DAY 171 OF 365: IF YOU MUST DOUBT SOMETHING, DOUBT YOUR LIMITS

Every morning when I walk to meet the group for the morning hikes I pass by this rock where a quote is written everyday. This morning I noticed the above quote which struck a chord with me. "If you must doubt something, doubt your limits". Well, at 6am in the morning that is a hard hitting life lesson and so true. Many times I have found that I wouldn't try something or take a leap of faith because I doubted myself. I am sure that you have all had moments where you took a second and said, you know what I am going to pass because I don't think I can do that. You took the easy route out. Who am I to judge, I have done the same. This healthier fitter me challenge and this retreat have made me realize though, that anything is possible. Who would have thought that a food junkie with a sweet tooth, would now be eating fresh fruit and whole wheat pancakes and waking up every morning at 5:30am to go on a hike. Six months ago I might have said no way. I would have doubted myself and my capabilities and missed out on a whole other side to life. 

This morning Diane and I ate by the pool and enjoyed a nice fresh healthy breakfast. I still can't get over how fresh the food is here at Rancho La Puerta and at the same time how healthy it is. We are actually on a calorie restricted diet here, which I found out at my lecture for "The role of calorie restriction, juice fasting and inner cleansing on health and longevity". Try saying that five times quickly! This lecture was given by the ranch's director of nutrition and I found it very insightful. We honestly don't realize how many toxins that we are putting in our bodies at any given day or for that matter how many nutrients that we are actually depriving our body. There are also so many fasting fads that are going on and also many juice diets, but if you don't do your research or follow them correctly you could actually be damaging your body and depleting it of actual fat cells and muscle that it needs. We learned that fasting should be done only 1 to 3 days and that if you are going to do a juice cleanse, use fresh ingredients and juice them yourself as the actual antioxidants and healthy vitamins will be dead after 30 minutes. 

The evening ended with a beautiful concert. They performed pieces from Porgy and Bess, Carmen and other arrangements. The perfect ending to another amazing day in paradise. Tomorrow I am going on a seven mile hike through the mountains. We leave at 6am and I am thinking that we will be back to the ranch by 11am. We will be given backpacks with a breakfast that we will have once we arrive at the top of the mountain. Then in the afternoon we are taking a cooking class at their renowned cooking school and garden where all these amazing recipes are created. I am really looking forward to that. Well, I am off to bed. Till tomorrow.