Week Four Summary

This past week, my fourth, has been pretty good overall. I'm feeling a bit stronger and alert in the mornings. Every once in awhile I have the energy to go later into the evening than say a couple a weeks ago when I was bushed by 8pm or so.

This past week I finished a five-day grape fast. It went well. I was pleasantly surprised by how well I was able to maintain my activities without a major drop in my energy levels, despite eating only grapes the entire time.

Below are my stats for the week.

                            11/22/09                  11/29/09         Change

Weight            147.6 lbs.                        146.8        -0.8 lbs.

Doing the fast last week skewed the results somewhat. Accordingly, this week´s weight loss is minimal. I suspect weight loss here on in will be much slower as I reach my ideal weight.

Body Fat          30.1 lbs.                          29.4        -0.7 lbs.

Virtually all of the weight loss is fat, which is great.

BMI                    20.4                                 20.0         -0.4

The weight loss is reflected in the Body Mass Index calculation.

Body Fat           23.2%                            23.0         - 0.2%

Same as above but as a percentage.

Water                58.1%                             58.4         + 0.3%

 Up again, ever so slightly, which is great. Still having difficulty remembering to drink 8 glasses of water a day.

Bone Mass         6.5%                               6.5         No change

No more loss which is a good thing. Hopefully, we will see an increase in the weeks and months to come.

Calcitonin Count -October, 2009

Medulary carcinoma gives off a chemical called calcitonin. The calcitonin count is a rough approximation of the amount of cancer. More calcitonin means more cancer.    
                                                                                                                                                   Testing for the calcitonin count is a very expensive test, so I only get it done twice a year -once in April and again in October. A blood sample is all that is required. Because of the cost they freeze the blood samples until they have about fifty vials or so, then test them as a batch. It can take anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks for the results to arrive. Invariably, I get the results in 4 to 5 weeks. 
                                                                                                                                                   Today I got a call from my surgeon´s secretary at the University of Alberta Hospital telling me my calcitonin count had arrived. (Normal is less than 100.) My count this past October was 18,606 down from 19,994 in April, 2009, a drop of approximately 7%.    
                                                                                                                                                    More important than the actual count is the trend. The drop from April is not huge, but it´s going in the right direction. My hope is that this raw food diet will give my body the resources it needs to boost my immune system and deal with the cancer the way the human body is designed to.    
                                                                                                                                                    In addition, I got the results of test that looks at the amount of inflammation in the body. Normal is < 120. Mine is 1,339. My high acidity levels are damaging to the cells and likely the cause of the inflammation. The raw food diet is an alkanizing one and should neutralize the acidity and move my body toward a healthier Ph balance. 
                                                                                                                                                    April, 2010 is the end of my raw food diet here in Montreal and the time of my next blood work. It will be interesting to see the results.

Grape Fast -Conclusion

Yesterday, was the low point of my journey so far. Amazingly, today, Monday, November the 23rd, it´s as if it never happened. I feel surprisingly well.

It´s also the end of my grape fast. Five days in all.

Thursday the 19th, the first day of my grape fast, I  woke up feeling pretty strong physically and emotionally. After a few weeks of being perpetually hungry, I was surprised at how my craving for food was pretty much gone. It seemed like a good time to go on a fast.

The naturopath said I could eat as many grapes as I wanted; Dr. Jensen, in his book, "Bowel Care," suggests 4 pounds a day. I started with a couple of pounds and found it to be sufficient.

Friday, Saturday and the first half of Sunday went well and I was able to eat 4 pounds each day. Today, however, I have reached my fill of grapes and was only able to eat about 2 pounds. It´s clear that this is the last day for me this time around. Although they are one of my favorite fruits, I don´t even want to see grapes for the next while.

Some people go for weeks even months on just grapes. I don´t know how they do it.

Sunday Blues

I work up this morning feeling not quite on the bubble emotionally. 

It has stayed with me during the day, and feels a bit heavier as my energy levels are dropping, as they usually do toward the end of the day. The grapes which have been just fine to this point, feel heavy as well. I"m missing the comfort of food, especially comfort foods like chocolate, ice cream, a latte, hot soup, toast with jam and so on....   

It doesn't happen very often, but tonight, I'm feeling lonely. I miss my family and friends, miss going out for coffee, miss going out to the movies and the popcorn they serve, miss my bed back home, miss my stuff. Montreal is OK but people here seem unhappy, tired and/or depressed, which is pretty much where I'm at right now. 

Being on this cleanse is helping me to see where I've eaten, not so much because I was hungry physically, but to satiate my emotional and spiritual hunger. A sobering thought.

