Yoga for Guys – from tough to flexible

After years of sport, leg work, bad posture and poor eating, I find myself in all sorts of positions, yoga positions, and it is not easy! My legs are stiff and I struggle to bend and twist – now I realise how “2 dimensional” I have become. It is time to change, to stretch and give my poor muscles the pampering they long needed. Age is creeping up on me and the aches don’t go away.

Like many, I think of myself as a ‘sportsman’ but in all honesty I spend far too much time sat at the computer, in the car or on some couch, slouched in appalling posture. I can stand tall, but sit down and I shrink like an old man, back hunched, belly bulging. I’d die horse riding – no straight back for me (yet).

First step was to sort the diet out (see earlier posts, if interested). Alcohol, coffee and sugar have been absent for 10 years now, and added to that list is a whole ton of other foodstuffs, junk and waste that my body has been “disposing of”, to help markets and eateries clear their shelves. ‘2 for 1’ used to mean I ate double, and so I converted the supermarkets surplus into fat on my body. How dum! I even paid them for the priviledge, feeling good about getting a discount bargain. Still dum. So, I am not overeating anymore. Gone are the occassional pies, pastries, pizzas and sandwiches. No more eating the leftovers on my wife’s plate (because I am bigger and so deserve / need to eat more). No more caffeine, cow’s milk, and a whole lot of other things. No more big portions like Desperate Dan. My body is no longer a waste disposal unit, full of shit.

Second is the yoga. It looks so easy, so “passive”, and hippy. Even though I empathise with the concept of yoga and meditation and such like, I felt it not my thing, for I was better at walking, aerobics and cycling. Its just that I am not doing enough of that and my wife is not a fan of cold, wet outdoors. So, I dabbled in a bit of meditation, pilates and yoga but it never ‘did it for me’. Then I realised I wasn’t doing it right!

So, now, after our initial month of the special diet and a degree of discipline, I find myself really enjoying the feeling of yoga – though I have not yet explored the deeper meaning of it – I am doing it to get the heart beating, the muscles warmed, stretched and toned. It is not easy! Done properly, calmly, with relaxed breathing and control – it is bloody challenging!

We use a DVD, so have an instructor, and we do it together, on a little purple mats (even though I hate the idea of buying kit for exercise), and take about 50 minutes each day, usually in the morning but not aways. I do as much as I can, and I am still learning, my muscles and brain are still learning (perhaps relearning, since I did a lot as a child, naturally, with ease).

It is quite a humbling experience to realise that one’s body has become so stiff, weak, fat and unused to not be able to do simple postures! I may stand tall, at 1.88m / 6’2″ but I cannot do half the stuff those yoga people get up to! This is like rock climbing on the flat, takes control, discipline and flexibility. The great thing is, I am getting better at it and getting more out of it!

Next – I’ll write about “flow”.

I’m having the day off – flies, couchsurfers, back ache

The wind has died down – a rare occurrence here in the northern isles – so now the air feels warm, oppressive and heavy. The flies are airborne and I am reminded of life “down south”. We used to have whole summers like this – the drone of distant lawnmowers, hiding in the shade, the salty sting of sweat in the eyes and the buzzing of flies. I’d almost forgotten about that life.

Today I am resting, after a busy three days non stop, teaching survival and visiting the ancient sites of Orkney with a nice couple – the winners of Survival International raffle prize – 3 days with me – woo hoo.

I feel a bit grumpy due to straining my back while lunging for a ball this morning – and so today I am resting carefully. Met up with two really nice Couchsurfers just now – sadly we were too busy to host them but at least managed to say hello – I showed them Barnhouse village – often overlooked by tourists.

The diet continues – I’ll write it up later.

Did yoga this morning after a 3 day absence – too busy working and sleeping – and hit by hay fever – but now paying for the inactivity with an aching back. Sod’s law. Yoga felt really good too – so I am a bit pissed off.

Still, mustn’t complain. Mum is still in hospital and cannot walk – so that must be hell for her. I feel really sad for her – such a rapid loss of independence – I hope they can fix her – but hope fades with time.

Back to swatting flies and sipping rooibos.

🙂

The Diet – days 19,20,21 – highs and lows without sugar, caffeine, alcohol, bread, dairy

Rachel has just measured herself after almost 3 weeks. She has lost 2″ around her waist, and an inch off her thighs – and is beaming, radiant and alive! Now I have to confess a bit of over eating. I found myself not eating much during the days but come the evening being very hungry and so mistakenly having food late at night. My metabolism and brain were certainly working to compensate for a loss of certain foods and calories – things like savoury pastries, rich in fat and white flour.

