nodejs-website/pages/journey.sh

#!/bin/bash

# Move to the directory that this file is in.
cd `dirname $0`

# Create the necessary HTML components for a web page.
./helpers/body_open.php

#Content for this page
cat << EOF
		<div class="row">
			<h1 class="col-12 title">
				My Journey
			</h1>
		</div>
		<div class="row">
			<div class="col-12 text">
				<strong>Fast Asleep</strong>
				<p>
					Headaches, depression, digestive issues, lack of energy, and eventually
					unprovoked anxiety/panic attacks. This was the norm for me for most of
					my life. I ate a standard diet including fast food with meat always 
					being the main portion whether going out or cooking at home.
				</p>
				<p>
					Eventually I became lactose intolerant due to antibiotics but that was
					only a minor inconvenience, and did not always stop me from consuming
					things anyways. I had tried the pills which are supposed to help but
					didn't notice any difference. This didn't phase my diet though, just
					had to ask for "no cheese" and stop drinking milkshakes.
				</p>
				<p>
					What finally hit me hard enough to start changing things was the panic
					attacks and an itchy mole that had to be surgically removed. By this point
					in my early 20s I was already plenty skeptical of things like organized
					religion and businesses profiting off of people, but it started to occur
					to me that there were not many facts about health in my knowledge bank.
					What most people were doing and what I was doing is not working for us.
				</p>
				<p>
					When I looked in the mirror to see my eyes dilating frantically and body
					feeling shaky and nervous when simply resting or eating a meal I knew that
					something was wrong. Then it occurred to me: "Why would God or Evolution 
					ever produce a species that thinks of itself as so advanced, but has
					so many health issues that they consistently die prematurely or suffer
					chronically?" 
				</p>
				<strong>Waking Up</strong>
				<p>
					This lead me into a more nature-based approach to my lifestyle. Obvious
					things such as soda and candy were eliminated first. Next was fast food.
					By the end of it I had eliminated "food" such as meat as well since I
					admitted that if I was living in the wild, I wouldn't be able to kill
					a cow with my bare hands or teeth, much less chew on its raw carcass. 
				</p>
				<p>
					At this point my meals were mostly fruit and vegetables. I didn't really 
					know what I was doing though. I still allowed myself bread, so most meals
					were oatmeal or peanut butter sandwiches with either jelly or bananas. I 
					was feeling	better, but knew that bread didn't grow on trees so I needed 
					to keep going	further. This was around the time that a nasty looking and 
					extremely itchy mole had to be cut out of the back of my leg.
				</p>
				<p>
					My saving grace was quitting a restaurant job in order to seek a job
					related to my upcoming career field of Computer Science. This was the 
					summer of 2014 before my final year of school. I had figured out that my 
					hydration was trash and was now drinking at least a gallon of water a day.
					I didn't have luck finding an internship, but I had plenty of time to 
					research health, and ended up doing an apple fast.
				</p>
				<strong>Enter Fruitarianism</strong>
				<p>
					I gorged on apples. Multiple pounds a day for at least three days. I
					honestly did it not expecting it to work. Being able to live on apples
					seemed like a joke, but I was willing to try it as an experiment. To my
					surprise I started feeling better and better! By the end I had decided
					that there was power to this and needed to explore even more! 
				</p>
				<p>
					For the following three months I was a 100% raw fruitarian eating as many
					calories as I could. I followed the advice of many people, mostly vegan 
					athletes such	as Durianrider and Freelee, but also others like John Kohler
					and Dan "The Man" McDonald. Dan also provided lots of good advice on loving 
					oneself and improving mental, emotional, and spiritual life. I also made 
					sure what I was doing was backed by medical staff such as John McDougall.
				</p>
				<p>
					I still tell people this to this day: those three months in 2014 were the 
					best feeling of my life. My body felt like lightning. I had so much energy
					and felt like I could literally accomplish anything. I started riding a bike
					without having done it since I was a kid, and was able to ride to a town 
					dozens of miles away with no training or practice, and didn't even feel
					sore. My body was finally to the point that God or Evolution intended!!
				</p>
				<p>
					Acne, gone. Skin was glowing and I got many compliments. Suffering from 
					the heat and humidity of summer? Gone as well! My body was able to cool
					off so much faster without having cooked food stuck in digestion. There
					were so many weird things that people wouldn't think of being related to 
					diet and lifestyle. Michael Arnstein even mentions in some interviews that
					being fruitarian stopped him from getting earwax!
				</p>
				<strong>Health is a Lifestyle, not Diet</strong>
				<p>
					Speaking of lifestyle, that is something else I learned from listening to
					my new role models. "Sleep Water Sugar" as Durianrider used to say. The 