 Tonight, I'm taking solace in the fact that my bedtime is not far away and that tomorrow is a new day....

Week Three Summary

 This, my third week, has been pretty good overall. I started a grapes fast on Thursday. Until this morning that's gone well. I've woken up feeling physically strong and mentally alert and in a good space emotionally. 

I haven't been hungry at all. In fact, it's been a challenge to get through all the grapes before the end of the day. I noticed I get tired earlier in the day, about 4 or 5pm, but other than that it has been a good experience.

My sister hasn't doing as well physically, but said that after doing an enema last night she's feeling better.

Here's the low down for the past week.


                            11/15/09                   11/22/09         Change

Weight            152.6 lbs.                        147.6        -5.0 lbs.

A full 5 pounds this week, but I've been on a grape fast since Thursday, so there's a good chance at least half of that weight loss is due to the fasting.

Body Fat          32.4 lbs.                          30.1        -2.3 lbs.

The body fat is slowly going down. I can see it (or not see it) in the mirror as well.

BMI                    21.2                                 20.4         -0.8

The weight loss is reflected in the Body Mass Index calculation.

Body Fat           23.9%                            23.2         - 0.7%

Same as above but as a percentage.

Water                57.5%                             58.1       + 0.6%

 Up again, ever so slightly, which is great. I've increased my water intake a bit, but still very much a struggle to get myself to even remember to drink 8 glasses of water a day.

Bone Mass         6.6%                                6.5      -0.1%

A very slight loss. I've been walking pretty much every day or second day, doing more exercise than ever and eating healthier, so I wasn't expecting my bone mass to drop.

It may be that the scale was on the very edge of 6.5% anyway, or a slight variation in the reading either because my feet were a bit more moist or dry than previously could account for the difference. I will keep an eye on it and if it continues to drop then I will certainly look into it further.

Next weeks stats should be present a better picture as the fast will be finished by then.

Grape Fast -Start

We decided that Thursday would be the start of our grape juice fast. (Grapes speed up the cleansing process.) Tonight, we stopped in at the wholesalers where a Susie has a contact who provides her with organic food at wholesale prices. The catch is we have to buy it bulk quantities. Nott a problem today, however, because we're going to need a bunch of them.

The good news is that this is the last day for grapes until March sometime; the bad news is that the grapes are not in the greatest shape. I stay in the back and pick out the best four cases (12 bags/case) I can find while Susie goes out front to pay. She's gets them for a rock bottom $20 for about 80 pounds of organic grapes. We feel delighted with the great deal. At least until we get home.

It turns out there's a bit of mold in every bag. Not a lot and if you were eating a handful here and there not a problem. Just wash and dry. Thing is we're going to be eating  about 4  pounds a day. With that kind of quantity there's no way we can be eating the grapes without a thorough cleaning.

Out comes the fruit and vegetable soap. Rinse. Wipe down each grape and inspect for bits of mold, etc. Cut off the offending bits. Bag and refrigerate.

Take my word for it.  Cleaning 80 pounds of grapes one at a time is a monumental job! I love grapes, but I must say I was sick and tired of looking at them, and hadn't even started eating them yet!

Donut Daze

I went to my office, Tim Hortons, again today. I set up shop at my usual table, reading glasses, a couple of books and a cup of mint tea. Actually, it was green tea. It seems there's been a run on mint tea lately, so there was none available.

There I am minding my own business, reading Eckhart Tolle's latest, and highly recommended book, A New Earth. In walks a middle aged lady. She sits down next to me purse in one hand and a tray in the other. She settles down. She starts in on her coffee and first pastry  -a scrumptious looking, chocolate smothered, piece with a silky-smooth, cream-filled center.

In a Tim Hortons restaurant that's an every day occurence, but this wasn't just any day. This was the 17th day of my raw food diet! I was hungry, irritable, suffering withdrawls from sugar and caffeine and God knows what else. Didn't she know better than to sit right next to me.

Her enthusiam knew no bounds. She wrapped her lips around that pastry like she was kissing some long, lost lover. Ahhhhh!!! Get me out of here.

I wanted to tell her that all the sugar was wreaking havoc with her insulin levels, the food coloring was overloading her liver, the white flour was being transformed into a sticky paste that would end up lining the walls of her intestines, interfering with food absorption. All of this being washed down with a cup of caffeine which was increasing her blood pressure. This was a serious situation. What to do?

I decided that I would save her from this nutritional disaster by offering to eat the remaining pastry. Unfortunately, my French is still pretty rusty and I couldn't get the words out in time.

