The first step to knowledge is to know that we are ignorant.
—LORD DAVID CECIL
It takes three to four months for the body to recycle all its blood cells. That is, every three or four months, you have an entirely new supply of blood cells. Consequently, twelve weeks on this program is enough to replace all or most of the blood you have now with blood cells at the peak of health. With healthy blood comes a healthy body—and a healthy body has no use for excess pounds. Live the pH Miracle for healthy weight loss and it will change not only your weight but also your life. Forever. You’ll be, literally and figuratively, a different person three months from now.
Tens of thousands of men, women, and children have used the alkaline lifestyle to lose weight and keep it off—and be healthy and strong. You have to experience for yourself the difference in how you feel, think, and act to understand the depth of change it brings about in you.
Some of you will plunge right in, do this all out, and see amazing immediate results. If that’s an approach you are truly comfortable with—it’s a personality thing—then I say, go for it. Most people, however, benefit from a slower shift. If you are in the second category, then I recommend working through the first six steps laid out in this chapter gradually so that when you reach the seventh step—which is, as I explain later, really the beginning of your twelve weeks—you are 100 percent ready to do the program 100 percent. That’s the best formula I know for 100 percent results that are 100 percent permanent. Your life will change just as surely one small step at a time as it does for those who leap first and ask questions later. And it’s more likely to be a change that feels natural—a change you’ll stick with. A change for life.
So this chapter walks you through putting together all the pieces laid out in this book: hydrating your body, eating right, exercising properly, taking your supplements, and cleaning up your emotional, psychological (goals), and spiritual (cleansing inside and out) self. Then, finally, you’re truly ready to start. With Step 7 you’ll begin with a Liquid Cleanse, transition into the full pH Miracle Living program, and journey to the new, lean, healthy, energetic you.
STEP 1. HYDRATE
Your first step toward your ideal weight must be, for all the reasons given in chapter 5, to fully hydrate your body. That’s a simple enough place to start: Drink water! Good water, of course. Alkaline water (pH 9.5 or above). If you don’t have a water machine that will do the job, buy distilled water and add to it sodium bicarbonate, sodium chlorite, or sodium silicate, as described in chapter 5.
You must commit to getting all the water your body needs to be healthy, and at a healthy weight. To that end, take a minute right now to figure out how much water you need, and plan how you’re going to get it. Recording it all in the space at the end of this section will help you set, and stay on, your course.
Every day you need 1 liter of alkaline water for every 30 pounds you weigh. Thus a 210-pound person needs 7 liters a day, a 150-pound person needs 5, and so on. Write down your target daily alkaline water intake in the space at the end of this section.
Estimate how much water you actually drink each day right now. Count only alkaline water, not soda, fruit juice, coffee, or other sweetened, caffeinated, or carbonated liquids. Translate how much you drink into liters; 1 liter is roughly 34 ounces, 1 cup is 8 ounces. Write this down in the space provided in the chart on here. Now calculate how much more you need to drink each day to reach your target, and note that down too.
Work up to your target gradually. I suggest increasing the amount of alkaline water you drink a little bit each day over the course of a week: Divide the amount of water you’re adding in by 7—the amount you’ll increase each day for a week until you’re on target—and create a schedule for yourself. Make it real: Write it down in the chart. Keep it with you, or post it where you’ll see it often. Then do it.
For example, if you weigh 180 pounds, you need to get 6 liters of electron-rich alkaline water every day. If you already average 2½ liters a day (which would be pretty good by typical American standards!), you need to add in 3½ more. Divided by 7, that means half a liter a day over the next week. Tomorrow, drink 3 liters, the day after 3½, the next day 4, and so on. Your chart would look like this:
|
Amount of Water to Add (liters) |
Daily Target (liters) |
| Day 1 |
½ |
3 |
| Day 2 |
½ |
3½ |
| Day 3 |
½ |
4 |
| Day 4 |
½ |
4½ |
| Day 5 |
½ |
5 |
| Day 6 |
½ |
5½ |
| Day 7 |
½ |
6 |
If the amount you calculated seems like too much to add each day, you can stretch out the time it takes to reach your target, over ten days or two weeks or whatever you think you need. If you do that, your progress may not be as rapid. But this is a lifetime plan, and taking the time to do it right in a way that is comfortable for you makes it more likely you’ll stick with it and succeed over the long term. Of course, “gradual” isn’t for everyone either; if you are one of these, go ahead and drink your target amount today! If your body reacts too strongly, you can always cut back and build up again slowly.
