Day 4 - Charles Barkley Bribes My Daughter

Very happy to make it through the night.  Woke up a dozen times, but feel like I got some rest.

Still have a pretty bad headache.

8:30 - Evolution Sweet Greens.

Evolution is everything Naked juice should be, but isn't - it isn't pasteurized / heated, it is only cold-pressed.  It also offers some juices with only vegetable juice, not stuffed with apple or fruit puree to bulk, sweeten, and lower the vegetable count.

Living on it while I am hotel hopping.

8:45 - Coconut Water

I'm not somebody that usually remembers dreams.  Two days in a row now I've woken up in the AM remembering what I was dreaming.  Yesterday, it was sausages..  Today, it was Charles Barkley.

I was juice fasting with a bad headache, just like I went to bed, and my daughter was with me.  It was her birthday yesterday and I was bummed I missed it.  Anyway, my bro Randy brought Charles Barkley and Aston Kuchar over and started playing carport hoops right outside my window.  I couldn't sleep so I asked them to stop.  They all came in and tried to get me to play, but I said I was feeling lousy and I didn't want to leave my daughter.  So Barkley throws what he says is $1000 to bribe Brookie to let me play on her birthday, but I just see a pile with a bunch of $1's on top before I woke up.

10:30 - Evolution Protein

I wandered out of the Sheikh Palace that is the Grand Master Hyatt Funk or whatever it is called (it looks more like a Vegas casino) kind of bothered by the decadence of it, and the hordes of snobby people inhabiting it.  "Judgement, not curiosity," I tell myself truthfully.  I just never feel comfortable and high end, ritzy places.  Never have, and I don't think I ever will.

I wandered to Seaport Village tired and again bothered.  So much commercialization.  Humility is easy to find on this cleanse, I constantly find myself realizing.  Regardless of its effects, the luxury of perspective is priceless.  There were too many nice smells, especially coming from the seafood joint and a Greek joint hidden in all the burger and bloat restaurants.  I quickly left Seaport Village.  "Nothing to see here.  Move along."

I walked to the USS Midway and was more intrigued by all the hobos / street folk flippantly lying around in patches of grass.  "Curiosity, not judgement," I tell myself truthfully.

12:00 - Evolution Sweet Greens

I am pretty tired, so I decide to walk to Gaslamp to see a movie while I wait for check-in at the new (old) hotel.  I got to see The Fifth Estate, the movie about Wikileaks.  I really liked the first half, but then it kind of fizzled.  Benedict Cumberbatch is always mesmerizing, though.

Hyatt charged me $26 'discounted' parking rate since I was a guest.  A whopping $2 off.  Now I hate the Hyatt Palace of Gomorrah even more.

3:30 - I'm back at the Worldmark reading and unpacking for a week.  I want to go home, but I know I have to press on.  Headache is not as bad today.  Have I survived the worst?

4:30 - Kombucha 1/2

5:30 - Gazpacho!

Barebones 'fruit and veggie' gazpacho -

4-5 hothouse tomatoes
1/2-1 cucumber
1/2 onion
1 red bell pepper
1 small poblano pepper
2 cloves garlic
couple pinches of sea salt
juice of 1/2 lemon

Throw it in the vitamix, then poured it over cubed avocado and ate it with a spoon to trick my brain with an 'eating' sensation.  Parsley would have been great, but I forgot to buy it..

It tasted amazeballs.  I know I'm getting more sensitive to taste because the onion was too strong after the first helping - next time I'll go 1/3 or 1/4.  But two small bowls and a whole avocado I am stuffed and satisfied.  Even with no olive oil, marconas, or bread to make it richer.  Ahhhhhhhhmmmmm.  I feel like Garfield after a tub of lasagna.

Eczema feeling a little better today.  My left ear didn't get as jacked up as the right did a few days ago.

I think day 5 is going to = #turnthecorner

8:00 PM - body feels a little upset, nauseated, almost a burn in my belly.  Maybe it is the kombucha, maybe I ate too much gazpacho juice (!), or maybe it is my first 'reaction' to a specific food.  Tomato?

Maybe I will try tomato again to test.

Day 3 - Sausages, Sausages..

