SteveOH

Feelings and Thoughts

Ohh am I feeling it.  Headache, body aches, my throat is soar, I’m tired and fatigued, and I’m cranky!  I woke up in the middle of the night because my throat was hurting (weird).  I do want to say that last night’s dinner (chicken leg and salad) tasted AMAZING.  I never realized how much I liked food, haha.

One note is that my urine is almost crystal clear today (it was quite yellow yesterday).

Resources and Tips

Read that.  You will feel sick, but you won’t be sick.  Once you get sick it has good tips on how to handle it since you’re in a delicate situation.  I’m not sick yet, but it sure feels like I’m fighting something.

Goals

• DeTox: so far so good
• Lose body fat (a plus but not required): so far I’ve lost 2 lbs, which is obviously water weight.
• Start the new year more disciplined: working on it
• Get over this constant fatigue: Funny thing is that I feel more fatigued today than before.  But, as Joyce keeps telling me, I’ll feel better for longer afterwards.
• Learn good habits: I’m learning!
• Sleep 8.5 hours: I’m going to sleep at the right time, but I can’t stay asleep.  I’m going to have some juice before I got to sleep (so I don’t wake up in the middle of the night hungry) and maybe some nighttime tea.

Supplementation

My supplements are right on track.  The only thing I’ve messed up on was only drinking 6 pills of CLA for each dose (as opposed to my planned 10).  I had to add another dose of 8 pills to make up the difference before my cardio.

Diet

Today’s menu:

1. 8 AM: Breakfast: juice
2. 9AM: Detox Tea
3. 10 AM: Mid-morning: protein shake
4. 12 PM: Lunch: juice
5. 3PM: Detox Tea
6. 4PM: Mid-afternoon: protein shake
7. 8PM: Dinner: food

Today’s recipe (link) was kiwi, apple, cucumber, spinach, celery and carrot.  I used the Glowing GREEN Smoothie for inspiration.  I made it in the juicer as I wasn’t about to dirty up another appliance.  It was a little on the light side (e.g. I didn’t feel full) so I’m going to use more spinach and maybe some more celery.

Tonight is my last supper until this thing is over.  Chicken breast and yuca, here I come!

Exercise

Tonight is cardio night, and I feel like death.  I’m going to do some low intensity (maybe some treadmill walking or light elliptical) to maintain to the plan and get my butt moving.  I’ll post after to let you know how it goes.

Edit: So I didn’t make it to the gym today.  Between a work deadline, feeling like crap, and having to juice for tomorrow, there just wasn’t time.  I think I might hold off on the gym until I feel better, because it really feels like I’m about to get sick (that icky feeling that you feel like your going to feel like crap, but don’t yet).

This will serve as my comprehensive post and my Day -2 post, since after today everything will be laid out and should be smooth sailing on auto-pilot.

I am 2 days out from my juice detox, which will commence on Wed, Feb 1 and go until Fri, Feb 10.  between today and tomorrow I will replace a meal with juice to slowly work my way into the detox.  For instance, today I replaced breakfast and my afternoon snack (around 3 PM) with Carrot – Spinach – Apple – Celery – juice (recipe). [see edit at the end regarding timeline, etc]

Feelings and Thoughts

I had a tough night of sleep last night, so today’s comments are going to be skewed.  Either way, today I started the preparation for the detox, so I’m excited.  Made juice last night (first time) and it was super easy.  Almost fun.  Cleanup wasn’t a big deal either, just have to make sure to clean the mesh screen really good with the included nylon brush.  Then rinse everything else with soap and water, and you’re done.

I brought the juice to work without an issue.  I don’t feel anything yet, other than being really exhausted (eyes burning, etc).  I do have a small nagging headache that I’m pretty sure is a combination of not sleeping well and not eating breakfast.  I sure hope I don’t have this headache throughout, or these posts are going to be very cranky.

Hopefully with a good night’s sleep and some good juice tomorrow, I should feel like 2.34 million bucks.

