya spears
• Beverages: Water all day, plus a few swigs of Green Protein juice and Kombucha tea.