I woke up from a pretty nice dream at 6:00 am this morning.  In the dream, I was making sausage sandwiches on a griddle with balsamic caramelized onions.  Mmmm..  I laughed to myself in bed and couldn't stop saying "sausages.. sausages..  sausages.." mimicking Chris Farley.  I've been slamming lot of vegan italian sausages with roasted veggies lately, including some with chopped balsamic cippolini's.  They're amazing.  Crikey, I'm hungry for one.

6:30 - Grabbed an Orange Mango Carrot (Evolution Juice) to guzzle on the way to the ocean.  

I decided to drive to Sunset Cliffs and just walk up the coast.  I walked up and down the coast, feeling pretty good, outside of my knee, which keeps feeling like my lower leg is disconnected from the knee. It is a creepy feeling.  Pushing it too much in yoga seems to loosen it even more.  Eventually I know I've got to break down and get it rebuilt to keep enjoying things I like to do.

The walk was beautiful, and the ocean air was fantastic.  Halfway back to the car I was pretty beat..  Made it to the car with the 'worn out buzz' and a growing headache, likely due to not eating solid foods.  I drove back to the hotel where I'm writing this and want to crash out, but I have to pack up and check out and find a cheap motel tonight.

I've decided to include some protein in this process to avoid losing too much muscle.  Some muscle loss is inevitable, but I'd like to stay somewhat active and the protein should help.

9:30 - Evolution Protein

Tried to take a nap..  mostly just closed my eyes for 30 minutes.  Headache, eyes itchy, ears itchy, and one is crusty.  Argh.

Booked one night at a Hyatt on Priceline.  This place is schwanky and cost the same as Best Western.  Amazing view of the harbor.  Too bad my head feels like it is about to cave in.

Went and hit a couple buckets of golf balls at Mission Bay for 'exercise.'  Pretty horrible results, but it was fun to be outside with no Bermuda grass.

2:30 - Coconut Water

3:00 - Evolution Sweet Green

Crashing..

4:00 - Evolution Essential Vegetable

Had some kidney pain while urinating.  Drank a half liter of water.

Good news - my left ear is not scaly or painful.  Just a little irritated.  Only my right, which I made the mistake of scratching a couple of days ago.

Ran out of water, wandered around until I found a Ralph's.

7:00 - Kombucha

Crashing.  Hard.  Bed at 8:00 not because I am tired, but because my headache had me curled up in a fetal position all night.  I am also nauseated, but I'm not sure if it is the migraine or the kombucha.  Perhaps both.

My left ear itched pretty bad and it did not take much manhandling to 'break' and discharge.  Argh.  Insult to injury today.

11:00 - 2:00 AM.  Now I know why they put me close to the harbor as a cheap 'Priceline' room - the fog horn, the trolley station make a lot of noise, as do the partying neighbors down the hall.

My head hurts too much to care.

Day 2 - Building Big Moe

I woke up with only a wee headache this morning - victory is mine!  Um, well...  wee victory is mine!

I can still hear my heartbeat whooshing in my left ear, but I think that may just be age and ear inflammation.

I don't feel too bad this morning, really.  Last night was unpleasant, but it is amazing how much the body is like a spoiled child..  It screams and stomps and pouts when it doesn't get what it wants, but in the end it will respond to discipline and adapt.

7:30 - Pineapple, Kale, Carrot, Cucumber.

11:00 - Pineapple, Kale, Carrot, Cucumber.

1:30 - Green tea.

I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darnit, people like me.  Thanks, Amy B.

3:00 - Pineapple, Kale, Carrot, Cucumber

4:20 - Hungry.  Grr.  More juice.  Pineapple, Kale, Carrot, Cucumber.

5:00 - Vinyasa.  Oh boy.  The teacher destroyed me.  Flows were advanced and fast.  I am wrecked but feel great.  Drank a coconut water.

Impossible not to feel your best after yoga.  Dare anyone to try.

Feel tired, little headache (could just be from less cals), ears sore but happy.

7:00 - Wandered down to Gaslamp and around downtown.  Drank a coconut water.

Found an amazing local 'Whole Foods' type market called Jimbo's.  Drank a Carrot Beet Kale juice and had a shot of wheatgrass.  Picked up produce and some 'travel juices' for the weekend.

Long walk home with a heavy bag.. burned out..  Got home at 9:00..

Great walk though.  Reminds me there's another reason I <3 San Diego.

Don't even mind the buzzing headache tonight.

Momentum 101 - even when the bar isn't moving much, your effort is building something.