Resources and Tips

So the first tip I have is when trying to juice leaf vegetables in a centrifugal juicer, you must ball up the leaves really tight and use another vegetable to push it into the cuter.  Otherwise, your leaves are going to fly around (there’s a lot of moving air in there) and won’t make it in your juice.

Useful sites:

• http://www.juicefasting.org/detoxification.htm
• http://www.livestrong.com/article/435213-how-to-keep-slim-healthy-young-with-juice-fasting/
• http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/detox-diets-purging-myths
• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/randy13.htm

Goals

The goals for this detox are many.  I’m not a fad dieter and typically wouldn’t try a ‘diet’ unless there’s some research or medicine backing it.  I’m more of a healthy and consistent person.  I do know, however, that I don’t eat anywhere near as well as I should (I eat for results), so my high protein and low carb and fat diet is limiting the nutrients I get.  I’ve been eating like this for 15 years and want to eat a results-oriented but more natural and healthy diet.  This is how I’m going to dive right in.  Furthermore, recent health issues within my family have made me more conscious to the needs of my body, mind and soul, so this is my first step in the right direction.

I have outlined my overall goals and motivation for taking on this endeavor:

• Increase consumption of raw vegetables in my diet (especially post detox)
• Detox all the crap I know I have in my body
• Take a break from my supplementation regime to allow for better absorption post detox
• Burn some fat and try to retain as much (lean body mass) LBM as possible.  I’m shooting to get lose around 3% body fat.
• Start the new year more disciplined, goal oriented and on the right track
• Get over this constant fatigue that I’ve been dealing with for awhile (and abusing caffeine and other supplements as a result)
• Dive in and then grow into good habits that I can share with my family
• Sleep 8.5 hours a night and continue doing so.  I have the bad habit of forcing myself to stay awake for some strange reason.

Supplementation

I have stopped all my performance supplements listed below for the detox.  What I am going to take is listed below, with some rationale as to why and dosage information.  I don’t endorse any of these, I just want you to see what I’m doing and why.  Everything listed below is what I take because I have done my research, am informed with their contents and their interaction with my body, and consult with my doctor regularly.  You should do the same before taking any type of supplementation.

• Yogi DeTox Tea (2 bags twice daily): This tea is great for liver and kidney health.  It has some of those herbs and extracts that I can’t seem to find to put in my juices.  I’ve used this tea in the past and have experienced clearer skin and overall higher well being.
• Gaia Herbs Adrenal Health (2 pills twice daily): Adrenal support.  I’m pretty sure I’m on my way to adrenal fatigue, if I don’t already have it.  So I’m combining this supplement with the detox (and continue until I finish the bottle) to get my adrenal glands back up to where they need to be.
• Gaia Herbs Thyroid Support (1 pill twice daily): A few months ago my doctor said my thyroid was almost near the low-end, so I’m going to give it some nourishment just in case.  I really like these products because they’re all organic and natural (nothing synthetic).
• Dymatize Elite Gourmet Protein Powder (1 scoop twice daily): This is the protein I take on a regular basis to maintain my muscle mass.  As you know, vegetables don’t have nearly as much protein as meat unless you 1) eat very large quantities, 2) eat soy (I don’t), or 3) eat nuts (too high in fat and the fat / protein ratio isn’t great).  With that said, I’ll be drinking one shake in the mid-morning, and one in the evening before my workouts.  Your body uses carbs (muscle glycogen then your liver stores) as fuel first, then protein, then fat during workouts, and I don’t want to fuel my workouts with my muscles.
• PrimaForce Max CLA (10 pills twice daily): That comes out to 14g of CLA daily, which should increase my blood levels of saturated fats (i.e. causes my body to release fat from my cells to utilize as fuel and energy) and they be used as fuel themselves.  I use this regularly in my supplement regime and have had great results (but at a lower dose of 6 pills twice daily).
• trunature Liver Health Complex (2 pills twice daily): Me and my liver have a love / hate relationship.  I love to kill it with alcohol, and it hates when I do it.  So I’m taking this supplement in addition to the detox tea to allow my liver to get in shape.  I’m also significantly reducing my alcohol consumption throughout this process.
• A multivitamin
• Other vitamin and minerals for general health (i.e. vitamin C, E, calcium, etc).

