So You Want To Be A Spartan…

The actors that played the Spartans in the movie “300″ endured great physical pain and discomfort to sculpt bodies that are more chiselled than a sculpture. This workout represents the sort of pain that one would need to endure to achieve those results. Watching this video makes me want to lose my cookies…

Though I am following the path of CrossFit, it would be quite the feat to be able to make it through this whole workout by the end of Summer. Looks like my Spartan dream of kicking people in the chest will take a little longer than I’ve anticipated. At least I’m finally getting healthy again. I hate being sick. I haven’t worked out in almost a week and a half so today’s workout is going to really hurt

If I don’t post tomorrow, it probably means that I can’t move

Letters to Stephen - That Isagenix Thing…

This is a letter that was sent to me a little while ago…

I am working with a person who is an Isagenix distributor…as far as I can figure she has literally eaten nothing but Isagenix for around 2 years; she is pretty sick and at 87 lbs not very pretty.

With a huge amount of effort and time I have got her to eat some real food and got 9 lbs back on her (and I take total credit for this , I have made much of the food in my own kitchen and her husband has taken it to her) but now that she is a little better she is back on Isagenix with a vengence; any attempts I have made to get her to eat some real food have fallen on deaf ears. I guess I can understand that as she is making money off of it. Unfortunately she has had to take a second mortgage on her house to pay the expenses of her Isagenix business and taxes on her earnings but that is a result of bad financial advice.

I have 3 questions for you if you are still using this product. what kind of long term effects have you noticed on your health ? does the Isalean shake gives you gas? have you noticed any reactions such as rash, headache,brain fog/ inability to track or keep a coherent train of thought??

If you would take the time to answer I would really appreciate it as any google I do just turns up an endless list of Isagenix reps..and I really want to help this gal but I need to make her see that if she goes out and eats a cheeseburger and a glass of milk once in a while it wont’t kill her. You sound pretty objective in your posts so I thought I would ask you opinion.

I’m not a doctor, and no I don’t play one on TV, but what I would say is that your friend has developed some sort of eating disorder that requires professional help. I’m the wrong person to ask about this, but I will answer the questions you posed to me:

What kind of long term effects have you noticed on your health?

Well, I’ve kept all the weight off. I guess the long term affect is developing the discipline necessary to watch what I eat. I struggled with that early on in the program, but once I found foods that filled me up while keeping with the calories prescribed, I was good to go. Since then, I’ve maintained moderation in my food, and try to reach for the healthy choices whenever available. I’m no longer on the Isagenix Program, but I’ve taken the controlled eating aspect to heart.

Does the Isalean shake gives you gas?

Without going into the gory details, oh yeah, definitely. My “Isa-Farts” were frequent :p

Have you noticed any reactions such as rash, headache,brain fog/ inability to track or keep a coherent train of thought??

Initially, when I started, I had the headaches, and the foggy thought. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I was going through caffeine withdrawal. I’m a total Coffee Fiend. The headaches went a way after the first few days and I started to have my wits about me again. I was also finding that my body adapted well to the lowered calorie and solid food intake. I was getting full on things that I would have previously considered nothing.

I’m sorry your friend is having the troubles she is having, but seriously, what she is doing to herself is not healthy and if you haven’t gotten the professional help and counselling for her, get it done. She’s really taken it to the extreme. You are a very good friend for taking care of her and standing by her. It sounds like she really needs you right now.

As for the financial side, this isn’t something new. Many Multi-Level Marketing fanatics get themselves into the same financial trouble because they blindly believe in the bull that their uplines are feeding them. It’s amazing how powerful some of these messages are to the desperate or uninformed. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of her “Successful Uplines” are masquerading around the brink of financial ruin themselves. Selling MLM is all about the presentation and the illusion of wealth. If she’s having to take out a second mortgage, then rest assured, she’s spending more than she is making and that’s no way to run any business. I hope everything will work out in the end.

The Isagenix Program, when followed carefully, did yield measurable results for me and those results have stayed with me with not much more than keeping up on watching my diet. But I’m also a huge burger fan and I have had some of the biggest burgers, but in moderation, it’s an indulgence your body occasionally needs. Having Isagenix Products as your only means of sustaining yourself is a bad idea.

