With the popularity of cleanses I have always been challenged by how unhealthy they are and wanted to develop this version with Nutritionists.
I created this element as week (5) five of the 56 Day Plan as there is a need for a period where most people have their old habits tested so they don't reappear and for their new habits to become the focus. It is also not a bad way to show how you can feel differently when YOU do things correctly for your Human E.C.O. System.
This challenge is designed with my nutrition team taking into account how this will work and then by supplying you a far healthier option than most other programs with nutrient intake. It is spread over a week and not just a weekend or three days as many popular versions are, so that you aren’t just focussed for one weekend and then go back to your unhealthy habits come Monday.
What is the Human ECO-Cleanse Challenge ?
For the IT orientated people - It is the section of the Action Plan where we “reboot your hard drive” and increase your RAM (memory).
For the CAR orientated people – It is the section of the Action Plan where we “tune up” your systems and replace your spark plugs.
For everyone else it is part of your change process.
With an important health benefit of restoration and replenishment, I want you to rest your body’s digestive system by removing the “toxic chemicals” we add on a daily basis. To achieve this I have modified with “expert nutritional input a "challenge” which has a focus for one week of the eight (8) week plan.
The goal is that you should try this new lifestyle of eating well and being active to see how your life could be if you make the necessary changes. Will it test you ? I think so having completed it myself.
The main focus or the eliminating phase is achieved by reducing total excess energy intake for this 7 day period. This removal phase will mostly consist of removing a lot of the “white foods” you over-consume and the replacing phase has an ECO Friendly plan of vegetables, salads and fruit in the middle three days out of our seven day ECO Cleanse week.
Guidelines that you need to follow are included and I explain what you are doing - and more importantly why.
The modified seven day plan has a focus on the middle three days. Having done this myself I think this works better than others as you are able to still function in your current life unlike putting you inside the “test tube” environment of just a weekend as people in the real world don’t exist inside a test tube.
You are lead in gently over the previous four weeks again with my removal and replacement plan. Unlike any other type of detox plan I’ve examined, you get educated on how to change YOUR bad habits instead of just eliminating most nutrients. This is a flawed plan. We will allow YOU to re-introduce foods back into your eating patterns to notice the difference and then begin better eating to form healthy long term nutritional habits.
We also do this to allow your body (mostly your digestive system) to have a rest, get rid of the toxic environment that you have built up, and then provide a recovery period so you’re not just going “cold turkey” which could lead to failure of the plan.
From years of experience training clients, failure is likely if you don’t get an understanding of this knowledge and be able to recognize the “old bad patterns” should they reappear in the future. Fundamentally, most of us are not good at eating what is sensible and healthy for our human eco-system but instead we look for convenient but unfortunately lower quality foods that are cheap in both nutrition and cost. Result = weight gain, lower self esteem, preventable diseases !
The first thing I found talking with nutritionists about obesity issues is that they generally find most people have through their lifestyle limited our intake of vitamins, minerals, and other essential elements such as phyto-nutrients.
Guess where those ALL come from ?
Mostly, plant-based foods that are grown in the ground and part of the planet’s eco-system. It would seem logical that for our human eco-system providing nutrient dense foods would be a benefit.
Guess how many of these life enriching nutrients are found “naturally” in products in packages or fast food options ?
You know that I am going to say – “little to none !”
If you already know these facts WHY would you be willing to “POLLUTE” your human eco-system causing harm ?
We seem to have forgotten that a lot of disease today appears to be through our bad habits of eating too much and moving too little or as I say have termed it and you can quote me on this “we are under-active and over-fed”.
For example; obesity, diabetes type II, certain cancers, are all preventable diseases that seem to impacted upon by our lifestyle choices.
So to make successful changes in the current unsuccessful eating patterns, we need to better understand what implications are occurring, and how these choices impact that inner health world of your own personal “human eco-system” environment.
To survive we need the following :
Breathe – required every minute of every day and the slower and fuller the breathe - the greater the benefit
Water – can last some days without it but with it being such an important element for efficient functioning of your eco-system - why do we put ourselves at risk by creating an "internal drought"
Food – can last much longer than days - but for peak performance by adding a higher level of quality nutrient dense food the greater our result
For your human eco-system it shows how important breathing is and how much we take it for granted. The benefits are incredible as it assists to slow down your heart rate and supplies us with life supporting oxygen whether we are inactive or active.
