Sorry for having taken so long to follow up to the juice cleanse I talked about in my last entry! As you can see I survived, and it did the trick. Today is October 9th and I have not had a drop of coffee since. I have been drinking hot tea, which I now have probaby a dozen different kinds, but overall I feel a lot better. In fact, I feel better all day long so it is easy to not go back. It is always easier to go the path of least resistance no? I have found that if I try something and I like it better, I stick with it. The same probably holds true for most of us. It comes down to taking the initiative to START. Thats always the hardest step, the first one out the door...however, it is like the story of the wild goose. No one tells him to go, he knows and just starts flying...
Details??? Ah, so the cleanse went like this...
Day one: Pick up groceries. A LOT of groceries. I think the apples alone was like 125.00. Yeah, waaaay too many apples. You do not need a case, although it is supposedly cheaper. That is a ton of apples. Buy a dozen and just get started. I bought what I figured was the total amount needed for the entire time because then I would be committed you know? It worked, but it was overkill and I was eating apples and juicing apples for like 2-3 weeks afterwards...
Day two: Hungry. But not starving. The juices are actually pretty good, by middle of day 2 the headache comes. Not severe, but there perhaps as a reminder that your body knows something is not quite the usual... a little hard to focus because I think your mind is wondering when you are going to eat, maybe a survival instinct? Who knows. Stay strong.
Day two midday: Had to leave work because my headache progressively got worse. At home it was pounding, I began to doubt the cleanse, but just laid down and hoped it would pass. It turned into a migraine, which must have been my body detoxifying because somewhere around 9 pm I got really nauseous and had the dry heaves (crazy!!!) which lasted about 2 hours... then finally sleep. Woke up feeling pretty good, very clear headed. And very ready to be done!
Let me just say that I am a firm believer in that the worse you feel during something like this, the worse you probably were to begin with health-wise. Whatever my body was kicking out, I am glad it did. I am sure I am better off for it!
Day 3: A little weak, but able to work all day. Came home and had a great dinner of greens and healthy food stuffs. Nothing too crazy, but savored it all. Said farewell to coffee for awhile, because it felt so good to just wake up and be alert, and not half out of it.
Afterthoughts- coffee is pretty acidic, and if you drink it like I was (cup in the morning, americano maybe mid-morning...maybe another after work, etc) thats tough on your system. My energy levels were always up and down, and I would feel bloated around mid day. I feel much more balanced now, healthier, happier and at ease. That was worth changing my habits. Each of us is different, we have to constantly refine ourselves as we go. That's what life is all about, paying attention and getting back on track when we wander off.
Take time for self reflection, study your habits, they are what you spend a lot of time thinking about and doing! Are they propelling you forward or holding you back? Be honest with yourself, life goes by too quickly to half ass it.
