Thursday, July 31, 2008

What we ate in June, and how much it cost..

As per usual.. here's a list of the food we bought last month..

Fruit Quantity Cost
Avocados 100 $81
Bananas 8kg $7.60
Capsicum 5 $1.00
Cherimoya 1kg $3.10
Durian 25 kgs (including shells) $76.85
Grapefruits 8kg $5
Grapes 32 kgs $62.00
Oranges 50kg $44.30
Pears 2.5 kg $2.18
Pineapple 3 $6
Tomatoes 10 kgs $11.30


Which is a total of $300.3.. Divide that by 30 (number of days in June), and split that in 2 (Kveta and I), and you can see we spent $5 a day on our food/fruit..

Now, this is even less than we normally spend.. Probably because we still had some food left from the previous month, but also you need to bear in mind, as always, that I fasted on the Fridays, and we did a juice feast too.. (details here)

And to see one totally random average day, then I recorded what we (kveta and I) ate on the 7th of June 2008:

07:00 juice from 3 oranges (me only)
09:30 half a durian each
11:30 juice from 3 oranges and 1 grape fruit (hand pressed)
12:15 half an avocado each
13:30 another half an avo each
16:00 3 tomatoes, 2 big avos, 1 chilli - mixed together (each)
17:30 another half an avo each
18:30 1 banana each
after 21:00 2 bananas and 1 apple (kveta only)

We don't really have a pattern, no 3 meals a day thing, generally we just eat when we feel to.. and as a very rough rule of thumb we are generally ready for food at about the same time.

Hugs,
Mango.

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Useful Website - 18 - Watch TV online

Well, I'm not altogether sure what is useful about watching TV..

At least the very very most of what's broadcast to the masses..

But for those of you that are remotely interested, and that have a fast enough internet connection to make the most of it, (we most definitely don't!!), then here are 3 services that supposedly let you view TV channels from around the world, for free..

1. Inner Live

2. Hulu

3. Surf The Channel

Watch something educational! Or go outside and plant a fruit tree..

Peace,
Mango

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Sunday, July 27, 2008

Plant a fruit Tree..

Well, today is national plant a [fruit] tree day.. so get out there and plant one!!

Remember.. planting fruit trees opens our hearts to nature's wisdom. Nurturing them gives exposure to life's vulnerability and teaches how to build ecological and human community.

Fruit is the one food that is offered to us "free of charge" in the karmic sense. There is no taking of life, instead the fruit is offered as part of a symbiotic pact between plant, animal and the earth. The plant remains intact and benefits from the interaction. - It gets to reproduce itself. What bliss, what joy! Not only does it get to reproduce through the sowing of it's seed, but also the more delicious the fruit, the more chance that we will nurture that seed and, feed, water and care for it, until and after it brings to bare it's own fruit.

Many people have never planted a fruit tree as they think they do not own land. This is a mistake. We are all children of the earth, we share equally in the valleys, hills rivers, seas.. Let us no longer be deceived otherwise..

Phantom fruit tree planters have no formal organization, no joining fee, and only the earth holds its membership list throughout time.. To belong, simply plant a fruit tree without expectation of material gain, help care for existing ones, or hold in your heart what they mean..

Is it too long to wait for an apple tree to grow? You do not need to live so fast that only instant results satisfy.. Remember, we plant fruit trees not only for ourselves, but for those who will follow.. Life gives unto life. And by doing so, we can enjoy with clear conscience that which has been handed down from the past..

With due sensitivity, plant fruit trees on any land, and in any place where they have a chance of surviving.. Do not be put off by feeling you must always get permission. Nature sows without asking. You are part of nature. Reconstituting the world, and working toward paradise is a duty and a right which extends beyond so called legal concepts of ownership.

Do not worry too much about losses. Accept these as part of the process. Take heart that other fruit tree planters are also at work. What matters is not individual success or failure, but the overall process we share in..

Planting fruit trees is about making love with the earth. Phantom planting works toward paradise. Let us live and love in paradise. Let us not be afraid to grow and change.. Let us celebrate - life itself..

Peace,
Mango

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Friday, July 25, 2008

National Plant a [Fruit] Tree Day..

This coming sunday, the 27th July, (2 days away!! Sorry for short notice!) is Australia's national plant a tree day...

Now, 2 things..

1. although it's only been announced Australia wide, as far as I am aware.. there is no reason why you shouldn't join in regardless of where you are at..

Heck, it's no secret how much the world needs trees, what with all the logging and land flattening and reliance on mono crop grain cultures heavily dependent on chemical intervention, that are sadly, slowly but surely, turning fertile soil to barren desert landscapes..

2. Now although they say "plant a tree" I say, plant a fruit tree... I mean why not? Not only it'll be a tree, but it'll give fruit..

I don't understand (well unfortunately I do.. sort of) why the state doesn't put in fruit trees in replace of new trees that they occasionally put out around the place..

Imagine a world full of fruit trees.. the parks and the forests..

Of course, I'm not proposing to get rid of the native none fruit baring plants.. far from it..

So, go on.. plant a tree with me.. I've planted 10 fruit trees out on common land over the past month (all well mulched and seaweed fertilised and looking very good!), and will most definitely be putting another one or 2 out on Sunday too..

Peace,
Mango the Fruitarian.
PS Write me a comment if you plant a tree!

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Fruitarian Interview - 20 - Ka (The Annie Within)

20th in a series of interviews with fruitarians around the globe..


Hi Ka!

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions!
Could you please start off by introducing yourself, telling us a little about who you are, your age, gender, whether or where you work, or not, where you are living/grew up? etc..etc.. anything you consider relevant for us to get more of an insight into who you are..


I was born a poor black boy, no wait, that was Steve Martin, I sometimes confuse myself with him (that happens more often than you'd think!) What I meant to say was I was born in West Bristol, PA not too far from Philly. We moved around a lot when I was a kid (not sure why) but when I was 15 we moved to Maryland, where I lived until my second husband and I moved to SC in 2001. We now live in GA, but are planning to move back to the Eastern Shore of Maryland soon, as our families are there. I have two grown children, men in their own right. The oldest has started a family of his own with a young son (I'm a Grand Ma!), my younger son is in the Marines. I also have a step-daughter who is going to college in Chicago. She is currently working on a degree in Law. I will be 47 on December 17th, 2008. I work at a durable medical equipment company, shuffling papers. (It's not as bad as it sounds) I am a lover of nature, books, music, movies, hiking/walking. I am currently learning how to Buckdance; it's a form of clogging. I use be a singer in a band (and got paid for it!), but have not done that since I moved away from Maryland. I miss it.

Do you have a blog or web page we can read more about you?

Yes, you can find me on the web at Nature's Fast Food.

So.. Could you tell us what kind of diet did you grow up with? Maybe give us a rough idea of what you used to eat on an average day?

When growing up, our house was not full of 'junk'-- we didn't have chips and cookies or candies laying about. We had what our parents thought was a healthy diet. Though it was definitely a meat centered diet. Eggs and bacon for breakfast; dinners were more often than not, meat and potatoes. Though we did consume our share of pinto beans and cornbread!

And fast forward to today, what does a typical days food intake look like for you now?

Ahh....the question that has made me procrastinate in finishing this interview and sending to you! I am a struggling fruitarian. For the past 4 years I have studied fruitarianism, of which, the last year and a half I have been working toward being a fruigivore -- what I believe is our natural diet. Overcoming the emotional attachments (comfort in food) and addictions to cooked food has proven hard. Though I have made progress recently by making the commitment to stop eating meat! This is a large step for me and one that I know I won't regret (my body is thanking me already, and so are all the critters that I no longer consume!). I have taken a few other small steps that will move me forward to my goal of being a fruitarian. And maybe that is just the way I will have to do this life change. I have been trying to do it all at once (several times) and I don't seem to be able to go more than two weeks before I fall back to old habits.

