[If you missed earlier posts about Spent, just follow these: Part I (In Search of Vitality), Part II (Weekend Edition), Part III (Awesome, Awesome, Wall), and Part IV (Loving It, Even on a Sick Day).]

Well, friends, I did it! I (more or less) followed the Spent program for six weeks, and would highly recommend it to anyone looking to add a little vitality, energy, and health to their life. And really, don’t we all want that? If you’ve been following along, you know that I did not follow the program perfectly, but even with my (smallish) cheats, I reaped amazing rewards. Part of me wishes I had done even more of the program, but I did what I could at the time; there’s no reason I can’t implement the other pieces in the future. In fact, I’ve already started to increase my restorative exercise. Anywho, here’s the rundown–

• More energy. I’m still not at the level I’d like, but I think that’s largely due to my poor sleep. [The program does address sleep issues, I just found it hard to follow many of the recommendations given my living/work situation. Additionally, if I'd followed the restorative exercise program more closely, that would likely have yielded more energy, too.]
• Clearer focus. This was a huge one for me. I’m the queen of foggy brain, and I really didn’t suffer from it much during this program. Hurrah for that!
• Nudge closer to vegan. I do want to address the program from a vegan standpoint. (For the record, I am currently a pescatarian who tries to make vegan choices most of the time.) I really wish Dr. Lipman had recommended more vegan options. For example, like he recommends whey powder instead of a hemp or other vegan protein powder. Rice protein powder is offered as a “lesser” alternative. Similarly, he suggests taking fish oil, rather than promoting the greener, vegan flax seed oil. Grumble grumble. He also supports low-mercury fish consumption, and suggests people eat only organic meats. I understand that many people would walk away from a program that promoted a vegan lifestyle, but he could easily have suggested more vegan options. At this point, you’re probably wondering why I said it nudged me closer to vegan. 1) There’s a no dairy phase, and this helped me realize admit just how sensitive I am to the stuff. I’ve had a slice of cheese here and there, but far less than before, and want to cut down even more. 2) So much of what he recommends for healthy eating is, surprise surprise, a plant based diet. Green smoothies, big salads, fruit and nuts for snacks. Because I’d already given up meat before I started, this was a nice reinforcement.
• Much more aware of my food sensitivities. I am no stranger to elimination diets and cleanses and the like. But perhaps because I’ve been cleaning my diet bit by bit, and because this is a longer program than many, some food sensitivities really hit home. As mentioned above, it became very, very clear how much dairy and I don’t get along. I also knew I was sensitive to sugar, but hadn’t realized just how much. But that’s a story for another post.
• Stronger, leaner body. The program has helped me develop more muscle tone through restorative exercise (yoga yoga yoga), and also helped me shed some stubborn weight so I could actually see my muscle tone. And this encourages me to want to do even more. I have hit my dream healthy weight, something I honestly never thought I could or would do.
• Confidence boost. Even though this program was pretty manageable, with lots of little changes, I’m still really proud of myself for sticking through it. Believe me–holding out on the wine was not easy sometimes. But I got through the other side and reaped the benefits.

The question now becomes, will I keep it up? The short answer is yes, mostly. I might allow a few more treats here and there, but believe me, they will be in moderation. I’ll post soon about my transition off of the program, and how that affected me. In the meantime, I hope this inspired you to give the program a try! If you do, please let me know how it goes.

At this point, I think I’ve got the diet part pretty much down (though I do still have to test my sensitivity to soy and corn when I reintroduce those after the program ends). No surprises here, but: fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, herbs and whole grains are all a-ok for me and my digestive system. I also realized with new understanding just how damaging sugar (Mom’s been telling me for at least a decade) and dairy are for me, and I don’t digest meat well, either. Gluten, as we well know, is my kryptonite, and you couldn’t pay me to ingest it at this point.

I think it’s important to not feel the need to be 100% perfect 100% of the time, though. Even Dr. Lipman says so! Seriously–it was one of the daily pulses: ease up. So, taking that advice, when we had our monthly TED talks evening over the weekend and a friend showed up with a delicious looking bottle of Montepulciano, I decided that I was going to give myself the OK to have a glass. Just one. And what happened as soon as I gave myself permission to do that? It lost the allure. I realized I cared more about feeling healthy than I did about sipping that robust 2007. Towards the end of the evening, I asked myself how much that glass of wine would have improved my experience if I’d had it earlier on. Would I still be enjoying the taste? Would I have been driven nuts by the fact that I couldn’t have a second? Would I have had a second or third? I realized that even if I enjoyed it while I was drinking it, the pleasure would soon be over.

Don’t get me wrong–I’m a big supporter of pleasure! Big time! But lately, feeling healthy and energetic is the real pleasure. Now that my tastebuds aren’t numbed by sugar and freaky oils and additives, fresh salad tastes really good. Long walks with friends leave me smiling for hours. The deep breaths and releases from yoga send me buzzing.

Which brings me to the part I really need to be working on. The food part, I get it. It’s the activity I need to work on. My darling man has been encouraging me to be more active since we met. And I really enjoy lots of physical activity. Hiking, kayaking, yoga, biking–all wonderful. I’ve definitely been better about physical activity since starting this program, but it’s going to be a while before I really make it a habit. I know the benefits, I have loads of inspiration, it’s just a matter of making time and getting off my butt.

