Unrequited

You approach,

The intoxication begins.

You draw near,

Not near enough to touch,

but just near enough

that when you withdraw

I mourn yet again

the loss of something

I never had.

The Dawn

I am staggered
by the hint
of the unfathomable
beauty
open to an awakened mind.

Despite this vision,
I am yet
a dreamer who has
dreamed
of being awake.

Six-Pack Abs

The Quest for Six-Pack Abs

A lot of guys (and some gals) would like six-pack abs. But for many, wanting a six-pack is like wanting to have money by winning the lottery. It's a great dream, but we're not doing anything about it except maybe playing the numbers once in a while (by hitting the gym sometimes and trying to eat less.) It won't work.

News flash

• Almost no "nice-to-have" goals are ever accomplished. You must have passion.
• Almost no goals that are fuzzy are ever achieved or achieved by winging it. You must have a specific plan.
• Almost no goals are ever achieved with a few good tries. You must be focused and put forth sustained effort.
• Almost all goals are abandoned if we don't see results. You must measure your progress.

So let's say that you, like me, actually believe that you have a passion for six-pack abs, want to develop a plan to achieve them, are dedicated to staying on track and persevere, and have a method to measure progress. With the will to do all that in place, what's next?

Six Packs-Abs Basics

First, we need to educate ourselves. There's no point in starting if we don't know what we're getting into. Here are some of the basics about six-packs abs.

Getting Six-Pack Abs is Not about Health or Fitness

The search for six-pack abs is a vanity and status goal at its worse and a goal of discipline and fortitude at its best. The quest for six-pack abs is like a quest to brave the elements and climb Everest. Sure, you have to be fit to tackle the climb, but the goal is done for the achievement of it, for the personal challenge, not for the health benefits. Climbing Everest can get you killed. Although working on six-pack abs is unlikely to end in a fatality, it can be unhealthy. Be honest with yourself about why you want six-pack abs, because it's that vision that has to sustain you.

Abs May Not Be Made in the Kitchen, but They are Exposed There

If you have a layer of subcutaneous fat covering your ab muscles, the fat will hide your muscle definition, regardless of how well-developed those muscles might be. To expose your abs to the world, you have to have a very low body-fat percentage. For men, this means getting your body fat percentage down to around 10-12%. The average in the United State is about 25-30%. For women, getting your body fat down that low is pretty extreme, and frankly, I wouldn't advise it. My recommendation for females who want a super-fit body is to stop when the stomach is flat.

A woman looks fantastic at about 25% body fat and a guy looks really good at around 15% body fat. I don't know the actual numbers, but I'm guessing I'm around 20% or a little more body fat in this picture:

and around 15% or a little less in this picture:

I have spinal fractures, so to stabilize my spine, I keep my core muscles engaged at all times, but you can see that the area around and just below my navel is far too big, even on a tall, thin guy like me, to allow the lower part of the six pack to show.

Living within strict dietary guidelines is vastly more important to get your body fat down to ab-exposing levels. Ab muscles heal and develop relatively quickly, so abdominal exercise, while valuable, is far from the focus.

To Get Six-Pack Abs, You Probably Have to Fight Your Genes, and That's an Epic Challenge!

Nature wants you fat; it's a fact. Not super fat, that's bad, but a little fat. Having six-pack abs is not natural. As you burn more and more fat, your body slows down your metabolism to arrest that process. You body wants to maintain fat for health and protection. It's only your mind that wants six-pack abs, and in most fights between the body and the mind, the mind loses. Ask most smokers.

In my thinner picture, you can see the faint outlines of a four-pack. The difference between a subtle four pack and a visible six-pack is huge. The body will fight you to keep that last bit of stubborn weight, so it gets harder and slower and more frustrating the closer you get to your goal.

To summarize, six-pack abs are not natural, they are not necessarily healthy, and they are very hard to achieve. If you want them, it has to be because you accept the current cultural idea that they will make you look really good, or you have to see them as a personal challenge and achievement, or both.

The How-to

Since actually doing the work of getting six-pack abs requires dropping body fat to absurd levels, you need three things:

1. A Strict Diet (to keep the body from storing more fat and to use what it already stored)
2. Exercise (cardio to burn fat and core and oblique exercises to create definition)
3. Passion (along with vision, and fortitude)

There are many sources for six-packs ab diets and exercise routines, so I won't try to add another here. What I may do in a later post, however, is share my specific diet and routine I am using on my personal quest for six-pack abs.

