Week 8 – The first 60

I’ve done it, well almost. I only have a few more days until I’ve completed the straight 60. I’m excited and looking forward to that end date, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, and looking forward to doing it again. I realize that probably sounds crazy, that I’m at the end, and looking forward to doing it more. Well, I still have work to do and this is the best way that I know of to get there. I’m taking a short break from the diet, about a week (which lines up perfectly with fall break). If you remember one of my past posts, about what’s next, I gave 3 options. Well this week of being off the diet is my chance to test the option where I basically follow the diet, but I’m not so strict, so I would be able to enjoy a treat now and then. There are a few things I’ve been looking forward to having, such as those traditional vacation pancakes, pizza (obviously), and possibly ice cream. Like I said in the past blog, about taking this route of allowing sugar/wheat in moderation, it scares me a little. So this week will be a good test for myself. Knowing I will be doing the diet again, with all of you, makes the idea of this test week not so scary. Having the straight 60, with the group, the classes, and support to look forward to is like having a safety net, in case I realize I can’t prevent myself from going overboard.

My straight 60: I started this weighing about 235 lbs. ( I say about because I didn’t do my official weigh in until I was a couple days in, but 235 lbs. was the weight I was leading up to this). So at the end of my straight 60 I’m at 208 lbs. That’s almost 30 lbs. in 60 days! I didn’t accomplish my mini-goal of under 200 lbs., but that wasn’t really practical in 60 days anyway. I’m confident in the diet (and myself!) and I know it’ll come, so I’m not going to stress over it. I was surprised by the whole process, and how easy it was. Well, I wouldn’t say it was easy, just not as hard as I expected. Most days it wasn’t that difficult. The first week was by far the most difficult, so when you start be sure to push through that first week, it gets better. Since the first week there would be a day here and there that was harder than most, sometimes just a few hours of the day were hard, but generally I was satisfied. For me, the most difficult times came with eating out, or in a social setting where other people were not on the diet. It can be very hard, but not impossible. I’ve said this before, but its worth repeating, besides loosing weight, I have more energy, I feel great, haven’t noticed having headaches in a while, my clothes fit me, I don’t struggle with tying shoes or putting on socks, I feel stronger, and I have more confidence in myself (OK, I hadn’t said all of that before). It is completely, 100%, worth sacrificing these foods for this. When I really think about it, its amazing that I’ve been overweight, technically obese (I’ve avoided that term in all my other posts because, well I hate that term and hated that I fit into that category, actually I still do fit into that category based on BMI, however BMI isn’t the best measurement. Measuring body fat, which will be taught in the 60-day turnaround, is a far superior measurement), for a decade and deciding to do a simple diet and exercise program for 60 days has completely changed that. A decade worth of unhealthy lifestyle, turned around in only 60 days. I’m obviously not where I want to be yet, but I know I’m on the right path. If it takes 60 more days, maybe 120 more, it doesn’t matter, I’m committed to it now. I know I can do it and I will reach my goal. I look forward to doing this again, alongside all of you, supporting each other, it’ll be GREAT! Thanks for reading.

-Dr. Mark

The thing that Dr. Mark doesn’t quite understand yet, though he has heard it, is what healing looks like. Healing of insulin receptors, healing of leptin receptors. These things haven’t happened yet, so we don’t have the understanding of what they are.

Check out the updated Video with Dr. Mark on our Youtube Channel, HERE. Thanks and be blessed! – Dr. E

Soy and Breast Cancer

Today’s Daily Sprout is one big re-print of the article here at the Daily Mail – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2745067/Could-soy-cause-breast-cancer-spread-Protein-speed-growth-disease-study-finds.html

This article fits well with what I have said for years about soy.

Here it is –

Could soy cause breast cancer to spread? Protein found to speed up growth of the disease, study finds

New York researchers found high levels of soy protein genistein could accelerate the progression of breast cancer cells
Study examined women already diagnosed and being treated for the disease
Did not look at the effects for women not yet diagnosed or prevention

Adding soy to your diet could speed up the rate at which breast cancer cells spread, scientists have warned. Researchers at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York studied 140 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.

Half took soy protein powder containing genistein while the other half took a placebo for between seven and 30 days before they had surgery to remove their cancer. The scientists compared tumour tissues from before and after the operation and found changes in the expressions of certain genes, that are known to promote cell growth, in those women taking the soy supplement.

