Weekend Review Days 201 & 202, 100% Fruitarian

Weekend Review of Days 201 & 202, 100% Fruitarian. Ok, its been four days since i ate salt and my weight has not moved. This does not surprise me, since i figured it would take at least a couple of weeks to undo the damage done. From compariing notes with a long term Fruitarian friend of mine, it appears that the longer a body goes without salt in the diet, the more sensitive the body is to salt. This may explain what happened to me on Saturday night. We had a raw potluck on the 4th, 25-30 people came (our biggest crowd yet). This was partially due to the fact that i was speaking in the basement as part of the venue. i was on my feet all day. By the end of the day both of my legs had swelling in them from the thighs down to the calf. Never in my life had i had anything like this happen to me before. It was as if the excess water decided to settle in my legs. My right knee was very swollen and it was painful. It was the same knee i injured several months ago but i had not had any issues with it, until now. By sunday morning the swelling from the water subsided but the right knee was still puffy. It was a rainy day all day so i wasn't going out anyways and it gave me an opportunity to rest it. i did do about 8 sets of one armed pushups and tricep presses with the window sill, but i rested the legs.

Speaking of one-armed pushups; i decided to place a focus on them this week in order to develop more power for the muscle-up. They also give the core an excellent workout. Anyways, that swelling in the legs was totally weird. i ate very well all weekend. Even had a whole durian on sunday (yummy). i must have eaten about 12 mangos this weekend, plus two whole watermelons. Like i said, i ate very well. The raw potluck and presentation on the 4th went famously well. What an excellent way to witness!

i am going to start running again as soon as the knee swelling subsides as i want to get this water out of me as quickly as possible. One thing for sure, no more salty olives.....LOL.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.


todd

Day 199, 100% Fruitarian

Thursday, Day 199, 100% Fruitarian. (Note: i am blogging this on Friday the day after the events described herein. i will be making note of the results of Thursday's events as well as the events themselves). As i blog these things it is as one who has learned a hard lesson. i checked the scale and found that over the past 48 hours my body has gained 11lbs. Thats Eleven pounds in 2 days! Of course its all water retention from the abundance of olives i have consumed. i was amazed, flabbergasted, surprised and of course disappointed. All i could think was......Wow. It didn't take long to see the affects the salt would have on me. i backed off the scale and turned to the mirror and again was amazed. Large bags had formed under my eyes the likes of which had not been seen in, well at least 6 months. My face looked puffy. It was about 5:45am (Friday morning) when i discovered this. i went back to lay down and think about it, but not before hitting my knees to thank my Heavenly Father for the revelation and ask for Grace to do the right thing with His Temple. Now to be fair about it, i went crazy with the olives, especially the green ones. It was the salt of course. i am not sure if a person were to be moderate with salt what the effects may be, at this point it is painfully obvious, i am not able to be moderate. There is a bible principle for such situations.......

Christ says "If thy right eye offends thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee".

This is me and salt. i must leave it alone, at least for the foreseeable future. i am not a doctor nor do i place much stock in science, but i do not think any reasonable person would conclude that 11lbs of water retention is a good thing. i thought about the 4.5 years i was raw prior to this leg of my journey when i still consumed salt. i rarely got below 188lbs and normally stayed in the 191lbs range. Until now i believed it was my body's "ideal" weight. All that time i was carrying more than 10lbs of excess water. On Wednesday morning i was 177lbs, on Friday morning i weighed 188lbs. i find it mind-blowing, amazing and humbling. i wondered how much water weight the average person is carrying? i also wondered that, if any person just eliminated salt from the diet and kept eating as they normally do, what would happen?

i don't know how long it will take for this water to drain from my system (i hope not long just from a psychological standpoint), but this experience i will indeed not soon forget.

Here is how the day went:

Breakfast:
one whole honeydew melon, one mango. (595 calories).

Lunch:
Tomato-cucumber salad with pate and olives (black and green, over 165 grams each). (1013 calories).

Snack:
Box of grape tomatoes with green olives. (172 calories).

Dinner:
Half a watermelon, 5 mangos. (1350 calories).


Exercise:
116 chins/pullups......35 minutes. Apparently, a large day care (about 60 children) had an outing at the time we came to the park. It was crowded so i was only able to do the chins/pull-ups as the dipping station was occupied. It was fine though, i needed to rest my arms anyways. i intend a full dip/triceps workout tomorrow by God's grace.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Day 198, 100% Fruitarian.