Diet

Fasting is broken up into 3 phases where you 1) slowly reduce food and prepare the body for the juice, 2) the juice fast, and 3) the recovery period where you reintroduce food into your diet.  Some people have suggested reducing certain types of food during the prep, and simultaneously increasing juice consumption (reference link).  I like the idea, but it doesn’t seem practical, as you’re cutting out foods that may only work with others that have not (i.e. remove meats (turkey) while maintaining grains (bread) – that’s a gross sandwich).  So what I’m doing is a hybrid approach where I replace a meal with juice over the next 3 days.

I eat at least 5 times a day, in some way, shape or form.  Here’s a quick outline:

1. 8 AM: Breakfast: eggs, whole wheat bread, ham
2. 10 AM: Mid-morning: protein bar or fruit
3. 12 PM: Lunch: meat (chicken, steak or pork) and a vegetable (usually corn, green beans, tomatoes or sweet peas)
4. 4PM: Mid-afternoon: protein shake or protein bar
5. 8PM: Dinner: meat and vegetable, maybe some starch

 Day -2: Replace Breakfast and Mid-Afternoon with juice.  Eat food for mid-morning, lunch and dinner.

1. 8 AM: Breakfast: juice
2. 10 AM: Mid-morning: food
3. 12 PM: Lunch: food
4. 4PM: Mid-afternoon: protein shake
5. 8PM: Dinner: food

Day -1: Replace mid-morning and lunch with juice

1. 8 AM: Breakfast: juice
2. 10 AM: Mid-morning: protein shake
3. 12 PM: Lunch: juice
4. 4PM: Mid-afternoon: protein shake
5. 8PM: Dinner: food

Day 1-10: Replace dinner and all food consumption with juice

1. 8 AM: Breakfast: juice
2. 10 AM: Mid-morning: protein shake
3. 12 PM: Lunch: juice
4. 4PM: Mid-afternoon: protein shake
5. 8PM: Dinner: juice

Day 11+: Slowly introduce food back into your diet

I haven’t yet decided if I will start reintroducing food on day 8 through day 10, or complete up to day 10 with juice and utilize a slower re-introduction process for days 11 – 20.  I have to do a little more research on this.

I really like this plan because of the convenience.  I can juice once per day (in the evening), drink that juice for dinner and then pack up the rest for my 2 juices the next day.  The protein shakes are super easy as well, since it’s just powder that you add water to.

Exercise

Physical activity is extremely important to a healthy life style, and a juice detox is no different.  My typical workout regime consists of heavy weights 2 days and cardio 3 days a week.  Typically, cardio Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with weights on Saturday and Sunday (more time available on the weekend).  I’m going to keep that routine, but instead of lifting for mass / muscular growth, which is probably going to be impossible to sustain at this caloric intake level, I’m going to utilize endurance rep ranges (15 – 25 reps) (reference link).  That way I’ll remind my muscles that they’re there, but not destroy them and then leave them with no nutrients to rebuild (since this detox is low protein).

Edit: As it turns out, I had it wrong.  The time that you reduce food is considered part of the detox phase.  That is, the moment you start reducing your food and increasing your juice, you are detoxing, and thus, if you do that for 3 days and then just juice for 10 days, you’re actually detoxing for 13 days.

So I’ve renumbered today as Day 1 and adjusted my timetable.  Now the 10 day juice detox will be Jan 30 – Feb 8, with the reintroduction of food more or less ending on Feb 12 (4 days).

Equipment:

In preparation for my juice detox I purchased the Breville BJE200XL 700-Watt Compact Juice Fountain which has great reviews, is easy to clean, and had a descent price point.  I wanted something that will extract as much juice as possible without breaking the bank, and this seems to fit the bill.  Other machines are said to be more efficient (masticating juicers by Omega, etc) but they are at least 2x more expensive than this model.  Either way, I think its a good start for the detox and for daily use thereafter.

