On March 22, 2014, I met one of my all time favorite health guru superstars – Joe Cross, creator of the documentary “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.” Forget Brad and Angelina, meeting Joe was truly a bucket list moment for me! I think it’s obvious from the goofy smile on my face that I was completely star struck by a man who is now famous from doing a documentary about embarking on 60 day juice fast.

I was soooo excited to show him all of my “Reboot with Joe” goodies including a tote, a travel juice cup, and some of his other books!

Joe happened to be in Phoenix that Saturday as part of his book signing tour for The Reboot with Joe: Juice Diet book. I planned my entire day around the book signing. At 9:00am that morning I headed to Barnes & Noble to get my wristband (you know with my A type personality that I needed to be in the first group to get my book signed!!!). I happened to notice that they had chairs set up for his presentation and it was first come, first serve. I knew I had a few errands to run around town, so I did what I had to do and then made sure I was back at Barnes & Noble by 12:30pm the latest. I was so happy to get a seat!!!

I patiently waited until 2pm for his arrival. I figured a selfie was a good way to kill time! 🙂

Once he arrived and began talking, I sat in my chair, on the edge of my seat, wide-eyed, and soaking up every moment. I did my best to take pictures and videos of the event. I took as many as my phone could before it gave me the blinking red battery light. I then realized I better quit it because I had to save some battery life for my photo op!!

One of the things I love about Joe (yeah that’s right, we’re on a first name basis now haha), is that he is such a funny and charismatic speaker! He makes the topic of fruits and vegetables super interesting! And he doesn’t use boring technical words or concepts. His message is so basic and rudimentary that it makes complete sense. He’s not out there to sell a fancy weight loss product. He just wants people to run back into the arms of Mother Nature!!

As Joe explains, in our current modern day society, we are always looking for the quick fix and the processed food in the pretty box with the alluring advertising. We have abandoned Mother Nature (who has always been there for us humans) and we have completely cheated on her with the “pretty young thing around the corner” as Joe puts it – processed food. According to Joe, “70% of all the disease we suffer from in the modern world is a result of our lifestyle choices” (Cross, page 7). So he figured he had a 70% chance of curing himself of his autoimmune disease, chronic uritcaria, by changing his lifestyle. After only 5 months (60 days juicing, plus 90 days juicing & plant based foods) he did just that  – he eradicated that terrible disease and eliminated prednisone from his life!

Because I am such a fan of Joe and his message, I want to share with you some of the biggest takeaways that I have gained from his book and his presentation at the book signing.

• Extreme Ways:  Joe joked that the only vegetables he was getting in his diet before embarking on his health journey was the pickles on his Big Mac lol! He agrees that consuming only juice for 60 days was extreme, however, his lifestyle before was even more extreme!! He was sick, unhappy, and outsourcing his health to other people – doctors, pharmaceutical companies, witch doctors, etc! He finally figured out at age 40, after 8 years of being sick, taking medicine around the clock, and weighing 320 pounds, that he had to take responsibility and make a change!

• Marriage with plants: Plants have made us humans the strongest, most successful species on the planet! Think about the cycle of 02 and C02. We breathe out the C02 and the plants take it in. The plants release 02 and we need that to breathe! The relationship with us and plants has really been a beautiful marriage. Too bad we have been cheating with processed foods – oops! 🙁

• Nutrients: Macro & Micro:  Joe pointed out the difference between macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients consist of proteins, sugars, salt, fat, and carbohydrates. Micronutrients  are the vitamins, minerals, and phyto nutrients that help our bodies function. The problem is that we tend to be consuming way more macronutrients than micronutrients. Most people are only getting 5% of their calories from micronutrients. For better health, we need to start increasing that number!

• Fuel vs. Information: Do you think food is fuel? If you said yes, then you are half right! Macronutrients are the fuel that give you energy. Micronutrients are information! For example, vitamin C does not get burned to propel you forward in any way, rather it provides information for your cells to help your body to function properly.

• Why Reboot: On page 13 of the book he sums up the benefits of rebooting including: reseting your system, jump starting weight loss, boosting your immunity, having clearer skin, making digestion easier, reducing inflammation, and increasing your energy.

• $$ Spent on Sickcare Healthcare: Healthcare (or sickcare as he calls it) is a $2.7 trillion industry.  So what does that mean? For every dollar spent on the US economy, $0.16 is going to healthcare. And the crazy thing is that 70% of diseases are preventable with proper nutrition!

• Joe LOVES fiber, but not during a Reboot: During a normal day he juices, blends, and eats. However, during a reboot he prefers to juice only in order to turn off the hunger signals in his body. The first 3 days are the worst for dealing with the hunger signals, but by day 4 the body responds appropriately and you should feel great!

• Toxins:  Joe explains on page 16 that rebooting can help the body’s ability to reset and in turn assists with the detoxification process. When our bodies reach the maximum detox level that it can handle, the toxins get stored in organs, cells, and tissues instead of being released out. This is dangerous to our health as it contributes to inflammation, diseases, weight gain, and a compromised immunity.

All in all attending the book signing was an exciting and memorable day for me! I will continue to follow Joe, read his books, and utilize his tips and recipes!

I hope this post was useful! Let me know if you have questions or comments!! I definitely recommend watching his documentary and/or checking out his books and social media pages!

You can also check out my Facebook page for more videos from the book signing!

The title of this post is taken from “Rocky Balboa VI”. I thought it was fitting because I was truly inspired during today’s boxing class at Title Boxing Club. There were 7 of us in the class, including two regulars – a very motivational 12 year old boy named Evan, and his proud momma, Liz. Evan is not just your typical 12 year old boy. As it turns out, he not only kicks the adults’ butts in each and every class, but he does it with courage and strength, while overcoming physical restrictions due to Cerebral Palsy. Let me tell you, from what I saw, he did not miss a beat!!! I’ve been going to boxing classes all week at Title and I have not witnessed one adult put in as much effort as this resilient young man. Just the other day I saw some people clearly goofing around and even playing on their phones during class – really?!! What’s their excuse for being so lazy? Maybe those same people should take a class with Evan and Liz and they would get their act together!

At the end of class I had the pleasure of chatting with Liz and Evan and learned so much more about how incredibly active he is! Evan is involved with Arizona Disabled Sports (AzDS) and competes in Wheelchair track racing, snow skiing and hand-cycling. He’s even a 4 time Gold Medalist!!! They are both working hard to fundraise for the 5th Annual Run, Walk and Roll 5k/10k on Saturday, January 11, 2014 (www.runwalkrollaz.com). The primary mission of AzDS is to provide a wide variety of sports and recreation opportunities for individuals with all types of disability. You can do your part and join “Team Evan” when you register for the race and also by purchasing a “Team Evan” shirt (www.booster.com/teamevanazds).

Apparently this race has even gotten the attention of Ali Vincent (5th winner of the “The Biggest Loser”)!!!  She’s pictured here in the middle with the red long sleeve shirt from last year’s event.

I’m excited to say that I will be participating in the race too on January 11! When I got home from boxing class, I couldn’t wait to sign up!! I’ve also ordered my “Team Evan” shirt!! Will you be joining us at the race or maybe donating instead?!! You know you want to!!! 😉