The findings led them to conclude the soy protein could potentially accelerate the progression of the disease.

The study states: ‘These data raise concern that soy may exert a stimulating effect on breast cancer in a sub set of women.’

All those taking part in the study had recently had breast biopsies and were diagnosed with stage one or two breast cancer.

They were all scheduled to have a mastectomy or lumpectomy two to three weeks later.

The researchers said it is not yet clear if the effects can be reversed.

More…

Jacqueline Bromberg, co-author of the study, said: ‘Although the genes were being expressed, it is not clear that this will translate into actual tumour growth.

‘But the concern is that there may be the potential. ‘Only 20 per cent of those patients who took the soy had really high levels of the genistein metabolite.’

She said the reasons behind the disparity are unclear, adding that there is no way to predict who would have this reaction after consuming soy.

Of the women with high genistein levels, a few of them experienced changes in a specified set of genes that are known to affect breast cancer cell growth, death, or some aspect of breast cancer pathology, Dr Bromberg, said. The changes were seen in women who consumed around 51.6 grams of soy – the equivalent of about four cups of soy milk a day.

The researchers concluded those who eat soy regularly could ‘reasonably consume that amount’ through the course of a day, particularly vegetarians and those who do not eat dairy products.

They warned those living in Asian countries could be especially at risk, due to the high levels of tofu and soy in traditional diets.

Dr Bromberg, said: ‘We’re not talking about 20 times more soy.

‘We’re talking about something that a person could eat.’

The research did not address the question of whether soy does or does not prevent breast cancer, or whether soy would have any effect on women who have not already been diagnosed with the disease.

Rather than avoid soy altogether, researchers said it is wise to consume it in moderation.

Dr Bromberg, said: ‘If you currently have early-stage breast cancer, don’t eat soy in large amounts. ‘If you’ve had breast cancer, you can eat soy but in moderation.’

Dr Shike, added: ‘It seems reasonable to advise at this present state of knowledge that women don’t over consume soy. ‘When it comes to nutrition, variety is important, and so is moderation.’

The findings were published in the September 4 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

– Indeed all good information here! – Dr. E

Thank you for Near Blindness

A good friend of mine (well we are good friends in that even though we don’t talk much, we could easily have deep conversations that cover much ground) had a chance to preach from the main stage of NorthPoint Community Church today (Sunday). This is a big deal, how many people will hear him speak? I would guess it is upwards of 60,000, that is the reach of Northpoint church these days (30,000+ in seats and its equal via internet and other broadcasts). He started the sermon with a little bit of nervousness in his voice… how could you avoid it, but finished powerfully.

His message – Thank you God for autism.

I remember the days when he was in my office getting adjusted regularly, and the days we would work hard to get his children to relax on the table to get their adjustments. The effort was harder than most, because both of his children have autism. We used to sit in the “Serene Bean” and talk about productivity. He was early on in his work in the church world, and he had a lot to juggle. We would discuss ways for him to increase productivity and keep control of the important things. Funny, now at times I feel like I should be sitting having those same talks with him talking me down off my work crazed life.

But his message today is what I want to discuss. This because I believe that he and I have a very similar outlook on the difficult moments in life. And I don’t necessarily believe we are “special” because of this outlook, I simply believe that we have a deep belief in God’s word. And because of that belief, we have gone to the next level of accepting that God has a sincere plan in all things, good or bad. Hence the title of my post.

It was just over 8 years ago that the hockey puck hit my left eye, and took y sight. It was awful at first, the headaches, the light sensitivity in my good eye, and the hope of getting sight restored, but nothing came back. Along the way, Andy and I went out to a few healing revivals, and looked for God to show up and give a miracle. It was a good time, a time of hope and pursuit. But at the same time, I was decently content. One night, while at a revival, I heard the clearest voice of God that I have ever heard. “Not now”. I found Andy and let him know that I was done pushing for healing at revival’s. I would trust that not now means “someday”, and I will trust that I am to be confident in that, but that I also was given a direction.

