Detox Diary September 11, 2008
It annoys me how food has become yet another consumer choice and we have to fast or have willpower to filter through the nonsense and make decent choices for our health. We become so out of touch with our internal intuition that tells us what’s right, what fuels our body and what poisons it. Out of touch with what being healthful feels like and what it doesn’t. I’m not saying extremes are necessary but I want to be proactive about my health. After being a little overindulgent for the last few months a friend and I started a little cleansing this week. Read my journey into detoxing below…starting with a juice fast.
Day 1 – Was a little grumpy and tired by the end of the day. I shouldn’t have gone to a friends potluck dinner feeling that way. Otherwise, feeling pretty good throughout the day. Was pretty exhausted by 9pm and slept a pretty solid 8.5 hours. Felt like I could have slept longer too.
Day 2 -Woke up congested, my eyes had a lot of crusty stuff, needed a hot shower to clear it up & wake up. Did a salt water flush this morning to cleanse my digestive system, ewwww. I felt like throwing up for a little bit, but the effects only lasted about 1-1.5 hours and I was able to go about my day. It really is the worst part of detoxing, but from what I read, it’s really good for you. I have to say I can feel it’s benefits after I forget about the pain. Not really hungry overall, but drank a lot more juice today, 6-7 pints juice, 3-4 pints water, and 3 cups miso soup. I decided to cook some food that was going to go bad in my refrigerator. The only hard part of that was that sauteed garlic, it smells so good, and was on my hands all night. My sense of smell has definitely increased. I find myself craving wholesome foods, reading recipes, wanting to cook for my friends even though I’m not freaking eating. Was energized all day but was pretty tired by the end of the night again and slept soundly for another 8.5 hours which is definitely on the high side for me.
Day 3 – Woke up less congested with less eye crusties. I really like taking super hot showers morning & night while cleansing. I usually shower once a day but twice feels better while cleansing. My skin seems clearer. I have a few small blemishes. My skin seems less red or ruddy. It looks a lot better and clearer overall. So far I feel very clear, alert, and in a good mood. My body feels good, sometimes a little achy or tired but mostly better than usual. My yoga practice feels easier, stronger, and lighter in many ways. Riding my bike has been the more difficult physical activity. It’s great having a partner in crime for this! I struggled a lot today between enjoying the process and benefits of cleansing and then hating it and wanting to kill someone because the bad parts really suck!
Late Day 3 – In the evening I ate my first meal in 3+ days, it was an organic soy milk smoothie, a fresh salad, and some lentils. It was so good! I was losing my mind. It was like all the negative energy I had consumed was overwhelming my brain and making me pissed and insane. I am really glad I made the choice to start eating again. I am detoxing because I needed to cleanse after over indulging for a while, but also so I can refocus on my health and habits and start to make more reasonable choices. I don’t want to constanly exist in extremes between super health and super unhealth. I want to exist in a place of reasonable wellness, where I allow myself to indulge but I am also aware of where what I eat comes from, what it does to my body, how it makes me feel, how natural it is, and how it affects my mindset. Am I eating out and therfore eating too much out of laziness or to be social?
Day 4 – I woke up feeling pretty freaking good. No congestion, eye crusties, or steam sauna needed! I am experiencing the best of both worlds, eating and cleansing that is. My yoga practice felt so good! I still felt open and strong like I felt in the middle of my cleanse, but I felt even more energy because I am properly fueling my body. Can I have my cake and eat it too? Can I feel clean, open, strong, wonderful in my skin while eating regularly? It’s like the toxins in my body were just sitting in my joints, in particular my achy hips, taking up space making it hard for me to move my body. I am going to try to avoid the sensitive seven (dairy, wheat, corn, eggs, soy, peanuts, and sugar) for a while longer, and then slowly bring them back into my diet to see if there is anything that I am particularly sensitive to.
Leave a Reply