Books and Resources:

I purchased the following books to assist me in my journey of detoxing and consuming the recommended amount of vegetables and fruits on a daily basis:

The Big Book of Juices: More Than 400 Natural Blends for Health and Vitality Every Day 

• Great recipes for daily use and to add some variety for the detox

The Top 100 Juices: 100 Juices to Turbo-Charge Your Body with Vitamins and Minerals (The Top 100 Recipes Series)

• Same as above

The Juice Lady’s Turbo Diet: Lose ten pounds in ten days-the healthy way! 

• This book provides a step-by-step for the 10 day detox.  It hasn’t arrived yet, but I’ll update this post once it does.

Useful Web Resources:

• Juice Fast : General Information
• Learn all about the detox diet
• Juice Fast : Who should do it, how to do it, and what it entails

(Added 2.1.2012 from Day 3)

So I’ve decided to do a 10 day juice detox, which entails drinking vegetable and fruit juices only for 10 days.  There’s more to it than that, which I will outline later, as well as some modifications I’m going to make to suit my personal needs and goals.  I intend to post once a day for the entire duration of the cleanse, which I am planning for the entire month of Feb (more details to come).  I will also outline my motivation (prior to commencing), my supplies and diet plan, supplementation, my goals and my expectations throughout.

I will post once a day with all of the information, outlined in the following sections (below).  The only deviation from this will be the beginning and end comprehensive posts, any recipes I think may be helpful, supplement write ups and reviews, and anything that is not specifically juice detox oriented.

Post Sections and their descriptions:

Feelings and Thoughts

This section will contain my thoughts and feelings about the process, possible improvements, how its affecting my daily life, etc.  This should give the reader an idea of what it takes to get through it (from my research and prior experience I know it’s going to be quite difficult) and perhaps some tips that I can come up with.

Resources and Tips

This section will contain resources that I am utilizing on that particular day, that is, the books (and recipes), juicers and equipment, websites, blog posts, etc.  Further, I’ll include any tips that I discover or think up on a daily basis.  At the conclusion of the detox I will aggregate all the tips, resources and supplies for a comprehensive list.  That way someone can work backwards for the “best” preparation.

Goal Progress

At the beginning of the detox I will outline some of my goals and the corresponding issues / problems that these goals should solve (if applicable).  For instance, I intend on reducing my body fat and trying to maintain as much lean body mass (LBM) as possible, so I’ll be evaluating that frequently to see how it progresses.  (I know a lot of bodybuilders are interested to see just how much muscle they’d lose on this diet / detox, so hopefully this can shed some light on the subject).

Supplementation

Most instructions for the detox omit or exclude supplementation (i.e. vitamins, minerals, performance supplements, etc) for one reason or another.  I’m going to include the ones that I take and their rationale.

Diet

What I eat, drink, etc will go here.  I’m typically add the recipes in a separate post.  So if you want to see progress, you come here, if you want to get a recipe, you can just go directly to that page.  I will also include the removal and addition of foods at the beginning and end of the process.

Exercise

I work out between 3 – 6 times a week (depending on the week) and I don’t intend on stopping while fasting.  But I will definitely change the manner and frequency of my workouts to adjust to the added strain.  All those details go here.

I will be as specific as possible utilizing psuedo-scientific methods so that anyone (including myself) can duplicate the experience, improve upon it, or deviate from it according to their personal needs.

This is an updated post to the previous post regarding the READ ONLY / WRITE PROTECTED VOLUMES IN SERVER 2008.

So the work-around presented in the previous post will get you by, but it’s not a solution.  I set up a script to run the diskpart script every hour, and still, I found that it was almost happening randomly. I noticed that it only happened on my Disk 2 which was on the built-in SATA controller using the JMircron chipset.  Interesting.  After I installed the new RAID array (here) I noticed that now my system drive was now listed as Drive 2, and that in fact it was being listed as read-only and my script no longer worked.  What a pain in the butt.  It was especially annoying since SQL Server and IIS would start failing since they couldn’t write to the system drive.  What a mess.