I’m told that to grow we need to be more in tune with ourselves. My goal is to help YOU get personally “tuned up” and provide you the necessary “tools”. Now don’t throw the book down and scream “I thought this was going to be a good way to learn about my body but it’s just another self help plan”.
I promise you it’s not self help but more "self health". The purpose in writing this section was to show that everyone can make changes for better health.
Back to the plan and why I changed my personal philosophy.
During this research and learning process what I found was that I had become “comfortable” with my eating plans as like many I believed that I was eating with a sensible proportion or percentage of about 80 / 20. This means I ate healthy 80% of the time and 20% less healthy the remaining time. I have always allowed myself certain treats and as I have never really been a bad eater but do like “treats” I felt that it’s fair to reward myself for this 80% consistency.
I am now less focussed on the percentage numbers and more focussed on ensuring that I supply a full spectrum of quality nutrients that will save my Human ECO System. Having lost my father to obesity-related ill health (heart attack), I’m very conscious and aware that what I eat affects what is happening on the inside at a cellular level that is fascinating me the most. Read my earlier blog on the Human Cell - Home or Prison Sentence.
TIP: Healthy eating means better health.
Part of my consistency plan now is to ensure that I find the time to train regularly and continue to accrue the greatest knowledge by understanding that nutrition intake should be modified to suit activity levels. In other words you don't need to consume as much on days you don't train as days you do. This is why people who are on the same daily caloric intake and don't exercise everyday are destined to fail.
Another example is athletes who get older, yet continue to eat large amounts of calories (habit), then suddenly realize that they are “unhealthy” as their activity levels have been lowered substantially or stopped all together. We see this a lot nowadays with our sporting heroes.
Here is how I have modified my plan. Previously to allow for my 20% (occasional ice cream, pizza, chocolate etc) I had planned to consistently challenge myself on training days to either do more work (train longer) or push myself harder. History, combined with knowledge and experience has taught me that things often pop up to limit the effectiveness of this strategy.
I was running three different projects which required a lot of time and making my last movie was six months of total commitment and that meant increased stress levels to ensure that it was done on time and done properly. I have now addressed those "control issues" and realize I can't control anything other than my own life.
Firstly, like nearly everyone else on the planet, time constraints with life getting in the way consistently hamper me doing the longer training options meaning that failure is a possibility. So I had to develop a training method that was "time conscious" which I did with the Afterburner Workouts.
Secondly, my body telling me that it hurts; or is just plain tired is another issue that I have faced in the past, and so I have tried to address those to give better advice but again as a result failure or not achieving your desired result is a possibility.
So what can we do ?
Have a plan that you can commit to and make sure it's realistic.
TIP: Making time for yourself is just as important as making time for others in any life changing plan. Know that you and your health are more important than work, friends, family and YOU will find that by improving your personal health you will become a better person, better parent, better friend, and more loving family member and employee.
So here is The 12 Step Plan for Human Eco Cleansing
The Suggested Guidelines and Rules:
What would a NEW eating and lifestyle plan be without parameters ?
Having completed this myself, I am able to give personal experiences that I encountered and from this the Nutritionist and I have made modifications so that we are happy that it can be completed by most people.
We have our plan over 7 days for you to ease into and out of it so that your life isn’t totally put on hold BUT you will experience some discomfort. It’s going to be LIFE CHANGING and it’s your life.
One : Limit Caffeinated Drinks + NO Alcohol
NO coffee or tea, caffeinated soft drinks or soda’s. No alcohol. This doesn’t mean you can have one glass it means NONE.
NOTE: If you are a large coffee or tea drinker you will most likely experience headaches and feel lethargic on the first 2-3 days. This is normal. Try to reduce the amount of caffeinated drinks you consume in the week prior to limit this impact. Herbal Teas such as Ginger, Dandelion, Peppermint etc are okay BUT be aware that Green Tea DOES contain some caffeine.
Two : Focus on Hydration
We know now that water intake is important for many body functions as well as losing body fat. If it is a taste thing then add a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice to water if you need a taste sensation - a minimum of 2-3 litres during this plan. Hydration is a large factor and you probably have been using Coffee and Tea or Soft drink (Soda) as your main source of water. Nothing replaces the benefit of water like pure water – as the Body Mechanics say “go, go, go, with H2O”.
Note – a 2% dehydration means a large decrease in energy levels, it may also cause headaches, constipation etc.