Well. Fast forward a few years, and I am sitting on the edge of my daughter’s bed, and she is telling me “I wish God would give you your sight back”, and I am telling her “I would love to see you in full 3D again”, when I gave her the truth of it. “My blindness is a blessing”. I have struggled with humility in my life, and this has humbled me. I have been focused on many things in my life, and this thing focused me inwardly, inward towards my heart, my family, my God.” The truth is, I have a lot to be thankful for, and one of those things is the trial of my left eye blindness, as it has grown me more than anything else in my life.

I understand why Andy thanked God for autism, as he has learned to become an incredible father because of it. And I have completely learned from my blindness, how God said no to Paul, when he asked to be healed of his affliction. Just like he told me not now. He knew there was work to be done, and the work would take time. So. If you are in the midst of crisis, I wonder what you need to learn from the process. I don’t expect that everyone is in something for the sole purpose of learning from it, but I do expect that everyone who is in something, can learn.

Learn to love again. Learn to set aside differences. Learn to give up your stubbornness, or learn to simply be humble in all things. I pray thee well on your journey.

Be well and Be blessed – Dr. E

Sweet Nuts (grain-less granola) Recipe

2 C raw pecans, walnuts, almonds-coarsely chopped

1/2 C raw sunflower seeds

1/2 C unsweetened coconut flakes

2-3 T pasture butter

3 tsp Stevia

2 tsp cinnamon

sea salt to taste

-Place butter in pan to melt(stove top on medium heat)

-Add remaining ingredients

-Toast in skillet on medium heat for 15 to 20 min.

-Cool on paper towel

-Enjoy!

Week 7

A few things on my mind this week. The first pertains to the purpose of this 60 day turn-around. I’ve said many times its not about the weight, but about pursuing health. Its hard for me to stay focused on that because, thankfully, I was not expressing any symptoms of my unhealthy lifestyle, besides being overweight. So, when I think about this diet, and its ability to to promote health and proper function, I always think about my grandma. She is 90 years old. She has type II diabetes. She had been on medication for it for quite some time. She started the diet though, and since doing it, she has been able to get off her medications (glucophage and metformin), her blood sugar has normalized just from her diet.

Her doctors are so impressed with her improvement, not only has her blood sugar improved, her cholesterol levels are lower, her blood pressure is lower, she’s lost weight, and on top of that she just feels better in general, and she’s excited about what she’s accomplished. Its really amazing (remember… she’s 90 and excited about health).

I’ve thought a few times, “when I’m that old, I’m going to eat whatever I want, you know, enjoy life.” But then I come back to, why do I equate food with enjoying life, when there are so many other things that are so much more enjoyable, like being with my family. Feeling good and having energy to enjoy being with my family, that is where I want to be. So, for my grandma, this isn’t a 60 day turnaround, its her life, her diet, this is how she’s going to eat for the rest of her life. For her, she will give herself a treat once in a while, but her general diet follows the straight 60. This is what really inspires me. I’m going to be doing the diet again with all of you starting Sept. 22. The idea of doing it again is hard to swallow, but looking at my grandma, definitely helps.

Speaking of doing the straight 60 again this leads me to the next thing on my mind this week. Something Eric said to me a week or so ago. “You don’t know what you don’t know” or I’m not aware of the things I don’t know about this diet yet. For example, I’ve been eating peanut butter. I knew almond butter was allowed on the diet, I checked the nutrition label for almond butter and peanut butter and they were essentially the same. I made sure it was straight peanut butter, organic, no sugar or other things added. Well, apparently peanut butter is not allowed on the diet, at least only in severe moderation. Peanut butter come to find out, is highly inflammatory. One of the points of this diet is to reduce inflammation, most of this comes from omitting sugar, because it is also highly inflammatory. So, I wasn’t aware of the inflammatory nature of peanut butter. Well, I was, but just didn’t think about it. Now that I know, it is actually pretty obvious, peanut allergies are pretty common, which an allergy is a greater than normal inflammatory response.

This is just one example of something I don’t know. The point of saying this is that, I’ve been doing the straight 60 with some guidelines as to what to eat and what not to eat, but I haven’t gotten the full effect of being in the classes. Amanda and I are looking forward to having the classes, the knowledge, and the support of the group for the second time around.