So, to make a long answer longer.... Today, my typical day of eating is fruit in the morning, vegetarian in the afternoons, and I have just started implementing green smoothies for evening meals.

What sparked those changes?

Well, you actually! About 4 years ago, I was searching the web, and I'm not sure how I ended up looking into fruitarianism, but I came across your fruit-nut site and the seed was sown!

Has anyone else in your family made such changes?

Yes, March 9th, 2007 my husband, who was a dyed in the wool eat whatever you want sort of guy, made the plunge to 100% raw food over night! He decided to go raw after reading Live Food Factor by Susan E. Schenck and Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko. The funny thing is, I was the one who asked him to check out the books, as I had already read them. I started a thirty day 100% raw experiment with him and faltered after the first week. He continues on, Yeah!! and he is always an inspiration and support to me.

Although you are sometimes having difficulties sticking to just fruit, is it truthful to say that you have complete faith in the 100% fruit diet?

Yes, I absolutely believe we are designed to eat fruit as our main diet. When I think of what appeals to me (without the cooked food addictions), I see how perfect fruit is, how it fits in our hand, how we are designed to see all the beautiful colors of fruit, how we have a sense of smell that knows when the fruit is fully ripe, how we have a natural sweet tooth. It all fits just right. I look at all animals in the wild and see that they eat what they are designed to eat, it's just so beautiful and natural. That is what I aspire to.

Can you tell us a little about your health before and after the changes you've made? (would be great to include some photos!!) What about your weight, any major changes?

Though I haven't made THE change, the times that I have eaten totally raw, or had fruit only, were wonderful times physically. I had so much more energy, my skin was clear, soft and smooth, I felt stronger. I could walk farther and my muscles actually felt like they worked 'cleaner' more powerfully. I would also lose some weight.

So I gather sometimes you feel cravings for certain foods that you may not consider ideal, could you tell us a little about those times?

Usually, after being raw for a few days, the detox sets in and I get stressed out. When I am stressed, I eat. What has been a habit for me was to 'self medicate' away the stress, or negative feelings, with my 'drug' of choice: Fattening, Junk Food. SAD isn't it? Seriously, it comes down to emotional eating, and I am slowly learning how to deal with my emotions without resorting to food. It's a slow process, but I am making progress.

What kind of foods are you finding most difficult to leave behind?

Fast Food, Sweets, Pastry and Chocolate. Though, along with meat, I have also made the choice to not eat chocolate either.

Do you feel any needs to supplement your diet at all?

No, I don't like them and I don't feel anything 'extra' in my diet other than fresh fruits are necessary. I don't think there are 'super foods', just plain organic raw fruits are best. There is too much consumerism going on without people wanting to take my hard earned money for the so-called “Super” Stuff.

Are you happy with the choice and quality of fruit you are getting?

Most of the time I have no problems getting good quality fruit. We have a nice produce market that is open in the summer, which has a nice selection.

Do you normally tell people how you eat? If so, what do you think is the most common question people ask you about your diet?

If I tell people (though I don't really feel it is a necessity), the question “But, where do you get your protein?” always comes up. I think people have been 'brainwashed' by the meat and dairy industry that they need high levels of protein in their daily intake.

How do you answer their questions?

I tell them that fruit and greens have loads of protein and that they really don't need that much to thrive.
By eating raw foods, I believe your body is better able to assimilate the nutrients. People don't realize that fruit actually has protein in it. I didn't know either until I started doing the research. I'd like to say also that neither the cow, horse, wolf, cougar nor any other wild animal worries about what they are getting in their food. They eat what they were designed to eat and that's it. It's just fuel. (If only I could take my own advise here and stop eating for comfort!)

Do you have a favorite fruit?

Yes, Cantaloupe! I can't wait each year for them to come into season. When they are perfectly ripe, sweet and juicy- there's just nothing finer! I especially love them for lunch, or after I've walked on a hot summer day. Totally refreshing!

Do you get those easily enough where you are?

Yes, the local grocery stores, have them as well as the local produce markets.

Can you recall the first time you tried one?

No, but I do remember once playfully fighting my father-in-law for who was going to get to eat the last of them!

Where and how do you see yourself living and eating in 10 years from now?

That is a long time away. I can't really say.


  • Living: My husband and I are planning on building a conservative boat to live aboard. We are making it as green as possible. We are working toward a simplistic lifestyle--less and less consumer driven.
  • Eating: My plan is to eat more and more raw, until I am eating fruit only. I want to maintain all fruit for at least one year, and then I can decide in a more personally informed way where to go from there.


Do you think you could improve on your diet at all??

Well, right now, Hell Yes! (can I say that on your blog??) I am working on it daily. Trying to be gentle with myself and loving, and realizing that I didn't get addicted to cooked foods overnight and, for me at least, this raw path, is a journey to explore, rejoice in and have fun with. (as with all paths in life) Sometimes I just get too darn serious with myself! :0)

How do you feel if people tell you that you must be crazy, and that you can't possibly survive eating the way you desire to??

I just smile. I don't like to get into confrontations with people, especially if I don't know them. We all have our lives to live, and to each their own.

Finally, is there anything you'd like to add as words of encouragement to those that are aspiring toward fruitarianism?

Small steps will yield substantial strides if we just keep going. Don't quit, even if you falter, believe in yourself and what you want to accomplish and make it happen! And join me and others on our blogs and websites and forums. We can support each other on our personal journeys through our life on this beautiful place we find ourselves. It is difficult, I'm realizing that myself... It is harder than I thought. But I know the rewards of eating a fruitarian diet will be many-fold.

Thanks, Mango, for including me in your interviews. Maybe some day down the line you would like to do a follow up interview with me when I've been raw/fruitarian more consistently, and I will provide before and afters..

Yes, I'd like to do that Ka, maybe I'll contact you in a year or so from now, or maybe you can let me know when the cravings have died down and you are feeling more confident on fruit.. Meanwhile, do you have any photos I could include now?

the annie withinAt the moment, I only have this one photo.

I hope that I can be of help to others who are struggling, or just starting on this path.

My Spirit honors Your Spirit.

Thanks Ka!
hug,
Mango.


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Sunday, July 20, 2008

Fun Stuff - 3 - That guy who dances on the internet.

I just stumbled onto the following youtube video while perusing though some raw fruit blogs, (More specifically, Nature's Fast Food at the time - (owner shortly to be interviewed here!)).

You may or mayn't have heard of this guy before, he's called Matt and is perhaps better known as "that guy who dances on the internet"..



Now, I'm not writing about this guy because he's fruitarian, more likely, like the masses, he eats a conventional diet and has probably never even heard of the idea of a raw fruit one, however, that certainly doesn't prevent him carrying a certain joyous charm for what he does do..

I had to smile throughout the video, watching him do his "2 left feet" dance in all those different place, with all those different people..

And then when I discovered, through reading his website (which you can find here: Where the Hell is Matt?), how it all started for him, and how the universe clearly seems to be sponsoring him in his endevours, I realised he must certainly be tapping in to something positive..

Made me want to get out there and dance with him... Well, maybe not to be doing the same thing as he does, but to be doing something that's, well, "out there".. making more videos, climbing more fruit trees, eating more durian (yum!!)

A shining inspirational example of what life can be.. Joy in action.. (Thank's Matt!)..

Enjoy everyone!

Peace,
Mango.

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Friday, July 18, 2008

Crazy World News - 3 - Greyhound dies

Greyhound owner punished after greyhound dies in back of car.

Yeah, recently on the news here, we were told that a greyhound trainer who left his dog to die in the back of his car has been sentenced to five months' weekend detention by a Sydney court.

Read more about it here:

Greyhound trainer leaves dog to die from heat in car
Greyhound trainer causes dogs death by heat exhaustion

Now, don't get me wrong here, because I am not trying to say that what this guy did was in any way commendable behaviour.. I'd like to state clearly now, that I don't support animal abuse or cruelty of any kind..