I am not going to measure or weigh myself until day 30. That said, it is important to remember this is not a weight losing diet – the toning and weight loss is a bonus.

Read this blog about how Scotland is turning green.

We feel good – energised, happy, motivated, alert. Things are seeming to go well and the diet is part of that. This is what I have been eating:

(Day 18 addendum)

Had the indulgence of popcorn late at night – home made with no salt but a bit of butter. Didn’t need it and regretted it, tasty though it was! (With hindsight, I realise how small a quantity of corn it was but still, not good to eat late at night – though I now (writing on day 21) feel the odd treat and rule breaking is ‘healthy’).

Day 19

I think I ate everything today! Started with yoga and went for a walk too, in the rain. Gathered cotton grass – see other post.

• mango and banana
• aubergine (egg plant), spring onions, egg, winter greens, cumin, salt and pepper, stir fried. Tasty.
• crisps – ready salted (potato chips) bought. Very salty.
• Popcorn and brazil nuts – snacked on popcorn Rachel made and couldn’t resist a handful.
• lamb chop with broccoli and borlotti beans with garlic – tasty!
• late night snack – banana and raspberries in left over natural yoghurt.

That is two nights on a row where I ate calories late (after 10pm) when I should have just had a drink and gone to bed – but hey, no one is perfect .

Day 20

I was determined to eat at proper times of the day today – part of the reason for eating late had been being behind all day – working late and not stopping to eat. Never-the-less, I still have avoided the “forbidden foods”. A diet that allows crisps and popcorn and meat and butter is a cool diet in my book – but cutting out wheat flour and sugar pretty much stops casual snacking and fast food, from sandwiches to chocolate bars, cakes to meat pies – all safely out of bounds! (Richard, take note!).

Started with yoga (Rachel was getting bored but as the weather was wet, I insisted)

• mango with porridge and linseeds
• haddock in an egg and gram flour (chick pea) coating, seasoned, with prawns, green beans and garlic
• 2 rice cakes with hazelnut butter
• a pear
• 4 rice cakes with houmous (new batch, very healthy and “garlicky”), and raw red pepper, courgette (zucchini I believe in USA), celery and alfalfa seeds.

How do you spell houmous? Hummus? Homous? Homos? I have seen it many ways, reflecting the different languages of the Mediterranean, I guess.

Ours is made with chick peas (organic, bought dried), soaked and boiled in the pressure cooker with a bit of salt, bay leaf. The chick peas are then blended with a couple of spoons of tahini (sesame), garlic, lemon, cumin, black pepper, olive oil and water (stock).

Day 21

Woo hoo – it goes well. I got up at 6:45 feeling alive and refreshed – that is new – possibly because yesterday was such a good day and possibly because the days are just beginning to get a bit shorter so I can actually sleep at night, it getting dark for a couple of hours!

Not done the yoga yet but plan to.

• Pear and banana with beremeal pancake for breakfast (Bere is a simple form of barley grown here).
• Now about to have 2 rice cakes covered in hummus / houmous and the same vegetables as yesterday: pepper, courgette, alfalafa.

How do I feel?

Great! Slimmer, more energised, healthier. I have a nice pink tongue, clear skin, sparkling eyes, healthy stools or poo if you prefer. I go daily as before. This diet is less of a change for me – for Rachel it is a huge change. What is most different for me? No tea, far less casual eating, far smaller portions, no snacking when out shopping (bargain / reduced price foods – I got fed up being a waste disposal unit for the supermarkets!!!), awareness of what I eat and keeping a diary, of sorts, less salt, more vegetables, less water, less bloated, less farting, more energy, feeling good about myself! Oh, and spending less money!

Next Entry – The diet continues

Days 12 – 15 (Alfalfa Sprouts) Diet continues on my own

The days have been good, I have felt continually strong and awake, but with Rachel being away I have had less inclination to cook, hence the large number of Alfalfa sprouts I have been eating.