For more stories about my Isagenix Cleanse Journey, you can check out my Top Posts where I chronicled my 11 day cleanse. Please consult a phsysician before starting anything like this as it really pushes your body.

It Wasn’t a Cold…

I got some Cold/Flu like symptoms last week so I went to the drug store and got myself the usual suspects.  In my case, you down the Buckleys, keep some HALLS in your pocket, and shoot the Nyquil before bed.  I did for that for 5 days, and everyday, it seemed to get worse.  I also kept having fevers, going hot and then cold almost randomly.  Kelly told me to go see a doctor.  I’m glad I did. After the doctor smacked me on the forehead and face a few times, did some probing, and checked out my throat and breathing, he concluded that I had Sinusitis.  Sinu…what? 

Sinusitis is actually a bug that presents itself totally like a cold.  You get cold like symptoms at first, then you get huge headaches like your head is going to explode, and then fever.  Then your sinuses get totally infected.  Eww!  I’ve actually still got a low grade fever and my head does feel like its going to explode.  I tried to be a man and grunt it out, but I wasn’t going to win this fight without help.

The doctor prescribed some Nasonex and some Anti-Biotics and sent me on my way.  He also refilled my muscle relaxant prescription from my car accident.  My neck still tends to stick and get tense when I go to bed.  It feels like I’m shrugging my neck but can’t turn it off so the muscle relaxants help a lot.  Along with my mind being a bit burnt out, my body decided to join the big mess.  Goes to show how powerful that mind really is.  Hopefully, after I finish off these drugs, I should be right as rain, and ready for my trip to Taiwan for the COMPUTEX Show.

Knowing When to Take a Break…

As some of you have noticed, I haven’t been as dilligent at maintaining a one post per day goal with my blog.  Ever since I retired, it was just go go go with building my little online empire and trying to be a Dot Com Mogul.  Recently, with my accident, and having to deal with insurance companies, my injuries, and shopping for a new car, it’s just been a lot to handle in such a short period of time. 

I started to feel some burn out symptoms like lack of motivation and energy to do the things I normally love to do.  Even after taking a short break in Las Vegas, things like talking about all the cool food that I ate down there, which you guys know I love doing, seems to be lacking in fun for me, even though I know I enjoy it. Even Futurelooks has taken a bit of a backseat as I haven’t posted or edited a new article in almost 2 weeks.

Instead of FORCING MYSELF to get back into things, I’m just going to let my mind heal itself and let things happen.  Sort of a bit of “Me Time”.  I’m just going to head out and try other things for a bit.  For example, this weekend, Leo and me are heading out to try out a driving course called “Code Zero” which is put on by the Justice Institute.  Essentially, you learn to drive like a Cop!  I’m also going to jump back on my bike, something that I haven’t done in a little while.  Last year, I took a course in Dirt Jumping, and I really want to continue progressing with that.  

Hopefully, my plan is sound, and I’ll have my motivation back in no time.  With COMPUTEX coming up in June, I really need to have my best foot forward.  I’m going to need to be well rested and focused on representing Futurelooks Media Inc. to all the companies that I’m going to meet.  I’m hoping this little time out will get me in the right mindset. I’ll still be blogging, but probably at a more leisurely pace for the next little bit

Here Come the Injuries…

After my accident it seemed that I’d be OK.  That’s what I was hoping.  I hate having to put my life on hold because of injuries.  Even the day after, it was difficult to tell if there was anything broken with me.  Well, today, and especially after driving back and forth from downtown, I now know where it hurts.  My neck is so screwed up right now.  I guess after two other car accidents where I was not at fault, your body just gets weakened.  I’m also a lot older now so any injuries I do have take longer to heal.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that when I take a deep breath, my kneck cracks.  That wasn’t there before.  My back feels like someones been kicking me.  Although I don’t feel pain per se, I’m definitley sore now and I’m just tired easily from holding up my neck or sitting for too long.  This is really annoying. 

Hopefully my Chiropractor can fix me up.  I did see my doctor this week, but it was before things started to get noticeable.  I have to see him again in three weeks to follow up so I’ll just keep a journal so I can report how things have progressed.