Sorry it's been a while since I last posted but I'm getting everything back on track now.
On day 7 of my detox I unfortunately had to put my cat to sleep. It was absolutely one of the hardest things I've had to do and she will always hold a special place in my heart. For several days after I had no appetite and didn't really eat and then ended up reverting to some old binge eating habits. Going back to the standard american diet I felt like crap and was not only depressed from my recent loss but I could feel that the food fed on that depression completely overwhelming me. I had no motivation for anything and fell drastically behind on my school work.
Instead of listing this as a failure I will embrace it as yet another learning experience. So here I go again!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Day 2 of Detox
I am on day 2 of a free 7 day raw food detox provided by the wonderful Raw Divas!
Basically, I've realized that right now it is difficult for me to continue eating cooked foods, regardless of how healthy they are. They seem to be playing a role in me relapsing every so often to go to a fast food joint. Then I get back to eating mostly raw the next day with healthier cooked food, but it feels almost like starting right from the beginning again, making it more difficult to succeed each time.
I've also noticed my great dependency on fats such as avocados, oils and nuts. Granted none of these are bad for me, but moderation has never been a strong suit of mine. Whenever I eat a salad I usually have to load it with a raw, oil based dressing to be able to actually get all those greens down. Plus I usually have at least 1 avocado if not 2, and snack on nuts or a lara bar (which is full of nuts). Also, I never used to put tons of salt on the food I was eating, until I started eating more raw.
This detox is already helping me and it's only day 2! Basically for these 7 days I don't eat any fats or salt and the focus is on simple fruits and veggie meals. It's all down to the basics which is especially helpful during my busy schedule. I need to learn that raw foods don't have to be all these complicated, time consuming, fat filled ventures. Instead, getting back down to the basics will not only be less time consuming, but will create healthier habits than what I've been doing. I look forward to the next 5 days and here's a couple pics of the food eaten today:
Basically, I've realized that right now it is difficult for me to continue eating cooked foods, regardless of how healthy they are. They seem to be playing a role in me relapsing every so often to go to a fast food joint. Then I get back to eating mostly raw the next day with healthier cooked food, but it feels almost like starting right from the beginning again, making it more difficult to succeed each time.
I've also noticed my great dependency on fats such as avocados, oils and nuts. Granted none of these are bad for me, but moderation has never been a strong suit of mine. Whenever I eat a salad I usually have to load it with a raw, oil based dressing to be able to actually get all those greens down. Plus I usually have at least 1 avocado if not 2, and snack on nuts or a lara bar (which is full of nuts). Also, I never used to put tons of salt on the food I was eating, until I started eating more raw.
This detox is already helping me and it's only day 2! Basically for these 7 days I don't eat any fats or salt and the focus is on simple fruits and veggie meals. It's all down to the basics which is especially helpful during my busy schedule. I need to learn that raw foods don't have to be all these complicated, time consuming, fat filled ventures. Instead, getting back down to the basics will not only be less time consuming, but will create healthier habits than what I've been doing. I look forward to the next 5 days and here's a couple pics of the food eaten today:
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Update
Sorry it's been so long since my last post, life is ever-changing so you gotta just take things as they come.
Well I ended up doing the Juice Feast for 8 days. I really enjoyed the feast and was feeling great, but it was not the right time for me to do a 30 day or more feast. This is something I will definitely be doing again and the next time I will complete at least 30 days. I learned a lot about myself and my digestive system just in those 8 days, and really appreciate the awesome tools and information provided by David and Katrina Rainoshek. Next time I do the feast, I will have better equipment and it will be at a time when my schedule isn't as hectic.
Now that I'm not feasting I have transitioned into an 85% raw food lifestyle. I look forward to creating a healthier life. I will continue this blog and will try to post at least a couple times a week. Thanks for reading!
