Friday, April 9, 2010.........Day 83

Day 83 of the Fruit Feast. Nearly 12 weeks now. i feel better than terrific. i was concerned about the shoulder but that was alleviated with today's workout. It was very funny. My son Joshua and i decided we would go for 150 chins and 300 push ups since i could not do the dips. We planned on doing 100 chins, then moving over to do 200 push ups, then back for 50 chins and then end up with 100 more push ups. Well, we did the 100 chins, then the 200 push ups (the push ups were a challenge because he said he would get them done before me; he didn't). Then we started heading back to the chin up bar and i said 'ok, we need 50 more chins', then he said 'No, YOU need 50 more chins, i'll do some ab exercises'.......lol. So i went back and could only do 40 more chins, then the 100 push ups (dragging it in at 20 per set the last 60). Great workout. i am hoping to be able to get the muscle-up done this year. It will be (and has been) fun training for it.

Given the recent challenges posed regarding my positions on diet, i decided to go back and re-check my beliefs to make sure where i stood was true. In this regard i am thankful for the challenges because going back and checking to be sure of one's positions is a good thing. i looked up some verses in Genesis first:

Genesis 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
 Genesis 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.


i looked up the words 'grass', 'herb', 'seed'. The word 'herb' was especially interesting to me. In the  Hebrew its the word 'ESEB'. Which means to glisten. It also means tender shoot or grass. i found this interesting because its entirely different from the word for grain. Which is the word 'TSEROR' which means 'packed up'. or the word for corn which is the word 'SHEBER' which means 'grain'. These are not found in the garden of Eden. Also, the term 'whose seed is in itself', means 'to be able to reproduce itself'. So Adam did not eat grains that were commonly (and are now) eaten after sin. But things which grow on trees and out of the grass that have 'seed was in itself'. i think of all the obvious fruits that grow on trees but also the fruits that do not. Like the melon family, watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew and many many others. The cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers and many others. Then there are grapes, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, rasberrys and many other berries. Of course, the Bible never does say Adam had to cook anything, thus he ate it raw. Then there was this admonition from the Lord:

Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

It was an admonition to eat freely of Fruits. i was glad i re-studied it for it confirms to me i am on the right path. Adam was a fruitarian. As i seek to be born again in the Image of Christ, i am led to eat the diet Christ first gave mankind, a fruitarian diet. Now some will ask, 'what about nuts?'. Well, nuts are fruit too because they do grow on trees. But the way Adam would have to eat them and the way we eat them today are two different things. Think about it, Adam would have to pluck the nut from the tree, crack it open and eat it. It is much easier to pluck and eat, say, a cherry. Or a peach, Or even a Durian!.......lol.
But today, man shells all the nuts and packs them in very large quantities for us. This, in my humble opinion, leads many to overdo it on them. While some people have systems that handle them well, others do not. Especially in the quantity people usually eat them. Also, they are usually roasted which means all the life has been cooked out of them. Adam did not eat them this way and hence, it follows the Creator did not intend for them to be eaten this way. As for me, they clog me up very easily. i have some friends that actually need them in transition, i don't. But that is my system. Everyone is different, but all need take care as to how to handle nuts.

i am glad the Lord led me up this path.

Breakfast:10 valencia oranges, 4 mangos

Lunch: 32oz oj, 1 Durian.

Spiritual bread: 2 Kings 20-22, Genesis 1

Exercise: 300 push ups, 140 chins, 60 1-leg squats per leg. (that makes 1000 push ups and 300 chins for the week). Praise the Lord.

Have a Wonderful Weekend.

Sabbath Rest and peace to all in Christ.

todd

Thursday, April 8, 2010........Day 82

Day 82 of the Fruit Feast. i rested my body today mostly because of the soreness in my left shoulder. There is a bone on the top of my shoulder/collar bone area that is protruding higher on the left side than the right side of my body. My wife noticed it also and i am not sure if its calcium deposits or what. By the end of today the pain was substantially lessened. i should be able to resume fullscale workouts tomorrow. From many years of dealing with various injuries and using various forms of exercise, i have figured out a good rehab for my shoulder that will hopefully allow me to go back to doing full bar dips in a few months. As the pain is in my joint, i have found that isometric exercise is the best form of rehab. The good thing about isometrics is, though it lacks alot of explosive movement, it only takes a few minutes. Just holding certain positions for up to minutes at a time will help. i have found that to be true with my knees and i know it will work with my shoulders too. In fact i was doing some shoulder isometrics today as i walked about the house. i would hold my hands at the top of the doorway and stretch my shoulder area forward, holding the position for a few seconds. It hurt alittle while i did it but felt great afterwards. i also just stretch both my arms upward and hold the stretch for a few seconds. In about a week i plan on doing some partial dips, not dipping down deep but just halfway. i feel all of these will help. i would really hate to have to give up bar dips totally. They are such a tremendous upper body exercise. So i will do this little bit of rehab and see if i can bring them back to my repertoire in late June.

In life we all have varied experiences. If you live long enough you will see some of the same situations many, many times. So that after awhile, many things don't surprise you anymore because you have seen them many times before. But there are some things that, regardless of how long i live, they always astound me. (Please excuse me as i vent a little here).

Over the past year that i have been going Fruitarian, i have had several people approach me about how "unhealthy" my diet is. Usually i ask them a question, "How long were you Fruitarian before you realized it didn't work for you?". In every case, the person had not tried it themselves, but were making a judgement based on either some so-called scientific theory or their own flawed thinking. Two individuals in particular though, stood out to me. One a man and one a woman (a nurse). What they had in common was that, as mentioned above, neither of them had ever tried the lifestyle for themselves. But what really astounds me, is their own personal appearance. The man i met in person, but the woman was on the internet and i saw her on youtube. If i were to ask the gentlemen to jog with me, he probably cound not go more than a couple of blocks. He was overweight and you could tell filled with mucous. Here i am doing hundreds of push ups and chins each week,  running with 18 year old kids and feeling 20 years younger than my 49 years and he stood in front of me and said his way was healthy, but mine wasn't. The woman was worse, when i saw her youtube video, i almost choked on my mango. She looked to stand about 5'4" and was rejoicing that she weighed "only" 205lbs! She relentlessly follows me online emploring me to stop eating all fruit because she is a nurse and she knows better and her church says so also and the expert she idolizes also agrees with her. i mean, WOW. Its amazing how self-deceived and hypocritical we humans can be. Now i have seen this level of hypocrisy many times, but as i stated, i always find it amazing. But as a disciple of Jesus Christ, i need to learn how to deal with such individuals. The bible itself shows it is a difficult:
Proverbs 26:4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
Proverbs 26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

So whether you answer or don't answer they will remain fools. But it shows me that i need to grow in how i handle them:

2 Timothy 2:23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
2 Timothy 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
2 Timothy 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

Lord i have a long way to go!  Praise the Lord for the Wisdom of His Word.  May i be so fully surrendered to Christ that these things never move me in the future. Amen.

Breakfast: 8 valencia oranges, half a mini watermelon.

Lunch: 5 mangos

Dinner: 2 delicious mangos, 1 durian. Fruitarian Fabulous!

Spiritual Bread: 1 Kings 17-20 (the life of the prophet Elijah is amazing).

Exercise: Faith.

Grace and peace be multiplied.

todd