Day 1 - Dive Right In

Ugh.

Flippin' Ugh!!

I screwed up last night drinking some scotch, a late junk snack from the magic vending box downstairs (Cheez-its - probably because they remind me of my girls), and some sugar in the form of a frozen York.  Jeesh, what a mental weakling.  Was a bit down both physically and emotionally, so like any addict I turned to my 'medication' - the wrong kind.

Today I decided that the best course is jumping straight into juicing in an attempt to take some of the margin for error out of the fast.  There are so many tempting (even healthy) food choices here in San Diego that if I don't set a hard rule I think I may have an excuse to stray every night while I'm still eating solid food. Also, since I'm not feeling so hot anyway I might as well get on with it.

Preparing for the tough next few days ahead..

Hmm..  That awkward moment where you realize "this is really going to suck" and at the same time you recognize "ack!  I'm choosing to do this to myself!"

Oh, I had fungus back in my right ear today (!!), which explains the extra itching.  I scratched both issues to the point of 'weeping' last night.  Urge to itch can be so strong, almost like poison ivy, although I've never actually had poison ivy, so my only real reference is how bad Uma Thurman was as Poison Ivy in her Batman movie.  Trying to focus on forging on and fighting and not getting bummed about fungus appearing.  Ignore and adapt is a successful, time-tested strategy for getting through crap temporarily.

I also woke up with a medium-grade headache - again.  Not sure if it is related to the fungus, allergies, ear or sinus inflammation, a reaction to toxic food, or something else.

Trying to stay positive..  Treating ear with vinegar / alcohol again.

8:15 - Coffee

8:30 - Carrot, kale, lemon, apple, pear.

11:00 - Carrot, kale, lemon, apple, pear.

11:15 - Still have the headache.  Took some ibuprofen.

12:45 - Green tea.

2:00 - Carrot, kale, lemon, apple, pear.

4:00 - Carrot, kale, lemon, apple, pear.

Ugh, I'm really wanting to tear open this bag of peanuts in my backpack..  Maybe eat the plastic wrapper too?  A big downside of being downtown is that there are tasty food smells everywhere!  I guess they'll strengthen those weenie little willpower muscles I have..

5:00 - Vinyasa Yoga at a studio nearby.  Wore me out.  Still have the headache, and I'm not sure if it is from not eating much today or just the general headache I've been accustomed to.

Glad I went to yoga - almost chickened out.  Feel pretty good, even with a headache.

9:00-12:00 - Feel crappy.  Headache I am used to, but body feeling that 'lost a pound or three because you didn't eat' discomfort.

Eventually I'm certain I'll fall asleep and dream about fish tacos.

Day 0.1... Ready... Fight!

Ugh.  Woke up with a sinus headache.   I am sure this dope brought some of that on himself by drinking a Holy Trinity of Happy - beer, sake, and whiskey last night.  I also gave in to the itching siren's call and scratched one ear too much, so today it is a little crusty and irritated.

Well, and total bummer, but alcohol is definitely a 'trigger' for my issues - when I drink I feel sinus inflammation begin almost immediately and it also seems to make my ears itchier.  IPAs are my favorite brew style but they also seem to be the biggest inflammation / reaction offender of all other beverages.  I've known this for awhile, but I have chosen to ignore / just deal with that fact for a long time, since I love them, and it was before I got a few ear infections recently..  Once this 'elimination diet' process runs its course, I'm hoping I can get health under control so that a little wine will be OK.

8:00 - Coffee and coconut water.

11:00 - Big bowl of Madras lentils and biryani rice

2:00 - Bowl of Bombay potatoes and chickpeas; coffee

Yeah, there's an Indian cuisine theme here - mostly because they come in tasty little lazy microwaveable bags.

5:00 - I made some couscous and wanted to stuff it in some grape leaves I brought with me..  I've been wanting to try some crazy stuff with grape leaves, but I have no idea how to prepare them... aaaaaand I still don't.  These particular grape leaves seemed very thick and really too tough to eat, even though the flavor of the couscous in them was not bad.  Fail.  So, I defaulted to Madras lentils and couscous, which was really tasty together.

9:00 - Bag of Cheez-its and a York.  Whaatt?   Couple shots of Johnny Black left.

Have to be honest with the food log.  Ugh.  Embarrassing.

Flipped on the tele and watched Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone.  Wow, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson sure were just wee folk back then.  Heading to bed with a headache and itchy ears.