And then there are days like yesterday and today when you just have to give in and accept defeat. I’m sick, my body aches and tummy’s funny and I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck. I’ve been spending a lot of quality time with my pajamas, tall glasses of water, and wonderful fella. I figure my body’s actually in a position to kick this bug quickly if I can keep giving it what it needs, so I’m trying to take it easy so I can get better. The universe must have heard my whining about having to go work this afternoon (truth be told, everyone must have. I pouted for at least an hour.), and just as I put on my coat, I got a message that my afternoon student wasn’t coming today! Oh hurrah! I stripped down and climbed back into my PJs in record time, grateful for this extra down time before my evening classes.

It feels a little silly to be twenty-five and trying to learn how to breathe effectively. I’d noticed how poorly I was breathing, and how difficult it had gotten for me. When a friend was over a few weeks ago, I said something along the lines of, “Don’t you hate it when you keep trying to breathe, and you feel like you’ve done the best you can getting air into your lungs, and you still feel totally short of breath? Even when you’re just sitting?” Her look said that this was clearly not something that was normal. Which made me ask myself, How on earth did I get to the point where I thought this was normal, let alone acceptable?

Cue the Learn to Breathe segment of Make Life Awesome. Lucky for me, I wasn’t starting from zero. The Spent program, which I had already decided to do, focuses on the power of breath, among other things. And I’ve been doing yoga off and on for a decade, with a few years of pilates thrown in there, too. I’d had discussions with my acupuncturist back in Philly about breathing, and she recommended Donna Farhi’s The Breathing Book, which Michael brought back for me in September. Clearly, this is something that I’d been circling around for quite some time, and my friend’s You’ve gotta be kidding me look was just the push I needed.

The good news is, now that I’ve made a commitment to focus on this, it really seems to be happening pretty easily. That icky feeling I described to my friend is pretty much gone, as I’ve learned to forget about breathing with my lungs, and really focus on breathing to my belly. (I know, I know–this is a very basic yogic principle, but sometimes I forget to bring those things off my mat.)

If this is something you’ve struggled with, I’d love to hear your stories. And both books linked above are great resources for any host of ailments. Happy breathing!

If you didn’t win, I still encourage you to pick up a copy of one–or all–of these books. They’ve each changed the way I live, and for the better. I would love to hear your thoughts on them. Or any other books you’ve read that have helped you shift your life into awesome.

That’s not what I’m going for—necessarily. What I care about is living a full, vibrant, energetic life while I’m alive and kickin’. I’m not just after longevity, I’m after vitality. This explains my latest reading choices (The China Study, Eating Animals), as well as my latest health adventure: following Dr. Frank Lipman’s Spent program, as outlined in his book. (I think his marketing team changed the title to the Revive program in later editions, but I’ll stick to calling it Spent if for no other reason than that’s how I think of it.)

This program seems to have a nice balance of regimentation and flexibility, which really appeals to me. I’m (pretty) good at following rules, and do much better with directives like don’t eat gluten than I do with general pronouncements about how it’s best to limit your intake of x to y servings a week. Dr. Lipman sets out forty-two changes—one each day for six weeks—designed to recalibrate your body and help you feel vibrant. It’s not all about food, either. He talks about sleep (something I’ve struggled with my entire life), environmental stressors, and the like.

Right now, I’m on Day 2, and so far, so good. I think (hope!) that yesterday’s change is the most difficult for me. Day 1 means No. More. Sugar. For six weeks, I’m not to have any added sugar, though fruit is fine. I’ve done a good job of weaning myself off my candy habit, but wine remains one of my greatest pleasures, and six weeks without any imbibing of any kind does not sound fun. It also means no refined carbohydrates, like the ubiquitous white rice and my favorite spring roll wrappers. But I’ve done this before (once on a 4 month candida cleanse, and then for multiple 3-4 week detoxes and elimination diets), and I can do it again.

For me, the trick is not feeling deprived. To that end, I went out yesterday and spent way too much money on healthy indulgences. I stocked up on sparkling water, which costs an arm and a leg here (but is cheaper than wine, right?), herbal teas (because caffeine is getting yanked at some point, too), and yummy fruits and veggies.

The Day 2 “change” was easy for me, as it’s already my favorite healthy habit: make a green smoothie for breakfast every day. I actually cheat a bit and make a massive green smoothie every other day and drink it over two days. It might lose some nutrients that way, but it’s what works for me at this point, so that’s good enough.

I don’t know all the changes ahead because I’m really trying to focus on the tasks at hand and take it one step at a time. 2009 was the year of getting my finances in order; 2010 is the year of finding my optimum health. I’m content to go slow and steady on this one, because I want these changes to stick. Feeling rundown all the time isn’t good enough for me. I want to live a big life, and that can’t happen when I feel completely depleted most of the time. That is why I am giving this plan a shot.

I would love to hear from anyone who has done this before, or anyone who is thinking of starting it soon. What do you do to feel vibrant?

(And stay tuned for my very first giveaway coming up in celebration of my 100^th post.)