Wednesday, Day 198, 100% Fruitarian. Fell off the salt wagon today. It happened while i was preparing my pate for lunch. My son was cooking next to me. He had opened a can of black olives and they were sitting in front of the chopping board i was using. They were inticing so i popped a couple in my mouth, then a handful and pretty soon i had eaten most of the can. i dropped 5 or 6 of them into the pate and just enjoyed it with my salad. i then munched on some green olives as well ("why not?" i thought, "might as well enjoy it"). i am not sure how to proceed though. While i remembered my addiction, i felt absolutely no guilt at all. i went out and played basketball with my son and was full of energy. In fact i felt like i could do some calistenics afterwards but opted not to to avoid over-training. Which i had done recently (more on that in a moment). i had some questions in my mind. Shall i just start over salt-free the next day or just move forward with fruitarianism and include some salt? i am still not sure at this point, but i truly know for sure that time and prayer will reveal what should be done. For now, i decided that i will keep the olives in my dietary repertoire and add some braggs to some non-sweet dishes, then take it from there. i felt no guilt whatsoever having eaten the olives, but i was concerned regarding the salt. Anyways, we move on.

i discovered this old exercise last week. It is a type of bodyweight tricep press. i started using it last week as i believe it can be a great aid in my quest for the muscle-up (which is progressing slow by the way, but i am being spoiled by this diet as far as dramatic physical progress). i started using my window sill at first, placing my palms on the window sill. Then stepping back until my body was in a position like superman flying, almost parallel to the floor. Then i collasped my elbows and pressed back up with my triceps. What a workout. But went overboard (as i am wont to do at times). i did this just about everyday last week. By about the fourth day, i knew i needed to give it a rest as my triceps were toast, but i did it anyways for about 50 reps. My arms were so done that i was out of commission for a week, until today. i did play some basketball, but without my bodyweight calistenics it was like i didn't exercise at all. But i was able to get back to it today. i only did 3 sets of 5 of them today along with other exercises. i am getting closer to the muscle up with the inclusion of this exercise. That may be part of the reason i pushed myself alittle too much last week. But i have to be careful, because i hate setbacks like that. Especially since with alittle wisdom they can be avoided.

Here is now the day went:

Breakfast:
Half a watermelon, 16oz of fresh oj. (901 calories).

Lunch:
tomato-cucumber salad with pate and black and green olives. (1009 calories).

Dinner:
Half a watermelon, 16oz of fresh oj, 3 mangos. (1305 calories)

Snack: 4 oz of green olives. (164 calories).

Exercise:
35 minutes, 72 chins/pullups, 170 pushups, 40 one leg squats (each leg), 15 tricep presses.

90 minutes of basketball.

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Day 192, 100% Raw Fruitarian.

Thursday, Day 192, 100% Raw Fruitarian. i have found that, whenever i experience a real spiritual pinnacle (as i did last weekend), it is usually followed by a spiritual challenge a short time later. It is a counter-attack of the enemy of souls; redoubling his efforts. But it is also part of the balance the God of Heaven has set in the universe, even on this sin-filled sod we dwell in called planet earth. Ecclesiates 7:14 says this about it:

" In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him."

and also this in Ecclesiates 3:1

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: "

Needless to say, this has been a challenging week. But these thoughts strengthen and comfort me during such a time. So that i am able to say the Lord hath done all things well, and safely guided me through another week. Moreover, i ate very well this week, even was able to purchase two whole durian (one is in the freezer for the weekend, the children are believing it will not make it, i am not sure either). i am also noticing how i am really more well adapted to the hot weather than i was before. i know this is the result of the fruit. Here is how my day went:

Breakfast:
16oz of water. Half a watermelon, about 3 nice pods of durian (1266 calories)

Lunch:
Cucumber-tomato-squash salad with one avocado (no pate today). (477 calories).

Dinner:
one third of a watermelon, one banana, 2 small mangos, 5 valencia oranges (this was over a 90 minute period as i sort of grazed thru it). (1067 calories).

i am having an aversion to drinking the water. i don't know why. The strange thing is, when i drink the water i urinate less than when i don't. Of course, as mentioned before, the urine doesn't have such an offensive odor with the water in my diet. i will continue to do battle with this.