Orkney Moorland by our House

The diet continued but I was either too busy or bored writing this up – so here is a condensed summary:

Day 12

Is like a rest day, after a couple of hours work and cleaning the house, I am now sipping rooibos tea and reading. Today I have had –

• mango
• 2 rice cakes, rest of the lentil soup, cheese (farmhouse) and another tomato and lettuce.
• haddock, alfalfa, lettuce
• apple

(The cheese yesterday and today breaks the diet of no dairy but it is no big deal as the reason for cutting out dairy was – Rachel: yeast Me: fats. It was the right thing to eat in the circumstances, though too salty now).

Missed out on yoga yesterday, only doing a shortened version of stretches and poses, for 10 minutes. Not done yoga today yet either! Will do. The rain has started, so will stay in and relax! Make a fire kit for Bob.

Day 13

My notes say:

• banana and kiwi
• salmon and leeks
• yoghurt (natural) with raspberries, almonds
• tuna, sweetcorn and alfalfa

Got a walk and yoga in and worked.

Day 14

• alfalfa before yoga. Felt good!
• banana
• tuna, mayo and alfalfa, again!
• pork chops with more alfalfa – some day.
• a few mixed nuts

I read once a guys belief that you could live long term on only sprouted alfalfa seeds – and though I haven’t tried it, I’m getting closer. In his case, he carried it in his rucksack, sprouting in a jar in the warm dark of his pack. He refreshed it in mountain streams and kept a steady production going – for an estimated cost of 18 pence per day – back in 80’s money. It stuck in my head. Perhaps the internet will reveal who he is and how he got on?

Day 15

Rachel is home. We did a good yoga session but after the porridge.

• porridge, with linseed and sunflower seed – the first in two weeks.
• 1 rice cake with houmous and alfalfa
• white fish in dill and oil marinade, pan fried with leeks, alfalfa and broccoli
• another rice cake with houmous, 2 actually, and no sprouts!
• snacked on a few cashew nuts (salted)
• just had hot water and lemon – nice to have lemons again.

Still only drinking water. This diet is saving lots of money – and thus transportation fuel and plastic wrapping, let alone helping us feel more energised and slimmer.

Tesco is now open up here – a new store replacing Somerfield, who replaced Morrison who bought it from Safeway. All in three years. There is also a Lidl that opened last year, plus the Coop. Whilst I will not have a total ban on shopping in the big market – Tesco – it will be a rare thing and will have to be when the item cannot be found more locally, in family run stores, is grown close to here, is not wrapped in plastic, and I am more positively disposed to the whole Tesco family – who were corrupt and supported Thatcher and I am finding it beyond me to forget this. We use the Coop.

See later posts about Orkney Zero Waste.

Next Entry

Munching Almonds on day 9 of diet

Hey – day 9 and feeling good, not missing tea or caffeine, dairy, or wheat or even oats, let alone the other stuff which I have not had for years, like sugar or alcohol! Today has been a blast – yoga and really energetic football!

Today I had simple food:

• breakfast was a banana
• then we did a good yoga session before going shopping
• returned and had smoked salmon for lunch, with tomato and lettuce leaf
• played football and worked up a great sweat, and hunger
• had 2 rice cakes – plain – and needed the energy!
• supper was a small portion of lamb with broccoli and avacado and celery
• now munching a handful of almonds

only drunk water – or water with lemon all day. Feeling good!

Next Entry

Day 5 – still no caffeine, dairy, wheat, sugar, alcohol, yeast …

Things are going great! We are today feeling the best so far and still no caffeine, dairy, wheat, sugar, alcohol, yeast … etc

Day 5 began with a glass of water with lemon juice, then we went outside into the garden but rain drove us indoors. Did the usual 50 minute yoga and it felt good today … getting the feel of it and posture and breathing are starting to feel good.

No aches, headache or stomach, and starting to feel stronger, more alive, fitter. Somewhat dismayed to find waistline is not reducing – but early days.

• After yoga we had breakfast – a slice of mango. Ummmm, so tasty.
• At midday we had 2 ricecakes each, with houmous on top. Delicious!

I then took the cats for a walk along the beach and since they are not designed for plodding, it took an hour. Was good to step from stone to stone, in irregular steps – felt like more yoga moves. Felt good.

Returned cats home (they were totally exhausted) and I drank water before heading out on my own ‘real’ walk, exploring the new territory, making new routes. So crossed a few farm fields, made a stile to cross a barbed wire fence (using stones) and found an old ruin, then a beautiful meandering stream, brown with the peat from the upland. Lots of bog cotton nearly ready to harvest.

