Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Juice Feast...Post-Food Apocolypse

I'm currently transitioning back to a solid food diet. I've gone from eating smoothies to raw fruits and finally adding in some fats with a salad last night. I never noticed anything strange until I had my first salad for dinner last night. Every bite seemed to tickle my throat so much that I would cough multiple times after each bite. Everyone was laughing at me! It was kind of funny, though. But after a few more bites I realized that I wasn't chewing my food thoroughly, and my body was actually able to send me that message. Success! I am a fast eater, and I always have been. It definitely does not help that I have 2 small children which gives me a slightly limited amount of time in my day to sit and enjoy food. Clearly this is an issue that needed addressing. I'm so happy to be able to recognize my body's signals more clearly now.

I have to say that even though I felt amazing on the juice and my body was very happy with all the nutrients, when the boredom subsided, I did experience symptoms of depression similar to that of withdrawal. It was very intense to truly feel the effects of man-made food coming out of my body, and very disturbing to feel and truly know that these chemicals that are in normal, everyday foods are very addictive and will cause you to have emotional disturbances. I can't stress enough how real this is, especially after feeling this truth firsthand. Unnatural, packaged food is simply not safe for human consumption. I feel now more strongly than ever that avoiding anything in a box, a bag, a bottle or a can is detrimental to my mental, emotional, and physical health.

I do not have any plans to return to my previous diet, which consisted of 50% cooked vegan food and included some grains. At the moment I am eating raw and do not wish to eat less than 90% of my diet as such. I simply have lost the desire to eat anything nutritionally compromised or otherwise not an optimal source of health. And after getting my brand new jar of 100% raw organic coconut oil, which makes my skin feel amazing and tastes DIVINE, I don't think that's going to be a problem. I'm amazed at the juice feast's ability to "re-set" my desires and goals in such a short amount of time. I'd say at this point, I've successfully completed my goals.

1.Remove pounds of toxins in the body and buildup in the colon
I released 4 pounds of excess toxins and buildup over the feast, which lasted from Thursday to Sunday.

2.Eliminate cravings
Done. Success. I didn't even notice the bakery last night at the grocery store, and I can think about my children's vegan Whole Foods birthday cake without also thinking about eating it all by myself, haha.

3.Emotional detoxification
Definitely also accomplished.

4.Give my digestive system a break
Here's something fascinating. Your body produces enzymes in the mouth and in the stomach to aid in breakdown of nutrients. I broke my feast using smoothies, but at the bottom of my first smoothie was a small piece of fruit that had missed the blade, just a tiny chunk. When I bit down into it, a tiny explosion of tingling broke out behind by teeth and all the way up my cheeks. It wasn't painful, it was just a sensation I'd never noticed, the release of digestive enzymes in my mouth. It had been so long since they had been activated I was VERY aware of them when they finally woke up again by the action of chewing, which is one of the reasons why THOROUGHLY chewing food is so important. Another wonderful learning experience.

Without going into to much detail, I did actually continue to use the bathroom normally during the fast, which means that even though I maintain my colon health, there was still enough of something backed up to keep things going, and whatever it was, I'm glad it's gone because it wasn't pretty. Aren't you glad I told you that?

I am very happy that I was able to give myself this gift. I can't recommend it enough, but for a beginner I would actually suggest doing a 24-48 feast to begin with. It is incredibly overwhelming on all levels and is definitely doable over a weekend for people whose diets need improvement. For those who already practice a high raw or at least whole foods vegan diet, you may be able to start on a weekend and continue through. I had enough energy to get through my days but because of detoxification symptoms didn't have the interest. This is another reason why I suggest doing a test run, to determine your level of toxicity. If you've never done a 30 day full body detoxification, you may want to start there instead of with juice feasting. If you're interested in cleansing you can always email me and I can suggest a set of guidelines for your individual needs.

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So, here's my schoolwork! 500 hours worth of essays, book reports, anatomy lessons, lecture notes, case studies, exams, and more are within this package, which is leaving today for my school in Santa Cruz. I can't express how happy I am with the level of education I've received at GCNM. I spent a LONG time researching schools and almost chose one other before deciding to use this one. I can't wait for my next 500 hours! I'm starting in October, so be prepared for some more insanity as I test some more of my new knowledge on myself.

And with that, I won't be seeing you guys until the weekend. I'm off to San Francisco for some major shopping (Metreon!), walking, and PET SHOP BOYS seeing, and I'm so excited I can't stand it!

I'll leave you with this: The most amazing, vibrant colors I've seen in a long while. My camera couldn't nearly capture the beauty locked within raw foods :)

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