Glorious New Year, Detox complete - Going Strong.

Good morning. As I sit here eating my breakfast - water, 100% whole grain oatmeal with banana and cinnamon, I realize, Holy Shit - I have beat my sugar addiction.

I have not blogged my way though the 7 day detox because I felt it better to myself to start a handwritten journal, though I had planned to recap on this blog after the process had been completed. I signed on today and have seen some comments and followers so I hope I can bring inspiration to those who are willing and ready.

So, day one, two, and three where the HARDEST, hands down. I was hungry and though my research as I went I was experiencing a "cleansing crisis." http://falconblanco.com/health/crisis.htm I experienced significant fatigue, irritability, and a headache. I have herd from mentors in the past, "Don't quit until the miracle happens", so I stuck it out...while doing things correctly in order to be sure my symptoms where in fact toxins releasing and not dehydration. I drank PLENTY of water. It states in the 7 day detox that I followed to do so and I made sure to go above and beyond - I know how important it is to water our bodies - and you should too.

At first I had hunger pangs. Espically the first three to four days. When I felt cravings I drank tea or rode my bike. Did I mention I work with food!!? That was incredibly hard - to work in an environment where it is not unusual to hear "Try this!" multiple times in the day. Most of my co-workers knew I was on this detox, and most were supportive...but I honestly did a lot of 'white knuckling' and positive reinforcement to avoid giving in...for example, I was doing this for myself, to change my life though the way I eat.

By day five I was starting to feel the miracle unfold. I began feeling excited to buy new veggies for dinner. An entry from my written journal states..."(9.40am) I FEEL AMAZING. A new door has opened on my life and I walked though it.  I feel so present and available.  My body feels clean. I feel light.  I pray I can keep up after Sunday - eating for my health.  I cant believe how fantastic I feel, I am so grateful today."  I had a few ups and downs thereafter but mainly a smooth ride.

A few funny things happened to my mind and body when I took charge and began to respect real food. My taste for things changed. I started to crave the kinds of vegetables I have been steaming rather than sugar or preservatives or bread or pastries. I started to be able to distinguish flavors in my dishes and the natural sweetness from my morning fruit became satisfying. As I eat my plain oatmeal this morning, the banana in it provides more than enough sugar to make it a delightful breakfast. I became excited to prepare my own meals. I never cooked much in my life, now I am experimenting and bouncing ideas off of my health conscious friends.  My attitude on life gained positive momentum - I feel present and available. My mind became open to peace.

This may sound like utopia but I assure you it is 100% achievable. If you are thinking of trying the 7 day detox, its about why you want to do it - set your goal and focus on that, because that is what will get you though. You must be ready to show up for your own life and take responsibility for your health, mind, body and soul - and you need to love yourself enough to start breaking free of our commercial society and stop putting poison into your body. Be kind to yourself so you can be kind to others.

Love and Light!!
Bridge

Here is where I started: 7 Day Detox

Detox.Day one

This is so hard. I was not ready for how difficult dealing with detox symptoms could be. I have been hurting all day...headache, gut pains, fatigue, lack of focus. I cant believe I am doing this, but I just know how great I'm going to feel in a few days after my body gets hard at work, throwing out all the toxins that make me feel bad. I am sick of being addicted to substance. If it was not one thing, another - to make me feel good. No sugar today, no caffeine. My body is showing its addiction by yelling at me...Where is our stuff?!!!

Tomorrow will be better.

My New Shiny Knife

I went on a little grocery scavenger hunt today. I shopped at Sunflower Market, Walmart and Wholefoods  and got a smorgasbord of this's and that's to use in some Quinoa recipes. Walmart has come a long way in their selection of various health foods if you know what your looking for. Sunflower market won the prize for best priced produce and all the herb and seasoning are on sale! Sunflower has their own private label which is very good priced. Wholefoods cannot be beat with bulk prices and 365 brand prices, including the 365 all natural eggs, best price anywhere. I liked shopping around to see what kind of things I could get.

I came home and made Quinoa for the first time. I think I put too much water in it but it is a journey. I have ate well today. Not filling well, but health conscious well. I am still dodging sugar cravings. I have developed a tolerable but constant headache behind my eyes. I have been reading that this is one symptom of withdraw from one of the many things that are bad for you. i.e. sugar, caffeine... I have forced myself to go for a fruit and a tall glass of lemon water when the cravings hit. I have also started drinking green tea. Green tea has many heath benefits including digestion heath and antioxidants.