However, what I do see as odd here, is that this guy, like probably 95% of the rest of the population here, had in all likeliness probably been paying others to abuse and inflict unnecessary suffering to other animals.. Namely and mostly, pigs, sheep, cows, chickens, fish and more, to fill his stomach daily, turning it into a living graveyard of mutilated scorched animal cadavers..

Most likely, those that passed judgment on this guy, have been doing the exact same thing, day in and day out, plowing through their fried slices of bacon and lamb chops.. Actively supporting an industry in which 10s of thousands of innocent animal victims die yearly from neglect, malnourishment and confinement.. - This before they even make it to the slaughterhouse to be bloodily butchered as is the fate and destiny of all the animals that successfully but sadly live to experience it..

The RSPCA does little or anything to change this, with the majority of its ranks themselves partaking in the macabre feasting off the flesh of the animals they turn their blind eyes from.. Helping solely dogs, cats and domestic pets, whose very existences normally go toward encouraging the flesh trade to continue..

Such a bizarre world we live in..

Peace,
Mango

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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Useful Website - 17 - Test the speed of your internet connection

Would you like to know the average speed of your internet connection?

Here's a website I've just discovered, that will calculate that for you..

http://www.speedtest.net/

Simple instructions:

1. Wait for the web page to fully load.
2. Select the pyramid on the map displayed that's closest to your location.
3. Wait while the site does it's thing, and your resulting speeds will be displayed..

Here's what ours looks like today:



Regards,
Mango.

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Monday, July 14, 2008

Juice Feasting - July 2008

Just a short table, for the record, of our recently finished juice feast..

DATEMEKVETA
04/07/08Dry Fast5dls orange juice, tomato/avocado/chilli mix, orange juice, 3 tomatoes.
05/07/0804:30 Orange 5dl
11:00 Pineapple/Orange/Banana 7dl
12:15 Avocado/Cucumber/Tomato/Chilli 5dl
15:00 Pineapple/Banana/Orange 6dl
17:00 Orange/avocado/banana 5dl
11:00 Pineapple/Orange/Banana 7dl
12:15 Avocado/Cucumber/Tomato/Chilli 5dl
15:00 Pineapple/Banana/Orange 6dl
17:00 Orange/avocado/banana 5dl
06/07/0807:30 Orange 3dl
08:30 Orange/avo/banana 5dl
11:30 tomato/avo/chilli 2.5dl
15:10 avo/orange/banana 5dl
17:30 orange/cherimoya/avo 5dl
08:30 Orange/avo/banana 5dl
11:30 tomato/avo/chilli 2.5dl
15:10 avo/orange/banana 5dl
17:30 orange/cherimoya/avo 5dl
07/07/0807:30 orange 3dl
11:00 orange/grapefruit 4dl
13:00 orange/banana/avo 5dl
14:45 orange/avo 5dl
17:30 orange/avo 5dl
11:00 orange/grapefruit 4dl
13:00 orange/banana/avo 5dl
14:45 orange/avo 5dl
17:30 orange/avo 5dl
08/07/0805:30 orange 3dl
09:00 orange/grapefruit 4dl
11:00 orange/avo 5dl
16:00 orange/apple/banana 5dl
18:00 orange/avo 5dl
09:00 orange/grapefruit 4dl
11:00 orange/avo 5dl
16:00 orange/apple/banana 5dl
18:00 orange/avo 5dl
09/07/0804:30 orange 3dl
09:00 orange 5dl
13:30 rockmelon 5dl
14:15 orange/avo/apple 5dl
17:10 orange/avo 5dl
09:00 orange 5dl
13:30 rockmelon 5dl
14:15 orange/avo/apple 5dl
17:10 orange/avo 5dl
10/07/0807:10 orange 3dl
09:10 orange 5dl
14:10 orange/avo 5dl
15:30 orange/avo/apple 5dl
18:00 orange 5dl
09:10 orange 5dl
14:10 orange/avo 5dl
15:30 orange/avo/apple 5dl
18:00 orange 5dl
11/07/08Broke juice feast.. durian/strawberries/avocados/tomatoes..Broke juice feast.. durian/strawberries/avocados/tomatoes..



As you can see, we stopped a few days earlier than normal, as on the Friday (the 11th), I suddenly found myself very hungry, and despite that fact that it was a Friday, and thus usually would have been my once a week fasting day, I decided I really wanted to eat something more solid.. Besides,my weight had dropped to just above 50kgs, and I didn't feel to let it slip more..

Hugs,
Mango.


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Saturday, July 12, 2008

Fruitarian Interview - 19 - (3) - Richard Blackman

The 3rd interview with Richard Blackman, the fruitarian bootcamp fitness adviser, AKA Fruitarian one or F1. This one is copied from The Chef de Mocha blog. There are 2 more interviews with Richard (AKA Jericho Sunfire) here and here.

F1 - I know that I am not you, obviously, and your dietary regime or workout routine may not necessarily suit me, and vice -versa, but strictly out of pure curiosity, and the curiosity of others, I wish to ask you a few questions and hope I will get more in-sight on how you live and that which may apply to my lifestyle.

Also know that I have watched all of your videos and these questions I wasn't able to answer w/there help alone.


Thanks for being so respectful, that means a lot to me....

As I said in my video's, people always want to know what I do and how I live/eat but my problem is that I don't spend my life analizing everything I do and I don't want to, that was cool when I first started out but now I've moved on, plus what I do depends on the seasons, climate, activities, etc, so sometimes it's next to impossible to give people the answers they want because what I say may change the week after because of a change in climate, etc....plus I don't focus on food and with all the questions regarding food it can be a huge drag, like I say, I'm not trying to be rude, I just find talking about food and what I eat EXTREMELY boring, unproductive and not what we should be focusing on, plus I role in life is not to please peoples curiosity, I got better things to do with my time.

F1 I find myself looking at some of the amazing things you have accomplished and

FRUITARIAN FITNESS: The Body


Q1) I wonder exactly what you do eat on a daily basis (I remember that you once said you drank only orange juice one day, I find that interesting for someone like you to maintain such bulk w/ orange juice - once again, I am not criticizing, but just intrigued) and that you believe in eating less to maximize absorption of the nutrients, is that correct? If so, how much is enough, for instance do you only have one meal a day to monitor your intake or do you just eat until you're full? - or perhaps you may eat more on some days then others?


A1) I just eat when I need to and stop when I get the signal and as far as I'm concerned that's all the thought I need to put into it, I don't see food as a treat, it's only to replace what you use up during activity.

Q2) I know you promote outdoor exercise; I was wondering do you ever use a gym or standard weights? If you do, how many times a day/week - do you have rest days or days when you go lighter on yourself? If so, are those days premeditated or one of those wow! I feel kind of sore today, how about I take a breather, days.

A2) I train outdoors come rain or shine if I have to I can do the same indoors, with what I do I can do anything anywhere, I have no routine I train everyday because I want to, I only do bodyweight exercises and power hiking/sprints and some conditioning drills, I'm always exploring, my main aim is to have fun playing and nothing is set in stone.

Q3) Do you have any advice to a beginning raw foodist on how to gain muscle the way you did, fruititarian or 80/10/10rv, or perhaps you can give some pointers on which workouts you included, more frequently, in you day to day efforts?

A3) My advice to new raw foodists can be found in the videos, but it goes like this, going raw is like training to be a navy seal, you gotta want it bad, it's a total mind and body over haul so make sure your going raw for the right reasons and make sure your in it for the long haul, find activities you love and do them intensly, stay active and realise that you will not make significant gains in performance or growth until you are clean internaly and are ready for rebuilding, food is not the solution, you have a process to go through and there's no escaping from it.

FRUITARIAN FITNESS: The Body (Part 2)


Q4) Since fasting plays such a huge part in the lifestyle of other Fruitarians that I have spoken with, such as Viktoras K., I was curious if you ever fast in complement to your dietary practices?

