You’ve likely watched and/or listened to me on webinars, interviews, podcasts, worked with me as a client, attended a class or workshop, and/or a presentation at some sort of event. Maybe not. Maybe you have no idea who I am… If you haven’t noticed, however, I haven’t been very active on the Rebel Health Tribe blog thus far. I’ve written exactly one article (which hasn’t even been posted yet – coming soon!), haven’t posted any recipes, or created any videos. Why not? Well… I could throw about a thousand excuses at you – but instead, I’ll just come out and admit that I’ve allowed myself to become too busy for my own good. We tend to glorify being busy in our society, and I’ve found myself being guilty of that – pretty much since starting my own business in 2008. Those of us in this line of work (health/wellness practitioners, authors, bloggers, etc…) tend to spend countless hours every day helping other people (in some way or another) to improve their quality of life, and often neglect our own in the process. In addition to all the do-gooding, we tend to spend an inordinate amount of time putzing around on social media, browsing the Internet, looking at pictures of puppies and other cute animals (goats), messaging back and forth with friends, and other non-essential activities. Technically, I can only speak for myself here, but I’m guessing that I’m not alone in these unproductive habits. We also spend (at least those of us who are also entrepreneurs) pretty much every waking moment of every day checking emails, social media, writing, typing, on the phone, or something else work-related. If we’re not doing something work related, we’re probably talking about work. (My apologies to all the spouses, partners, and significant others of my colleagues. We’re sorry, collectively.) We go to sleep thinking of the next day’s to-do list, and that same to-do list pops in our head the instant we wake up. Or… at 3am. In which case, we may scramble to the nearest notebook to write down whatever brilliant idea (sometimes) the Universe just couldn’t wait until morning to give us. Over the last year, while living in a literal paradise (Ocean Beach, San Diego, California, USA) – I’ve allowed myself to neglect the most important person in the world. Me. I’ve gotten away from many self-care habits. I’ve allowed a nagging injury to become worse and derail my training/fitness routine. I’ve spent an embarrassingly little amount of time taking advantage of this amazing place where I now live. I’ve slipped back into some old habits of using food as a coping mechanism for stress, and I have avoided dealing with a chronic health concern (high iron/hemochromatosis) due to my completely irrational fear of needles/blood draws/donating blood. I’ve also allowed my lack of efficiency, use of “busy = productive = self-worth” as a method of coping with, and avoiding, underlying mental, emotional, and spiritual issues that I still carry after a couple years of very significant growth and healing. I spend too much time being busy, and not enough time living life, spending time with my wife (I am sorry, Mira), talking with my family, enjoying the outdoors, or taking care of myself. I’ve gained some of the weight back that I had lost after changing my life radically several years ago. My chronic shoulder pain/injury now prevents me from swimming, surfing, boxing, and most weight-lifting and kettlebell training. (All of which are my preferred forms of exercise) I have a chronically itchy (understatement) scalp due (I believe) to a yeast issue that is linked to my excess iron. (Yeast loves iron) I should probably get to the point… When working with an individual to help them make positive, lasting changes to their diet and lifestyle, we will encourage them to seek a community of support, whether that be family, friends, a local group of some sort, or even online-based groups, message boards, and forums. This will provide them with accountability, encouragement, advice, and motivation – among other positive benefits. That’s precisely what I’m doing here. I’ve decided to make some significant changes to my day-to-day life, to optimize my diet, practice daily self-care, work more efficiently and effectively so that I have more free time to spend with the people I care about, doing the things I enjoy doing, and living this amazing life I’ve been given to the fullest. And I’ve decided to share this entire journey with you. Our Tribe. Think of it like Rebel Health Tribe Reality TV. Or… Reality Blog. Or something like that…

NOTE: This plan is based on what I feel is the best that I can possibly do at this time. This is my ideal. This isn’t your ideal, or any other person’s ideal. We’re all in a different place. If just getting to bed before 11pm and getting out in the Sun in the morning is the best you can do, then that’s awesome for you. Please don’t judge yourself compared to what I’m going to be doing!

---

Introducing ’10 Weeks to Superhuman’ My wife and I are going to Nicaragua for 2 weeks, and we leave on February 16th, 2016. This will be our honeymoon (we got married in September, 2015), as well as an advanced scouting mission for possible relocation and/or location of a potential Rebel Health Tribe retreat location. That is 10 weeks from today. We teach people to set bold, yet achievable, goals – and to share those goals with someone close to them. Either a family member, a friend, or workout partner, or, in this case, several thousand of my closest friends. In the next 10 Weeks, I am going to accomplish the following Goals:

• Heal shoulder injury – 100% pain-free
• Get back in the water (swim/surf)
• Increase work productivity by 30% while spending 30% less time working
• Return to boxing, kettlebells, and/or weight training
• Donate blood & reduce my iron stores (ferritin) by half
• Get rid of chronic yeast/scalp issue
• Lose 20 lbs. (least important of goals – this will be a side effect of everything I’m doing)

