It has been a long, hot summer here in Texas. When it's hot outside, 95+ degrees outside, it's so hard to motivate to get out and do something as often as I'd like. I've been working some long hours and adding that to motherhood of a toddler....well, we've been eating "quick and easy", which in our house means, eating out. My digestive system has been making its objections to these decisions, the whole time. Bloating, discomfort, constipation and the other end of the spectrum.
I have noticed other issues my body has been dealing with the past few months. I am not sure if my diet has anything to do with them, but my right knee has been in a lot of pain. Seems like my right illiotibial band is inflamed and tight. Pulling on my knee joint causing clicking in the joint at times. It has gotten so bad on my right side, that it seems like my left side is beginning to tighten too. Maybe to help compensate for the structural imbalance and the way I am not carrying my body.
My skin has been breaking out all summer especially during PMS. Which by the way, I've noticed my symptoms of PMS have changed. Sore breasts and longer, heavier periods. And then there is my coffee addiction. I have been fueled each morning by that necessary cup (or two) of french press coffee. I wake up tired, so it seems my only option to get up and get going. And don't let me forget to mention, my memory has been a bit foggy. Walking into a room...what was I just about to do in here?! What is her name again? (2 minutes after she just told me). It's bad!
So it seems, I am a mess! I feel sort of bad that I have let myself feel all of these symptoms for quite some time now. After all, I have done cleanses before. I understand that I feel better when I am eating better. I know that food is either poisoning you, or it is nurturing you. But I just couldn't do anything different... until this week.
We went on a Labor Day vacation last weekend, a drive to beautiful Hot Springs, Arkansas. The 7 hour drive and camping trip consisted of stops at gas stations for chips and vitamin water, Sonic for lunch, Hebrew National hot dogs on the grill for dinner, roast beef sandwiches on the boat and an occasional coke. It was fun! However I was sick by the time we got home. I had to do something. Monday morning I marched into the grocery store empowered to make some serious changes. It was time to do a cleanse.
A cleanse in my experience comprises of getting rid of processed foods, sugar, gluten and wheat, dairy and soy to start. We eliminate most meat except for now, buffalo, chicken, eggs and fish. It is a gradual detox, primarily using food to clean the digestive system, taking the pressure of the liver, kidneys, immune system, gall bladder so I can function better and feel better. Eventually the detox will continue to eliminate all meat and corn. So we will just get down to fruits, veggies, beans and alternative grains like quinoa and rice.
It is a great cleanse created by Jeffery Bland, Ph.D. called an elimination diet. When I was working as a patient educator with Dr. Jacqueline Fields, MD she used to put her patients on this cleanse. To get their bodies back to a baseline to deal with inflammation in the body. So she could go from there in terms of additional medical choices to help her patients. Often times the cleanse and then adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle would heal the majority of patients.
I decided to start easy. I got the ingredients to make a huge pot of organic chicken vegetable soup.
- 1 whole organic chicken
- 1 onion
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- carrots
- celery
- green beans
- corn
- red potatoes
- cilantro for garnish
Then I got some great detox snacks
- homemade guacamole, for dipping veggies and my Beanitos Black Bean chips (in the natural section of the grocery store)
- Yummy fruit, like berries, apples, pineapple.
- organic almond butter (great on apples)
- raw almonds
- Bob's Red Mill Whole Oats for breakfast. With a little local honey on it is delicious.
So, its a start for the first few days anyway. I started on Monday and today is Saturday, so 6 days so far.
I ate my soup all week. Taking it to work for lunch and even repeating it for dinner. Some dinners I made a big salad with greens, veggies and even strawberries. One day I went to Zoe's kitchen and ordered their Veggie Kabobs with a side salad. I ate my oatmeal for breakfast.
Tuesday I woke up and felt like I could skip the coffee. Woke up with energy, not feeling tired. I was scared to not have it because I had a very busy day at work working until 8:30 that night. I was worried that I would need something or get a headache. So I went to Starbucks and got a tall americano (espresso+water). Espresso is supposed to have less caffeine, especially compared to my french press extraction that I usually do which is great for that bold, yummy, coffee taste but a lot of caffeine. I had like 1/4 of the coffee and I ended up with some gas. I think my body is trying to get me off the coffee train. I will get there body, I promise!
Other than that, this week has been good. Felt lots of energy. I think I have been feeling so bad, that it's easy to stay on the diet. I know I want to feel better and live better. I was tested last night. Hanging out with my family they were eating tacos for dinner at my mom's house. I knew I didn't want tacos so I decided to take a trip to the grocery store to get something healthy, but hopefully quick and easy for me to eat. I decided sushi might be a good choice. I got the salmon sushi with brown rice which seemed the best option. It had cucumber and a bit of cream cheese. But I thought to myself, it won't be the worst. Just a little and I will be fine. I balanced out the sushi with a salad and some strawberries for dessert. Well, I was sick. Feeling bloated, gassy, constipated! And frustrated with myself. I was doing so good and then made the bad choice about the sushi. I will chalk it up to an educational experience. So now I am back on track. This morning I am having my oatmeal and I am making a trip to the store this afternoon for the next plan of attack for this week! Coffee is on my list of eliminating this week.
I will keep you in the loop.
Namaste lovelies!
This is a time though, because of the Aries energies, to look closely at yourself, and where are you putting your energies at this moment? This is the time to step up in your own life, and using the energies of this Aries Full Moon: show your exuberance, trust your tenacious nature, open to your own progressive ideas, be straightforward in your plans and goals, and allow your courageous trust in yourself to show through! These are the qualities of Aries, access and use them as much as possible this next month, till the next Full Moon, and instead of fear and dread about these dynamics, instill power and will in your own life. That will also mean some very deep breathing from your third chakra (the solar plexus), but it’s a great time to test your jets!!
