eatin'
oh, gosh, I forgot I even told you about doing that cleanse. if you care, here's an update:
I went 21 days eating only raw foods. I have no idea why I was finally successful at doing this, after trying for at least 20 years and not making it past about 3 days. Maybe it was EFT. (www.emofree.com) I really wish I knew what made this possible, so I could offer an explanation that might be helpful for others. But nope. Oh well.
In any case, it's been interesting. Around day 5, it no longer took any effort to refuse sugar or whatever was circulating around me. I was completely enthralled with the taste of an apple or a strawberry, and simply did not want anything else.
I had decided that 21 days would be enough time to clear out any addictive or compulsive eating habits, and that after that I would just navigate by taste. So on day 22, when I could have eaten anything, guess what I wanted? The same stuff I'd been eating for 3 weeks -- fruit, salad, raw nuts and cheese, and almond butter. I found that pretty interesting.
So now I have no idea how long it's been, and I don't really care. I think it's just become a new habit now - or even better, simply a lifestyle.
When I want almond butter, I crave it on celery or apples, not bread. I have had almost no grain for I guess a month or so, and I don't miss it at all. When I was in FL I tried a piece of sourdough bread, and within moments I could feel an unpleasant tingling in my body - what I've come to think could be the sensation of a blood sugar surge. Not a big deal, but I did note that the taste of the bread was not worth it.
My body is changing a bit - I don't have a scale so I don't know the numbers, but I feel things sort of rearranging themselves on me. My clothes fit differently. But I think I'm still about the same size as before. My energy levels and mental clarity are good. I am sleeping well and getting at least 20 minutes of exercise in each day, plus stretching before bed. I feel fantastic.
Without food as a device to distract myself from feelings, some emotions have surfaced that were a bit surprising to me. I have learned how to just be present with them without avoiding them, and it's amazing how they just move on through.
I am never hungry. I eat whatever I want whenever I want. Yesterday I tried a homemade french fry. It was okay ... not super fantastic, and not nearly as good as an apple. I didn't want more.
Perhaps for the very first time in my life I can actually hear my body's communication about what it wants. I find that it takes very little to satisfy my appetite-- a few strawberries, a handful of almonds, half an apple. I hypothesize that the hunger I felt before this change was a symptom of filling up on foods that didn't contain many nutrients - I ate plenty but my body kept asking for more in an attempt to get the fuel it needed.
so I guess the experiment continues. For weeks I drank mass quantities of water with lemon and maple syrup. This week all I want is plain water. I dunno why. Guess I don't need to know, either. I'm beginning to just relax into trusting the wisdom of my body. It's a nice feeling.
oh, and you know what else is a nice feeling? I hardly spoke about my experiment to my friends and family, since I figured it was my own deal and not about 'right and wrong' but about learning my own body's needs. I continued to cook meals for my family during my experiment just as I had before. As time goes on, they are now asking to have what I'm having instead of what they would normally eat! So my kids are eating tons more fruit and salads. That's a fringe benefit I did not anticipate. gotta love the power of a quiet example ...
Labels: EFT, humans fascinate me
posted by karen alonge @ 9:29 AM
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