					<a href="https://files.hyperling.com/media/HealthPriorities.pdf" target="_blank">PDF</a> 
					on my main 
					<a href="/about/#health" target="_blank">Health</a> 
					section covers the 6 pillars that I found to be	highly important. 
				</p>
				<p>
					"CTFU" (Carb The Fuck Up) is first for a reason, in my experimentation 
					it was the most important one. Water and sleep follow because I found 
					my body does not operate or digest well if those are missing. Exercise 
					is next because it can go longer without being kept up. The last two 
					are more spiritual, and require the first four to be maintained in 
					order for them to be beneficial, but once they are achieved then they
					can help keep the first four in check when they dwindle.
				</p>
				<p>
					There was a day where I wondered if I was now cured of something and could
					go back to foods from my old diet. So one night for dinner I ate with my 
					family and had some sort of pasta with meat. After eating I ran an errand, 
					and remember within less than a few minutes, after only getting to the 
					street after our home, I started nodding off at the wheel. What a quick
					indication that certain foods are a no-go!
				</p>
				<strong>Back to the Real World</strong>
				<p>
					Why would I stop eating like this, you ask? This was a temporary situation.
					I was on summer break from school and free from any job. When the fall
					semester started I needed a job again to pay for gas, books, etc. So I
					added in clean RawTil4 type foods like rice. For many years I ate like this
					and still felt great. No oil, which I still don't do to this day. Also no 
					seasoning, I firmly believe in only eating food that you like the taste 
					of alone and would be happy eating as a monomeal. This is one of many
					reasons I don't like seasonings and prefer not to use them.
				</p>
				<p>
					Eventually I was corrupted and did end up adding more junk food vegan
					foods. I tried the fake cheeses, meats, ate food with oils, had processed
					snacks, etc. During this time though I stuck to the main principles of
					the PDF, and kept the carb ratio high as well as stayed hydrated and 
					rested. I could tell that the processed food was lowering my energy levels
					but I remained disease free and was still able to accomplish a lot. I
					still ate simple meals like fruits and rice when alone but was more 
					willing to go out with coworkers and family to restaurants.
				</p>
				<strong>Learning My Sensitivities</strong>
				<p>
					There are other things I was able to discover about my body as well when
					reintroducing cooked foods, such as alliums causing headaches, body pain, 
					nightmares, and with garlic specifically it becomes full-on night terrors. 
					These are an absolute no when I'm able to control it.
				</p>
				<p>
					Nightshades have also been slowly phased out. I avoid all potato unless 
					deep fried so that the poison is destroyed, although I do try to avoid
					deep fried food when possible. In 2022 as an experiment with my wife 
					while she tried a low histamine experiment I also found that tomatoes 
					were the reason that my nose has been running consistently for years! 
					I had been blaming bad air, but just goes to show that you can never 
					stop learning! So now even things like tomatoes and non-spicy peppers 
					have been cut out. These are less of an issue, but raw and undercooked 
					potatoes cause an obvious head and body tingle/ache. I've also found
					that eggplant digests terribly for me. 
				</p>
				<p>
					Stress is also a sensitivity for me. I tend to put myself in my work,
					so creating a work/life balance is important to prevent me from getting
					overwhelmed from a needy environment. When deadlines are not realistic
					or there is just too much work to go around I have learned to accept 
					that it is other's responsibilities to manage these things wisely. If
					the people saying these things need done are the same people who do not
					offer overtime compensation or other benefits for overworking then the
					blame and stress of not accomplishing these things cannot be mine. I
					cannot accept the responsibility of other people's mismanagement.
				</p>
				<strong>Current Lifestyle</strong>
				<p>
					Today I lean towards a more RawTilX style diet again. Breakfast consists
					of fruit, such as a pound or two of apples, or half a pound of dried
					mango rehydrated for a few hours in water. Lunch is a grain such as 
					rice or quinoa. Dinner is usually a high-vegetable dish and tends to
					include beans. Sometimes breakfast may be a water or dry fast, the fruit
					meal is done as lunch, and lunch and dinner are combined into one meal.
				</p>
				<p>
					Exercise comes and goes. Cycling is no longer a hobby of mine. A normal
					week will have multiple 20-30 minute dog walks as well as a few strenuous 
					hikes. Yard and garden work also contribute to keeping the body active
					and strong. It also aids in getting sun and fresh air!
				</p>
				<strong>Thank You!</strong>
				<p>
					I appreciate you making it through this! Hopefully you've not only learned
					a thing or two about me, but you've also obtained knowledge that you can
					help improve your life. That's my goal after all, helping others! 
					Take care, friend. :)
				</p>
			</div>
		</div>
EOF

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