A4) In the fall/winter I don't need to eat very often if at all, sometimes I will go a day without having anything, even when active, I don't do that intentionally it's just how it goes sometimes but in the the Texas summer I have to stay hydrated, I don't fast intentionally.

Q5) Finally, is your book almost ready to be released or is there any other exciting information of yours that you would like to share?

Thank you so much for your time


A5) My book is still a work in progress and it's looking like my "F.I.T System" DVD will be finished before the book is.


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Previous Fruitarian Interview - Richard Blackman (2)
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Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Fun Stuff - 2 - uʍop ǝpısdn ʇxǝʇ ɹnoʎ uɹnʇ

Now, I've no idea why you would want to use this, but it seems like something fun enough to try..

You can turn your text upside down..

˙˙uʍop ǝpısdn ʇxǝʇ ɹnoʎ uɹnʇ uɐɔ noʎ

I bet you don't know how it is done?

.. Go on, have a guess!! I'll post the answer in a comment later..

¡ooʇ uʍop ǝpısdn ˙˙ǝɯ sı sıɥʇ
¡ooʇ uʍop ǝpısdn ˙˙ǝɯ sı sıɥʇ

peace,
Mango.

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Monday, July 07, 2008

Fruitarian Interview - 19 - (2) - Richard Blackman

Another Interview with fruitarian Richard Blackman, this one is copied from http://www.naturalnews.com/023252.html. Kevin Gianni is conducting the interview. - There are 2 more interviews with Richard (AKA Jericho Sunfire) here and here.
Now, do you think that being a fruitarian is for everyone? Do you think that that’s our nature?

Personally, yes.

Okay.

I believe strongly that it’s the style of living. But, what I will say is that because of things like cooked food, emotional attachments, people’s level of commitment, dedication, because of the conditions of some people’s systems, organs, I feel that it may take some people more time. I think our diets were naturally fruitarian diets, and I honestly believe that we were foragers. We would walk around looking for our foods.

And now you are a fitness guy and you run fitness boot camps and you have a bunch of information about that, what are some of the best fruits for power, for building strength?

You know what, in my personal opinion, science may tell you otherwise but for me personally, the best is not about fruits. The power comes from cleansing.

Okay.

The power comes from cleansing. No fruit gives you that power, okay? The power comes from you, from your energy, from rest, from sleep, from your digestive system not being overloaded, okay, things like that. I do not believe that fruit gives you power or strength.

The strength comes from you training on a regular basis intensely and progressing. I’m a huge nonbeliever in this whole thing about what food should I eat? I believe our jobs are to listen to the body and to give it what it’s used up. For example, if you’re working out in a hot sun, you’re perspiring, it’s coming out of you, because you’re working out hard. Then the first message you get from your body is to "give me juicy fruit". That’s your job, period –- it’s to replace what you’ve lost. And overtime, your job is to learn and develop the kinds of listening to your body.

Yes.

(Many people think) like if I want to gain weight, I’ll take a weight gain supplement. If I want to get more protein, I’ll take a protein supplement. It’s not like that at all. Our job is to replace what we lose. That’s our only job we need to worry about. Everything else is just complicating things. So just to answer to your question, no, I don’t believe there is any fruit that gives you power per se.



Yes and so what do you think about the whole protein -- protein for muscle building?

I don’t believe in it at all. What I do believe, yes, if you eat piles and piles of meat, you’re going to get bigger. One, because it’s cooked, okay, and all the stuff that goes with it –- the water retention, the fats. I know bodybuilders that eat big to get big, alright. So what they do is they eat these big meals and then what they would do is that they would drink at least a gallon of water a day, okay. So you’re starting off the cycle where you’re just blowing up and that’s why you’re getting bigger. You’re not getting bigger because you’re growing bigger muscles per se. Because as soon as you stop doing that, you get smaller.

Yes.

So it’s not real muscle per se. It’s not like you do that and you build up and you weight train and you’ve got that forever. As soon as you stop pumping yourself up, as soon as you stop stuffing yourself up with whatever toxic stuff, you’re going to get smaller.

It’s an interesting concept because if you go to the gym for 4 or 5 days a week and then you stop and come back about 2 weeks later and you are eating protein powders and all these, it’s real tough. I mean, you get real sore.

Yes exactly and when I work out, I don’t feel a thing. It’s like I haven’t even worked and I could workout as intensely as I want and I won’t feel it at all the next day. In fact, I got into race walking for a long while and just the thought, within like 2 weeks of following the instructor around, I did 27 miles race walking.

Wow!

And it took me –- I’m not going to lie to you, that is my first race walk distance and man, I was zonked, it just about wore me out, alright, and the next day, I was back working out.

Wow!

And I told my instructor and she said, “You’re not supposed to get into that until like 2 months.” And to me, I did it because I could do it. She couldn’t understand how I could go from just doing only 8 miles to doing an ultra marathon. And she said, “And second of all, it takes people several weeks to recover fully.” And I said, “Well, hey I can do it.” So she was dumbfounded, but I did it. It’s like you’re taking all these toxic stuff and it’s hurting, and the waste, it’s dehydrating also.

Yes.

Because when you think about it, they’ve been eating dehydrating foods, toxic foods basically from birth or shortly after you went from ages 2 to 3, we’re just on cooked foods, but we’ve got like half a lifetime’s worth of dehydration going on. Toxins are flying around.

Yes.

So we’re really not giving our bodies any justice or helping ourselves at all by living the way most of us are living -- on supplements, cooked food. It’s really not helping.

Now as a fruitarian, I’m sure you get this question all the time. What about too much sugar? What about Candida issues?

It’s never bothered me, to tell you the truth. I’ve put that down to following my own instincts.

Yes.

If I don’t want to eat, I don’t eat, if I don’t like it, I won’t eat it. A lot of people see fruitarianism and their instant thoughts of what fruitarianism is -- eating bananas, eating fruits.

Yes.

That’s where people go wrong. Then they go on the forums where 95% of the people haven’t got a clue what they’re really talking about and that concept is perpetuated over and over again because of lack of education. So for me personally, the whole sugar thing hasn’t really come up with me.

I’m not too familiar with the fruitarian diet, but do you eat tomatoes and cucumbers?

Personally, I don’t.

Okay, but is that included in let’s say a strict fruitarian diet?

Yes sure, they’re fruits.

Okay, interesting. So let’s talk -- let’s move into fitness.

Perfect!

You’re a fitness expert as well, you run boot camps. What are some of the ways that you teach people to work out and why do you think that those are some of the best ways?

Okay, basically my whole philosophy about this boot camp is to move as naturally as possible.

And why don’t you just explain what a boot camp is just because some people might not know.

Okay, my personal fitness boot camp is an outdoor exercise program. So basically what you have is you get a group of like-minded individuals and you go through an exercise program. That could be a weight loss exercise program. It could be just a general get-fit exercise program. Like say for instance I’ll explain what our last boot camp was like. We had like 10, including me, raw vegans show up and it was fantastic! And basically, and I didn’t know this before it started, most of the people that showed up only knew each other from the raw food potlucks in the area.

Okay.

So, I basically broke down the rules and guidelines and how I expected the time to be, and how I expected us to act and basically the whole thing of that particular boot camp was to push yourself further than you ever have pushed yourself before. To think of your hardest workout, your hardest hike, your hardest activity, and to push yourself past that and to support each other as a team. We move as a team and we support each other as a team. And I’ve got to tell you, we totally smashed the myth of the weak sickly raw vegan, you know. My whole philosophy behind the boot camps are for us to move naturally. What we did was we speed-walked the whole time through.

Okay.

We would stop and we do exercises. We would do various biometric exercises like the jump squats. We would do sprints, shuttle sprints. For instance, the person at the back, like we’re walking single file, would sprint out and it will start a cycle up, then the next person, then the next person. We did some serious heel sprints. I mean these guys, they didn’t take it seriously in the beginning in the first 15 minutes, but once they got the whole concept of what I expected and once I showed them the intensity by doing it myself and leading by example, they really, really outdid themselves and it’s a fantastic day. And afterwards, in all my boot camps, we have a raw food potluck picnic where we bring our own fruits and raw dishes. My thing is that I don’t care what people eat. Okay, it’s all personal and we’re all at different stages.

