40 Day Detox

Losing fat

I’m pretty much half way through the detox and it’s the leanest I’ve been since starting it. My weight stayed a constant 68kg. My body fat dropped 0.3% to 17.3%. Body Water was up to 56.8% and Body Muscle up 0.2% to 43.0%. Since the start my weight has dropped 1.9kg from 69.9kg to 68kg. My Body fat has dropped 1.5% from 18.8% to 17.3%. My Body Water has increased 1% from 55.8% to 56.8% and my Body Muscle has increased 0.7% from 42.3% to 43.0%. These statistics dispel the myth that in order to gain muscle you must also put on fat. Admittedly my progress has been slow, but my fat percentage has dropped whilst my muscle mass has grown. This proves that theoretically it is possible to do both at the same time. It is probable that my progress can be accelerated by tweaking my exercise regime and diet. I shall have to discover improvements as I go along. 

For breakfast I had a hot lemon juice followed by quinoa, coconut milk, strawberries, raspberries and agave nectar. 

For lunch I had red lentils with whole grain basmati rice. 

Give me a refund

I went to Argos to return the blender I bought from them on Sunday. On their website it gives the impression it comes with a mill, but upon unpacking I found that it doesn’t. No surprise there from this appalling company. On my way to Argos I received a call from my wife informing me of the sad news of my grandfather passing away. I was almost there so I decided to continue with my journey anyway. Obviously at this stage I was in no fighting mood. When I asked for a refund at Argos, the member of staff called Toni asked me why I wanted to return it. I told her that the Argos website gave the impression it came with a mill when it doesn’t. She looked at my receipt and responded with “Well you viewed it before you bought it.” In normal circumstances I might have responded with “So what are you implying sweetheart? Is it my fault that Argos is mis-selling your products?” But obviously I was not in a mood to let myself be provoked. I wanted a refund quickly and I wanted to get home and be with the family. So I told her that I hadn’t paid attention at the time and expected all parts to be there. (Actually, the reason my receipt showed I had viewed the product is because I wanted to check the user guide to see if it could grind nuts, which it could do with the mill! But I couldn’t be bothered to explain.) I got my refund, returned home and then made my way to my parents home. 

On the way I fancied treating myself and so bought Iranian dates and a carton of 100% pure grape juice made from cold pressed grapes. 

Bats in trees at dusk

I got back home earlier than expected and so I went for a stroll around the park with my wife. We walked around the park twice, but without timing how long it took. I got to show her the bats in the park as the sun set. Yes there really are bats in Valentines Park, and I’m not just seeing things. There are so many you can’t miss them. In fact you’d be lucky if they miss you as they fly very low and very fast. 

In the evening I snacked on some mixed nuts while relaxing and watching a movie.

My weight dropped 0.3kg to 68.0kg, however my Body fat rose 0.2% to 17.6%. My Body Water dropped 0.1% to 56.6% and my Body Muscle dropped 0.1% to 42.8%. 

Quinoa, coconut milk, strawberries, raspberries and agave nectar

For breakfast I had a hot lemon juice followed by quinoa, strawberries, raspberries with coconut milk and agave nectar. 

This was the first time I used coconut milk as an alternative to cow’s milk. Well what can I say? It’s absolutely delicious. It beats soy milk hands down. Not only did it taste really good with my quinoa it also tastes great on its own as a drink. 

Coconut milk

I looked into the health benefits of coconut and coconut milk. It has anti-viral, antibacterial- and anti-fungal properties capable of fighting things like influenza, ulcers, and athletes foot. It can kill tapeworms and other parasites. The saturated fat in coconut is made from medium-chain fatty acids which the body quickly turns into energy rather than store as body fat. It improves the digestion of nutrients and minerals. Improves insulin secretion, relieves stress on the pancreas and relieves symptoms of pancreatitis. Helps relieve symptoms of diabetes. It is good for the kidneys and urinary system. Coconut oil can be used to heal cuts and sunburns. It is good for the skin and hair and coconut oil is therefore used in skin and hair care products. It can help boost the immune system. The list of the health benefits of coconut is endless. 

