For this detox I have decided that in addition to a Vegan diet for two weeks I would also add a supplement to assist in the detoxification process. This supplement is a Medical Food called UltraClear Plus. It assists with both the liberation of stored toxins from the body but also helps those toxins get converted into a form that can be eliminated from the body. So far everything has been going well. I'll admit that I haven't felt like lifting weights much lately but I have spent some time on the elliptical.I've made some tasty stir frys and will cook up some tofu and brown rice for dinner tonight.

 I am also going to do a few rounds in a steam room tonight to assist in the detoxification process. Skin is our largest organ and it is also an integral part of the body's natural detoxification pathway. By spending about 5 minutes in a steam room and then jumping into a cold shower it causes the peripheral blood vessels to expand and contract which really gets the blood flowing. This process will also stimulate sweating which is an effective way to get toxins out of the body.

It happens to all of us at some point. We finally commit to establishing a new, good habit, like exercising and something happens to derail us. For me it was recently breaking a toe. My primary cardio exercises are walking and stationary biking. That injury made walking very painful so that was no longer an option. I was able to bike pretty well so I continued with that.

If something like this happens to you I advise:

 Keep exercising but find an alternative that does not aggravate the injury. Performing an exercise  in an awkward fashion because of pain can cause other problems.

Do everything you can to help the injury heal, nutrition, Chiropractic, laser therapy.

 I'm including some photos of the injury and the progress made in 4 days of treatment with my cold laser.

I started using a product made by Bodymedia yesterday. It is a device that you wear 23 hours a day and it will calculate calories burned, steps taken, sleep efficiency, and much more.

My main reasons for using this device are to lose weight by being more mindful of the amount of exercise I get, learn which exercises that I already do burn the most calories for me and to test the accuracy of the calorie burning calculations of my eliptical machine. The most common forms of exercise that I do regularly are walking, weight lifting and an interval workout on my spinner. I am curious to see which one of these burns the most calories. My guess would be the spinner. I'll keep you posted.

I'm half way through my second week of Body for Life. Although it is a 12 week program I hope to maintain elements of the exercise and eating regimen after the initial 12 weeks. I haven't missed a workout yet, although I did have to double up one day because the power was out when I was going to workout. I certainly have noticed an increase in energy especially when I am able to workout in the morning. That seems to be the optimal time for me, and the suggested workout time by the program, because you are exercising in a fasting state and this promotes fat burning.

I decided to do the Body For Life program again. Of all the exercise programs/diets that I have tried it is the only one that has the correct focus on both diet and exercise. Stay tuned for some videos, photos and other information documenting my journey. The program is designed for a twelve week course but after the twelve weeks there is no reason not to continue with the program with some modification.