Uhuh.

Okay. So, I don’t dictate what people bring as long as it’s raw.

Got you.

Also, I’m not one of these people that I’m just so strict that I don’t have fun. I mean, like our last boot camp in which you might laugh at this, but I kind of swiped one of the honeydew melons...

Uh-uh.

So for me, messing around and being un-strict is great as well. So the support you get is amazing. You know, because anybody gets around and you clap each other on and we don’t let anybody struggle by themselves.

And so do you think fitness is best done in groups?

It depends on the individual’s mind set. Like for me for instance, I got a very strong mindset, so I can, especially as a fruitarian, go out everyday and train intensely.

Right.

Okay. Admittedly, I do better if I’m with a training partner, but in terms of other people that may not be so motivated to get out by themselves or are shy, don’t feel like they know what they are doing, get embarrassed about people seeing them running by themselves or doing an exercise by themselves, those are the kinds of people that really benefit from working out in groups. In all my boot camps I always try to show people stuff that they can take home with them.

Okay.

That they can do during the week to maintain some level of fitness. For me, it’s still about hanging out for my every word. It’s not about doing as I say, doing as I do you know, it’s all personal and the way I see it is that we all have a choice. We either do it or we don’t and I only deal with people that want to do it, that want to put the work in, that understand what they’re getting themselves into, you know, people like that are willing to make a change.

To read the rest of this transcript as well as access 14 different raw food experts just like Richard Blackman, please visit (http://www.RawSummitArchives.com) .
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Saturday, July 05, 2008

Useful Website - 16 - New search engine

I just discovered this nifty new search engine..

http://exalead.com/

Normally, I just use google, but I like the smoothness of this new one, and how it lets me easily narrow down my search into different categories..

It allows you to search in blogs, videos, Wikipedia, commercial, non-commercial, audio, RSS, etc, and appears to be one of the internets most customizable search engines

When one searches for something, e.g. durian, the options for expanding ones search are incredible. You can register an account with them as well to provide a personalized page for search wherever you are on the internet.


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Thursday, July 03, 2008

Fruitarian Interview - 19 - (1) - Richard Blackman

Richard Blackman (AKA Fruitarian one or F1 for short, or Jericho Sunfire) is a Fruitarian Fitness Fanatic.. This interview is copied from http://www.realgainz.com/Fruitarian Richard is also interviewed here and here

I understand that you are a Fruitarian. I've never heard of that before. Can you explain to me what it is?

Richard Blackman - FruitarianSure, no problem. A Fruitarian is a person whose diet consists exclusively of seeded fresh fruits of all kinds. There's no secrets, rules or special methods to living a Fruitarian lifestyle, as complicated as the guru's would like to make out. It's as simple as picking up a fruit and eating it. The hard part is dealing with what we call the detoxification period. This is the time where cooked food is eliminated from the diet and the body begins to cleanse itself.

It's the bodies natural instinct to always cleanse itself so when you go strict Fruitarian you will eventually get rid of the bodies bulky waste and debris from cooked food and kick start your bodies natural cleansing process and given the right conditions, it will start to clean out all the waste and debris left in the bodies organs from the cooked foods you ate in the past at a deeper level and this is what makes the detoxification period so hard because after eliminating cooked foods from your diet, you will then crave cooked foods in the same way as a drug addict or alcoholic will crave drugs or alcohol, as well as suffer from detoxification symptoms.

The length of time it takes for people to get over their detoxification period varies from person to person. It can last weeks to years but, only once the body has cleansed itself fully, can we truly feel and experience all of what Fruitarianism has to offer. Unfortunatly very few people ever get to that point due to fear, uncertainty and severe detoxification symptoms, which many mistake for illness.

My advice to anyone considering Fruitarianism is to ease into it over a period of years. First, master being a Raw Vegan, eating heavier foods then master being a strict 100% Raw Vegan then see if your ready for Fruitarianism.

Fruitarianism ain't nothing to jump into unprepared, so unless your super hardcore and can handle some severe detoxification symptoms, I'd ease into it!

I love the way you went into depth with that. You explained it very well. So, you just eat nothing but fruits? How do you keep and maintain your sugar and protien level eating nothing but fruits?

Yes, I eat nothing but fruits...no veggies, greens, nuts, seeds, supplements and I don't drink any water. I get all my fluids from fruits. When I first went fruitarian, I was drawn to a wide variety of fruits, it felt so liberating to be eating fruits of all kinds without the after effects I got from cooked food.

I was perfectly happy just eating fruits, but the more I researched into fruitarianism, the more I came across conflicting and negative information. All of it going against my own instincts. I got so confused that I decided that my own instincts must be wrong and reluctantly introduced water, nuts, seeds and green juices/supplements into my lifestyle but, I stopped those shortly afterwards because it just didn't feel right with my body and spirit.

I've stayed on just fruits ever since. On fruits, I feel fantastic and actually motivated to get out and be active and as far as such things as B12, protein, calories, etc., I just ignore all of that. I wasn't worried about them when I was on cooked food so why worry now.

Fruits are full of natural fruit sugar called fructose and each individual fruit contains just the right amount of protein. Having said that, I don't pay too much attention to nutritional content of the fruits I eat. Instead, I listen to my body and how it feels. Also, I don't bother with protein, calories, nutrition, RDA's etc. anymore. My experiences just didn't match up to what modern nutrition teaches, so I threw all the modern nutritional info I thought I knew out of the window a long time ago and started learning for myself, from scratch, how my body reacts to different fruits, through learning the way to live the Fruitarian lifestyle for myself and not being dependant on others. I have complete faith in knowing that if I'm lacking in any nutrients, it will be made up for at a later date, so I have no concerns or worries regarding the nutritional aspect of my diet.

How long have you been a fruitarian?

12 long, weird and wonderful years and I'm enjoying great health now. Due to my severe detoxification symptoms, dramatic weight loss and many failed attempts at trying to get off cooked foods, my detoxification period was a nightmare experience, which was made worse by the fact that I was doing it all unsupported and with no guidance. For that reason, I quit fruitarianism more times than I can remember, but in my heart I always knew that if I could just weather the storm, I'd be ok. At that time, there were no Fruitarian mentors willing to inspire or show the way forward. I received no support from the raw food forums either. Being a Fruitarian at that time was not good because you were seen as an extremist so I was just ridiculed, verbally attacked and told that I couldn't possibly last any more than 2-3 months on an all fruit diet. So, in the end, I just got sick and tired of seeking support and trying to find like minded people and I soon realised that if I wanted to do this Fruitarian thing, I would have to go it alone.

What made you decide you wanted to become a fruitarian in the first place?

fruitarian blackmanMy health was getting worse as I got older and by the time I was in my early twenties, I could see the same pattern occuring in others too in exactly the same way. So, I knew that at some level, something was going wrong with our societies eating habits.

I came from south east London, England. My family weren't exactly rich so, cheap junk food and cheap meat was a way of life. I was brought up a meat/junk food eater until my mid twenties.

Up until then, I had lived to eat and didn't know any different. In fact, food was a great comfort to me and it was how I used it to deal with the stresses in my life! I ate anything and everything I could, no matter what the ingredients. The only thing I didn't like was seafood and, as I said before, I simply didn't know any better and absolutely no thought of health went into my eating habits. It simply felt so good to eat cooked food that I just assumed that if it wasn't safe It wouldn't be sold in the stores.

As the years went by, getting the regular colds and flu's that everyone else was getting seemed to make less and less sense and I began asking myself why I felt it was normal to get sick on a regular basis. I also started to notice that I felt bloated, blocked up, full of mucus and constipated but the problem was that I'd always felt like that but for some reason I was starting to become more sensitive to it.