I realize this will seem like a lot to drink at first. And it will be a big change for most people. It might be helpful to schedule your intake, at least at first: 1 liter first thing in the morning, another at 10 A.M., another with lunch, and so on, throughout the day, with a final liter before bed. (Once again: Commit to it by writing it down!) You should have alkaline water on hand at all times. Once you begin, you’ll find that the more water you provide your body, the more water it needs—and the more water you’ll want. You’ll develop the habit, and you won’t have to think much about it anymore. You’ll crave water.
If you come to a place where this plan stops working for you, where you’ve stopped losing weight but are not yet at your ideal healthy weight, then the first thing you should do is check your hydration level. When clients stop getting the results they want, or hit a plateau, it is almost always because they stopped doing the things that got them the results in the first place. Most often, they’ve stopped hydrating fully. When they go back to getting all the electron-rich alkaline water their bodies need, the pounds come off again. Subsequently, this first step on your path is also the first place to come back to should you ever lose your way.
| The amount of water I need to drink each day (target): |
_________liters. |
| The amount of water I currently drink each day: |
_________liters. |
| The amount of water I need to add to my day (subtract the number on the second line from the number on the first line): |
_________liters. |
| The amount of water I need to add each day over the next week (divide the number above by 7): |
_________liters. |
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Amount of Water to Add (liters) |
Daily Target (liters) |
| Day 1 |
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STEP 2. EAT RIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE
Step 2 is eating whole, natural, unprocessed organic foods, building your diet around green vegetables and healthy fats, as described in chapters 8 and 6, respectively. This, too, you may want to do gradually, letting your body get accustomed to the new energy you will be providing, and getting rid of acids more slowly, with less chance of the unpleasant symptoms that can result from releasing toxins. Or go all out right away, if that’s your style; the advice about building up to full hydration applies here as well.
For those who prefer the gradual approach, I call this period “transition.” The transitioning process is covered in more detail in The pH Miracle. The “Transitioning” chapter in that book suggests twelve steps to eliminating acidic foods from your diet. Briefly, they are:
1. Rethink breakfast, ditching acidic cereals, eggs, baked goods, dairy products, fruit juice, and coffee in favor of the same alkaline foods you’d choose at other times of the day on this plan, especially green veggies.
2. Cover three-quarters of your plate at every meal with vegetables.
3. Increase the amount of your food you eat raw.
4. Phase out sugary desserts.
5. Eliminate meat.
6. Get off dairy products.
7. Cut out yeast.
8. Get rid of white flour.
9. Switch from white to brown rice.
10. Avoid added sugar.
11. Eat only low-sugar fruits.
12. Check your condiments.
Getting specific makes it sound like all you’re doing is eliminating things you can eat, but by using the information about alkaline food in chapter 8, and the menus and recipes in chapter 12, you’ll find healthy, alkaline alternatives at each turn. Some foods, like tofu or grains or pre-made veggie burgers or cooked foods, you might use more of during transition, but eventually cut down on or eliminate as your body becomes entirely alkaline.
STEP 3. EXERCISE
Step 3 involves getting the right kind of exercise, in the right amounts. I’m a fan of rebounding, as you can tell from chapter 10, and you might also consider walking, swimming, bicycling, weight training or using a cross-trainer like an elliptical machine, or other exercise that will help you sweat out excess acids from your body. Whatever you choose, do it at least five times a week for at least fifteen minutes (and for up to an hour)—and make sure you sweat. Also, add strength training to your aerobic activity three times a week (on alternate days). Follow the program outlined in chapter 10.
Here again, a written plan will help you zero in on what your body needs—and commit to doing it. Start by writing down your favorite physical activities—get at least five. Put a check by the ones that move your muscles in ways that help your lymphatic system and get you to sweat. Of those, circle the ones you are going to make (or keep as) a regular part of your life. Stick to one you are passionate about, or mix it up if you like variety. Finally, on the chart below, or, better still, on your regular calendar, mark out for at least the next thirty days exactly when and where and with whom you will be doing those things—make appointments with yourself for at least five times a week for at least fifteen minutes (or until you break a sweat).
| My Five Favorite Physical Activities |
Good for Lymph/Sweat? |
| 1. ________________ |
________ |
| 2. ________________ |
________ |
| 3. ________________ |
________ |
| 4. ________________ |
________ |
| 5. ________________ |
________ |
| Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
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Friday |
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As with any new exercise program, you should check with your doctor before beginning.
STEP 4. TAKE YOUR SUPPLEMENTS
Once you’ve got what you drink and eat on track, the next phase is to add the electron-rich supplements described in chapter 9.
