I haven’t written here in a while, but I’ve still been eating well for heart health, and consuming oatmeal and olive oil over the last 6 months. I’m motivated to write more here now, because I just returned from a Wellness Screening fro work, where I posted a 106 fro total cholesterol! If you look back here, you’ll read about how last year my cholesterol was at an alarming 263. My doctor told me to see what my body is capable of doing, in terms of lowering cholesterol by diet. Well, it looks like it’s plenty capable!

I can’t be sure that it’s really true yet, however, because the test was a simple instant electronic test, and I don’t quite believe that might be able to change my numbers that much. I have kept my eating habits that I started with back in May 2010 – but 157 points in 6 months?

I have a plan: I’ll be taking the full-blown blood lipids test soon, and we’ll get all the numbers, not just the total and HDL (good) cholesterol. Than I will have real cause to celebrate.

I’m sitting outside on the deck, using my little mini-laptop, enjoying a healthy feeling and thinking about how I’ve leveled off my eating habits to a nice healthy balance. I can hear the lately new owl hooting in the distance, the other birds calling and tweeting, and the sunny weather at about 65 degrees is really nice. I can hardly see the screen, but I’m in the shade so I can just make out my words on the screen.

The balance I feel in my diet and eating these days is different in a lot of ways from the way I used to eat. I eat a serving of oatmeal every day. This is probably the biggest change, coming with the habit of making a shake for a breakfast or lunch meal every day. I’m able to make a really delicious meal-replacing shake with a serving of oats in it that fills me up. It’s like replacing a burger and fries, or a breakfast of eggs and meat, with a non-fat meal that’s the most healthy possible.

I also started snacking on almonds. A little bit every day, they say, is good for the cholesterol. I’ll get the blood test soon, to see if I’ve been able to bring my cholesterol down. But back to the snacks – a few almonds are really good – I give p a little of the benefits by eating roasted ones sometimes, which also have a bit of salt. I shouldn’t add the sodium, but it makes me eat more of them in the first place. Perhaps the tendency to eat more at a time, increases the net benefit to me because I wouldn’t have eaten as many if they were the raw kind. Erica and I have been eating apple slices with natural peanut butter also – sometimes for a dessert even. We haven’t done it as much lately, as when we were snowboarding at A-Basin at the end of the season, but once in a while it’s really good.

I’ve leveled off from the cleanse in terms of having one shake a day instead of two, and also not doing a liquids-only cleanse day in the middle of the week, as I did a month ago. But I’ve been conscious of what I’m eating, and making a decision about each item, so that I can tend towards the healthier side and away from the other stuff. I’m staying away from saturated fats as much as possible, no red meat, less cheese, less eggs, no butter.

Oh, about the latte’s. A while ago I started drinking caffeine again. I really enjoy my lattes, usually now in the afternoon, and the decaf version seems to do the same things for me as the real stuff, but it just doesn’t taste the same. Have you tried to get fresh, dark-roast whole coffee beans, that are decaffeinated? It’s hard to find. They are mostly old from sitting on the shelves, and there’s not much variety of roasts and almost no darks. Hmmpf.

I’m about to venture forth into a two-week period traveling – I’ll just try to be conscious of each thing I eat and tend towards the healthy. I’ll let you know how I do, and post my blood test results too, later. Enjoy!

Toxicity in the world, especially since the 60′s and 70′s, is killing us. We are all full of these five chemicals, and our children born later are in worse shape. These toxins are cumulative and sit in our bodies all the time, causing cancer and other health problems. This article talks about them and what the effects are. It also addresses how we can avoid them if possible.

CNN Report on Five Toxins we all live with (in our bodies).

So what does it mean for us? No more plastic water bottles, cooking or storing foods in #7 recyclable plastic, cooking with non-stick pans. No more carpet in the home, sell your furniture, don’t eat canned food,  or feed your baby from plastic or cans. Get rid of your plastic water bottles and don’t drink from store-bought plastic water bottles.

Studies show that our bodies are already full of these chemicals that only started becoming widely used in the 60′s and 70′s. The five chemicals are all on the EPA “watch list” and don’t have rules about them yet in manufacturing and production. But people are dying from cancers caused by this stuff. At least the CNN report lets us know how we can avoid exposure to these chemicals (if possible).

I'll be eating a serving of fish at least two times a week.

Welcome the the new stage! Gregg Davis (me) and the Healthy Cleanse Blog are going to be moving forward with a changed health outlook and a new purpose. While I want to keep myself at this level of health, I’m going to keep updating the blog with the information I learn and my experiences with maintaining a healthy lifestyle. And hopefully I can do it without sacrificing too much – see reference to my former attitude towards bacon.