Eventually, it reached the point where I couldn't stand to eat anymore cooked food, the more I ate, the more bloated I felt and I could hardly breath because of the mucus build up. So that summer, I stopped eating cooked food altogether and for some reason, I started eating fruit. The strange thing was that I had never touched fruit before that.

I just went out and went with my instincts. I started with mangos, melons and grapes. I was in HEAVEN! It felt so good. The quality of my health got better, my skin became bright and clear, my body odors disappeared, I felt much more energetic, I could breath clearly and my stomach was no longer bloated.

All the changes felt so right that I wanted to commit myself to just eating fruits all the time. I did some research and I later learned that cooked food is refined, processed, manipulated, manufactured and for the most part is unnatural and often has additives, preservatives, addictive ingrediants such as MSG's, etc put in it.

After learning all this information, in my heart, I knew I just wanted to eat fruits and, again, while researching on the internet, I found out that, low and behold, there was such a thing as Fruitarianism. I proceeded to do more research and take the first steps towards making it happen. Now, as a longtime Fruitarian, I personaly believe that back at the dawn of time, we were foragers and we ate whatever we were attracted to, things such as fruits, nuts, etc. in their fresh natural state. I don't believe for one minute that we were naturally attracted to eating living animals complete with hair, scales, claws and all. That would be like looking at your pet dog and thinking how tasty it would be between two burger buns.

I get bloated and feel terrible when I eat animal. I don't each much of it at all. I've never been a big meat eater. But I understand what you are saying because it makes since and humans do live like you described. I get my protein mainly from protein drinks and bars. Do most fruitarians get protien from other sources?

For the most part, experienced Fruitarians will avoid sources of high protein because we believe that we get what we need in the correct amounts from fresh fruits. But, as I said before, going Fruitarian is such a personal journey and it's really up to the individual and their level of experience, for instants a lot of people new to Fruitarianism will overeat on nuts, dried fruits and fats simply because they miss the heavy blocked up feeling that cooked food gave them. The problem is that all nuts, unless stated as raw, are heat treated in some way, which is another reason why most experienced Fruitarians will avoid them. There's a lot of pressure put on people to comply with modern nutritional recommendations but generally the more experienced Fruitarians don't live by the modern nutritional recommendations. Instead, they listen to the day- to- day needs of their body.

I heard that you have opened up a Dallas Fitness Club. Can you tell me more about that?

richard fruitarian blackmanYes. It's actually a Club I set up to get people from all walks of life together and getting active and to show the benefits of choosing better eating habits. We focus on exercises that come natural to our bodies such as running, walking and calithenics. I did this partly because getting active is a great way to get people thinking about better performance through better eating habits. I found that Raw Vegans were often pretty sluggish due to all their energy being used in the clean up process and were struggling and paying the price for not getting active.

I myself was caught up in the typical Raw Vegan mentality of being lazy and complaining about every single ache and pain but, I soon realized that I was feeling that way because I wasn't helping my body with eliminating the waste that the fruits were stirring up, by getting active and by not getting active. I was just holding in all the waste that I needed to get out. I soon realized that getting active was the key element to success as a Fruitarian. I put this down to a lack of education and genuine leadership as there are very few people that actually make the transition to Fruitarianism/Raw Veganism, let alone getting fit too. So, I guess with this club, I'm kind of leading by example and showing people that getting Raw and active can of great benefit during the detoxification process and beyond.

I don't charge a membership fee, monthly subscription or get anyone to sign a contract. I believe that if you really want to help people you will do it for free. It's also my vision to build a stronger community and support network for individuals that want to pursue a better quality of life and well being with other like minded people.

Young or old, fit or not it - doesn't matter. I'm trying to encourage people to take that first step and come as they are and take part in various activities such as hiking, trail running, backpacking, canoeing/kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing, camping, potlucks and anything else we can think of, where we can meet up and socialize, share Raw Vegan experiences, discuss health and fitness, etc. - raw or not, everyone is welcome to join in on the fun.

For me, it's up to the individual what goals they set for themselves because we all understand that we all have to start from somewhere and we all recognize that we can only get to where we want to be by putting the work in. Our goal is simply to help you get to where you want to be. So, for that reason, we all strive to provide a motivating and supportive environment.

Very impressive. You are so right about if you are really wanting to do something for someone, you wouldn't charge a fee. When a person charges a fee, it's helping them, not the other people. Tell me about the hike and pot luck you had recently.

It was pretty nerve racking, waiting for people to show up, especially when I really had no way of publishing it before hand. It pretty much came about from conversations with various people that turned into action. It turned out that all but one of the people that said they were going to show up actually showed up and we actually had a great time. I wasn't sure what to expect but, I knew that the shyness and anticipation would melt away as soon as we hit those hills. We were blessed with great sunny weather and dry conditions. We set off on a difficult hilly trail and although we had kids in carriers and on foot, I knew we could complete it. We just took it easy, yet still got our workout done. We took a break halfway through at a stopping point and it was great to see everyone coming together and discussing their raw experiences and sharing advice. It warmed my heart to see.

The guys did really well, my wife did excellent and they beat those hills in good style. It got tough in parts of our mantra during the hike became "I WANNA SEE THE SWEAT!!!"

When it was all done, we gathered for the potluck and brought out the big guns: watermelon, apples, nuts, and other's brought some homemade juice, which went down real well in the Texas heat. One of the juices nearly knocked me out because it tasted like "gin & juice" but,it was just a strange mix of pineapple, aloe vera and oranges. A good day was had by all and the slower pace was a good chance for me to actually see the scenery that was around me instead of whizzing straight through it like I would normally do if I was by myself.

That sounds like that would have been fun. Sometimes a slow pace hike is good. Like you said, so you can enjoy it. How many followers do you have in the fruitarian?

When it comes to the Fruitarian Lifestyle, I don't believe in people being followers. I believe in sharing information and encouraging people that come to me for advice to experience the Fruitarian lifestyle for themselves. I don't believe in spoon feeding information to people or soft soaping issues. I tell it like it is. I've got nothing to sell so, I don't have to pet or pamper people. For me, it's all about tough love and getting people to realize that they got to put the work in to get the results. I've been called "Hardcore" many times and a lot of people get scared or shy away from me and my group because they know that I don't listen to excuses and that I'm going to push them outside of their comfort zone. But, I've learned that you got to get "hardcore" about your health because nothing about going Fruitarian is easy and support is going to be pretty hard to find.

On my forum, I currently have over 20 members and we've seen many people come and go on there but, the guys that have stuck with it have amazed themselves by achieving great things. We are very supportive but at the same time, we keep it real. We don't stand for any nonsence because some of the guys are going through some sensitive issues due to detoxification. Keeping the environment positive is a key element to their success. There's also many, many people that contact me via email that I help out too. My whole philosophy with all of this is that I'm not here to be a Fruitarian guru, I'm just a guy that has got further than most and is willing to share his personal journey.

How do you feel your health differs from those that eat american/western diets?

Over ther years, I've learned that cooked food is extremely dehydrating because, the cooking process robs it of oxygen, water and enzymes which puts more work on the body to digest it and get rid of it's waste. This continual process will eventually rob the body of it's energy and ablity to rebuild or protect itself from disease. Whenever I used to quit Fruitarianism and go back to cooked foods, all my aches, pains and allergies, etc. would return like clock work. Now back on Fruitarianism, I'm experiencing the best health I've ever had and by getting active, my stamina and strength have gone sky high. I just want to show everybody that with dedication and patience, they too, can experience improved health and well being.

You really do sound so positive about what you are doing. What do you feel stands out the most about a fruitarian lifestyle?