At this point you have to step back and consider the situation.  I just upgraded some hardware and the situation changed, but after numerous software changes the issue remained.  So what’s hardware related but lives in software such that it can tell the OS that a disk is read only?  The answer is, a driver.

Then began my quest in searching for a driver issues with the JMicron chipset.  Low and behold, it’s a known issue.  Once I installed an updated the driver, the issue that would bring my server to a halt VANISHED.

Link to JMb36X Windows Driver.

Make sure you research your set-up first before installing a random driver.  You’ll only make a bad situation worse.

I purchased 2 WDC WD20EARS-00M drives and raided them in a RAID 0 configuration (124 KB Stripe) for performance of non-crucial operations.  Meaning, anything I have on there I can live with losing OR have backed up at least twice elsewhere.  This includes virtual machines, movies and music.  Anyway, I wanted to post these benchmarks using HD Tach as there have been a ton of reports that these drives are no good in RAID configurations.  They’re probably true, especially since these drives have variable spin rates, which fluctuate independent of each other and can pose problems.

When I first set them up I noticed HUGE fluctuations and large differences in transfer speeds.  From 200+ MB/s to ~80 MB/s.  I could not duplicate them (not yet at least) but the HD Tach results are promising.  Let’s see how this works out.  I will update if I have any problems.

The first 3 images are the RAID configuration, with the last being a single drive.

NOTE: I was unable to utilize HD Tune Pro 3.5 to test the raid configuration as it only showed the drives at 2199 GB and reported read speeds of 12460.9 MB/s. There’s obviously something wrong there, probably caching on the RAID controller and within Windows Server 2008, and the fact it’s over 2TB.

UPDATE: I upgraded to HD Tune Pro 3.6 and it is able to benchmark the configuration.  It shows that performance ranges from 250 MB/s to 80 MB/s at the end of the drives.  Which is great, it’s roughly twice the performance of a single drive, which is what we expected.  I also posted the Random Access benchmarks for the single and raided drives.  You can tell which is which by the drop down list in the top left hand corner of HD Tune Pro.

The low IOPS on the RAID configuration shows that these drives are not intended for high I/O environments, such as a web server or SQL Server.  They do, however, work just fine for low – medium I/O file servers as the good sequential read speeds are perfect for that kind of work.

I will be doing this configuration on my test machine very soon since my previous guide (here) is a bit outdated.  For now you can follow the previous instructions and modify them per the instructions below:

From SuperUser:

I’ve done it but not exactly like in your link, because of some kind of problem (bug?) in Grub2 (tutorial is with grub “1″ but I’ve Grub2), specifically in this

title Windows Vista/Longhorn
rootnoverify (hd0,0) makeactive
chainloader (hd0,1)/truecrypt.mbr
boot

The problem is known and posted on many forums.

My solution was:

1. Encrypt Windows7 system partition using truecrypt, selecting Single boot and overwriting Grub2 loader with truecrypt loader
2. Boot Debian from Rescue CD and install grub2 bootloader NOT on MBR but on /dev/sda3 which is Debian / partition (so truecrypt loader was not overrided)

Now while booting truecrypt bootmenu is shown and if I’d access Win7 I’m entering password, but if I’d enter debian (via Grub2) I hit esc key and then truecrypt loader is searching all other partitions for boot loader and finding Grub2 which resides on /dev/sda3 and load system properly.

I think its the best way to do this for now (until sb find resolution for Grub2 to read /boot/truecrypt.mbr without errors).

So for the longest time I’ve been drinking beer while studying.  I’d drink until I felt a little buzz and then space out the beers to try and maintain my productivity and creativity while either programming for work or studying for school.  It turns out, I had rediscovered an already well-known phenomenon called the Ballmer’s peak.  Go figure… at least I’m justified in my drinking!

Borrowed from xkcd.