Anyway, some of the things that I’m looking forward to are finding new ways to eat that are delicious, filling and healthy at the same time. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that I’m working on lowering my cholesterol. My Isagenix cleanse has helped me unbelievably to change my eating habits. Because I was able to substitute yummy nutritious shakes for some meals, I’ve had it really easy. Giving up butter, red meat, cheese, and saturated fats present in some snacks, I’ve found that it’s been quite easy to start the process of living better and healthier.

Within the Healthy Cleanse Blog, expect to keep updated on my ongoing Isagenix health maintenance program, new foods and products that I find for better health and feeling better, and ideas for living longer and healthier.

Today, Erica and I are going to a local Hot Springs Resort to soak in the mineral waters and relax a litle bit. Mount Princeton Hot Springs have a colorful history and a natural, healthy hot water spring that feeds crekside pools, diferent temperature man-made pools filled with the natural spring water, and a lovely setting nestled in the 14,000 foot peaks of the Collegiate Range. We’re going to alternately soak and lay in the sun today, with the high temps almost 80.

Well, this post is just a transition point. I’m writing it to let you know that even though my month long cleanse is over, my lifetime healthy cleanse is ongoing. I’ll show you how I craft a life of delicious healthy foods, keep myself alive longer, and find and review products and lifestyle choices that can keep you healthier too. Coming up next: before and after pictures, actual numbers for my measurments and weight changes, and thoughts on the whole process of a 30-day Cleanse. Welcome to the future!

There have been several foods that I’ve changed my approach to in this cleanse month plus diet change. The cleanse was timed perfectly for me, because I was able to stay within a structured pattern of eating, and at the same time easily stop eating the foods that are bad for me. Changing my eating pattern has made a huge difference in the way I feel, how much I sleep, and how much energy I have during the day. Now I know I can lower my cholesterol and blood pressure. I’ll post the change in my numbers after I get my next blood test, in the beginning of July.

So what did I give up? I’m trying to stay away from saturated fats, and foods with cholesterol in them. this means no real butter, none of the bad cooking oils, no junk food in a bag and processed. Snacks have to be healthy. A bonus is that some of the snacks I can eat have side-benefits of lowering cholesterol or improving the “good” cholesterol, HDL. My snacks and desserts have been raw almonds, apple slices with natural peanut butter, and other healthy fruits and nuts like grapes and peanuts. Additionally I’ve starting eating a serving or two for oatmeal each day. I’m not really an “oatmeal person,” but I’ve found a way that I really enjoy eating it. I get the 1-minute quick oats and mix a 1/2 cup in with each of my shakes. I really like the texture, and it fills me up more. I know I’m getting the number-one food for cholesterol health in my body every day now.  I’ve actually changed my body’s cravings and while a month ago I would have shunned apples and peanut butter in favor of some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or half a bag of tortilla chips, I really enjoy the more healthy snacks, and I crave them. Some sweet fruit with the crunch and savory richness of some nuts is the best.

It’s time to take some measurements, so my next post should contain some real numbers for comparison, and some before and after pictures. I know I’ve trimmed my weight down about 10 to 15 pounds, but I don’t know what that looks like on body yet. I feel great, as I’ve said, and I have less body fat around my tummy and sides, but it’s hard to see yourself and the changes the body is making every day. I’ll post the numbers and the pictures in my next post.

Time for a yummy shake!

Well I’m not going to eat any solid food today. I say that because I consider the Cleanse For Life drink and the Ionix Supreme drink to be real nutrition. You could almost call it food, it has so much good stuff for your body.

Today I’ve had it in two different ways. This morning I had a tall glass of cold juice – 4 ounces of Cleanse For Life drink in a tall glass of cold water. It tastes great that way, but there is another way to drink it that I’ve come to like. In late morning today, I had the drink as a hot tea. I mixed 4 ounces of the drink with a mug of boiling water – instant hot tea! And it tastes really good too!

I haven’t been overly hungry, and I don’t expect to. I have high energy, and I’m feeling great cleansing the inside of my body out. I really am starting to sleep less hours, and get more out of each day. I’ll keep you posted on how I feel as I transition into a normal eating pattern. I’m still going to replace meals with shakes, but I’ll not be doing a weekly cleansing day.

I’m going to post my whole 30-day cleanse body numbers in a future post.

In July, I’ll be measuring my Cholesterol again.

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment!