For me, it's got to be the urge to get active and building muscle. I've been on both sides of the track, I've been a hard core meat eater and I'm now living life as a Fruitarian. I can honestly say that if I eat cooked food, my motivation to get out and do what I enjoy goes away and I feel heavy and sluggish. Another thing is, that back in the day when I was on cooked food, what I thought was muscle was not and I now realize that the rules we lived by when we were on cooked food don't apply when you go raw, The problem is that cooked food gave me the impression of mass and bulk but really it was just water retention and fats, When I go raw, my body gets rid of all of that and I would feel naked. Unfortunatly, our bodies don't know anything about machismo and goes about doing it's job of cleansing us.

It took me years to come to terms with my "nakedness". I would quit many times because I felt embarrassed because I was too skinny. I learned that my health was more important than my vanity and that cleansing is a process we have to go through and part of that process is letting your body get back down to it's natural size and shape and letting it do what it's got to do.

As far as building muscle goes, I realize that I never really built muscle until I got active as a Fruitarian When I was on cooked food, I was athletic and strong but ,it was all water and fat. Building muscle is a slow process. It's important that, as raw bodybuilders, we set our sights on cleaning first and while your doing that, you can stay active until your body has done cleansing and is ready to grow.

You are not saying anything I haven't already studied upon. I know what you are saying is true. I am just not 100% positive about eating nothing but fruit. I know God placed fruit on this earth for us to enjoy. I don't believe meat is the answer for our bodies either. So, I am still listening to everything you are saying. But, for some reason, you are opening my eyes more than others have. Do you have any advice to people that wish to build more mass?

Think about your health first, make your gains naturally, find what exercises/activities you enjoy the most and work best for you and do them like there's no tomorrow. Just remember that you get out what you put in so make every workout better than your last!

What projects do you have in the future?

My aim is to spread the word and show how important it is to get Raw Vegans and Fruitarians up and active via my website, discussion board and outdoors club. I'm also looking to make a Fruitarian Fitness/Day in the life type video or DVD, featuring myself at some point. I have no idea how it's going to happen because I'm operating all this on no budget what so ever but, I'm believing that some way, some how, it will happen. I'm working hard at building up and promoting my outdoors club as it is still in it's infancy.

Where there is a will, there is a way. Maybe someone that is reading this could have an idea to help you, since you are helping so many other people. If someone wished to contact you, how would they?

I can be contacted at fruitarianone@yahoo.com . I can also be found on my own forum www.rawfitnessandoutdoors.com

Could you tell me a story of how you have gotten where you are today?

When I first started on my Fruitarian journey, I pretty much had to blaze my own trail. I had no experience or knowledge of raw foods and needless to say, I really wasn't prepared for my detoxification. I had to learn my trade by trail and error. I tried to research but, there wasn't enough information to prepare me. I didn't wean myself off of cooked food gradually. I made the big mistake of thinking I could go cold turkey and after having a great week or two the detoxification, symptoms crept up on me and took me by surprise and before I could get a grip on myself, I was foul, aggressive mentally and physically, resentful towards things that I normally would not bother with!

I also had a lot of anxiety too... my thoughts were very negative. I was lashing out at people that meant a lot to me and I was even worse to the one's that didn't mean anything to me at all! A couple of relationships were fractured in the process. On top of this, I was usually mentally and physicaly exhausted 24-7. Every body thought I was crazy, nobody supported me at all, and I was totally overwhelmed. I didn't have the chance or the skills to detach myself from what was going on inside me like I had planned. I believed every bad thing that was going on in my head to be true. It was impossible for me to tell the difference between fact or fiction at this time. I went from a happy go lucky guy, that every body wanted to be around to the exact opposite! But, it really wasn't anyone's fault.

What was really going on was that I was detoxing! My body was using every thing it had to clean itself! My detox was very uncomfortable because I was eating to many heavy fruits and not enough juicy fruits and my body wasn't flushing out the toxins. So my toxins were just being re-absorbed. It was also the first time I had done anything like this ever! I didn't know what was going on or how to deal with this. My liver/gallbladder was being cleaned and I was releasing my anger/resentment from the past/present and I had a lot of that!! Pretty soon, I built up a healthy resentment towards this Fruitarian diet. It was the cause of so much pain and confusion for me! I decided that I wasn't happy doing it.

I didn't like the change that went on in me. It stopped me from being social and pleasent. It made me lose so much weight and besides, I wanted to eat pizza and fried chicken and fries, ice cream, etc. sooooo bad! I would quit! I'd be happy for a week or two then, I'd start feeling blocked up and bloated again. I would go back to getting sick and feeling like an old man. This would go on for years but, the more I cleansed, the worse I felt . When I went back to cooked food and the more of an opportunity I had to look at how my emotions were controlling my progress.

I've learned that I had to detach myself completely from the get go and also research and learn exactly what my body was going through in the detox process. I began to see what was really going on and help my body instead of getting stressed and making things worse My main problem was getting over my cooked food addiction. I found that condiments and salt were the hardest of all to give up. For example I used to eat 6-9 avocados a day with some type of condiment, then after a while I started to notice that I'd get mad if we had run out of dressing. I began to question if it really was the avocado I was wanting? I stopped using the condiments and now I found that naturally, I can barely eat one avocado a day.

What I found really helped me was writing down my goals and how I felt when I was on cooked food and it also helped to stay from stressful situations/people. I always say that if you have an issue, going fruitarian will bring it to the the surface wherever you like it or not! So, be prepared for a fight. A fight that may last years but it's a fight that WILL get easier but please let me tell you this: YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE A NICE PERSON OR HAVE A NICE TIME in the begining, you may have cut down on your social activities for a while, stick fast to your goals and don't let this society tell you any different.

When I first started, every body, including the guru's, told me that I couldn't survive on just fruit and that I was "doing it all wrong" but it was the way my body wanted it and to be honest with you, I feel like I'm not of this world. I often feel as though I can blend in with the air I breath. Breaking away from societies addictions was the best choice I ever made and I will never go back. My skin, from head to toe, has transformed from rough and tough to soft and silky. I don't get colds or flu's anymore. I don't feel the aches and pains I used to have. My body has gone to it's natural shape and I'm no longer bloated and constipated. I'm more physically active and at one with my body. But, my biggest victory of all is that I'm no longer a slave to cooked food. My thoughts are clearer and more positive. Don't get me wrong, it's not all sweetness and joy, the world is still what it is and I'm still human but believe me, when I say that the quality of my life has changed for the better, now the thought of growing old before my time and leaving strangers responsible for my health no longer seems mandatory.

I know you have done most of this alone but you have educated yourself so well. I can see the dedication in you. I can hear it in your words. You have gone through detox just like a drug abuser does and you did it alone. Not many people would be here today to talk about it. You have peaked my interest enough that I will be researching this myself. And I understand what you are talking about when you say you don't feel you are of this world. I know I am the same way when I am around other people that eat normally. They eat sweets and snack all day and actually see me as someone that isn't like them since I refuse to eat that stuff. But you know what I have learned? They want to be more like me, they want to be able to say no. They want something to believe in. A goal to reach. But, they don't want it bad enough. Instead, they would rather hate me for achieving it. They would rather shun me, talk about me and turn me away because I have the strength in me to do what they can't or won't. But I use to be on the other side, too, when I ate what they ate, sat around all day and watch TV just like they do. But, I have to tell you, I was miserable...just like they are now continuing to live the way they do. Since I have changed my life, my life is so great! I feel great. I look great. And they hate me for that. But, I just find people that are like me, which is really hard to find this day in time. I look for people that are active, love themselves, and care for themselves. If I don't find anyone like me, I'd rather be alone. Thank you! Okay, enough about me. On with the interview. Do you have anyone you can thank for helping you get where you are?

Yes, mother nature and My wife. Before I met my wife, I was just constantly having to deal with other people's fears about not eating cooked foods, even people that didn't know me would make rude comments on how skinny or bad I looked. Yes, I looked bad and I lost a lot of water and fat, which made me look as if I had lost a bunch of weight. But, I had already accepted the fact that this was what I had to go through to rejuvanate my body. My wife was the person that got me on to cleansing and this was the main element to me gaining muscle because the cleaner I was internaly, the more energy I had to rebuild myself. After my workouts, I was also able to absorb more nutrients from my fruits.