• Had a banana and water when I got in.

• It was therefor a late lunch, at 3pm.

Had tuna, spinach and courgette stir fry, with the usual caramelised onion and garlic (4 cloves). Tasty!

Now it is raining, so the game of catch will be on hold, sadly. So, back to work.

• Last night our friends did a great meal – as mentioned – trout and salmon, with rice and a mixed salad. Very tasty. Such kind people – thanks!!!

Feel excellent!!! Rachel is doing great too, so all is good.

Next Entry

Feeling Good – No Sugar, No Caffeine, No Alcohol, No Bread, No Dairy

Today is day two of our 30 day long diet.

I neglected to write up before what this is all about – but first, what is not allowed:

• No dairy, so no milk or cheese but butter is ok
• No caffeine, so no coffee or tea etc
• No sugar, so lots of crying, and sadly fruit is out, as are juices
• No yeasts, so no bread, no wheat, etc
• And lots of other things, too boring to mention; salt, alcohol, oats (my staple!), root veg. all sorts.

This is actually quite easy for me to do because I have done various fasts and such like many times – for the experience, and it is always good. For years I have not had any coffee, sugar or alcohol (excepting natural sugars in fruit). So I am already a freak!

Malcolm smiling

How do we feel? Me: Slightly hungry but energised and in good spirits. Rachel: You will have to ask her, but she is the one going through withdrawl and wanting bread. It for her mostly that we are doing this – I am supporting and in the process eating less, exercising more and having fun, learning etc. No breakfast cereal, no pizza, no cheese, no cookies. That is a lot of powerful chemicals now being denied. Good for her!

Day One: Morning began with a glass of water followed by an hour of yoga. Then a walk for an hour.

• Then some pineapple.
• Lunch was a prawn, onion and broccoli stir fry, with lots of garlic
• Dinner was chicken with leeks and cabbage.
• Snacks in between were a few raw hazel nuts. I had a cup of Rooibos tea (healthy and no caffeine) and a glass of water with lemon. I also had chives, basel and rocket out of the garden.

(All fresh ingredients)

Day Two:

Starting to ‘detox’? (I just made a dash to the toilet at 3pm). The day being sunny began bright (at 4.30am), with a good walk (9am), which was supposed to be an hour but lasted three, due in part to calling in on a neighbour and friend, for an hour.

• Drinking water, with lemon but avoiding drinking during or an hour after eating.
• Breakfast was thus delayed until we returned from our walk. Eggs (three) cooked in olive oil. Ohhhh so tasty – like I’d just raided the nest (in hunter gatherer mode!). We eat organic, free range chicken eggs and should have our own hens laying but there is a problem to be explained another time.
• Lunch was millet, toasted then boiled, with courgette, chives, garlic and basel – oh and a bit of oliveoil and butter. It was an hour after teating this that I began to write this up and suddenly became aware of slight discomfort on my abdomen. Ahh, as I say, all good learning experiences!

These notes will continue (for my benefit but anyone can read, if interested) as the days progress. I’m not very preacticed in writing a diary – or log – so my apologies.

Rachel discovering Orkney

Why are we doing this?

Rachel is trying to see if going without yeast and sugars / wheat etc (that feed yeasts in the gut) and dairy etc etc improves our health. We have read a lot and wanted to give this a try, and figure it will be a period of discovery and learning, no matter what.

To voluntarily go without is an interesting discipline in our western, affluent society – yet it feels so good, when you do it!!! ‘Less is more‘, so to speak. Or ‘you can have too much of a good thing‘, is another way of saying it. ‘We’ have it all in bucket loads, so society is full of bloated people, diseases of excess with our bodies from heart to pancreas to liver all suffering. Fatty deposits piling up around our waists and thighs. Poor skin, lethargy, depression, etc etc. From our heads to our feet we are struggling due to abuse and overconsumption. So, we are going without. It is easy to say it – a lot harder to do it! Especially if society is full of adverts for foods, if the shops only sell foods packed with sugar, salt, wheat and dairy, if all the people you know are drinking coffee, alcohol, tea. When chocolate is ‘your friend’. It is lonely to go your own way, to be different – so psychologically this is a big task, made harder because the chemicals that become addictive, such as sugar and caffeine are so influential on our moods and emotions.

So, this is day two part way through. More later.

🙂

Next Entry

More about Malcolm and Rachel on the Five Senses website