I can’t believe it’s almost been a week since my last cleanse day! Tomorrow will be my fourth and final cleanse day in this 30-day cleanse. To tell you the truth, i’m not looking forward to it really. I just like to eat, and I like food. Not that I expect to be hungry or uncomfortable – I just miss the eating part. It’s really not so bad, and I always feel really good, and full of energy, the next day.

But I’ve really trimmed out my body, and my weight is staying at a level that’s 10 pounds lower than I’ve been in the last fifteen years. I’m the same weight I was in high school and college now. Crazy. I’ve been 150 pounds for so long, I can’t get used to this 135 or 140 weight. I’m staying right in between those amounts, consistently now.

I feel really good lately. Eating the Isalean Shakes makes it easy to eat healthy, and avoid foods that are bad for me.

Well, off to build a shake and go to the mountain! Oh yeah, in case you are wondering about snowboarding at the end of May – yes there is still a ski area open with snow on it. Up here above 10,000 feet, Arapahoe Basin stays open until the first weekend in June. I’m trying to get a lot of riding days in before the summer break from snowboarding. Yippee!

Having on the Isagenix 30-day cleanse for three weeks now, I’m really looking at the ways my cravings and eating habits are changing, and how they are going to remain changed after I’m done in a week. One of the things I keep coming back to is that by replacing some of mt meals with a low-fat, nutritional shake, I’m really cutting down on my cholesterol-building foods, and even on foods that contain cholesterol in them.

I wrote in an earlier post that my cholesterol is too high, and that I’m going to be working on lowering it with my diet over the next two months. Really, as the doctor told me, I’m testing my body to see if I have the ability to lower it with diet. Apparently, some people can’t do it as easily as others, or at all. This cleanse fits in well with my cholesterol goal because it allows me to very easily eat heart-healthy foods, and still get the nutrition I need  to get in my daily diet. It’s this Isagenix meal plan that has enabled me to accomplish this weight loss, body fat reduction, and healthier diet. I just don’t know if I would be able to change my shopping, cooking and eating habit so radically just trying to do it myself, buying new foods at the grocery store.

I’m starting to level out at about 10 pounds lighter than I’ve been in the last fifteen years, I feel full of energy, I’m sleeping less hours, and I’m more mentally focused. I would encourage anyone who wants to improve their overall health, get more energy, be more productive, or lower cholesterol and blood pressure, to try the 30-day cleanse from Isagenix. If you want more information, either leave questions in the comments on this blog, or go to my website through Isagenix to check it out. If you go for it, you won’t be disappointed!

http://greggdavis.isagenix.com

At first, I gained some size after starting the 30-day cleanse. But now, I’ve lost weight and inches on my body after three weeks. I’ve lost a couple inches on my body, and I’m settling into my weight from when I was 18. I haven’t been this light in more than 15 years.

Well, that’s pretty good, but it’s not really what I was going for.

High energy, less sleep. That’s what I’m feeling now. And I really like that my nutritional intake is very healthy for me, lowering my cholesterol (hopefully) and adding all the vitamins and minerals I was missing in my old eating habits. I really do feel better overall. And I’m definitely looking better – I’ll measure my body fat again in a week, and I bet it will be less than before.

A little bit if exercise every day, and I’m a better athlete that I was before, looking better and feeling better too.

Check out Isagenix for yourself: greggdavis.isagenix.com

I finally went out and bought a bathroom scale. I’ve never been too concerned about my weight, but when I have had a chance to weight myself, I’ve inched up in my life, to around 150 pounds. Growing up, I was always 135. Getting older, in college, I was 130, then for a long time now I’ve been 150. I still look good I think, just a little fat around my sides and lower back, but being an athlete, I’m always super-fit. I have tried to lose that side-fat sometimes, my using abs exercises, but I’ve not really been able to lose it.

Well, yesterday I weighed myself, and I’m at 135! I couldn’t believe it! This morning, the day after my cleanse, I weighed 130 pounds. Wow. But now, settling in after a breakfast and with some clothes on, I am at my weight from when I was 18 years old: 135 pounds. Unbelievable. Erica thinks I look good, that I’ve lost some fat around the belly and I look strong. I haven’t really been exercising that much, just doing my cleanse habits, two shakes a day and one or two meals, and one cleanse day a week. To me, the weight is a side-benefit. I’ve definitely also had more energy and not as much of a need for sleep.

Yay for Isagenix! It’s the products and the structured system that made it really easy for me to lose 15 pounds – now I think with exercise I’ll gain it back as muscle. Now to go snowboarding! Seeya!