BREAKTHROUGH

Nice to have something other than a green juice

It might be that I’d overdosed on the flavour of pineapple or green juices, but by 7pm yesterday, day 2, the hunger pangs and cravings for food had vanished – nice.

Spurred on by friends on Facebook, like Lucy who really fancied the cake or the chilli her family were tucking into or Katie’s late lunch red juice the day seemed to be much easier.

The warmed apple with cinnamon at bed time was a treat and I wished I’d managed to summon up the energy to make that on day one.

V. tasty!

By the end of yesterday I’d also dropped 2lbs in weight.

Exercise this morning was much easier – a 20 minute rebound blast, 20 yoga sun salutes, half a dozen warrior poses and a handful of stretches to finish off with.

Loved the Zinger juice for breakfast, carrot, apple, ginger and lemon. Yummy in my tummy and felt energised and ready to tackle the day.

A routine check-up at the dentist was worth noting too.

Nattering to the dentist, as you do, she mentioned how acidic juices can be for your teeth and recommended not take too long over the drinking and swilling some water round your mouth when you had finished drinking juice so the acid didn’t sit on your teeth. She also said don’t brush for 30 mins after a juice or you’ll take enamel off your teeth.

Rock on… Day Four.

The kitchen table at the beginning of Juice Week

When all you do is drink all day, I guess you are going to spend at least some of the night getting up and down to the toilet.

And then every time I woke up to head to the bathroom it really played to my weakness…

You see I’m a snacker at night time. I don’t always need to eat late, but sometimes, when I do, it certainly helps me sleep better – must be comfort or something.

So last night around 11.30pm, after the third trip to the bathroom my stomach started. It sounded like a lonely wolf in a forest. After tossing and turning for a while I gave in and headed for the kitchen.

No while I appreciate  that might sound like I’m weak, I did do something smart…

Yes, I decided to munch on the closest thing to water – a stick of celery.

GETTING UP TO EXERCISE

Exercise is an important part of weight loss and eliminating toxic waste from your body. But today I found exercise unusually hard to get started on. I found it hard to focus and get started. Usually I just get straight down to it, but today my mind was all over the place and my body felt a little weaker than normal.

ON THE PLUS SIDE

I do feel lighter after just one day.

Now I’ve sunk the first juice of the day I’m also reenergised and feeling pretty good mentally.

I managed to complete my exercise routine once I got started – 15 mins of abs, 20 mins of weights, 25 mins of rebounding.

I’m not dreaming about eating food!

Result!

Trying a juice week this week and using Jason Vale’s 7lbs in 7 days as my bible. Day one started well. I was amazed that after juice 3-so around 2pm – my nose suddenly cleared. I’d just drunk one of the Juicemasters cocktails with ginger in it. Starting to feel a little light headed and ready to go gnaw on something now.

I’m doing this as my Xmas detox – I reckon when you go off track with some toxic food for a week – sugars etc – you need to compensate to bring things back into balance.

Quote I love today from John McDougall ~ “Eating like feasting kings every day – i.e. Easter for breakfast, Thanksgiving for lunch, Christmas for dinner and our birthday for dessert – does not promote good health. Best to eat a whole foods, plant based diet, while minimizing refined/processed foods.”

I’d love your comments below.

Christmas celebrations crept over into the new year a little more than normal. The hospital called to say I need another test on my back before they operate next week. Laser surgery on one of my wife’s eyes needs to be redone, then there’s life and those other little things it gifts me on a daily basis.

And while I’m never really one to complain, I’m right to feel a little concerned that the first 1/12^th of 2012 will be gone and I won’t even be out of the starting blocks with this year’s plans.

And I’m sure I’m not alone here. Am I right?

“What some people achieve in a year, others achieve in a day”

Down the years I’ve been lucky though…

I’ve been exposed to some extra-ordinary self-development and that accumulated knowledge, as I’ve embraced it into my everyday life, is paying off.

During the last 8 weeks of 2011 I spent my spare time daydreaming and wondering what was really important to me for 2012. Then I measured it against questions about happiness, the payment I’d give to get what I want, my ability to focus and willingness to commit.

What that means is that more than ever I can stamp some real authority on the moments when I act in line with my vision for 2012.

What this means is that more than ever, I can take big stride in short bursts.

But here’s the truth…

We all get stuck sometimes…

Things happen…

The vision gets blurred. Our purpose gets lost. Our belief and confidence withers. The way forward fades.

But does that mean we’re done here?

Does it mean our purpose in life is complete?

Does that mean we can now let go and allow life drift by?

“Is your purpose complete? Not if you are still breathing”

So here’s some questions…

Where are you stuck?

Are you stuck with the vision? Do you know what you want with clarity? If you don’t have a vision you are destined to drift and be at the mercy of people who have clarity.

Are you stuck with your purpose? Do you know what matters to you in life? Do you know why you are here? If you don’t know life can feel meaningless and your days will drift by.

Are you stuck on the strategy? If you know what you want and you have a purpose are you able to move forward or do you find you are still getting lost and distracted and unable to focus? It’s frustrating to be so close to your goal that you can visualise it, but yet so far away because you just can’t seem to get started.

Are you stuck with your self-belief? This is true for so many. Many know what they want, but because they have never achieved it before, or because of a tough time in life, they find it hard to confidently take the first steps and to believe in it can happen.

So look, if 2012 isn’t shaping up quite how you want it, or you’re finding that this year is very much like the last and you want it to be different, I want to hear from you…

put your answer to these questions below:

1. In 10 words or less tell me where you are stuck – is it knowing what you want, purpose, belief or the how to get it?
2. In 10 words or less tell me what you want (if you know it)
3. In 20 words or less tell me what you would give to get what you want in 2012 – how much time, how much money, what you would be prepared to give up to get what matters to you.

Because we’ve networked with so many great teachers over the last decade and been exposed to so many great teachings we can often recommend resources, books, workshops, teachers and coaches on specific areas – some of the best around!

We also have our own resources and if they are appropriate we’ll point them out to you too.

What we’re saying here isn’t: “Do you want life to be happy and fulfilled.”

What we are saying is: “When do you want it to be happy and fulfilled”.

We cover a range of resources and we’re here to serve you.  Tell us what you need and let us share those resources with you so this year can be your best yet.

Just comment below in the 40 words or less suggested above (and please respect the wording request – the more specific you are about what you need the easier it is for us to help).

Best wishes

Neil