Day 5 Wet and Forget

Wow... so packed the wrong clothing... it is like a NZ mid winter day here today...cold wet and windy. Very cold for the Aussies, right in our zone.
Days like this make you hibernate a bit more... all in rooms, meet for meals and then away for our workshops and appointments.

Tomorrow is a big day for me, the team here have been all working on a programme for me that I will find out about tomorrow, it always fun to know you fall into the complex band...I'm kind of surprised that I have to wait to Friday to get a programme, effectively a whole week passing but they have been cleaning me up I suppose:)

The last 2 days have been tremendously unwell for me... but if we're talking detox...vomit and diarrhea levels that I have must be excellent for the system.

Tonight we learnt about the Endocrine system, this is very relevant to me. I decided that God must be with me every day in how this works in my body. Not having a pituitary gland to regulate hormones like Cortisol, Thyroxine and Testoterone and needing to self medicate in these areas...often seeming to be low. One of the key command and control centres in the body. All very humbling things.

The one thing I have incredibly challenging about this place is that they offer services like massage(that was okay), colonic hydrotherapy(pipe up butt...not that okay with that). Today I had another way outside my comfort zone experience... a clay wrap, clay all over you. The interesting thing is all these services have been done by the same guy...After my wife, he has seen more of me than even my mother would have. To his credit he does this job because he believes it will make a difference.

A friend of mine thinks all of this talk is making me sound more like a hippy...lol, I'm still coming to grips with what this all means for me, do I believe it all, not sure...after 10 years of public system health maybe I do have to change something, I still believe in medicine but maybe there are better ways we can look after ourselves.

The constant theme coming through is the danger of sugar. The World Health Organisation talks about dropping down to 6 teaspoons a day... pretty sure my coke would be around 10? This is an area I need to try to better at, Jo wants me to to go to 0 processed sugars...hmmm but I must try.
They did a special cooking session tonight where we learnt how you can make some yummy stuff just using natural products...that gives me hope:)

Day 3&4 - Fasting

An apology... missed a day and working through being quite unwell. I don't think it had anything to do with detox but was a day I get every now and then...but I will watch and see if it stays like this:)

So Scotty and detoxing... no solid foods. As a group we have to spend Tue, Wed, Thur finishing Friday lunch. So the goal of this is to allow the body an opportunity to give major organs a break, but also to allow the body to detox it self of everything...

The sad thing for me is that I am losing a lot of this food through vomiting and diarrhea. I wonder how I'll be by the end of this.

Have to admit being here is interesting and the same time relaxing but with huge parts of the day where you don't do anything.

On a side note, we have the privilege of spending some time here with a group of Aboriginal ladies...12 in all, who are being empowered to go back to a more natural way of living. It is a fantastic experience to see these 12 ladies preparing to go back into their community to transform the way they eat. They are currently caught in a trap of high carbohydrate and sugar diet... sounds like we could also benefit...lol coming from me:)

My biggest takeaway points today were
Meal sizes...palm size meat, 2 handfuls of veges and a thumb size of oils...
Our food pyramid is upside down... carbs, breads and grains...little of those. Veges great, protein is important
No snacking, the body needs a rest...kids are different though at a early growing age...
Fruit, a handful a day is enough, because of the sugar it contains
Coconut oil is fantastic in a diet
A funny illustration was to keep the barcodes to a minimum... e.g fruits, veges, meats are good to eat, foods in tins and packets...
Foods we eat can affect the ph level in our bodies.

So below are some photos of a normal days food for Jo and I...it turns out they agree, with Jo's Father that she needs a bit of meat put on her bones. The below photos plus water and herbal teas are all we eat and consume...very different for me... going okay so far. Jo is a box of birds, loving what she is eating.

Jo"s Breakfast

Jo's lunch

Jo's dinner

Breakfast protein shake

Mid morning Juice

Dinner Broth...not my favourite

Lunch Smoothy

Day 2: A day of ponderings...

Kia ora...