For the taste alone, I know I’m going to come back to using coconut milk a lot more often. 

Buckwheat, channa dal and salad

For lunch I had buckwheat with channa dal and salad. 

Prior to my workout I prepared for it by eating another portion of channa dal and buckwheat just before starting my workout. The protein in buckwheat like quinoa is complete i.e. it contains the eight essential amino-acids in significant amounts. Other benefits of buckwheat include: it is high in fibre; it contains many minerals (phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper and manganese); it lowers glucose levels and therefore is good for managing diabetes; and it reduces blood pressure and cholesterol due to it being rich in the flavonoid rutin. It is gluten free and therefore good for celiacs. It tastes like a grain but it’s about 3-4 times the size of a grain of rice. I quite liked it.

Buckwheat

I made up for missing yesterday’s extended resistance workout by doing them at home today before heading to the park for the rest of my workout. It was a good workout. Other than the chest press, I beat previous repetition records for each exercise. It seems eating buckwheat with channa dal just before the work was a very good idea. It was an exhausting workout and I did my laps in 56 min 22 sec. A relatively fast walk, but nowhere near the record I achieved the day before. I then did a 12 min HIIT session on the cross trainer.

Post workout I had mango and watermelon.

Overall I was pleased with what I achieved today.

My weight stayed the same at 68.3kg. My body fat dropped 0.3% to 17.4%. My Body Water rose to 56.7% and Body Muscle rose 0.1% to 42.9%. 

Quinoa, soy milk, straweberries, raspberries and agave nectar

For breakfast I had my usual hot lemon drink followed by quinoa with soy milk, strawberries, raspberries and agave nectar. 

Channa dal, whole grain basmati rice, salad and vegetable juice

For lunch I had whole grain Basmati rice with a Channa dal, red kidney beans, corn and green peas curry and salad. This meal was accompanied by a vegetable juice (cucumber, ginger, celery, beetroot and carrot). 

I had intended to do my new additions to my resistance training before heading to the park today (squats, lunges, shoulder press) however I was running out of time and so went to the park for my laps. I got a new record today! 54 min and 30 sec! I then followed this with an 11 min 15 sec HIIT session on the cross trainer. 

Pakistani Anwar Retol mango and watermelon

Post workout I treated myself to a high GI treat of Pakistani Anwar Ratol mango and watermelon followed by a glass of soy milk and some peanut butter. 

Kenwood BL450 Blender with mill

Earlier today I went to Argos to buy myself a blender. After checking a few reviews I decided to go for the Kenwood BL450 Blender. It is rated 4.5 out of 5 on the Argos customer reviews. I asked to view it first as I wanted to check its user manual to see if it could blend/grind nuts. For now I want to be able to make smoothie/protein shakes, but in the long run I want to be able to make the kind of shakes you can buy at Tinseltown. The instruction manual said that you could put nuts in it, particularly in the mill. So I went ahead and bought it. 

False advertising on the Argos website of the Kenwood BL450 Blender shown with mill

When I got home, the Mrs unpacked it, gave it a rinse and left it out to dry. I wanted to make a soy milk and peanut butter shake after my workout. So I sat down and started to read the instructions. As I went through the diagram outlining the different parts, I got to the bit that described the mill. It said, if provided, it looks like such and such. I had all the parts in front of me, and there was no mill. I checked the box, no mention of a mill on the outside of the box. What gave me the idea that it came with a mill? I checked the Argos website. Well see picture with the blender? See that small beaker like thing with a lid on it next to it, that’s the mill that is missing. It was only on my last visit to Argos that I had bought a 2L Aqua Optima Water Filter Jug  thinking it to be 2.4L as it was advertised on the Argos website. After I was treated very rudely by Leytonstone Argos staff, I wrote four letters of complaint. Three to different Argos complaints addresses I found online and one to Strix, the manufacturer of Aqua Optima. Strix  swiftly responded with an apology and a 2.4L Water Filter Jug free of charge courtesy of Strix. Bravo! Now that’s what you call fantastic customer service. They also spoke to Argos and got them to amend the mistake that Argos had made on their website and corrected the error. In response to my THREE letters, Argos has responded with Nada. Zilch. Nothing. Bravo Argos! What a wonderful company you are! (British sarcasm) 