I continue to be amazed at the power that food has over me. I'm sure I'm not alone. I'd love to hear your favourite food story. Just hit the comment link below.....

Fa So La

Last week I accompanied my sister to her music lessons. It was interesting to just sit and watch. She's very good and learns fast.

As I was sitting there watching and listening, there was this slight shift in perception -I was still in the room, but the sunlight shining in the room seemed to take on a mystical quality, the room became more cozy, the notes more melodious. It was as if the beauty of the music was opening up a space in my heart.

The following week....

I just got back from my first lesson with my sister's instructor, Michel. Very interesting. He spent about 10 minutes showing me the notes and how to move my fingers to hit the various keys. (I didn't realize there was a proper way.) Then we went right into playing major chords: C, D sharp, E sharp, F and G, all in the space of 45 minutes.

His approach is to get the student playing as soon as possible and get them hooked. The theory will come later. Next week we start on a tune of some kind. This could be a lot of fun....

Week Two Summary

 Here I am at the conclusion of Week Two. I'm glad I've made it, but there isn't the same sense of celebration as last week.

Overall the week went well, but yesterday and today I've been struggling. I'm tired. I ache. My back is bothering me, something I've (thankfully) never experienced before. There' a kind of brain fog that makes thinking difficult.

Yesterday it was raining hard but went out for a walk anyway. Got to Tim Hortons pretty much soaked, and cold. I really wanted a bowl of hot soup and a cuppa coffee to warm up. It really got on my nerves that I couldn't. I settled for a cup of mint tea and some grapes I brought along, but it wasn't the same, not by a long shot. It's funny -or not so funny- how some things, even small things like not getting to eat soup, can get on a person's nerves.

I feel more irritable, short tempered, out of sorts.  I've gone from about 8 hours sleep a night when I first arrived to about 11 hours recently. Even so I can feel myself getting tired around 5 or 6 p.m.

Quite frankly I'm tired of the pills and potions, the restricted diet. I just want to sink my teeth into something decadent. A latte would be nice, too.

                         11/05/09                  11/15/09       Change

Weight            157.2 lbs.                        152.6        -4.6 lbs.

Almost five pounds is great. Significant without losing weight too fast.

Body Fat          35.7 lbs.                          32.4        -3.3 lbs.

That the large majority of the weight loss is fat is another good sign.

BMI                    22.6                                 21.2         -1.4

The weight loss is reflected in the Body Mass Index.

Body Fat           24.6%                            23.9         - 0.7

Same as above but as a percentage.

Water                56.5%                             57.5       + 1.2%

 Up slightly which is great. Drinking sufficient water has always been an issue, and there hasn't been much of a change in behaviour as yet. The modest increase is most likely because of the water content of the vegetables I've been eating.

Bone Mass         6.6%                                6.6      No change.

Bone mass takes time to modify.

All the indicators are going in the right direction, so that's encouraging. Not that any of these have much to do with the cancer per se. Still it's good to see some results for my efforts.

I planning on doing a 3-day grape fast, possibly longer. That should be interesting....

Do Re Me....

When I first signed on for this raw food experience, I figured I´d be cleansing, learning what foods to eat, maybe get into a little "cooking." Singing didn´t even cross my mind.

I´ve only been here a little over two weeks and I find myself enrolled in a voice class. How is the world did that happen? 

It turns out that my sister is taking singing lessons. While I was looking through some of her material I came across a promotional piece from her school, Centre Option-Voix. It appealed to me on some level, so I asked my sister about her lessons. She was quite impressed with their work.

A few days later I had an introductory appointment with Daniel, the instructor. It was in interesting class. He put my body in a variety of awkward positions and had me sing "yeh, yee, you, yaa" over and over again. It sounds odd, but it felt right, in large part due to both the instructor's passion for his work and his compassion for the student.

Their wholistic approach resonates with me. I quote from their material which speaks of their approach.

"Beyond breathing, there is the deep breath, source of life. The Optio-Voix method uses specific, tailor-made exercises to help you experience the increased power of breath and sound....

The Option-Voix method also helps participants find and maintain a presence to themselves, a balancing and centering weight (strength in the hara) which gives birth to a truer posture and leads to real comfort.

A global undertaking of mind, body and soul harmonization, source of an increasing and accessible well-being. The voice then becomes the tool for our reconstruction and the living witness of our development."

Given that my cancer is located in the throat, one could argue that a blockage of energy in that chakra may have contributed to the cancer. (Certainly expressing myself in my family of origin was an issue.)

At worst, I will be able to sing "Happy Birthday" without feeling embarrased; At best, singing lessons may be -strangely enough- a significant part of my healing process....