Well I ended up doing the Juice Feast for 8 days. I really enjoyed the feast and was feeling great, but it was not the right time for me to do a 30 day or more feast. This is something I will definitely be doing again and the next time I will complete at least 30 days. I learned a lot about myself and my digestive system just in those 8 days, and really appreciate the awesome tools and information provided by David and Katrina Rainoshek. Next time I do the feast, I will have better equipment and it will be at a time when my schedule isn't as hectic.
Now that I'm not feasting I have transitioned into an 85% raw food lifestyle. I look forward to creating a healthier life. I will continue this blog and will try to post at least a couple times a week. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Day 3 of Juice Feast
1:00pm
So far everything has gone well, besides some absolutely horrible green veggie juices I made yesterday and had to force down. I'm slowly learning which combinations are tolerable to me right now. There are several changes I've already noticed:
1) I have had insomnia for many years and tried many different methods to fall asleep, and nothing ever seemed to work. I was concerned about how I would get to sleep on the beginning weeks of this juice feast and was considering taking kava kava root to help me. Turns out I've been falling asleep faster than ever before, no supplements or medicines needed! I am absolutely amazed and hope it lasts!
2) My abdomen has reduced in size and I think it was either bloated or inflamed before, but either way, it feels so great, I never realized the discomfort it was creating until the discomfort went away.
3) I already feel much lighter, when I walk it feels more like I'm gliding.
4) I thought that my energy levels were going to be pretty low in the first several days but I've actually had more energy than normal, I'm not sure if I will get to a low energy point during the feast and hope my energy levels continue to rise!
These first 3 days haven't been completely easy, but I'm trying to focus on all the positive things I've experienced to keep me going!
It's 6:19pm and my energy levels have decreased big time (even after drinking my fruit juice), but I've been experiencing more detoxing as the day has progressed, so at least I know that's where my energy has gone!
So far everything has gone well, besides some absolutely horrible green veggie juices I made yesterday and had to force down. I'm slowly learning which combinations are tolerable to me right now. There are several changes I've already noticed:
1) I have had insomnia for many years and tried many different methods to fall asleep, and nothing ever seemed to work. I was concerned about how I would get to sleep on the beginning weeks of this juice feast and was considering taking kava kava root to help me. Turns out I've been falling asleep faster than ever before, no supplements or medicines needed! I am absolutely amazed and hope it lasts!
2) My abdomen has reduced in size and I think it was either bloated or inflamed before, but either way, it feels so great, I never realized the discomfort it was creating until the discomfort went away.
3) I already feel much lighter, when I walk it feels more like I'm gliding.
4) I thought that my energy levels were going to be pretty low in the first several days but I've actually had more energy than normal, I'm not sure if I will get to a low energy point during the feast and hope my energy levels continue to rise!
These first 3 days haven't been completely easy, but I'm trying to focus on all the positive things I've experienced to keep me going!
It's 6:19pm and my energy levels have decreased big time (even after drinking my fruit juice), but I've been experiencing more detoxing as the day has progressed, so at least I know that's where my energy has gone!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Day 2 of Juice Feast
Day 2 has been a tad bit more difficult than day 1, but it's because a couple of the green vegetable juices I made today turned out absolutely horrible. I need to remind myself that I'm still in the experimental phase of this feast and will discover which juices do or do not work for me. I was a bit lethargic in the morning but after drinking a quart of water with MSM and lemon I felt much better. My energy levels have been great today and my bowel movements have been plentiful (which actually gives me more encouragement because my body is eliminating lots of bad stuff).
It's been difficult being around my co-workers and friends when they are eating foods that my temptations usually succumb to, but I realize that it is only day 2 and things will become easier later in the feast. What I've been doing when around these foods is imagine it as toxic waste, with big poison symbols that caution death. I then pretend that it smells like sewage or landfill waste. This might sound a bit over the top, but it really has been helping me ignore any temporary feelings that I have to eat these foods now (that good old instant gratification). It also helps because this food is toxic for me, it is what has had control over me, it is what has always been there to fuel my addiction, but also what has been taking years off my life. I will continue to use this as a coping mechanism since it's worked thus far.