Three : Ensure you don’t just “eliminate” nutrients
Most detox / elimination eating plans ask you to remove many forms of nutrients. We believe that this strategy is flawed and that including the benefit of including E.F.A.'s (or Essential Fatty Acids required for “Omega 3 and 6”) will serve more good than harm. So, have 1/2 avocado each day - divide across at least 2-3 of the meals (or 4 meals would be better).
Note - This is a flaw with other detox style plans. Any "weight loss gain" will be returned when you eat real food next. You only lose water in those plans and not fat.
Four : Increase GOOD sources of Fat
As well as the Avocado, you could also add 6 raw almonds (highest in calcium, slightly lower in fat), or walnuts (higher in Vitamin E + Omega 6) to a low fat and combined with some diet yoghurt as a snack option with up calcium.
Note - By eliminating total intake of fats your body will be resistent to using fat for energy. However don't just add good fats but rather replace the unhealthy sources of fat with good ones.
Five : Reduce all Grains for the challenge
We are advising you in these 7 key days not to eat any type of "white" grain-based foods such as rice, pasta, cereal, bread or any other staple food that fills most people’s eating habits.
Note - Let's fill up on higher levels of nutrient dense foods that are better "plant sources". See below.
Six : Snack on Salads and Vegetables
Our goal is to eat regularly so you don't feel hungry but if you feel hungry then snack on unlimited cucumber, capsicum / peppers (all colours), cherry or grape tomatoes, celery, baby spinach, lettuce (all types), snow or sugar snap peas, green beans, asparagus, asian greens, broccoli and broccollini.
Note: This will not only add roughage (fibre) to your system but increase nutrients too. Try spreading peanut butter or almond butter on things like celery. You can also use capsicum / peppers or lettuce leaves and fill them with other toppings for a "low carb sandwich".
Seven : Reduce “sweet fruits”
With this plan we are going to focus on low G.I. fruit. Our plan encourages you to eat mainly berries (all sorts), cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, pears, and apples (green is my suggestion). Also note that we are trying to limit very sweet fruits for the G.I. response but still give you some options in this plan.
Note: (G.I. stands for Glycaemic Index or the Insulin response you get from eating carbs. Our G.I. goal = low). This is how fast or slow your body secretes Insulin (the storage hormone) to do it's job. The lower the score the less insulin response which is good.
Eight : Reduce Dairy Intake
Dairy intake needs to be reduced during the key three days. Now I am not advocating eliminating it from your eating habits unless you have medical advice to do so. If you feel like you need to include some then I would encourage eating low fat cottage cheese or plain low fat or organic yoghurt sparingly.
Note - We want it for calcium but we are also trying to reduce the high levels of fat and total calories most people consume.
Nine : Afterburner Workouts
Now what health / rejuvenation / lifestyle changing plan would be complete without getting you to adjust your intake of nutrients by giving you some suggestions of ways to increase your nutrient burning potential. Having made exercise a regular part of my life what I have tried to do was adjust and provide some options and these are included with the Afterburner Workouts that I have designed.
Note - I have posted these a few weeks ago so take a look.
Ten : Adjust Activity Intensity
If you’re exercising it’s important to remember that you will need to lower your expectation of your personal effort on the “day 4 of your ECO Challenge” and possibly days 3 and 5. You will feel that you have less energy and also it will seem “harder”, this is exactly what we’re hoping to achieve and is normal so don’t be alarmed.
Note - Try to decrease the intensity through either time or effort. It's also part of the "resting phase" of your plan.
Eleven : Nutritional Support
This is always frowned upon by people who just don’t seem to get it. I am not going to mix my words here. If you are living today in a “bubble or a test tube” this doesn’t apply to you. If however you are not, and you are breathing various pollutants very day or have a less then perfect eating regime then YOU have a responsibility to ensure that your body is not only working to it’s optimal but YOU are assisting that process.
Note : You can choose the nutritional support brand but be aware that you get what you pay for when it comes to quality. Two types that I recommend (one of which I use but have tried both), is Juice Plus and Amway Double X. For those that baulk at this price are you NOT worth $2 per day ?
Twelve : Praise for YOUR Efforts
Praise yourself each day – this is your new life and “changing habits - saves lives” because this is the NEW YOU.
This experience will alert you to what foods you normally eat, when you eat them and possibly why. Remember this is YOUR body and YOUR life.
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