These are the action steps I will be taking to accomplish these stated goals: Diet/Nutrition

• Organic Produce. Organic, local, and fresh is possibly for around 90% of foods
• 100% Gluten-Free & 98% Dairy-Free (Ghee)
• No Processed/Junk Foods
• No Restaurant Food. (Aside from a couple times when family will be visiting and/or business meetings/lunches)
• Grass-fed, Pastured, and Wild-Caught Animal Foods
• Intermittent Fasting* – I will be eating (most of the time) all of my food for the day between 11:30am and 8:30pm, a 9-hour window.
• At least 128 oz. of clean water daily. (We have a 3-stage filter feeding into an Enagic Ionizer for drinking water)
• Minimal Grains – probably only organic white rice and homemade organic corn tortillas (we do fine with those grains, personally)
• Occasional use of Nutritional Shakes

* – I do NOT recommend Intermittent Fasting for those with hormonal (adrenal/thyroid/HP Axis) issues, under high stress loads, or with blood sugar dysfunction. (Most of the population at this point) This is NOT a blanket endorsement of this practice. Self-Care / Lifestyle Practices

• Daily Mindfulness Practice (Meditation and/or HeartMath)
• 20 Minutes of Sun Exposure (walk with Marley the Dog)
• Oil Pulling & Dry Brushing
• Journal
• Visualization Exercise / Subconscious Reprogramming
• Qigong Practice
• 8+ Hours of Sleep
• No Electronics/Bright Lights within 90 Minutes of Sleep (Use orange Uvex glasses if necessary)
• Rebounder
• Coloring Mandalas
• Cold Showers (at least the last few minutes of my showers) & Cold Ocean Swimming (if I get brave enough)
• Read/Learn Every Day
• Coffee Enemas

Shoulder Healing

• Daily Rehab Exercises & Stretches
• Chiropractic Care w/ Myofascial Bodywork & Cupping (Maybe some cold laser therapy)
• Acupuncture
• Clinical/Therapeutic Massage

Exercise

• Jogging (1x/week – Appx. 2 miles)
• Beach Sprints (1x/week)
• Home Workout (Core & Lower Body Focus)
• Yoga
• Hiking
• Walking 30+ Minutes/Day
• AFTER SHOULDER IS HEALED: Boxing, Kettlebell Training, Weights/Strength Training

Increased Productivity

• No Email/Phone until 8:00am (After morning routine)
• 90-Minute Focused Work Blocks (vs. doing 948 things at once)
• 15-Minute Breaks Between Blocks
• Realistic Daily Agenda / To-Do List

Supplements* Supplements are useful in the case of deficiencies, struggling organs/systems, when dealing with infections/overgrowths, managing symptoms while working on root causes, and to speed overall healing. They do not compensate, or override an unhealthy diet or lifestyle. Many of these products, I’ve had in my cabinet for a while (I try everything I recommend, for the most part) and figured I’ll put them to good use. Others I’ve specifically acquired for this endeavor.

NOTE: THIS IS NOT A BLANKET SUPPLEMENT PROTOCOL RECOMMENDATION FOR YOU. I am a professional, and have done hundreds of hours of research on nutritional supplements. (Don’t try this at home)

This is a general list. I will mention more specific products/brands, etc… in the daily posts.

• MegasporeBiotic
• Digestive Enzyme/HCL Combo
• Anti-Fungal/Anti-Microbial (temporary – for yeast)
• Adrenal Support (if needed)
• Vitamin K2
• Desiccated Liver
• Curcumin/Turmeric-based Combo Anti-Inflammatory
• Proteolytic Enzymes
• CBD Oil (Ghee & Spray)
• Colostrum-based Product
• Lactoferrin (binds to excess iron)
• Individual Vitamins/Minerals per HTMA Results

Daily Posts So what will these posts consist of? Well, not every day will be the same, but most days will include most of the following:

• Daily-Routine (time spent doing X, Y, Z, food prep, time management, etc…)
• Meals & Recipes
• Photos & Videos (as soon as I figure out how to format them without screwing up the entire post!)
• Exercise/Movement
• Notes/Journal – Challenges & Successes
• Specific Products and/or Services I recommend and/or utilize

---

Now that I’ve outlined what I’m looking to accomplish, how I’m going to do it, and what I’m going to be sharing with you, our Tribe, on a daily basis, I invite you to follow along with me on this journey. Hopefully you’ll find this to be educational, motivational, inspirational, or some other positive word that ends in ‘-tional’. In addition, I’m looking to show you that even those of us who are professionals in this field, and help other people with these things for a living, still have our own struggles, our own challenges, and our own issues that we are constantly working on as well. I invite you to post questions and comments as you see fit, and I’ll do my best to respond to each of them. Operation: Superhuman – Commence!  ]]>