My vegetarian trial has ended today. During the trial I cheated and ate fish about four times. There wasn’t really a major change from the way I normally eat but it did make me more aware of what I was eating while I was eating it. From a health prospective, I don’t thinking changing from a pescetarian to a vegetarian is going to produce dramatic health results. People might have more drastic results if they switched from a meat eater to a pescetarian (like I did back in 2004) or from a vegetarian to a vegan.
Lessons Learned
- Trials Need Tracking - What I’ve noticed from tracking my results from the Push-Up Trial is that anything you’re trying to focus on needs to be tracked. Here are some ways to track your progress though out a trial
- Record Your Thoughts In A Daily Journal - I did this for a lot of original trials. It helps to understand your progress. What you’re doing right. What you’re doing wrong. Each day you can focus your thoughts on what you’re trying to change.
- Find a metric you can measure. What can you quantify? If it can measured, if can be managed. Is it a number of hours per day you’re committing to a goal, number of activities you must preform, how you feel about something (scale of 1-10). You can use Track-n-graph or create a graph and spreadsheet like I’m doing in my 100 Push-Ups Experiment.
- Share Your Progress - Post it on Facebook. Tweet it. List it on 43things. Let others know what you’re up to and how you’re doing it. The positive reinforcement is rewarding.
- Keep a log - Record what you do. Keep a time log. Keep a food log (something I should consider for a future food trials).
- Remember your most important factor. While I can sit here and say that using all these tools would be great, the reality is that we all have many things going on in our lives and realistically, we’re not going always keep track of everything. But remember what your most important factor is and remember to track it everyday.
- Reminder yourself why you’re doing this - What’s your reason? Post it on your wall. Look at it everyday. Why do you want to change?
Conclusion - Veganism and Raw Foods
While I don’t think I’m going to switch to 100% vegetarian right now, I know that there’s a lot of potential to going vegan and eventually a raw foodist. I noticed that since I don’t eat meat, I’m eating a lot of dairy, sugar, and refined carbohydrates.
I believe these foods are the biggest causes of most of the acne that I have now and I know eliminating them is the key to living a healthier lifestyle. I’m sure that someone who eats meat could probably be fairly healthy if they ate mostly lean meats and fresh fruits and vegetables. I guess the trick is to eliminate one food one at a time, such as no eggs for a month . The most confusing part about going vegan for me is understanding what foods contain animal products. So stay tuned for more food experiments.
(Photo Credits: Amber Karnes)
Last week I begin my one month journey to do 100 push-ups. It’s been my goal for a while. I originally heard about this idea when I saw the site HundredPushUps.com I’ve tried a bunch of different workout programs…everything from weight lifting, calisthenics, yoga, stretching and running. I really want something that’s easy to do. Something I don’t need any special equipment to do. And something that I can get progressively better at everyday.
For the next month I’m going to attempt to do 100 push-ups everyday for a month. Will I do 100 the first day?…Hell no. But I can try. I might do at least 50 or 60 my first try. At the end of Navy Boot Camp I did about 70. My goal is to hit 100 consecutive push-ups without putting my knee down and only stopping in the up position. Here is my prediction for what will happen… Read More…
Photo Credits | unclefuz
Becoming a vegetarian was actually one of my very first 30 day trials. As I mentioned in my taking cold showers experiment and raw foods trials, I’ve always struggled with finding ways to control my acne.
My big breakthrough was about 4 years ago when I decided to try out becoming a pescetarian. I had done a 3-day apple fast before and I knew there was some link between your diet and skin. From that month on I realized that I had been eating all wrong.
Hypothesis: I’ve already accomplished it. My skin is amazingly clearer than it was 4 years ago. But I’ve been a pescetarian for the last four years. So this trial is me saying good bye to all meats entirely, including seafood, and giving me motivation to someday become a vegan.
Read More…
Sikhs doing Ishnaan Seva in the evening on the marble walkway which surrounds the Golden Temple. | Photo Credits: Gurumustuk Singh (Flickr Creative Commons)
The Indians call it ishnaan or hydrotherapy which is the practice of immersing yourself in sacred pools of cold water first thing in the morning. To them it’s considered your first battle of the day. A time when you muster all your courage to do something challenging to set the tone for the rest of your day.
Most westerners, like myself, think of cold showers as what you do to recover from a rough night of drinking or to tame those unsatisfied sexual desires. Looking into it, I’ve found that cold showers can do more than calm the heart or give you courage…it can do positive things like increase circulation, immunity, fertility, energy and even give you healthy shiny hair. So for the next 30 days I’ll be trying out what it’s like to take a cold shower everyday.