Aqua Optima by Strix

This review of the Kenwood BL450 Blender on the Argos website mentions how good the mill is (click to enlarge)

I looked closely at the Argos section promoting the Kenwood BL450 Blender. I went through the reviews and found no less than three reviews specifically mentioning how great the mill was. So was it my mistake to think that the product came with a mill? Clearly the impression the website is giving is that it does come with a mill. Once again I have been duped by Argos into buying a product that does not meet its description on their website. I was outraged. So I thought I’d do the helpful thing and put a review on the Argos website warning other customers that the mill is not supplied with the blender even though the website gives that false impression. So I went on the review section and looked for the link to click on to add my review. I looked everywhere. Nothing. My wife suggested maybe you have to register with the website first and log in. So I created an account, logged in and went to the review section. Still no option to add a review! I Googled: “How do I add a review to the Argos website?” It turns out this is a common query. Apparently the only way you can add a review to the Argos website is when Argos send you an email about two weeks after you’ve bought a product from them. How would they email me without knowing my email address? I don’t recall providing them with an email address upon buying the product. Also it seems even if you do get to write a review, if your review is overly negative they might not include it. 

It seems I’m not the only one appalled by Argos as a company. According to the impartial Review Centre, at the time of writing, from 2 ratings and 124 reviews Argos has a staggering overall rating of 1.3 out of 5! 

Shocking! Argos is rated 1.3 out of 5 by Argos customers on the Review Centre website

I personally am fed up of being misled by incorrect information on the Argos website. I’m fed up with the appalling customer service I receive within their stores. It seems their product reviews are not reliable (for example, I’ve not managed to find a single product that has an overall rating of less than 3 on their review site – I doubt this is a coincidence.) I’m astounded that I have received no reply to three separate complaints to Argos when I have taken the time write to them. This company needs to get its act together and stop pissing its customers off! Until they do get their act together I am boycotting them. From now on I shall stop buying any products from them. I’d rather pay another company more money for better customer service then get a cheaper deal at Argos. 

Boycott Argos

If you have had similar bad experiences at Argos I encourage you to boycott them too. Shop for it! Don’t Argos it! 

If you have suffered at the hands of Argos business practices there are other proactive steps you can take to encourage change. Share your bad Argos experience with BBC Watchdog, they seemed interested in what I had to say when I contacted them in regards to my dreadful experience with Argos. If enough people contact them with their stories maybe BBC Watchdog will do a feature on Argos which will no doubt force Argos to improve its service. 

Also join the Boycott Argos As They Suck For Quality And Customer Service group on Facebook. Every little helps.

No.

Wait.

That’s Tesco.

You know what I mean.

My weight rose 0.4kg to 68.3kg. My body fat rose 0.2% to 17.7%. My Body Water dropped to 56.5% and my Body Muscle dropped 0.1% to 42.8%. 

Quinoa, soy milk, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and agave nectar

For breakfast I had hot lemon juice followed by quinoa with soy milk, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries with a drizzle of agave nectar. 

Channa dal, wholegrain basmati rice, salad and vegetable juice

For lunch I had whole grain Basmati rice with a Channa dal, red kidney beans, corn and green peas curry and salad accompanied with a glass of vegetable juice.

I had a really good resistance workout, beating most previous rep records. By the time I did my laps around the park, my body decided to take it easy and I decided not to challenge its decision, hence completing my laps in 1 hour 2 min and 57 sec. I finished my workout with a 10 min HIIT session on the cross trainer. 

A box of Anwar Retol mangoes from Pakistan set me back £4.99

Anwar Retol mango, fresh dates and watermelon: a delicious post-workout high GI treat!

Post workout I treated myself to a high GI treat of a Pakistani Anwar Ratol mango (GI 80), water melon (GI 103) and fresh dates (GI 103). I also had a glass of soy milk and a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter for protein. 