If you are going on this quest with me, I salute you! (Though I am also tempted to recommend a psychological examination for us both.)

Despite the picture I am painting about this questionable goal and the extreme effort required to achieve it, six-pack abs are far from impossible. There are quite a few men and women with great abs, and you know what? There is this amazing thing about humans. If we see that others can accomplish something,it means that we can accomplish it too. It might take more effect or less, but it is possible.

So educate yourself, examine your motives, make a plan, and get to work! Let's do this!

Passé Cliché

She's a lousy friend,
but I won't paint it black,
for her baggage is great,
so I try to help her unpack.

But will Occam's razor
soon go snicker-snack,
and expose her to be
simply selfish and on crack?

The Ladder of Self-Confidence

Self-confidence is made, not born. You *build* confidence in yourself by challenging yourself and succeeding. Each success is adding another rung to the ladder that enables you to climb higher. And if you get knocked down a bit or fail? That's okay, because the rungs are still there, and soon you are back to where you were and can begins again to reach ever higher.

This beautiful Mother's Day morning brings an end to my successful completion of my Purium 10-Day Transformation Cleanse.

I'm 12 pounds lighter than when I started (9 lbs. in 10 days) and my waist is 1.5 inches smaller. Much more importantly, however, the successful completion of this challenge has renewed and reenergized my commitment for life-style changes that move ever closer to clean living and eating with the respect due to my body and mind.

Now onward to the next challenge!

Purium 10-Day Transformation Cleanse

2-4-15 Update: I am doing the Purium 10-Day Transformation Cleanse again later this month, and this time, my friend Lisa and I are writing an eBook about our experiences on the cleanse.

The eBook is called The Purium Success Guide, and we will not only share our experiences on the cleanse, but also tips and tricks and support and information to guide you through your own cleanse. 

The eBook will be available for the Kindle (initially, and later as in other formats) later in March.

If you would like to do the cleanse yourself, order your own 10-Day Transformation Cleanse kit at

MyPuriumGift

and enter my Gift Card Code

SPIRITSHOCK 

to get $50 off your order!

If you try the code and it rejects the code, simply shoot me an email at purium@spiritshock.com or try again in a few hours because it means that I need to buy more gift cards to cover the expense.

Thank you, good luck on your wellness journey, and stay tuned for more information about the forthcoming book!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I started the Purium 10-Day Transformation Cleanse the morning of May 1st, 2014. To prep, I had two days of light, vegetarian eating and avoided processed foods.

Daily updates are at the end of the post.

Purium Cleanse Claims

1. Purium claims you can expect to lose 5-20 pounds in just 10 days.
2. Purium claims it can reset your metabolism and break your addiction to food.
3. Purium claims it will detox your body and clean your digestive tract.

I have three main goals with this cleanse, which are fairly close to their products claims:

1. Reset my brain to reduce craving for unhealthy "food."
2. Cleanse my system from chemicals and toxins present in processed foods.
3. Lose my middle-age "pooch," which measured at 35" this morning.

So, to help accomplish these goals, I am doing the 10-day cleanse.

What the Purium Cleanse Contains

The Purium cleanse comes with the following:

• Power Shake
• Master Amino (150 count)
• Apothe-Cherry
• Ionic Elements
• Daily Fiber Blend
• Shaker Bottle
• Gym Bag
• Tape Measure
• Easy-to-follow Transformation Support Guide

The Power Shake is the backbone of the program. It contains a bunch of powdered "superfoods" such as Activated Barley, Carrot Juice Powder, Hawaiian Spirulina, and Organic Kamut Grass Juice Powder, You drink it three times a day. It tastes fine. Some people like it or learn to enjoy it. The Master Amino is a supplement that you take 5 of three times a day. It claims to serve several purposes. The one I was most interested in is that it will help feed your muscles (it's a vegan protein source) while you cleanse. The Apothe-Cherry is a near-bedtime drink that contains antioxidants and is supposed to help you sleep. Some people like the taste. I don't, but it's okay. The Ionic Elements are drops that you add to water or your shake. It's supposed to help with various things, such as helping to reduce the effects of aging, promote restful sleep, support immune function, increase alkalinity, and promote the healthy growth of hair, skin, and nails. They suggest you add it to your shake, and that it tastes "fresh," but I think it tastes pretty bad and ruins whatever you put it in. I dilute it in water and drink it as fast as possible. The Daily Fiber Blend, of course, supports bowel function. It doesn't taste good, but it's fine and, well, full of fiber.