Week One Summary

Made it. Seven days! A whole week! Feels good to look back and know that I stuck with it.

The first day, (See "Day One") was a difficult day, especially physically. Interestingly, the physical aches and pains that were so "in my face" at the time cleared up almost over night. It turns out, the physical challenge morphed into a psychological one.

Every Dunkin Donuts, Harveys and McDonalds sign seems bigger and brighter than I remember them. Even though I rarely frequent these places, they seem to jump out of the background and wave at me, inviting me to come in for a bite, or a cup of coffee.

Food is a very powerful symbol of so many social gatherings and connections:

• be it a babe nursing at their mother´s breast,
• a family picnic with hot dogs and piping hot corn on the cob,
• a birthday party with cake and ice cream,
• pizza with the office staff on a Friday afternoon,
• a cold brewski with the boys after the game,
• a cup of coffee with a good friend,
• celebrating a special event with a steak dinner and all the trimmings,
• chicken noodle soup when you´re not feeling your best.

Food, especially home-cooked food, is paired with comfort, good times, friendships, celebrations and so on.

Eating raw means that a lot of the time, I´m eating on my own, or watching others eat all those foods that are associated with the good times mentioned above. I feel left out and alone. (Thankfully my sister is accompanying me, but she doesn´t always eat at the same time.)

I still feel hungry from time to time, but that is remedied easily enough. The psychological withdrawl from cooked food and all it stands for has -and continues to be- the biggest challenge.

Baseline Stats

Today, I took my measurements.
Chest     40 inches
Waist     37 inches

The Chest-to-Waist ratio should be a minimum of 1.0. At 1.08 I´m doing OK, but like most guys my age, it would be nice to move a couple of inches from my waist to my chest. A chest measurement of 42 and a waist of 35 would give me a much better ratio of 1.20.

I also picked up an electronic scale to keep track of my progress. Four days into my program here´s where I´m at:
Weight            157.2 lbs.
(A drop of about 6 pounds since I left Edmonton 10 days ago.)

Body Fat          35.7 lbs.
(Tracking body fat in pounds makes it easier to see one´s progress.)

BMI                    22.6    
(Body Mass Index)

Body Fat           24.6%

Water                56.5%

Bone Mass         6.6%  (On the very low end of the range for my age.)

All of these values fall within the normal range (for my age group) according to the information provided by Weight Watchers. It appears I´m normal. 

Not everyone would agree, but here´s proof that I am. (smile)

Day One

Well here it is. Day One of a 3 to 6 month program dedicated to eating only raw food. I´ve spent the last week, getting ready, eating healthier, eating more raw food than I normally would.

At the close of the first day it´s been a good news, bad news kinda day. The good news is that the food has been all organic, raw and tasty. Unfortunately, it already feels boring -tasty but boring. I miss the condiments, I miss the coffee (see previous post), I miss whatever everybody else is eating. Stuff I wouldn´t normally eat, looks soooo inviting.

I´ve started taking the drops the naturopath prescribed to assist in the cleansing. The bad news is that they taste awful. Worse yet, I feel awful. I feel lousy like I´ve go the flu, my body aches, my head feels like it´s in a fog, I´m thinking this is the first day. How am I going to hang in there for another 179?

Tim Hortons

Over the years, I´ve gotten into the habit of setting Sunday afternoons aside for reading and reflection. I head out looking for a coffee shop where I can grab a cuppa joe and read the paper or a favourite book.

This Sunday afternoon while exploring my new neighborhood here in Montreal,  I came across an old friend -a Tim Hortons (TH). Long before Starbucks and the whole upscale coffee scene, THs was a familiar hangout, a place I could get out of my room and cram for an exam, or meet a friend for coffee and a chat.

Tim and I go way back. Over the years, I´ve stopped in at a Tim Hortons in the majority of Edmonton´s 83 stores, and in every major city in every province, except Newfoundland.

Today, I set up shop with a newspaper and a couple of books. I order my usual -medium coffee with two creams and an oatmeal, raisin cookie. Ahhh, the good life.... As I sit down to my weekly ritual I realize this staple in my diet is about to disappear. Gone forever! I´m surprised at how strong my reaction is.

A cuppa coffee and the newspaper are permanently paired in my mind. Like Pavlov, when I buy the paper, I can imagine the smell of a freshly brewed cup of coffee; when I buy a coffee, I start looking for the paper to read. What will I do without my daily "fix"?

I know they have herbal teas, but I can´t bear to look today....

How about you? I´d be interested in your experience or story around letting go of a favourite food.