The Problem With Hot Showers
The problem with tap water is the chlorine used to treat the water when it comes to your home. At room temperature it may be harmless, but at a scolding 109-120+ degrees Fahrenheit the water produces a highly-concentrated chorine vapor that we in turn breathe in during our showers. Read More…
April 28th was my one anniversary since that very first night I stepped off the bus at Boot Camp and on to entirely new life in the Navy. It’s strange to look back and think that this whole experience has only been a year. A few weeks ago, I was a sponsor for new guy in my division, explaining all the details of what he could expect being on board my ship and I’ve yet to spend one day out at sea.
I choose to write about this experience because a lot of my friends and family (mainly the one’s not in the military) always ask about what my experience is like. What’s the Navy like? Is it fun? Do you like it? Are you a different person now? Read More…
We all have limits in our mind minds as to how far we can push our own bodies until we give up and call it a day. In Navy Boot Camp, I know my own body is going to be pushed to the limits and that’s why I know training before I go is important to practicing pushing my own limits.
So, for the next 30 days, I’ll be exercising military-style with push-ups, sit-ups and running.
Read More…
For many people, going to a military boot camp can be one of the first times in their life where their forced to wake-up early everyday.
If your body’s not used to waking up at this time, that adjustment period is going to be pretty rough. Luckily, I have a little experience waking up early, so the transition should be easy. I’m taking it one step further and conditioning myself to wake-up before my alarm goes off and immediately take action on my day.
From what I’ve read and seen on movies, most boot camps start with a playing of Reveille and the instructor yelling at recruits to get up immediately, get dressed and begin PT (Physical Training). So, for the next month, I’ll attempt to wake-up on my own, practice what it’s like moving around half asleep and implement a morning exercise program… Read More…
During my Military Entrance Processing (MEPS) on Friday, I did good on all my physicals expect my vision. I failed horribly on my depth perception test and score a 20/400 and 20/50 on my left and right eye respectively.
I’ve worn glasses for as long as I can remember. I think I was 10 when I got my first pair and I’ve worn them non-stop for the last 16 years of my life.
You can’t wear contacts or glasses in Navy Boot Camp. If you need corrective lenses they give you GI Glasses aka BC Glasses or “Birth Control” Glasses. They’re thick lenses in ugly plastic frames.
I appreciate what contacts do for my eyes, but I really see it as a lifelong dependency. The irony of corrective lenses is the more you wear them the more your vision degenerates.
So, in order to prevent a life-long dependency on glasses and make my life in the military easier,
I’m going to work on improving my vision over the next 60-days… Read More…
Grab your sun screen and world map my friend because this sailor is setting sail. After considering my options in what I want to do in my life and my career I’ve finally decided to join the Navy. Don’t get me wrong, this no easy 4-day joy cruise on the fun boat, but I believe the Navy definitely has some fantastic options when it comes to world travel, culture, and experiencing all that life has to offer.
Unlike my previous experiments, this trial is 4 YEARS LONG and requires a commit like no other. I can’t quit, I can’t change my mind, but that’s OK. Because 4 years like 30 days is not forever. Over the next 4 years of my life I’ll embark on a journey to find out what military life is all about. I’ll serve my country. Live overseas. Make some life long friends. And really make an effort to better myself and the people around me.
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(Phone Credit: megyn.ohara)
My whole experience with experimenting started about 10 years ago when I, like most teenagers my age, started to get the dreaded pimples. I’ve had mild acne off and on since then and did everything under the sun to try and get rid of it. I tried Proactiv, read books, rubbed ice cubes on my face, used every available cleanser on the market…stuff would work….then stop working.
My big realization came when I read a little book called, Acne Free In 3 Days. The book recommends a basic detox diet of eating raw apples for 3 days. I tried that one out and it was amazing the types of changes that started occur inside me. Not only did I have more energy, but I my skin cleared up and I felt a calmness come over my body I’ve never felt before. Even though the results didn’t last like everything else. I had a realization.
Skin problems are internal…not external.
Putting chemicals on your face only treats the symptoms and not the causes of your skin problems. The chemicals, toxins, and hormones in cooked meat cause an imbalance in our bodies and our skins reacts by trying to eliminate them. That’s when I decided to become a vegetarian (or technically pescetarian, but most people don’t understand the difference). Immediately after I eliminated meat, I noticed my skin looked better, I lost weight, slept less and had more energy.
It was the answer I was looking for. But fast forward 3 years later. I still not where I want to be with my skin and I know this is primarily from eating and cooked foods. I’ve tried mini 1-3 day trials in the past, but this time I’m going all out…For the next 30 days, I’ll try and eat nothing but a raw diet. Read More…
