Fun Fitness: Rock Climbing!!!

Sometimes, when you think exercise, it's with a sort of excited dread where the results are definitely what you want, but the means may not be all that exciting. I've gone through that time and time again.

Now I want to redefine my fitness regiment. It's SUPPOSED to be fun, exciting and addictive. It should be thought of as a time in your day where you get all worked up to face an awesome challenge where pushing yourself to new levels is accomplishing goals and getting you to be proud of yourself.

For some people, going to the gym does that. I've been that person once or twice. 

For many others, that just doesn't cut it.

Well let's change our attitudes and find something that gets your heart pumping and makes you happy AND fit!

I have a few activities that do this for me, one of the newest is....

ROCK CLIMBING!!!

I am seriously addicted.

The pics are actually from my first time at a rock gym, in Toronto. I absolutely love going there and have yet to find an equivalent here in Ottawa, but I am definitely working on it. 

I have this tendency to prefer activities that use my lower body strength  and even though legs are definitely used in rock climbing (apparently I don't use them enough, working on it!), it does require quite a bit of upper body strength. The soreness the next day is quite satisfying!

I've been top roping mostly, which does require a partner. But even if you don't have someone to go with you can go bouldering. Bouldering, which I've only really tried once, is just as awesome and in my opinion more difficult than top roping. It's a killer workout and has you concentrating much more on technique from the get go. 

I seriously recommend going to try it out, who knows, you might get as addicted as I am!!

80/10/10: The Raw Food "Bible"

My first introduction to the raw food lifestyle was from the well=known and popular 30bananasaday.com crew. AS much as they're forum is absolutely amazing for newbies and veterans of the lifestyle alike, I found that it really was essential for me to read the book that cemented it all. Besides being a wealth of information on why choosing this way of eating is the best, it's a great guide on how to transition, what to eat and how to succeed long term.

I call it the "Bible" of raw foods beause it really breaks down the lifestyle to the basics and explains in easy to understand terms how our bodies work and why a carbohydrate based diets works best for the human body.

As much as it advocates being a raw food fruit based vegan is the ultimate way to fuel our bodies and minds, it isn't strictly advocating it. The secret lies in the ratios of macro nutrients over time of 80% or more carbohydrates, 10% or less protein and fats.

After having experimented with this lifestyle for the past 2 and a half years, I can definitely say that I feel the best I ever have following that macro nutrient intake, even better when it's high or completely raw foods based.

The book comes with a high recommendation not only from me and the 30bananasaday.com crew, but from most of the raw community as well as the author of "The China Study" (another recommended read of mine of which I'll talk about in another post). It has basically everything you need to get started on thsi path to amazing health, along with the many online resources that are growing every day written by advocates of the lifestyle. 

I volunteer my personal copy to anyone who wants to check it out!

New Year, New Beginnings.

When a New Year comes around, I have a tradition of setting up new goals to accomplish for the year. They  could be seen as resolutions, however I don't see them as such because they usually don't fall into the same categories as what most people would set as new year's resolutions. 

One of my goals this year is to be much more consistent with blogging, as this last year has definitely been an on and off habit. I've learned to be more fluid with it but at the same time have learned how exactly I can attain my goal without getting too rigid about it, since I used to set myself to a specific schedule of when I was going to post and how many times a month, etc. Now I just want to flow with my inspiration but still keep myself accountable to writing often.

Another one of my goals is to accomplish 90 days straight raw, using my own variation of the 80/10/10 lifestyle. I've been flowing with this lifestyle on and off for 2 and a half years now, succeeding at many 30 day stints. I find that I need to take it to the next level and committing myself to a much longer time period. I feel amazing after 30 days and want to find out exactly how awesome I will feel after 3 times that amount of time. 

My other goals include: completing my University degree, becoming a certified personal trainer, beginning my registered holistic nutritionist course,  completing a 10 day Vippassana meditation retreat and starting a YouTube channel. There are more that are more personal and don't really relate to this blog. 

I use the New Year as a reference time point to set myself new goals for the future. However I do think that taking the time at any point during the year to set goals and reassess old ones help me stay on track for what I want to accomplish is paramount to my successful completion of them. 