After 7 weeks on the straight 60, I’m down to 208 lbs. that’s a loss of over 20 lbs. This morning I had another great victory, my belt went to the 3rd hole (and its not uncomfortably tight). At the beginning of this I was on the last hole in the belt, barely. By the second week I think was on the second, but making the third hole was pretty awesome. I’m fitting into more of my old clothes that I’ve held on to for years waiting for the time when I could wear them again. Its all very exciting. Bread and sugar are worth sacrificing for this. Thanks for reading.

-Dr. Mark

Nothing more to add today, well said – Dr. E

The Straight 60 – The Rules

Simple Guideline of the RULES of the 60 Day Turnaround.

The purpose of the 60 DAYS is to remove the rule set, and be left with the reasons why. The knowledge of WHY we choose a specific diet is more important than the diet.

This is not Paleo, I am not “for” Paleo given that I believe in Creation it immediately removes my ability to philosophically believe in paleo.

The Sugar Rule

We want to avoid all things that are sugar, or easily turn to sugar:

1. Sugar
2. Honey, Agave, Maple Syrup
3. High Glycemic fruits, or any fruit besides berries
4. Grains – all of them besides Quinoa on occasion
5. Legumes (beans of all types except some lentils and some chick peas – limited)
6. Excessive protein except for populations who have high metabolism, this group can increase protein. Ask questions if you don’t know if you are included here.

The Sugar is the most important part for what we are trying to accomplish (see other sweeteners below).

The Limitations

1. Granny Smith Apple or a handful of berries one time a day.
2. Tomatoes should be looked at as fruit, similarly one serving a day max, and avoid combining within the same hour as your fruit.
3. High glycemic foods of any type need to be avoided, but the higher echelon that are allowed (bright peppers for example) should not be combined with fruit, tomato, or with chick peas and lentils. Dipping peppers into hummus could become a blood sugar problem.
4. For those needing weight loss, protein should be 2/10 of your body weight (lbs) in grams three times a day. Or less, for the first four weeks. Increase after that. Protein can also turn to sugar.
5. No alcohol for four weeks, then move to a glass of red wine every other day at most. No other alcohol is allowed.
6. Dairy is allowed, but should be both clean (organic, raw is best) and also cultured (raw cheese, yogurt with no added sugar). Be cautious because lactose is a strong sugar, read the containers, pay attention to the amount of sugar, and watch if you bloat, or have digestive issues following dairy. If so, can it.
7. No ROOT vegetables. You can have small amounts of onion for flavor, but notice how an onion takes on a sugary taste when cooked? Because its loaded with it. Along with potatoes, carrots, etc. Stay off of them… period.

The significance of limiting foods is also directed towards sugar.

The Fat

Some guidelines are very cautious about fats. We want you to increase fats steadily over the first month.

1. Grass Fed Beef is loaded with healthy fat. Grass Fed beef Butter is also good, known as Pasture Butter. Eat this regularly.
2. Free Range Organic Chicken is also a good source of healthy fat, as well as the eggs from these hens.
3. Almonds, Walnuts, Pecans, Macadamia Nuts, Cashews are all good nut sources. Best raw, best soaked. Utilizing nuts you should keep in mind the rule – don’t eat more than you could shell yourself. If you are eating more than you could shell in a day, then you are probably beyond the healthy long term level.
4. Chia, Pepita, Flax, Sesame seeds. These are great sources of healthy fat, and can be added to a smoothie to increase your “full” sensation.
5. Coconut oil. Straight or in cooking, along with Palm oil.

Fats are crucial for satiation and for moving the body into burning Fat.

When to Go Clean

Meats need to go clean first (Organic) followed by the rules of the Clean Fifteen/Dirty Dozen

This is the critical piece for clean – MEAT is at the top. Followed by the current listing in the dirty dozen. It changes based on season and farming practices. If a food is in season in a relatively clean environment, it becomes less important to be organic. If the season forces importing from a DIRTY source, then that food becomes more of a risk to long term health. For example, we recommend you never eat food from China, regardless of its listing on the Dirty Dozen/Clean Fifteen list.

Sweeteners – Clean means NO Sucralose or Aspartame or any other artificial sweetener. It also means that you can use straight Stevia *look for additives. No other ingredient save a little alcohol in some liquid stevia. You can use Xylitol in small portions and moderation. I would also avoid using Erythritol on a daily basis, but every so often in moderation. Avoid using other sugar alcohols like malitol or sorbitol.