Exercise:
30 minutes in the park. 52 chins, 50 tricep presses, 50 one leg squats each leg.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.


todd

Weekend Review Days 187 & 188 100% Fruitarian.

Weekend Review, Days 187 & 188 100% Raw Fruitarian. Had a tremendous weekend. Foodwise, spiritually, fellowship with like believers, it was simply a slice of Heaven. i never did list all that i ate so i don't have a calorie count, but i ate very, very well. Didn't get to do any calistenics either, but i had a good workout. As i had blogged on Friday, i had the pleasure of eating a durian for dinner. Well, i was in North Carolinato speak on Sabbathj as i do once or twice per month. There was a very good brother of mine who is a missionary there. He had just arrived from a 2 month stint in Thailand. It was a joy to see him. You won't believe he told me he saw truckloads of Durian and he never even tasted one. He has been invited back next year and i told him i am going with him! By the end of today though, he did taste one in North Carolina....LOL. More on that in a moment. There was another very close friend of mine there who is a traveling evangelist. It was great to see these people as they are very rarely in the same place at the same time. Then of course there was the very sweet and lovely people i usually see there. The Lord had me speak on Revelation chapter 14. The needful preparation necessary to meet God face to face. The Spirit really took over and the fellowship was totally sweet. People were repenting and re-committing their lives to Christ. It was beautiful to experience.

Afterwards we had lunch in the park. i brought along a salad and the last of my mangos. i was enjoying that when, lo and behold, a sister brought some fresh durian with her! My missionary brother was sitting right next to me when she presented it to me. With some considerable coaxing he finally tried alittle. He liked it! Its so crazy that he was in the Durian capital of the world for 2 months and didn't try durian until he came to North Carolina...LOL. Then it because sort of a dare to get everyone to try some....it was alot of fun.

i had a very nice Fathers Day. On Friday, as i drove home i passed by a store that had a sign that said "The greatest gift a Father can give his children is Himself". i really related to that. Of course, being a christian, it made me think of my Heavenly Father. How He gave us His Son to save us. i thought about how Christ said "He that is greatest among you shall be your servant". I decided to make Father's day a day for me to serve my family and children. Instead of rising up early and hitting the park, i spent a couple of hours talking with my wife. My wife gave me permission to get another Durian (they are abundant at the asian store now), so i took my daughters with me as i went shopping to several stores and ran some errands. It was great to spend time alone with them and chat. Also, i am not sure if i mentioned this before, but we had 3 cats. Well, we started with one cat, a female (called Blitz). Then 2 years ago we found a cat in our shed. Another female, that was very territorial (more than most cats). i wanted to get rid of it, but my daughters would not let me unless we found a home for it. That would be difficult as the cat (whom we named Coal) is all black (like Blitz) and nobody seemed to want a black cat. Then, about two weeks ago my daughters brought home a kitten they found in a drainage pipe. Didn't look like it was more than a month old. Another female (whom we named Fluffy). Now i don't mind having so many cats (sort of), but the problem is, they hate each other. All being female. Everytime i mentioned bringing Coal to the Aspca, my daughter would basically growl at me. My other daughter would look sad when i said anything about Fluffy. Now what's a guy to do?

So i prayed about it. Well, just so happens that we met a family in North Carolina with the same situation only they had all males. The male kitten they found ran away so they still had two that hated each other. So we arranged a trade. We will give them Coal, they will give us Frisky (their male). Then another sister in Christ came over and wanted Fluffy. Whew! Problem solved. Now we will have Blitz (a female) and Frisky (a male). Both fixed, opposite sexes, no territorial issues. That made my weekend all by itself as the girls were very happy to be getting a new cat and knowing that both Coal and Fluffy will be in loving homes. God is good.

Later i met my son at the park to play some basketball. We really wanted to play one-on-one alone but other people were there. So we played for about an hour. Then people started leaving (it was about 90 degrees), at that point i also had to go because i had a bible study to do. But i wanted to get some chins and dips in first so i said "i am going to do some exercise before i go". My son looked at me and said "you are going to do exercise?". i looked in his eyes and what he was really saying was "Dad could you and i play some more?". So i said "You know what, lets play some one-on-one!", his face lit up. Sometimes just the simplest gestures make children happy (even 17 year old ones). Of course we had a fun time.