After a 6:15 start for a morning walk and a 7am stretching and bouncing on rebounders session, which apparently is an excellent form of low impact fitness, we went for breakfast.

Now you may look at this and think Wow...Simone would... but this is very different for me, completely different. My wife gobbled this up in pure joy. I have to admit nutritionally this is an excellent breakfast. But I am a guy who love cereals or would have loved a bit of bacon... this is a change I know I need to make.

We had the hydrotherapy session today...first ever for those. Warm water goes in your butt and then at a point it sucks out everything... This keep going for 45 min. I don't know how to describe this experience...a lot of good jokes come to mind...and I have definitely identified this is not a career option for me. Funnily enough it made me feel worse and vomited... but Jo also was a wreck... she doesn't do headache pain well:)

I have been challenged today to start thinking about the way I do a lot of things.

The challenge for me is the triangle of a healthy body...
At the moment i'm trapped in a vicious cycle...
I struggle to sleep because of the pain...and I need to be sleeping before midnight
I struggle to exercise enough because of the head pain and nausea, which makes me vomit.
The nutrition, which Jo does a great job of is wasted because of a stomach and bowel system that are up the wazoo!

So a good starting point above. So today chatted to a naturopath who thinks my wife should become a naturopath! He listened well and our life stories have many great connections. He is consulting with his team before making a decision, apparently I am complex (have heard that before)

Some takeaways from today...

• Drink 1 litre a day for every 25kgs of weight... yikes 4 litres. Drink more if you do a lot of exertion.
• The body only allows a teaspoon of sugar in the blood stream, if you're not active the rest goes to fat.
• Faith and attitude to your sickness are key weapons in fighting the feeling/pain and a growing sense of depression and despair...yay I have those in abundance.

and lastly the steam baths...hot steamy room then out under a cold shower...hmmm today I witnessed the fact that my lovely wife...as thin as she is, deals with cold water much better than I do... not one of my finer man moments!

Living Valley Springs Day 1

Hey hey... we're here:)
I was so sensible and committed that I even turned down my free lolly on the Air NZ flight:)
Living Valley Springs is a 2 hour drive from Brisbane and we had to wind the clock back a couple of hours:)

So what learning have I made today... my first big moment was reading my personal programme and finding out I have 2 of these booked this week...

Colonic Hydrotherapy

The health of the body is greatly determined by the cleanliness of the colon and the practise of Colonic Hydrotherapy is the fastest way to clean and detoxify the colon.

At Living Valley Springs you will experience the Chevallum method of colonic hydrotherapy that involves a qualified therapist flushing the colon with water a number of times while the therapist applies gentle external massage over the stomach area above the colon to help extradite trapped toxins.

The wash not only helps to break up any old fecal matter, which can be trapped for significant time, but it also aids in strengthening and toning the bowel. The colon also has an incredible ability to absorb water as well as herbs and so you may also enjoy a special herbal mixture to stimulate and strengthen organs in the body.

So yikes...

We have also learned some interesting points about the way we should eat and drink.

No drink a half hour before and up to an hour and a half after dinner, this is to allow the digestive system to do its thing.

Big breakfast, medium lunch and a smaller dinner.

LVS operates around the 8 laws of health using the acronym NEW START

Nutrition

Exercise

Water

Sunshine

Temperance

Air

Rest

Trust in a purpose for you in life... I would call this Faith.

My other favourite moment was our steam bath...

We went up to the steam room... hope in this incredibly hot room for 10min, out for a cold shower, back in the heat for 7, under the cold, back in the heat for 5, and back under the cold...

Now this helps to draw out toxins...I was not much of a man, the heat I can cope with (but vomited twice afterwards) but cold water on me...yikes! If I ever have a heart attack, chuck cold water on me!

Tomorrow I'm off to see the head Naturopath to discuss a programme for me, as well as someone who is excellent on back issues.

Jo is excited about the 6:15am walk tomorrow...hmmm must have a positive attitude!

So very excited:) good group of people...I have wifi:) My only complaint would be our tiny room:) Not a biggy...Had some great feedback today from yesterdays blog...thanks!