September 22nd, the 60 Days Starts. Together we are successful where apart we would not be.

I developed the Straight 60 as a combination of other diet plans. You could live this forever, it works for performance (I am proof) it works for weight loss and hormonal balance. However, the goal is to graduate you to the plan for life that you want to be on, after adopting the understanding of these rules. Life change is a small change each day.

Week 6 – What’s next

I still have 2 and a half weeks util I’ve finished my straight 60, but the question as to what follows has been on my mind pretty much since the first week. I’ve got it down to 3 main choices. 1. Continue the diet. 2. Continue the diet but not so strict, allowing myself some grains/sugar once in a while, but in moderation. 3. Go crazy and eat all of the foods I’ve been denying myself for the last 60 days.

I’ll admit, I think about option 3 a lot more than the others, but I realize it would not end well, and I’d be pretty unhappy with myself too. As tempting as this option looks, I doubt I’ll be doing this. If I do, I think I’ll restrict it to one day, maybe just one meal.

I’m not too excited about the thought of option 1. I know it would probably be the best choice for my weight loss to continue, and my pursuit of health. It’s somewhat odd though, why don’t I want to continue? I’m not hungry ever, I’m enjoying the food I’ve been eating, and I’m getting healthier in the process. For some reason though, a big part of me doesn’t want to keep going.

Option 2 seems like it would be the obvious best choice. To my understanding this is the point of the 60 day turnaround. Its not a life-long diet, but it does two things during those 60 days. The first, is that you get healthy, loose weight, feel great, and heal those leptin and insulin receptors. The other thing that is happening is that you are being trained to eat differently. So that when the diets over, you don’t just go back to the same eating habits, you really limit sugar and wheat(which you’ve learned how to do and realize its not that bad or hard). They become a treat for once in a while, not the main portion of your diet. This sounds great, right? I’ll stay healthy, keep loosing weight, and get to have that pizza once in a while.

The problem I’m facing, is that I don’t know if I trust myself enough for option 2 yet. I’ve actually tried option 2 in the past (granted it wasn’t after doing the straight 60) and it didn’t really last very long before I went back to eating the same ol’ breads and sugary foods all the time. In my mind, option 2 takes much more discipline than option 1. Discipline is something I’ve obviously lacked when it comes to my diet for a long time. Can 60 days create that disciple? For me it just seems easier to eliminate sugar and wheat completely as opposed to allowing it in small quantities, spread out. That seems like it would leave the door open for more mistakes or moments of weakness to lead to bad decisions.

So, what to do. I don’t really know what I’ll be doing yet. To make this decision even more difficult, my straight 60 ends the day we’ll be leaving for vacation. There’s a strong desire to eat “normal” on vacation. I do know this, I have a mini-goal of under 200 lbs. I haven’t seen that for almost a decade now, so I will not even consider stopping the diet until I hit that. So if that doesn’t happen before the 60 days, then I’ll have my answer. I still have 2 and a half weeks until then, I’m pretty confident I will drop below 200 by the end though.

In case you were wondering, I plan on continuing doing Crossfit, that is now a part of my everyday life, and will not be stopped at the end of the diet.

After 6 weeks on the straight 60, I’m down to 211 lbs., which is a loss of around 20 lbs. I’m pretty happy about that. I get more excited as I get closer to 200. As I mentioned above, under 200 is a mini-goal, because I should be well below that too. So I still have a lot of work ahead of me. Thanks for reading.

-Dr. Mark

Ahhh, so naive. It won’t be Marks choice. I write his paychecks right now, so we know we can motivate. The best bet, will be when his family and mine are in Hilton Head for Fall Break, we’ll cheat. Some. Minimally. But then the 22nd rolls around, and everyone is coming in to join us on the Straight 60, so how could we NOT be on it still? Oh yes, the “slightly interrupted Straightish 120”.

See all of you here on the 22nd at 7pm.

– Dr. E

Supplements and Chemicals

Juice Plus. I’ve been on it for years. There is a TON of research behind it, and it is clean. This is one reason why it made sense to my small brain, that we should consider this as a primary supplement. The ingredient list is a FOOD LABEL, it is not an FDA ingredient list, because it is all whole food. That is an awesome place to start when looking for nutrition.