Do you have any sponsors you would like to mention?

I wish, I'm always looking for sponsors/businesses in the Dallas area to get behind us that can donate their services such as printing RF&O T-shirts, leaflets and flyers/posters or provide space for RF&O, to hold free talks on the active natural lifestyle or hold a RF&O activity/event?

Where do you want to be in 5 years?

I want to be training, reaching a wider audience, motivating and supporting people in their pursuit of a healthier, more active lifestyle. Ideally, I want to get some sort of natural fitness certification and then have some type of facility for people to come to. Again, I've no idea how all this is going to happen but I know it will.

Where do you go for your knowledge of bodybuilding?

Vegan bodybuilding.com and Rosstraining.com, plus I do my own research so I can pass on knowledge to members on my forum, I've learned the majority of my bodyweight stuff from rosstraining.com. The guys there are pretty accepting of guys that train that with their bodyweight.

You talking about www.veganbodybuilding.com, Robert Cheeke, which is one of our Team Real Gainz VIP runs that site. He is awesome! What one secret can you share with me on how to gain the most muscle the fastest?

I guess, most of my info would be more relevant to people going Fruitarian or Raw Vegan but, for me first and foremost, it's all about cleansing then to give the body as little to deal with as possible interms of what you put in your stomach. I've learned that as the years go by, the more troublesome foods you give it to digest, the less energy and resourses it has to get it's other rebuilding duties done.

Actually, the information you just gave can go to people that are not vegans and fruitians. Everyone needs to make sure their body is cleaned and the energy they have goes to being active, not spend on trying to digest food. You are married, right? Can you tell me about her?

Married to the most beautiful women in the world, she's been very supportive even when, at times, it's been hard to understand the changes I go through.

It sounds like we need to do an interview with her and name it, "My life with a Fruitian". Have kids, can you tell me more about them?

I have two children living in Dallas, Texas. My wife has always been extremely supportive of my choice of lifestyle. She's an inspiration and the other half of my heart. We raise our two kids as vegans and they have access to as much raw foods in their diet as they wish. We count ourselves lucky, because both children enjoy eating fruits. My daughter has greater access to them, because she spends more time with me at home.

It's such a great feeling when you actually hear your child pleading and even throwing a fit for fruits. It's a better feeling when you go shopping and you're picking up grapes as snacks for the children instead of cookies. My wife and I like to take every opportunity to teach the children as much as we can about respecting animals and their environment.

I also run a rescue mission for Doberman Pinschers, which is handy because the children get to see the correct way to treat and care for dogs that have been neglected. We have our own Doberman called Luke, and he came to us with all kinds of allergies. But now he's raw too and no longer has allergies. I've come to some of my best insights just by watching Lukes progress on raw foods.

I've never thought about that! My mom's dog will scratch itself silly from allergies. It mostly comes on her dog when she feeds him meat! Hummm.....Something to think about....Who had the most impact on you growing up?

My mother and my uncle Tony, for their mental toughness but ,most of all, it was the people that I Rugby League brought into my life that took me under their wing when I was just a young kid away from home like Alf Tattersfield, Mick Smyth and Malcomn Shuttleworth and Trevor Oldroyd, my old amature Rugby coaches, for seeing something special in me and taking time out to pass on their knowledge. I'll always say that Rugby League saved me from following the wrong path, it was the Father I never had, it's hard and uncompremising work ethics taught me how to be honest and honourable. let's face it, when your playing in front of 2-3000 people and the fate of the game rests on you because your on your try line and you have a 250-300lb dude intent on running through you to score because your the smallest person in the line, you soon find out what your made of.

Any shout outs?

To my wife and children and all the poeple that said I would not succeed.

David Klien at Living Nutrition.com

Ross Enamait and the guys at rosstraining.com

Robert Cheeke at Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness

Richard Watts from godfist.com

To anybody that felt they had the right to shoot my dreams down

Frank Obudo, my friend, and "ghetto gym" workout partner

Now look, all of those people that tried to shoot your dreams down, how many magazines have they been featured in? (laughing) Nanny nanny boo boo! What is your greatest achievement in life?

For me personally, it was getting married to a supportive woman that I could share my life with.

Well, she has a well educated, respectful man that cares a lot about her. What is the proudest moment of your life?

Becoming a dad. It was my first child and we are into the whole natural child birth thing so, we had a mid-wife and our daughter was born at home and my wife had no medication. I got to be in the middle of everything. It was amazing and I simply can't imagine why any guy wouldn't want to be at the birth of their child. So, I got to say that the proudest and most moving moment is being there for my wife and being the first person to see the top of my daughters head appear for the first time, then within a minute she was born.

My ex-husband was there when our son was born and he will say the exact same thing, what a chance of a life time it is to share the birth of your child with your spouse. He still talks about it. What are your interested outside of bodybuilding?

First and foremost comes my family then, comes the great outdoors. I'm all about living life to the fullest and I'm pretty much up for trying any outdoor activity, but there's nothing like getting out on the trails, putting some tough routes together and going on a long hard hike, bare chested, with the hot sun beating down. It's my dream to one day take my family to see the sights of different places around the world.

Also, I'm a great fan of Tattoo's. If I had the money to spare, I'd be covered from head to toe. Helping people that want to go raw has unexpectedly become a big part of my life. I also run a Dobie rescue for unwanted Dobermans.

What is the one thing you would like to change about yourself, if you could?

I'm not business/money orientated...I'm always helping people out and doing stuff for free! I really should turn this raw thing into a business like everyone else does but, I don't believe in making people pay for something that mother nature already gave to us for free!

Richard Blackman fruitarian

What are your PR's in press ups, squats, pull ups, and Dips?

Bodyweight reps in one hour:

Dips: 800
Chins: 420
Press ups: 2015
Squats: 540
calf raises: 4000
One Handed push ups: 700
In one set:
Press ups: 160
Chins: 36
Dips: 100
squats: 400
Handstand push ups: 28
One leg calf raises: 2614

Do you use dumbbells, free weights, machine or all of the above?

No, I do Calisthenics/bodyweight exercises

Explain why.

It actually started off with me being sick and tired of not having the weights equipment I needed to continue with my workouts, I had ran out of weights and didn't have the money to buy anymore. For this reason, I was also contemplating on joining a gym, so in between time I started messing around and making up the rest of my routine with push ups and bodyweight squats until I could figure out what I wanted to do. I didn't really know what I was doing but from there I went on to doing as many reps as I could do in an hour and I found that it was actually harder and more enjoyable than my regular weights routine and by this time the idea of spending money every month on a gym membership plus all the fee's that go with it, just wasn't sitting well with me at all. Before I knew it, one thing had led to another and it wasn't long before I had created a full body routine of bodyweight exercises and making solid gains. The longer I continued doing the bodyweight stuff, the more I learned that there was a whole lot more I could do without needing to use any weights or spending money on gym fee's. I felt that this discovery went hand in hand with my Fruitarian lifestyle and my efforts to get Raw Vegans more active and wanted to find a way of sharing my message and so Raw Fitness and outdoors was born and as they say, the rest is history.

What is your favorite exercise and why?

I'm not really sure if I have a favorite because I love them all for different reasons but, I really get a kick out of doing dips because it's a classic example of the use of brute strength and I always make good gains with dips. I feel like a beast after each set. I think I'm just a fan of the pushing exercises in general.

It has been really a pleasure interviewing you. We are about to close, If you have anything else you would like to add, now is the time:

Yes, thanks for having me and giving me the opportunity to share my story.....THERE'S NO EXCUSES FOR BETTER HEALTH WE ALL GOT TO GET UP AND BE ACTIVE Y'ALL. WE ARE ALL GETTING OLDER AND WE ONLY GET ONE BODY AND ONE LIFE AND DON'T LEAVE YOUR HEALTH IN THE HANDS OF OTHERS!!!!!!!!!!!
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