Note: to be fair, I have the "taster" gene, which makes me sensitive to bitter tastes. Wine and beer and coffee also all taste bad or sorta okay to me for the same reason.

You are also allowed "flex" foods three times a day when you need them. A flex food, explained mostly simply, is a small portion of a raw fruit or vegetable. There are several more choices, such as sauteed broccoli, almond milk, herbal tea, and vegetable broth. The big no-nos are meat, cheese, and bread.

My 10-Day Cleanse

I may not be the typical Purium client, but perhaps someone might be interested to see how this process goes for someone who doesn't have a weight-loss goal. I hit my target weight last year and currently have a BMI of 23. I'm 6' 6", am on the wrong side of the 40s, and have a medium build.

My weigh-in the night before the cleanse was at 199.4 (3 lbs less than normal weight for some reason, which seems a little dramatic for two days of vegetarian and light eating.)

I will evaluate Purium's claims as much as possible when the process is complete. Much of this is high subjective, so your mileage may vary.

I plan on using the kick-start from this cleanse to help launch me into a 6-pack abs workout program.

Day One

May 1st, 2014:
As I write this, I realize that it's hard to report on how I feel for the simple reason that I only got a few hours sleep last night, and can hardly keep my eyes open. Under the circumstances, however, I feel fine, and energy seems good.

One thing that makes this cleanse easier than my 10-Day Juice Fast six months ago is that the Purium cleanse allows and even encourages the use of "flex" foods, which are explained earlier in the article. I had two apples, a banana, and a few grapes. The grapes were a little more than the cleanse calls for, but I plan to eat a few every day anyway for their taste and cleaning properties.

So, other than going to pee every 15 minutes because of the high-volume of fluid intake, the first day has gone quite smoothly!

Day Two

May 2nd, 2014:
6pm
Was a little more hungry here and there today, but still quite manageable. Energy is good. Slept well last night. I have one flex food left, which I will eat later. I gagged a little on the ionic elements tonight, which was fun. Next time it's getting diluted more, maybe with 20 oz of water. Mental acuity seems fine as well.

As expected, my digestive system is getting a break, which is one of the other benefits of a liquid-only cleanse or a cleanse with a low volume of solid, unprocessed food such as this one.

Passed by a lot of homemade pizza tonight, which looked surprisingly good!

Day Three

May 3rd, 2014:
As with my 10-day juice fast, I am never hungry in the morning, though today when I went for a drive with a friend, I did start to feel hunger.

Today went well, and quite uneventfully, though I did consume a little more flex food than normal (fresh fruit). Because I am afraid of losing too much weight, I'm not too worried about eating a little extra clean food. I also ate a some warm food for the first time, a vegetable.

Energy and mental clarity are good, though I did take a long nap (which I try to do at least once a week on a weekend.)

I already feel mentally more prepared to resist sugar and processed foods, and am devising new ways to keep eating clean when the cleanse is over.

I'm really starting to hate the "Ionic Elements," though. That stuff is really bad!

Day Four

May 4th, 2014:
Pretty smooth sailing today, though I again consumed more than the recommended amounts of the "flex" foods. I had grapes, citrus, a veggie.... Again, these are pretty clean foods and I don't want to lose too much weight, but still I don't want to vary from the program recommended amounts too much, which may skew my results in other ways.

I did a quick visualization of some food choices, and these are the results:

-Sweets, Cake, Candy: Doesn't sound revolting, but I don't want any. Chocolate doesn't sound bad, but I also don't want any and am not looking forward to eating any.
-Pop (Sprite): (I went over a year with no pop, and then started having a Sprite a few times a week.) Not interested - doesn't sound refreshing.
-Meat: Sounds great. I am still looking forward to having some quality meat a couple days after the cleanse is done.
Dairy: Milk. Neutral. Wish I had a healthy source of milk. I don't, so I use almond milk. Cheese. Cheese sounds good.