You see, years ago, we wrote a Daily Sprout entitled, “To Live Longer, Use Less Supplements”. It is buried in one of our archive binders in the front of my office (done long before we started putting them all on the web), but it is a really good piece of writing based on some studies that were published in both medical, and non-medical journals.

Basically, these studies showed that when you looked at large populations, you could find many people who were “Supplement Hogs” were causing damage to themselves. The primary reason? Not understanding the chemical impact of mixing certain compounds, at certain levels in the body. Next reason, because of the additives, preservatives, and packaging (capsulation) method of many of these products. Think about it, the movie we are showing next Thursday, Unacceptable Levels, is all about how companies can put chemicals onto the market with no requirement to prove safety. They are only held responsible if they are proven to be damaging.

Well, if I am a liquid millionaire who can fund manufacturing of a new chemical, and I can create an LLC or other company with a veil of safety, meaning that nobody can come after me personally for the corporate misgivings, then why not create a bunch of chemicals, throw them on the market, make some cash, and if we mess up… well, sink the company and walk away with what I made? It’s how it is done when the risk is high.

Natural Flavors are added to many products, and can be the major issue.

The definition of natural flavor under the Code of Federal Regulations is: “the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional” (21CFR101.22).

I include this definition of “Natural” flavor so you can fully understand that there is absolutely NO limit to what is a natural flavor. Plant or animal, and you can distill it (make it stronger), you can use an enzymatic process to alter it, you can ferment it, etc. So. If I squeeze the anal glands of a beaver, and catch that excretion, then roast that, and further dilute it… I will smell the smell of berries in the air. Kind of a strawberry/raspberry mix. So guess what makes your pop tarts taste like berry? Yeah, beaver’s anal glands.

So back to the supplement world. We support some brands because we know they are clean, but even within a brand, we support only SOME products in most cases. Because I check on EVERYTHING. Juice Plus has products that I don’t eat. Genesis Pure is another one you are going to see me promoting in the next 30 days. I have 30 day packages to support energy and metabolic changes, and detoxification… but once again, I don’t support everything they make.

I also carry Pure Pharma for our Fish Oil, Vitamin D and Mineral complex. These are the wheel house for that company, and I know that we can trust them all. But consider fish oil. The entire reason why you need to supplement fish oil, and not just eat a ton of fish, is because the fish oil is dangerous if not molecularly distilled. This process removes PCB’s and chemicals as well as metals such as mercury. This is an important process to make sure it is clean.

If you are buying fish oil from any random producer, it is likely the leftover from higher quality fish oil, which has been discarded. Meaning it is loaded with PCB’s, chemicals and mercury. In essence, you are killing yourself because of your lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).

Your need for nutrition is very real. In today’s world where most vegetables are at a smidgen of the nutrient density that they were 100 years ago, thanks to poor farming methods. And because of the simple cultural bend towards non-nutritive foods… you need these answers. Your kids need these answers. But don’t go buying flinstones… you are hurting your kids if you are giving them that garbage. Don’t listen to a medical doctor who tells you there is no value in nutritional supplementation either… run from that doc as fast as you can. They are foolish in their understanding, and they would just as quickly tell you that a drug has no negative impact (look for Titration Experiment – daily sprout forthcoming).

So. Do you want ALL the details? 60 Day Turnaround is almost upon you. BUT in the meantime, you need to come out to the movie night, and the workshops we are doing along the way.

8/28 – THURSDAY NIGHT 9pm – Call in to listen to some great discussion on Juice Plus – 712-432-1680 Code – 620600# You will me and three others.
9/4 – In Office Movie – Unacceptable Levels – 7pm
9/6 – Church of The Messiah Nutrition Workshop – 10am
9/8 – CrossFit Holly Springs Nutrition Workshop – 7pm

Ask questions at the front desk of my office, email us, just get yourself to KNOW more. For your safety and your health.

Be well and Be blessed – Dr. E

Week 5 – Frustration

This was a hard week. Nothing was really different this week. Nothing bad happened. It was actually a pretty good week, besides what the scale told me, which made it a frustrating week. At the beginning of this week the scale went up a pound. The next day, the same thing. I came close to hitting 220 lbs at one point. It was frustrating to say the least.