Day 0... Drastic Measures and Simple Pleasures

Yes, I am cheekily playing off of Dan Gilbert's "Stumbling on Happiness" book title.  It is an excellent book, but since he sold out to Prudential commercials I'm not feeling guilty at all.  Besides, it is almost clever.

Someday, I'll write a creative intro about who or what I am, what got me to where I am, and why I am writing this diary of sorts.  For now, I'll just start with brief intro thoughts and the state of concern I have with my health, which is a big reason I'm starting it.

I've been on a path to more consciously active, healthful living since about 2007 - nothing too extreme or formulaic, just a lot of smaller choices that add up and chip away at goals with intention naturally given enough time.  One thing I have learned along the way since 2007 is to try and find what works for you and your body and evolve slowly with it.  There is no magic bullet, no lottery ticket, no 'hail mary' - no way to change overnight for any of us.  Just the journey.  One step leads to another, that sort of thing.

My current state of my health has been a little frustrating.  Recently, I learned I have eczema in my ears.  Say, what?  Huh?  Exactly what I keep saying.  They say "eczema is the asthma of the skin" - an immunological response / reaction, not a rash or really a skin condition.  I've dealt with sinus inflammation and allergies for most of my life, had asthma as a child, and now this strange eczema..  From research, it appears they're all symptomatically related as part of an "all for one, and one for all" Three Musketeers immune system malfunction / disfunction (or hyperfunction?).

The symptoms of this ear eczema - basically, they itch, inside the ear canal.  The canal can crack and scale, and when they get too irritated or I scratch them, they 'weep' a light, colorless discharge (sometimes blood too if I'm not careful). Eventually the ear canal dries, cracks, scales, and itches even more, which continues a vicious itch-scratch-discharge-damage cycle.  I've been dealing with that for the past few years, not realizing what it was, but this past few months it got worse - and I started getting ear infections due to the 'weeping' discharge leading to a different type of pain and discomfort.  Ear pain is no joke, obviously, but ear infections can be very dangerous - apparently they can spread into other regions your head including your brain, so they need to be taken seriously.  

Since eczema / asthma / allergies/ sinus polyps and inflammation stem from a hypersensitive immune system (see and act on threats that aren't there), I've fled Phoenix for San Diego to get close to the ocean and eliminate as many variables as I can.  The arid climate and air quality in Phoenix has always irritated my sinuses, but there seem to be triggers there for severe allergies that really get to me.  It could be air quality, it could be combinations of dust, dry climate, pollution, allergens and other particulates.  Bermuda grass, for example, I already recognize as one of my main environmental triggers.

This diary is an attempt to address the problem naturally, first letting "food by thy medicine" as Hippocrates noted ages ago, ages ahead of his time, almost as if he could foresee the lazy, processed food and abuse of pharmaceutical epidemics of our time.

Tonight, I arrived in San Diego and headed straight to Ocean Beach and my sinuses felt like they got a break for the first time in a long time from constant irritation.  It feels good to simply wander around and breathe the salty air, so I hung out around various spots in Ocean Beach for a couple of hours.  It will take some time to see if the eczema improves from being near the ocean alone - my ears still itched quite a bit today.

One goal of this pseudo-retreat is to do 'reboot' juice fast, leading to an elimination diet to try and identify, document, and ultimately exclude the worst allergic triggers to my body.  I'd like to find a way to mitigate and lessen the effects of what ails me even if I can't eliminate these persistent conditions altogether.  Headaches, sinus trouble, allergies (feeling like you have a cold every day of your life gets old), fatigue, and now eczema and ear trauma serve as motivation to do something this bold - but so does providing a good example for my children.  I believe promoting and living a healthy lifestyle is the best gift we can give ourselves, and, through our example, our kids. 

The plan is prep for and then complete at least a 7-10 day whole veg / fruit fast in liquid form.  From there I will incorporate solid foods and monitor the changes to my body.

Tonight, I had sushi in Ocean Beach for a 'last supper.'  I couldn't resist and it was delicious.  I also had some sake, then stopped at a pub and drank an IPA, and some Johnny Walker on the beach.  Ouch.  Mistake.  I already recognize alcohol is a trigger, especially beer, but I did it anyway.

Was it worth it?  No.  Would I do it again?  Yes!

Mostly because I think that question is stupid.