So we'll see if this list changes over the next few days. When I finish I will be eating a plant-heavy diet with some fruit and meat, and right now that, along with more raw vegetables and fruits, sounds good!

Day Five

May 5th, 2014:

Here I am about half way through the Purium 10-Day Transformation Cleanse, and am finding that, as hoped, my desire for crap food has been reduced, as mentioned in yesterday's post.

Unlike the first few days of my 10-day juice-only fast, I don't have persistent low-level hunger all the time with this 10-day cleanse. The flex foods, plus vegan protein sources and other elements of the cleanse make hunger a minor issue for me.

Of course, for those with serious "food" addictions (most people), the deprivation of our crack, um, I mean, sugar, will certainly be a problem for a while. As much as I enjoy sweets, however, I am not fantasizing about them at all, and am convinced I can remain free of them as I transition into my abs program at the end of this cleanse.

Day Six

May 6th, 2014:
Today my overall energy level has been lower, but nothing worrisome. Had some trouble focusing at work. Both these symptoms, however, may have more to do with personal issues than dietary ones, as there are a few things going on personally and finals are this week, finals for which I am not well prepared. I also have a writing job that needs to be hit really hard, and that is stressful as well.

Sautéed some asparagus tonight for my flex food (I usually eat a raw fruit or vegetable), and it was pretty good! Later tonight my energy has seemed to increase a bit. Feeling pretty good as I get ready to go to bed.

Day Seven

May 7th, 2014:
Energy is lower than it "should be" at this point. I feel a bit tired, drug down, and have an overall sense that I am missing something nutritionally. I will expand the foods I am eating a bit and see if that helps.

Day Eight

May 8th, 2014:
Energy low (but I still feel fine overall) again today. Funny that the motivational text I got from Purium said, "Go ahead and exercise. You've got (sic) the energy." I read it and was, "Umm. no I don't. As a matter of fact, I had the energy before, and now I don't." Wonder why....

Still feeling as if I am missing something, and am starting to look forward to eating again. I do not have cravings, but the idea of some cheese seems to sound good for some reason. I am also still looking forward to some meat, but am not craving it. (Note that I am not much of a "craver" at any time.)

I had a final tonight and was feeling pretty tired before class, so I bought a trail mix bag from a local company. It had some nuts and dried cranberries in it - no sweets or grains. Maybe the fat in the nuts will re-energize me a bit.

Day Nine

May 9th, 2014:
Felt a little better today energy-wise. I am starting to get a little less focused mentally. Still have a general sense of needing a wider variety of food, but with some of the things I ate yesterday, I am feeling better, I think.

Still am a little more tired than I should be. Not only am I looking forward to a broader spectrum of food (still clean, still mostly green, and still very little processed), but I am also looking forward to working out.

I'm also getting a little curious about my weight. I may run into the gym tomorrow evening and do my weigh in.

I don't feel as if I have lost much abdominal fat, but my pants are looser, so I guess we'll see!

Day Ten

May 10, 2014:

My Purium 10-Day Transformation Cleanse comes to an end this evening. This was not about losing weight for me, but about cleaning my mind and body. Nonetheless I dropped around 9 pounds and 1.5 inches from my waist in the last 10 days. I intentionally ate considerably more than recommended, and still lost a significant amount of weight. The differences between the pictures aren't dramatic, but here it is:

Have I?

1. Reset my brain to reduce craving for unhealthy "food."
2. Cleanse my system from chemicals and toxins present in processed foods.
3. Lose my middle-age "pooch," which measured at 35" this morning.

I have reduced my craving for unhealthy foods, one can assume that 12 days of clean eating has helped my body detoxify itself, and my "pooch" is around 33.5" inches ( I dropped 9 pounds). Pants are loose and belts had to be tightened.

One thing I do know is that this cleanse and renewed my resolve to be fit, healthy, and clean!

Overall, the differences between the 10-day juice fast and this Purium 10-Day Transformation Cleanse are not overly dramatic. I lost more weight with the juice fast, obviously, but this cleanse was much easier to accomplish.

Now to give myself a couple of days to reacclimatize to animal protein sources, and I'll begin my abs challenge!