As i said it was a terrific weekend. As far as eating, i had non-sweet fruit salads (filled with tomatoes of course), durian, mangos, avocado, watermelon and valencia oranges. Can't remember anything else, but i ate very well.

i hope you had a nice weekend.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Day 186, 100% Raw Fruitarian

Friday, Day 186, 100% Raw Fruitarian. The day is not over, but i want to blog now since i missed yesterday and i am about to take a shower and get ready for dinner and family worship. It was a very sweet day today. i got some tremendous blessings in terms of fruit. i decided to check out this roadside store that i have seen but never seemed to have time to stop in. They usually are only open in the spring and summer and sell mostly plants. But i did note that during the summer months they sell local produce. What really caught my eye was their sign which said "Cucumbers 3/$1". In these days of penny-pinching that was enough to get me to go in. i had just got paid today and received a small donation so i was on a mission. Well, when i went in there i was totally blown away. Everything in there was of fine quality, local and cheaper than any of the local grocers i usually frequent. The topper was the tomatoes. They usually sell them $1.29/lb which is an excellent price. But they had these that they sell cheaper because they don't look as good as the others, spots, little bruises and such. Of course that didn't bother me, i got a 25lb case for $7! Tremendous blessing in these parts. Large, bright red and very juicy (they wouldn't let me try one in the store but i ate one in the parking lot). They had bananas the same way, nobody wanted them because they had spots......25 cents a pound...you know i hit the jackpot now. i bought $25 worth of produce there which would have easily cost me 3 times that in any other store. Thats not all. Went to the asian market. They know me there now. They had only one case of mangos left, the mangos were all wrinkled like a 120 year old lizard, so he gave me a case of 14 for $10 plus 11 valencia oranges for $2. Of course i bought the Durian, it was $2.19 per pound, not a tremendous deal, but hey, its Durian. Needless to say, i ate like a Fruitarian King today. i was so happy in that store when i got those tomatoes, the people thought i was crazy. i wasn't crazy.....LOL. i was just giving praise the my Saviour and Father in Heaven for the blessing. Something about getting such a blessing, it was like i was walking on air the rest of the day. Nothing could bother me.

Had a tremendous workout today. The pictures here posted are me right after i came in from doing the lawn for over 2.5 hours. So you can see i was sweating alot as it was in the 90s today. i also went out to the park earlier for a quick 15 minute session of dips and chins. Went well.

Todays meals:

Breakfast:

16oz of water. Half a watermelon (678 calories)

Lunch:

16oz of water. 2 mangos, tomato-cucumber salad with pate. (853 calories).

Dinner (scheduled):

16oz of water. 6 valencia orange, one mango, one Durian. (1375 calories).

Exercise:

56 bar dips and 61 chins in 15 minutes....2.5 hours of pushing a lawn mower.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Day 184, 100% Raw Fruitarian

Wednesday, Day 184, 100% Raw Fruitarian. Circumstances had me off work today. It was an unexpected day of leisure. i had a workout this morning after family worship. It was a good one as i decided to focus on incline pushups today. Now i call incline pushups, those done with my feet in a chair and my hands on the floor. i combined these with the door-assisted one leg squats. Great workout. Did it on a 30 minute time limit. i wanted to do 300 incline pushups and 200 squats (100 each leg), but halfway through i was whipped and was glad to get done what was done. My fruit supply was meager today and i have none for tomorrow at this point, but i have learned to just flow with these things. If i get no fruit tomorrow, i will just fast on water for the day. i get paid on Friday and will be glad to get a fresh supply of delicious fruit. i forgot to mention in my last blog the 48oz of water i drank. i am simply not used to drinking water after being on this type of diet for 6 months. But i must admit, it appears to be helping the smell of the urine. i don't understand it because my urine was clear continually before this, it just smelled really bad. Its still clear now, it just doesn't smell as bad. Something to be said for drinking fresh water even on a juicy fruit diet. Here is how the meals went:

Breakfast:
16 oz of water. Half of a personal watermelon. (339 calories)

Lunch:
16oz of water. tomato-cucumber salad with pate. (584 calories)

Dinner:
16oz of water. Half of a personal watermelon, one banana, one mango. (594 calories).

Exercise:
30 minutes.....240 push-ups, 160 one leg squats (80 each).

later:
60 push-ups (i wanted an even 300 for the day).

i am amazed at how much abdominal work i get done by chins/pull-ups and push-ups (especially with one leg extended, really feel that).


Grace and Peace be multiplied.