A week like this, in the past would have most definitely discouraged me to the point of giving up. Well I haven’t given up. Those negative thoughts were present though. The feeling like this is impossible, I’m just destined to be overweight, its just who I am. I know this isn’t true, but it really feels that way when the scale is going the wrong way.

So what happened, why did the weight go back up? Well, one thing, I’ve been focused on the weight. I know the weight isn’t the goal, but it is a pretty easy way to measure my success and it is obviously important to me to loose the weight. Actually, a recent article on Mercola.com stated that “healthy obesity does NOT exist.” So losing the weight is part of pursuing health, but as I’ve said before, my focus really needs to be on pursuing health. When I focus on the weight I end up getting discouraged and thinking that I simply can not eat anything if I want to drop weight.

There was obviously more that went wrong this week than just that. I didn’t cheat the diet, but at the same time didn’t necessarily choose the healthiest foods allowed either. For example, I had made a sugar free cheesecake for my birthday the week before, which lasted well into this past week. After that was gone we tested out our new ice cream maker, again sugar free. The sweet cravings were stronger this past week then they have been the whole diet so far. My assumption is that the dessert a few nights in a row on top of not the best choices for my meals, such as more meat and cheese than usual and less vegetables and salads are what lead to those pounds coming back. I could be completely wrong, but its my best guess.

Anyway, I was able to re-group and get focused for the last few days of this past week. So the week wasn’t a complete loss. I was able to recover those pounds and actually drop 1 from the previous week. This, for me was a huge success. Never before with my weight loss attempts have I had such a discouraging few days that I was able to overcome and still have a mini victory as the result. That puts me at 214 lbs. now. This week was definitely a learning experience. I can’t let myself get distracted or complacent when it comes to my diet. I plan on continuing to stay focused and I’m hoping to do better each week. Thanks for reading.

-Dr. Mark

I have been leading people for over a decade on this path. Mark has it hard, because he isn’t in a class. He doesn’t get t see other people’s stories and thus see that he isn’t alone. The reality is that when we do this the right way, we don’t just lose weight like nothing. But we cycle back and forth. Here he is cycling.

One reason why, is commonly inflammation. This diet focuses on sugar, but I give special instructions for some based on inflammation. He pegged it. His use of xylitol is likely causing inflammation, and that means retained water, and decreased cellular function. It will be wise for him to stay away from all dessert for a week, and to hyper load the veggies, and stay off the dairy completely.

We’ll see if he can heed this advice, and if so, where it takes him.

Be well and Be blessed! – Dr. E

Unacceptable Levels

You have a liver, thank God for that. But did He design it to handle the incredible chemical load that happens in today’s world? Is it able to keep up in our children? Consider the Daily Sprout from last week about the chemicals in furniture that are showing up in children at five times the levels in adults.

September 4th at 7pm we are showing this movie that cannot be seen on Netflix, or streamed on the internet. Come to the office, bring a friend, this impacts everybody.

Check out this info from their site:

Unacceptable Levels examines the results of the chemical revolution of the 1940s through the eyes of affable filmmaker Ed Brown, a father seeking to understand the world in which he and his wife are raising their children. To create this debut documentary, one man and his camera traveled extensively to find and interview top minds in the fields of science, advocacy, and law. Weaving their testimonies into a compelling narrative, Brown presents us with the story of how the chemical revolution brought us to where we are, and of where, if we’re not vigilant, it may take us.

Over 80,000 chemicals flow through our system of commerce, and many are going straight into our bodies. Even our unborn children are affected. Due to this constant exposure, we have approximately 200 synthetic industrial chemicals interacting with our cells every single day. Until recently, modern science really didn’t understand what that could mean for all of us in the long run, but that is changing.

Globally, disease rates are on the rise. Theories about the causes abound, yet the issues are complex and often muddied by the maneuvering of political and corporate interests. To explore different facets of common chemical exposure, Unacceptable Levels, was made in consultation with experts in multiple fields and is guided by a father on a personal journey as he attempts to bring these issues to light for everyone. Its primary goal? To determine whether we can prevent disease before it strikes us.

Unacceptable Levels opens the door to conversations about the chemical burden our bodies carry so that we can make informed decisions now and in the future. The film poses challenges to our companies, our government, and our society to do something about a nearly-unseen threat with the inspired knowledge that small changes can generate a massive impact.