I recommend working up to your full doses gradually. Start with one capsule once a day and work up to the full recommended dose. As for the green drink, start by adding just one-quarter of a teaspoon to each liter of water, building up over time to reach the full teaspoon per liter. If you are highly acidic to begin with, try alternating green drink with plain good alkaline water with pH drops initially, and work up to all of your liters containing green powder.
Take capsule supplements with food or drink at least six times a day and liquid colloidal supplements under the tongue and before food or drink.
STEP 5. PREPARE YOUR EMOTIONAL ENVIRONMENT
You now have in place the major components of taking care of your physical body, but your journey isn’t complete unless you also take care of your mind, heart, and soul, as discussed in chapter 7. You must break the cycle of negative thoughts, emotions, and actions that acidify your body as surely as sugar does. Your whole lifestyle needs to be alkalizing, not just your food and exercise but also your relationships, spirituality, and emotional life. Cleanse yourself emotionally, nourish your spirit, reconnect to your true self. All of you, not just your physical body, needs to transition.
Take stock of where you are mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Like anything else you seriously mean to accomplish, you must make a plan for how you are going to progress in this area, including specific goals and a time frame and schedule. The strategies laid out in chapter 7 will guide you. It’s somewhat harder to give you specific recommendations for creating an “action plan” for this step than it is for the others, because we all need our own paths. This is definitely not a one-size-fits-all proposition.
In general, the best way I know to move toward knowing your full, spiritual, self is through daily prayer or meditation. Find a place of peace and quiet, even if that place is only in your own mind, where you can listen for the voice of what people all over the world, throughout history, have called by many names (self, soul, spirit, Brahman, Buddha, Nature, Atman, Christ Consciousness). It is here you will receive renewed physical, mental, and emotional strength for a life lived with love and joy.
You’ll also need to enlist your best emotional and psychological self to succeed in this program. It’s not a complicated program, but anything so different from what those around you are doing isn’t always going to be easy. So show up with your best self, in every aspect. And then use some simple tools to your benefit. Start with setting goals, and keeping tabs on your progress. Commit to your plan. Hold yourself accountable.
STEP 6. SET GOALS AND WRITE THEM DOWN
The best way to make sure you get where you’re going on any journey is to know where you are in relation to where you want to be. Set a goal for how much weight you would like to lose (or what weight you would ideally be), or what size waist you want to have on your pants, or what dress size you want to wear. The best gauge of results I know is body mass index (BMI) (see chapter 7). The following charts will help you make a map for yourself, and you can track your progress across it. Don’t fall into an obsession with the scale—that never helps—and anyway, the way you feel is the gold standard measurement for how this program is working anyway. Stick to taking your measurements once a week, and note them here as you go along. Pick a regular time to do it, like Sunday evenings, or Saturday mornings, whenever is convenient for you. You should always check your weight and measure your waist, buttocks, hips, thighs, chest, arms, and neck as well.
| My Measurements |
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Start |
Week l |
Week 2 |
Week 3 |
Week 4 |
| Date |
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| Weight (pounds) |
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| Chest |
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| Upper arms |
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| Neck |
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Week 5 |
Week 6 |
Week 7 |
Week 8 |
| Date |
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Week 9 |
Week 10 |
Week 11 |
Week 12 |
| Date |
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I also recommend getting your blood pressure, blood cholesterol, blood pH, blood glucose, urine pH, saliva pH, and body fat percentage checked just before you begin, then again after twelve weeks. If you check any of these more regularly, or if there are any other markers, like blood sugar or heart rate, that you normally track, keep a log of all your results in your daily log, as described below.
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Before |
After |
| Blood pressure |
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| pH of morning urine |
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Keep a daily log or journal of your experiences on the pH Miracle Living program. That will help you track what works best for you, and what you need to work on, and see if there is anyplace you need to modify your approach. It helps you keep your commitment to yourself—and see, in black and white, how it pays off, both tangibly (lost pounds and inches) and intangibly (found energy and elevated mood). A sample entry follows; a blank appears in the appendix (here) for you to copy and fill out.
STEP 7. CLEANSE YOUR BODY FROM THE INSIDE OUT
Okay, now you’re ready to start the clock running on your twelve weeks. Consider this “last” step as, actually, the beginning of the cycle. The true pH Miracle for weight loss begins with a two- or three-week “cleanse,” or “liquid feast,” which I’ll describe here. For that time, your food and supplement choices will be somewhat different from what’s already been described, although your hydration, exercise, and emotional work stay constant. Once you’re done with your feast (so called because it is so much more than a fast), you’ll move back to the alkaline eating plan you’ve already been working toward, like the one described in chapter 8. (See chapter 12 for menu plans to guide and inspire you.)