My grandmother sent me a gift card for Walmart and while I was there today, I spent it on my new pride and joy, a beautiful Farberware chef knife. I am learning as I go...Like after I tried to use a carrot peeler on a jicama. This knife is as beautiful as a new piece of jewelry and cuts like a dream.

One Foot Over the Line (Day Two)

I have found the detox I am going to follow.
You can see what I found: Detox In 7 Days by Elson M. Haas, M.D.

I have been researching detox's all evening and this is the one I am deciding on. It is simple. Most of these things I either have at home or can get at work. Most of the detox's I came across online had lots of fancy herbs and or pills involved that I want to avoid all together. I have written pages of notes to help me follow this detox to exact when I set my start day.

I have began to prepare myself for my detox. I will not jump right in because that is how I will fail. I have to be gentle with myself and start telling my body that it is going to have to work really hard soon by phasing out some of the poorer quality foods I have been consuming, starting with my sugar and caffeine addictions. I have had to battle cravings today. Today being the first day I honestly stepped one foot over the line of still and progress.

I allowed myself a delicious everything bagel with low fat blueberry cream cheese and a medium cup of house coffee with whole milk, half and half, and EEK! Equal -sugar substitute. I know Equal is bad for me. I know Aspartame is bad for me but it has been a habit as well...so I said to myself, one thing at a time and dumped it in my coffee.

Skipped lunch - also a no no. I was busy running around doing errands so I skipped.

For Dinner I had a large romaine salad with raisins, feta, salmon, croutons, and low fat ranch.

After dinner is when my sugar cravings always kick in. I am even feeling it right now. I am on my second cup of plain, hot, peppermint tea to help with the cravings, but honestly I want to tear apart the kitchen and find some hidden sugar. Speaking of sugar, I threw out the last of my sugar when I cleaned my apartment last night so I couldn't dump it into yogurt.

As I get closer to detox day (TBA) I am going to do a clean sweep of my kitchen. I will be throwing out and giving away everything that I don't need or want for my new lifestyle. That's going to feel good too.

Last. I am pleased to say that I am going to measure myself and take photos of my face and body to document change in weight and complexion before and after the detox than periodically until I move on to something else. This is so exciting. 

If you are reading here, communicate to me your suggested veggies that I can steam. Thanks!

Getting Ready To Do Research

Please enjoy my free-writing, rough thinking blog-logs. I am not under any pressure from myself to impress anyone. This isn't about the writing Bridgett (have to tell myself that), its about the food journey.

I will be twenty eight on December 26th of this year, 2010. I needed a wonderful birthday gift to give myself. I am going to give myself a change of life. I am going to take a massive leap and try my best to heal myself from the inside out. I am going to do big things with this body and start treating her right.

I wanted to create this blog to keep me updated on my progress and also, anyone who tags along will keep me accountable. I am at a place in life where I do research and take it easy instead of jumping in both feet first. Here I am, I am ready and my text blog begins my journey. Tomorrow is my day off work and I am looking forward to my research session. I am at a great point because I am in between semesters at college and while my brain is on break I can push my body into a detox before I begin implementing my brand new food lifestyle.

My hopes are that this becomes a way of life, a hobby, and a mission. I hope this goes well, but of course I have a lot of reservations about my journey. I am nervous about failing. I am scared. I do want it though.

What got me to this point? 
Crazy Sugar/Caffeine addiction: I am crazy about the crack-like refined sugar. It does things to my body that slow me down so I counter attack the effects with energy drinks and high potency coffee. I noticed how bad it was when I was full and still, frantically searching the cupboards for anything sweet - needing a fix.
Chronic constipation. I don't need to explain this one.
The muffin top: Its dawning on me....
Fatigue: IN THE MORNING! Hello! I have to drag myself out of bed and talk myself into getting going.
Mood swings. Anger, Depression, Caffeine induced mania.
Bad skin. I am 27 years old and I have zits, dry and oily skin.
Aches and pains. I am too young to be feeling so old.
Lack of motivation and focus. I want to get centered, peaceful, and present.


So, to sum this all up, I want better for myself. I know I can do this, but I need a little courage, a little faith, and a lot of hard work. I must mention that I finally want to give myself something REAL, something to have pride in. If I can go though this, educating myself and telling my story, I can say "There it is", "I did that".


More coming soon.