Here's to a great year to come!

Getting Deep: My eating disorder.

I'm writing this under the influence of a few random things: the height of my hormone issued low, gifted to me once a month by a few issues relating to disbalanced hormones related to my cycle, what I hope to be the end of a binge day, and some deep self reflection on things like, where I'm at, where I want to be and both the things I want as they are and the ones I want to change.

I have an eating disorder. Have for a very long time.

It comes around now and again. At least now I've come to the point where it isn't overwhelming my mind at all times of the day. It has affected other parts of my life of course, like body image and self worth, which was hell when I was a teen, but now I know the true worth of who I am and value it much more than what I think I look like.

That was a major turn around point for me. And I think that it can be for anyone else that feels this way.

I've come to a point where I feel like I can beat this. I thought I already had, but that was more me trying to convince myself than anything else. I feel like as long as every time I fall, I kick myself in the ass and just get back to what I know is best, I can maybe just be satisfied with the physical part of me. I think that having stopped beating myself up every time I don't do it perfect, every time I stumble, that getting rid of feeling guilt or regret over what I eat, was one of the most loving gifts I ever gave myself. Of course, it still happens, but I tend to catch it quick enough before it does any damage.

When I look inside myself, I love what I see, even the flaws, even the less than pretty things about myself. I would love to feel that way about my body, and hey there are even some moments that I almost do! There are moments that I forget, I forget that I have these kind of thoughts. I forget that I used to let them control me.

Now most of the time, that's how it is. It's nothing but a memory. But sometimes the thoughts come back. I fall, I tumble and I'm hard on myself for letting it happen. But then again, they happen less and less as I heal, as I face my fears, as I learn the deep down whys of it all. Instead of hiding away from the feelings, sometimes I let myself feel them, explore them as if they weren't my own and I begin to understand them, soothe them and tuck them away in a place where they belong: the past.

I am so grateful to have discovered the raw vegan lifestyle. As much as the food aspect of it work wonders for me, it's the rest of it that has helped me the most. The opening of emotions, the raw feeling that makes you feel everything instead of numbing it all. The deepness of emotion. The love that opens up your heart to so much more than you ever thought possible. The change in perspective about what actually matters is huge. It's an awakening that scares most people, I actually think that it's what has most people permanently falling off the wagon. Because most people would rather be numb. I was once upon a time, one of them. But I seriously wouldn't go back if someone offered me all the riches of the world.

Now I know who I am, I know (mostly) what I want. I know that sometimes I have weaknesses, sometimes I'm strong and sometimes I don't know. But what matters the most is that I will never give up, I will always be kind and I will always get back up. After all, there is no such thing as can't. No impossible.

Woodstock Fruit Festival 2012

Wow.

Now 2 days after the last day of WFF 2012, I'm still awed by the amazing vibe of such an incredible event. First off, many many thanks got to the people that made it all happen. Micheal Arnstein started it all and many others made it the incredible life-changing event that it became. They are the true pionneers of this movement and deserve so much gratitude and appreciation.

I'm going to try to find the words to describe it. I don't think there's truly words to do this, EPIC comes close but it misses the deep connection, the crazy positive vibes, the out-of-this-word amazing people, the durian parties, the inspiring and inflamming talks...

I went there not exactly knowing what to expect. I wanted to connect with like minded people, learn as much as I could, do some personal work involving decisions on what I was going to do next and other things. I did all this and more, I truly discovered what I wanted, I discovered what a true community is, what it feels like to be truly accepted and accepting of everyone around me. It's an incredible feeling to know that, to feel that.

At WFF, there is a sense of how the world really should be. That simple, and that amazing.

I think that the event is truly leading the way to change. I strongly suggest to anyone who is anyone, no matter your background, diet, views, and feelings about the lifestyle, to sign up and see what it's all about. I say this because it's a place of true discovery, where everyone is invited to be exactly who they are and nothing else. To try something that may seem INSANE. I thought it was. Then I tried it. And I am never turning back.