A liquid feast is like a bit of internal spring cleaning. It allows you the same kind of renewal. It allows you to move out a lot of acids and toxins that have built up over months and years of non-alkaline living. An acidic body doesn’t properly digest food, and a cleanse helps you clear out all the undigested food and acids from your gastrointestinal system.
Here’s what you do: Eat as much as you want, as often as you want, as long as all your food is green, electron-rich, and pureed or juiced. Be sure to include good fats, like avocados, and olive, flax, and fish oils. You must avoid all acidic foods entirely for the duration of the liquid feast. As usual, as much as possible of what you eat or drink should be raw. Not only will this infusion of alkaline energy rid your body of accumulated toxins and acids, but also it will allow your body to devote all of the energy it would otherwise need for digestion to healing you—from the inside out.
As the acids work their way out of your body, you may experience symptoms of detoxification, including bad breath, muscle aches, rashes, congestion, and allergy- or cold-like symptoms. If so: congratulations! The cleanse is working. I call this a “healing crisis.” But only a small percentage of people experience these symptoms, and they are generally remedied by full hydration. If you’ve worked gradually through the initial steps in this program, you’re less likely to encounter symptoms now. In order to let your body do the work it needs to during this time, I recommend as much rest and relaxation for you as possible. You can do low-impact exercise (like rebounding!), but if you are tired you need to rest to allow your body to cleanse and regenerate.
On the plus side, most of my clients drop 10 to 20 pounds during this first phase, as toxic acids and wastes leave the body, along with the fat that was holding them.
In addition, a word of warning: Stake out the closest bathrooms at home, work, and play, because you will be visiting often. Most acid-bound fat will come out through the bowels and the urinary tract. It can also come out through the skin or mouth, accounting for the rashes and bad breath side effects, or even the vagina. It’s all good. Getting acids out of your body is always for the best, no matter what the route or the short-term discomfort. There are worse things than pee-ing your way to health!
If you need to lose 50 pounds or less, you should do the liquid feast for the first fourteen days of your twelve-week program. If you’re shedding more, stay on it for twenty-one days. You’ll find menu plans for ten days on the cleanse below; just start again at day 1 to continue, or repeat the days you liked best. For the first day I’ll give you the full schedule, including supplements, exercise, and drinks. After that, the menu plans basically rotate out which recipes you follow each day to make sure you enjoy some variety in your program. The rest of the schedule remains the same every day.
Consider this a guideline. You may have to adjust the times to fit your own daily schedule. Take all supplements as directed here, or follow the directions on their individual bottles.
| Day I |
7 A.M. (or, upon waking) |
Drink 1 liter of green drink (water with pH drops and powdered greens), with fresh lemon juice if desired. Optional: add 1 teaspoon of soy sprouts powder, or eat the soy just before you drink the green drink. |
7:30 A.M. |
Take 5 drops of colloidal chromium under your tongue; or take chromium capsules at 8 A.M. as directed. |
7:35 A.M. |
Exercise for 15 minutes, preferably on a rebounder. |
8 A.M. |
Drink Minty Mock Malt (here). With your shake, take 1 (1000 mg) omega-3 capsule, 1 teaspoon of powdered soy sprouts, and 1 teaspoon of cold-pressed flaxseed oil (which you can mix into your shake).
Take a mild herbal laxative (see Box), 4 (500 mg) capsules.
Take 1 teaspoon of clay stirred into 4 ounces of warm water.