As meat and dairy have been eliminated from my diet for this detox, naturally I looked for protein and milk alternatives. In my search, products made from the soy bean like tofu and soy milk came up top. As a plant source, not only are they high in protein but the protein is a complete protein (a source of protein that contains adequate amounts of all essential amino acids required by humans). On top of this, the pro-soy camp claim many other health benefits of soy: promoting a healthy heart; stronger bones; prevention of cancer; and alleviating menopausal symptoms. 

Unfermented soy may get on your tits... but does it make men gay?

Contrary to these claims there is a growing number of soy research suggesting dangers of using unfermented soy products like tofu and soy milk. While fermented soy products like tempeh, miso and soy sauce are considered safe due to the fermenting process eliminating the chemicals deemed dangerous, unfermented soy products have been found to: block absorption of essential minerals as a result of the phytic acid in them; increase the phytoestrogen levels in a person which can change women’s menstrual cycles; suppress thyroid and endocrine function; lead to growth inhibition; promote kidney stones; weaken the immune system; interfere with protein digestion; and possibly cause infertility. Interesting soy fact: according to the Evangelical Right, unfermented soy makes men grow up to be gay.

As with any subject there are always alternative perspectives. And quite often the different perspectives are promoted by industries that benefit commercially from that particular viewpoint. This is also true with the food industry. It is said by pro-soy vegans that the anti-soy research and conclusions are often funded by the dairy industry. While others claim that the healthy claims of soy is promoted by the soy industry.

For me there is enough doubt in my mind to avoid unfermented soy products. Once I’ve finished this carton of soy milk, I will experiment with other vegan milk alternatives. As for Tofu, I have a couple of cartons in my cupboard and it seems unlikely I will use them during the rest of this detox. If I can get hold of tempeh, I will certainly try it, as it is a fermented source of soy. However it doesn’t seem that easy to get hold of in the UK. The supermarkets don’t stock it, and I’ve checked my local health shops, no tempeh there. Next stop will probably be a Chinese shop, if I can find one that is. Perhaps this gap in the UK tempeh market is a potential business opportunity for somebody?

Sliced tempeh

It seems yesterday’s combination of High Intensity Interval Training; new extended resistance training; and eliminating dairy and wheat products has worked wonders on me today. My weight dropped 0.9kg to 67.9kg, my Body Fat dropped 0.6% to 17.5%, my Body Water went up to 56.7% and my Body Muscle rose 0.3% to 42.9%. 

Compared to my readings on the morning of day 14 following my HIIT session on an empty stomach the day before (weight stayed the same while my fat went down 0.1% to 18.1% and my other readings both went up 0.1%) it seems as though I got more results from doing HIIT on a fuelled stomach compared to an empty stomach. Therefore I will henceforth incorporate HIIT into my training schedule on a fuelled stomach. 

Quinoa, soy milk, banana, blueberries and Agave Nectar

For breakfast I had my hot lemon juice followed by soy milk with quinoa, banana and blueberries. 

Mixed seeds

During the morning I snacked on a handful of mixed seeds. 

For lunch I had the Channa Dal with brown rice. 

I was very tired today. My body was screaming out for protein. I had recently banned dairy products and had run out of protein shake. It feels as though, on a restricted non-animal based diet, protein sources are diluted with carbs. It feels as though I need to consume more food in order to get enough protein. I’m not sure this is a good way to go in the long run. I’m not sure what this will do for my body fat content. Is it possible I may end up putting on more fat as I try and feed my body enough protein?

Where do vegans get their protein?

I was very hungry today too. I ate lunch twice. 

I took a rest from my resistance training today and just did 2 laps around the park which took me 57 min 04 sec. When I got to the cross trainer, someone was using it. I listened to the fat guy within and decided to go home. 

