Detox: The Reality and Aftermath
I've finished the 10-Day Detox.
I'm not going to lie. Some of it was really hard.
I just had no idea I was so addicted to sugar. I'm vegan, I eat really healthy, my BMI is healthy, I'm a good weight. (I mean, I want to lose ten pounds, but after all my body has been through, I'm not focused on THAT.) I'm active, my blood work is phenomenal, I feel pretty good most of the time.
But see, that's the kicker: I feel PRETTY GOOD.
I know what it's like to feel FANTASTIC, though --to experience radiant health --and that's what I'm looking for. When I went through my yoga teacher training in 2013, I lived on raw vegan cold-pressed juices and the occasional side of roasted sweet potatoes for ten straight days. During those ten days, we did an average of six hours of physical yoga practice per day (some days more) and about ten hours of spiritual practice and I was never hungry, never out of energy and I felt...y'all, I felt like I could FLY. I've never felt so well.
So, anyway, I embarked on this detox with the goal of finding my way back to radiant health. I won't say I met that goal, but I made some significant movement toward it.
This particular detox plan isn't exactly the plan for me. I think it's harder because I'm vegan, so a lot of the lean, accessible protein isn't an option for me. I ate a lot of tofu, and I don't really LIKE tofu! And my body doesn't really like soy. But also? It was hard because I was addicted to high-glycemic carbs. And breaking that addiction took discipline and determination. The first 2.5 days were really tough. I almost gave up. By the end of the third day, I'd started to come back to life. By day four, I started feeling pretty dang good.
Once the detox was over, I ate some high-glycemic food and immediately felt TERRIBLE. So, I think going back is not an option. What I'm trying to figure out now is how to move forward, incorporating all of the new information I've learned into the way I eat going forward. I've been researching the effects of sugar in its various forms (from the worst of all--high fructose corn syrup --to the naturally occurring sugars in fruits and veggies) on the body.
I'll keep you posted if you are interested. I'm thinking about starting a health blog, because I'm looking to collect stories of people battling their ways back to health for my next book. Would you be interested in something like that? I always find reading other people's stories of triumph so inspirational.
Let me know. I've tentatively reserved this spot for a new blog: Teetotaling, Gluten Free Vegan. I hope it'll be funny and compelling once I figure it out.
XOXOX
Barb
I'm not going to lie. Some of it was really hard.
I just had no idea I was so addicted to sugar. I'm vegan, I eat really healthy, my BMI is healthy, I'm a good weight. (I mean, I want to lose ten pounds, but after all my body has been through, I'm not focused on THAT.) I'm active, my blood work is phenomenal, I feel pretty good most of the time.
But see, that's the kicker: I feel PRETTY GOOD.
I know what it's like to feel FANTASTIC, though --to experience radiant health --and that's what I'm looking for. When I went through my yoga teacher training in 2013, I lived on raw vegan cold-pressed juices and the occasional side of roasted sweet potatoes for ten straight days. During those ten days, we did an average of six hours of physical yoga practice per day (some days more) and about ten hours of spiritual practice and I was never hungry, never out of energy and I felt...y'all, I felt like I could FLY. I've never felt so well.
So, anyway, I embarked on this detox with the goal of finding my way back to radiant health. I won't say I met that goal, but I made some significant movement toward it.
This particular detox plan isn't exactly the plan for me. I think it's harder because I'm vegan, so a lot of the lean, accessible protein isn't an option for me. I ate a lot of tofu, and I don't really LIKE tofu! And my body doesn't really like soy. But also? It was hard because I was addicted to high-glycemic carbs. And breaking that addiction took discipline and determination. The first 2.5 days were really tough. I almost gave up. By the end of the third day, I'd started to come back to life. By day four, I started feeling pretty dang good.
Once the detox was over, I ate some high-glycemic food and immediately felt TERRIBLE. So, I think going back is not an option. What I'm trying to figure out now is how to move forward, incorporating all of the new information I've learned into the way I eat going forward. I've been researching the effects of sugar in its various forms (from the worst of all--high fructose corn syrup --to the naturally occurring sugars in fruits and veggies) on the body.
I'll keep you posted if you are interested. I'm thinking about starting a health blog, because I'm looking to collect stories of people battling their ways back to health for my next book. Would you be interested in something like that? I always find reading other people's stories of triumph so inspirational.
Let me know. I've tentatively reserved this spot for a new blog: Teetotaling, Gluten Free Vegan. I hope it'll be funny and compelling once I figure it out.
XOXOX
Barb
Comments
I'm sorry that the detox thing was tough - we are, as a species, addiction to sugar. I just read a piece about how even the Quakers struggled, knowing that sugar = supporting slavery. It's hard to quit it for ethical OR health reasons, because our bodies run on it.
So much of life seems to be about making peace with the hard choices we make... we all support you in that, as you continue to explore what makes you feel your best.
Ugh, that sounded like people's stories won't be interesting on their own merit. I just meant that you'll end up with, hopefully, a diversity of experiences.
I'm with Smalltownme, though; YOUR experiences and honesty is what draw me to reading your posts. Keep writing, even when it's hard.