Take 1 (200 mg) capsule of carnitine, 1 (500 mg) capsule of Garcinia cambogia, 1 (200 mg) capsule of L-tyrosine and (if you haven’t taken the colloidal liquid form already) 1 (200 mg) capsule chromium. |
9 A.M.-12 noon |
Drink 2 to 3 liters of green drink with the optional soy sprouts powder. |
Noon |
Take 4 (500 mg) capsules of mild herbal laxative with last of morning green drink. |
12:30 P.M. |
Same as 7:30 A.M. |
1 P.M. |
Drink Esther’s Garden Soup (here) and take the same supplements as listed at 8 A.M. |
2-5 P.M. |
Drink 1 to 2 liters of green drink with the optional soy sprouts powder. |
4 P.M. |
Take 4 (500 mg) capsules of mild herbal laxative with some green drink. |
5:30 P.M. |
Same as 7:30 A.M. |
6:00 P.M. |
Eat Spicy Tomato Cabbage Soup (here) and take the same supplements as listed at 8 A.M., except the laxative. |
7-9 P.M. |
Drink 1 liter of green drink or plain water with pH drops and lemon juice. |
8 P.M. |
Take 4 (500 mg) capsules of mild herbal laxative with some green drink or water. |
| Day 2 |
Breakfast |
Mock Muesli (without the almonds) (here) |
Lunch |
Madrid Gazpacho (here) |
Dinner |
Roasted Red Pepper and Fennel Bisque (without the tofu) (here) |
| Day 3 |
Breakfast |
AvoRado Kid Super Green Shake (here) |
Lunch |
GRASSOUP (here) |
Dinner |
Creamy Cauliflower Confetti Soup (here) |
| Day 4 |
Breakfast |
Carol’s Creamy Veggie Soup (here) |
Lunch |
Soothing Cooling Tomato Soup (here) |
Dinner |
Rich Creamy Onion Soup (use fresh almond milk instead of coconut cream) (here) |
| Day 5 |
Breakfast |
AvoRadoColada Shake (here) |
Lunch |
TVP (Tomato, Vegetable, Pesto) Soup (leave out potato) (here) |
Dinner |
Montana Asparagus Soup (here) |
| Day 6 |
Breakfast |
Lemon Ginger Broth (add veggies if you want to) (here) |
Lunch |
Avocado Mint Soup (here) |
Dinner |
Fresh Tomato Basil Soup (here) |
| Day 7 |
Breakfast |
Celery/Cauliflower Soup (you can use broccoli instead of cauliflower) (here) |
Lunch |
Grapefruit/Avocado Salsa (pureed) (here) (you can use tomatoes instead of grapefruit) |
Dinner |
Vegetable Minestrone (here) |
| Day 8 |
Breakfast |
Lemon Lime Shake (here) |
Lunch |
French Gourmet Puree (here) |
Dinner |
Fresh vegetable juice (any combo of greens juiced; spinach, celery, parsley, kale, cucumber, etc.) |
| Day 9 |
Breakfast |
Cream of Broccoli Soup (use fresh almond milk or coconut water in place of coconut cream) (here) |
Lunch |
Green Gazpacho (here) |
Dinner |
Cream of Zucchini Soup (here) |
| Day 10 |
Breakfast |
Cream of Asparagus Soup (use fresh almond milk or fresh coconut water blended with the fresh meat of a Thai coconut instead of coconut cream) (here) |
Lunch |
AvoRado Kid Super Green Shake (here) |
Dinner |
Veggie Almond Chowder (here) |
You may substitute any recipe suitable for the cleanse from the recipes in chapter 12, or from The pH Miracle or The pH Miracle for Diabetes—either recipes listed as part of the cleanse plans in any of the books, or any drink, shake, or soup that’s entirely green and alkaline—and pureed. The suggested menu plans give you an idea of the combinations you might consider, but please, use the recipes you like best! Whatever you choose, liquefy all soups or shakes in your blender or food processor.
Always eat/drink until you are satisfied but not too full. If at any time of day you feel hungry, you can have more soup, shake, or green drink. Or you can make and drink fresh vegetable juice (using mainly green vegetables and definitely avoiding carrot or beet during the Feast because of their sugar content). Check the recipe chapter and our previous books for suggested juicing combinations. For maximum alkalizing benefits, mix one part vegetable juice with ten parts of electron rich alkaline water, and add 5 pH drops.
After your fourteen or twenty-one days are through, you need to ease your body back into the normal digestive process. Keep the first meal of the day a soup, shake, or green drink for a while. Add in coconut and avocado to your soups and shakes. For other meals, move first to chunkier soups—the same ones you’ve been using, but not pureed. Once your body’s adjusted to that, move on to salads, then slowly start adding in the 20 to 30 percent foods, the less alkaline and cooked foods, that cover the smaller portion of your plate at each meal.
As you enter this second phase, the amount of acids your body is throwing off lessens—much of what needed to go has already gone. New, healthy tissue is being formed on the strength of the true nutrition you are providing your body with. You’ll feel renewed strength and rejuvenation. You’ll enter the third phase sometime after completing the full twelve-week program when you have reached your ideal permanent weight and are in your most healthy state physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
The hardest part of the Liquid Feast—and, in fact, of this whole program—is deciding to begin. Once you’ve started down the path, you’ll begin experiencing the healthy, energetic, strong—and lean!—body you are meant to live in, and you’ll never want to turn back.