This is me with my wife a few years ago, fatter than I am now

I Beat Anorexia - LMBFAO - Laugh My Big Fat Ass Off

Over the last few days I have developed my own prep talk. If I ever feel like quitting I tell myself: “Don’t listen to the fat guy!” The fat guy is me, or an aspect of me. The fat guy is the guy who wants to binge on chocolate and sugary foods. The fat guy prefers to stay in bed rather than get up and do something about his health. The fat guy is the couch potato who’d rather watch TV all day. The fat guy is the one who makes pragmatic excuses to avoid exercise. He is the one who tells me to stop pushing myself harder and give up before my muscles cave in. The fat guy is the one who complains that it’s too hard, give me a break! The fat guy is the one whose eyes are bigger than his stomach, who fills his plate with too much food and then forces himself to finish it because he doesn’t like wasting food. The fat guy is the one who loves eating buckets full of KFC and loves chomping down his Big Macs. The fat guy is the one who eats like a pig. The fat guy is weak, he is pathetic, he is a wussy, and today he won my heart. 

Tomorrow morning I am sure that I will have to pay for listening to the fat guy. 

Being fat is a choice. 

Life is all about choice. Isn't it?

Hold up! Do you really think I would throw a cheesy line like that at you? Do I look like a personal development guy who thinks he knows it all, but doesn’t have the brain to understand that his philosophical view of the world is completely contradictory and utterly flawed? Most personal development and self help gurus go on about positive thinking and how life is a choice. Shut the F$%* up! Then they will say “Aha! But do you choose to live at cause or effect?” Sit down before I bitch slap you into place. What on earth are you talking about? We are living in cause AND effect and we are never free from that chain. First of all, their approach to helping people is based on one major assumption that they take for granted… namely that we have free will.

Free what? Free will. I can tell how deep a person currently thinks simply by asking them their perspective on free will. If they start responding with how we have freedom in society and don’t live in a dictatorship and generally talk about free will as if it is a social class issue, then their depth of thinking is projected outward at society. They do not understand what is meant by free will. If they talk about how of course we have free will because we make choices all the time, then they are thinking slightly more deeply, but not deep enough to realise that their perception of making a choice is just an illusion of what is really happening. Not choice. Rather a calculation. That’s right ladies and gentlemen if we live in a world governed by the law of cause and effect how are we exceptions to this rule? We’re not. Free will is a myth spread by those who wish to make the task of controlling us simpler. We are not free, never have been and never will be… I think.

Free will

Rebel without a cause? Wrong. There are causes that make you rebellious.

So being fat is not a choice. Being fat is the direct result of a chain of causes that have led you and me to the effect of being fat. We all have different causes that have led to your and my fatness. If you “choose” to do something about it, you’re not freely choosing to do so; rather your mind calculates that is the way forward. It’s not a choice. It’s a calculation. Just as you would input certain variables into a computer and it will come out with exactly the same output every single time if you repeated the procedure with exactly the same variables and exactly the same software kept identical, we will continue to calculate to do the things that aggravate our fatness if neither the variables or the programming changes. Perhaps reading this blog post will be the trigger cause in having the effect on your mind where you calculate that being fat is not good for you and you will do whatever you can to do something about. Maybe it will have the opposite effect and you will react with rebellion and feel who the hell is this guy to criticise me for being fat? I love being fat. Fat is a good shape. Why does it matter? It’s my personality that counts etc. 

That's right. You're a rebel with a cause.

How you react will also have many causes for it.

So what to do? First of all lets accept ourselves for who we are. Let’s accept that we are perfect just the way we are. There is nothing wrong with us. There is no point in blaming ourselves. Blame implies that we have free will. We don’t possess free will. So blame is nonsensical. So let’s instead try to understand the individual causes that have led us to being fat. Is it poor diet? Is it our beliefs (programming)? Is it poor exercise? Is it a genetic handicap that makes us more prone towards obesity? Is our body misbehaving and not working properly? If any of these things are true, lets try to understand them and in a way empower ourselves with this information, upgrade the software in our brains, and act accordingly to help our bodies to be more healthy. 

Black man abs

Sure I’d love to have the genetic make up of many  Black men who seem to be born with abs, or Slovenian men who can eat what they like and still stay slim. But I don’t have those advantages. My body does not react with the same generosity as other peoples bodies do. My relatives come in one package. Short and round. I’d like to change that. I want to work with my body and try to understand it so that I don’t have to be round. Short maybe, but not round! 

For my evening meal I had a fresh carrot juice, Channa Dal and salad, followed by some water melon.

Channa dal, salad and carrot juice

Water melon