I spent my day training with the likes of Dr. Graham, Ellen Livingston and others, barefoot hiking, swimming in the lake, having picnics for every meal on the grass, listening to speakers on so many topics, stargazing, playing and discovering. I got high on Durian, and bonked, sounding like a insane person because I wasn't getting enough sleep (too excited and too much to do, but that was just me ignoring my body's limits, a lesson learned!). I slept under the stars one night, a night definitely to be remembered.

Although I forgot to take pictures, I have so many memories permanently engraved in my mind.

So, now I say, I hope to see you all there next year.

Actually, I'm expecting it!!!

Walking the Talk: Day 10

I almost can't believe it's already been 10 days since the beginning of my summer challenges! Things have settled in and routine has taken over at this point. Eating fruit makes me feels absolutely amazing. Eating tons of it, even more so!!

Taste the rainbow :P

It seems that the more often I go 100%, the easier it gets. I had some detox symptoms that we're annoying at first, like the headaches. But now the detox has become more of a background noise, drowned out by the awesomeness that is being a high carb raw vegan. 

I'm not sure about weight loss, I weighed myself on day 2, but wont be doing it again until after day 30. I'm much more focused on inches and feel. That being said, I've already lost 1.5 inches off my waist! I feel stronger from training consistently, but I still feel like I can do more fitness wise. My goal for the next 10 days is to really push it on the training, running 3x a week and strength 5-6x a week. 

The best thing of it all? The clearness of mind. Brain fog isn't only annoying, it really prevents you of being the best you can be. My candida definitely didn't help with that either! I barely feel my usual symptoms of that as well, basically it's under control. 

Just like DR always says: take care of the essentials: Sleep, Sugar, Water. With those in sufficient quantity, you can take on anything.

Fruit on!

Summer 2012 Challenges!

If you've read through my blog before, you would know that I love to take on x day challenges. I thrive in those environments!Especially when it's with other people, the support and the accountability, as well as my inner stubbornness, make for a great and awesome 30 or 40 days.

So this summer there are 2 that I am currently accomplishing.

The first is a 30 day 80/10/10, high carb low fat raw vegan challenge with Freelee from 30bananasaday.com She has been a massive inspiration to so many people, including me. There are over 800 people taking on her challenge and the group is amazing! People from every background are attending, directly from SAD all the way to the high fat raw foodists and some 811 peeps too!

Everyone has a thread on the facebook event and posts their daily food, exercise, feeling, water and sleep. The ones who will post everyday for 30 days, not only succeed their goal but get to have freelee's next ebook as well.

Freelee's awesome b/a pics

We're on day three of this challenge and I feel amazing already. I really needed this extra push to get back into raw, where I feel my best! I'll be taking some before pics today and post them this week :)

The second challenge, which started at the same time, is a 40 day fitness challenge with my awesome friend Fruitilicious Jules! Basically a physical challenge while being raw, the goal is to get fit! Same postings as the other group but with a bigger emphasis on exercise.

These are my first 2 posts:

Day One almost done this side :)

I ran 3k in morning and did 20 mins of squats, crunches, lunges and plank in the evening.

Food-wise:
Half a large watermelon
5 x-large banana smoothie
4 large nana and 2 med papaya smoothie
Large salad with tomato and 1/3 avo

2 liters of water

8.5 hours of sleep

Was intending a stronger workout at the gym but decided to stay home instead. I might still have another meal to end the day, since I'm only at 2300 cals right now :) Feeling great and excited about experiencing this challenge with everyone!

Day 2!!

Exercise: 1.5 hours at the gym. 103 flights of stairs, 11.2K on the bike, 32 assisted pullups, arm routine and some ab work.

Food:
Breakfast: 6 cups of grapes and 2 cups local strawberries
Lunch: 2x 7 large banana smoothie
After Workout: 4 large bananas
Dinner: Rainbow Chard Salad with tomato sauce and 3/4 of an avo
Calories: 3,422

Water: 3 Liters

Sleep: 9 hours

I had a great day :) Upping the cals and pushing more in my workout definitely helped my mood and overall feeling.


Day three is going great so far :) I was experiencing some headaches and craving the first day, which got better the second day and are now gone.

I'm really happy that these challenges came around at exactly the right time for me! Ask and you shall receive. Positive thinking is the key, as is the law of attraction!

Have a fruitastic day!