It's been difficult being around my co-workers and friends when they are eating foods that my temptations usually succumb to, but I realize that it is only day 2 and things will become easier later in the feast. What I've been doing when around these foods is imagine it as toxic waste, with big poison symbols that caution death. I then pretend that it smells like sewage or landfill waste. This might sound a bit over the top, but it really has been helping me ignore any temporary feelings that I have to eat these foods now (that good old instant gratification). It also helps because this food is toxic for me, it is what has had control over me, it is what has always been there to fuel my addiction, but also what has been taking years off my life. I will continue to use this as a coping mechanism since it's worked thus far.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Day 1 of Juice Feast
So I've made the decision to do a juice feast. I am concerned about my current and future health problems in relation to my obesity and feel that this is an amazing tool to start taking care of myself. My addiction to food has controlled me long enough and even the healthy balanced diets result in me succumbing to temptation of bad foods. My past behaviors as far as becoming healthy indicate that this addiction really has more control over me than I'd like to admit, and don't think I can ever be one of those people that can treat myself to one fast food meal or greasy dinner once in a blue moon without relapsing. Most likely someone who is an alcoholic cannot take a couple sips of alcohol without the risk of becoming addicted again, and I've been needing to come to terms with the reality of my situation.
I've heard and read many articles, testimonials, and books, on raw food lifestyles and even began incorporating green smoothies, salads, and raw soups. I would load my salads with tons of greens and found it difficult to eat. I think there was something about having to chew all these new veggies I was incorporating and it made me want to throw up. I loved the green/fruit smoothies I was making every morning so I stopped eating as many salads. I had heard about juice feasting from other raw foodist's blogs but never saw it as something that was very reasonable, especially not for me. However, with my lack of enthusiasm for salads increasing, I began reading as much as I could to see what this so called feast was all about. There was something that kept bringing me back to juicefeasting.com, and after many internal debates I decided it could be the one thing that could actually save my life, provide mental stability and create a balance that I've needed for far too long, and would also make transitioning into at least a 60-70% raw foods lifestyle an easier task.
I'm a huge advocate of peace, love, equality, harmony, etc, but seemed to have none of them within myself. How can I expect to promote peace if I don't have any inner peace? How can I expect to give my love to all the world if I don't yet love myself? How can I truly believe in equality if I don't consider myself equal to all? And how can create harmony in the world if I do not have the strength to create a healthy balance in my life? I believe that this juice feasting I am embarking on today is the first step to achieving what I've needed for so long. It's time for me to start living life and accomplishing all that I've ever wanted to accomplish. This task will certainly not be an easy feat, but it is something I must, can, and will do!
I've heard and read many articles, testimonials, and books, on raw food lifestyles and even began incorporating green smoothies, salads, and raw soups. I would load my salads with tons of greens and found it difficult to eat. I think there was something about having to chew all these new veggies I was incorporating and it made me want to throw up. I loved the green/fruit smoothies I was making every morning so I stopped eating as many salads. I had heard about juice feasting from other raw foodist's blogs but never saw it as something that was very reasonable, especially not for me. However, with my lack of enthusiasm for salads increasing, I began reading as much as I could to see what this so called feast was all about. There was something that kept bringing me back to juicefeasting.com, and after many internal debates I decided it could be the one thing that could actually save my life, provide mental stability and create a balance that I've needed for far too long, and would also make transitioning into at least a 60-70% raw foods lifestyle an easier task.
I'm a huge advocate of peace, love, equality, harmony, etc, but seemed to have none of them within myself. How can I expect to promote peace if I don't have any inner peace? How can I expect to give my love to all the world if I don't yet love myself? How can I truly believe in equality if I don't consider myself equal to all? And how can create harmony in the world if I do not have the strength to create a healthy balance in my life? I believe that this juice feasting I am embarking on today is the first step to achieving what I've needed for so long. It's time for me to start living life and accomplishing all that I've ever wanted to accomplish. This task will certainly not be an easy feat, but it is something I must, can, and will do!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)