Before I leave

So what am I hoping from this?

To start with I few stats

1. I'm 42 years old... not getting younger!
2. Married, and 3 fantastic children...10,8 & 5... I need energy for the future!
3. I weigh 107kgs... which puts me in an obese category I have never enjoyed
4. My fitness is non existent...if I push myself, I end up nauseous and vomiting... 
5. Dietary... I love Coke, steak and most things sweet... Greens...hmmmmm
6. My Wife Jo, loves a green, no sugar diet! Once of us needs to change... guess who?:)
7. My concentration is poor, it spikes my headaches,
8. I have huge issues with a poorly performing stomach and bowel system
9. I have had my fair share of concussions.
10. My kidneys have been under a lot of stress.
11. I can be quite stubborn and not like change!
12. I love life and refuse to be defined by this.
13. I possibly have sleep apnoea, but am relearning breathing patterns...strange eh!
14. I get tired more quickly.
15. I'm working a day a week at school. Trying a year of a different pace.

If I can make improvements in any of these, Win! My wife is hoping it will impact my health issues and maybe encourage a typical Kiwi bloke to change his lifestyle.

This does scare me to bits... I like my food... to be told to go to no sugar, no dairy, no wheats or grains... well that means no fun foods. Food has always been a treat, reward, stress reliever and bad habit!

Living family Springs have discussed with us that they can help with...

• recovery from radiation therapy
• Exploration of my many medical issues from a naturopath angle.
• Looking at how diet and supplements can help the body naturally heal.
• 14 quality days of walking and talking with wife:)
• and many more things I haven't even clicked to!

So we will be flying out at 9am...

A New Journey

Kia Ora,
Thanks for taking the time to share in a journey that has been many years in the making about some health issues I have been facing.

Why am I doing this? I have the staff of Matarau School(especially Kevin Trewhella), my Church Family and a remarkable group of people who have supported me through Give-a-little. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Maybe this is a way of saying Thankyou and I will commit to this!

I need to also thank my lovely wife who has been on this journey for the 8 years. Jo is a nurse by trade and is possibly the worlds leading expert in me. She has spent an incredible amount researching all my little issues. Jo is incredibly excited by this next chapter

So where do I start? This type of writing about my personal situation is not really something I like doing... its opening up the hidden life I work through every day, presenting the best I can on the outside but feeling rotten on the inside. the worst question I get is "How are you?" Hmmm do I lie or not? My favourite answer is " Same old, just a typical day" Not lying:)
I love life, my God, my family and people, people, people... For me I am most happy when I am serving or helping others...it just feel right:)
For the last 8 years. and especially the last 3, my health has become an issue which has hindered me a little bit in enjoying all the above.
Some of my symptoms are...

1. A nasty little tumour(benign) that keeps coming back... operated on 3 times.
2. Eyesight that is very sensitive to bright light.
3. A couple of serious hospitalisations that involved infections that gave the kidneys a couple of scares.
4. A bit of sleep Apnea? - My wife says I sometimes stop breathing for 10-20 seconds
5. My Pituitary gland is not functioning that much... so I'm missing out on chemicals like cortisol, thyroxine and testoserone. I use pills and injections to replace.
6. A little bit of hypertension:)
7. Headaches... for the last 3 years, I can't tell you I have ever had a day without them... they average between a 7-10 in intensity... I have learnt to live with these to the best of my ability.
8. Lacking in sleep...3-4 hours on average... I just wake up a lot from the headaches!
9. Vomiting, the headaches make me nauseous and vomiting follows. Proudly my wife has taught me that men can can vomit quietly. Nights are the worse. I can vomit anywhere between 1-4 times a night and a couple more times through the day.
10. Stomach issues - vomit, diarrhea, soreness, pain... never really explored this properly.
11. There are probably others:)

Surprisingly enough I take a lot of pills, replacement, nausea, diarrhea. For 8 years... a lot of pills and to be quite honest I'm not getting much better.

Just maybe... I need to try something different!