why and how I detoxed

Why:
4 years ago i was waiting for the phone to ring. my doctor was going to call with my lab results from testing. 26 years old and ty and i were sitting there waiting to hear if i had leukemia/lymphoma or not.  kind of a scary place, fyi.  luckily, everything came back negative and further appointments revealed that i had major blood sugar problems. i went sugar free for 8 weeks that summer and all of my symptoms disappeared. it was difficult, but when you are that sick, you are also that motivated to change.  i couldn't believe that i had a headache for the first 2 weeks of no sugar, (not 2 days, 2 weeks). it was really shocking how addicted i was to that stuff.  i felt fantastic and was doing great! and then one day on the phone my brother bill said, "you know, you can't go forever without it."  and i thought, he's right. i need to learn a little moderation. so i had a cookie the next day with the kids. and, well, i haven't been sugar free since. (luckily my symptoms have never returned as badly as in 2008, but they will come back if i really abuse myself).

fast forward, and 4 weeks ago I went sugar free for a week. I was finally ready to be healthy and lose the last baby weight. I drank a protein smoothie in the morning (with banana) a green smoothie for lunch and repeat breakfast one at dinner if I felt faint or tired /cranky, I would allow a handful of nuts. I lost 4 lbs! and... I felt awful. Zumba was too much, I was weak, faint and sick. I couldn't concentrate. But, I was happy and then committed to eating healthy thereafter*. Then the we all got PINK EYE! And sick stuff enveloped my life and stress went up up up and away in my magical balloon. Sorry, just broke into song there. So anyways, I fell off the wagon. Hard. As in no control, eating everything I wanted and feeling awful.

So, of course I was on pinterest looking at motivating workout pictures and posts (which, btw, some of those fitness pins are awful!) and stumbled upon this trailer.

And it was late enough at night that I watched it, and something in it really resonated in me, so bought it. i have always believed that food has a lot to do with your overall health, i mean, we grew up in my house repeating, "the whiter the bread,the sooner you're dead!'.  and my mom sent us to school with whole grain nutty breads and those apple juice aluminum cans instead of squeeze its (so embarassing!)  and i try really hard and feed our kids healthy foods, but still struggle with sweets. and i also know that how i eat can really make or break my depression swings. well, the video came two weeks ago and I loved it!  it was awesome and if you want to borrow it just email me (if you're local of course) The same company put out this video and a three day detox guide. So I read and decided to do the detox, after a few pints of ben and jerry's of course,   and bought the all food, vitamins, supplements (which are key!).  And, I was ready.


HOW:
I knew I needed to be kind to myself for the three days. Not too much stress and/or responsibilities.  I needed lots of time for sleep and quiet time and meditation. So I started on a Saturday. (looking back i would have started on a friday). It is essential on the one that i did to have a juicer. (i used a high speed blender, and it worked but, i would not recommend it).  It was important to be prepared, i had read the plan a dozen times and printed out the daily menu on the side of my fridge for constant reference.

Day one: Saturday went great. The drinks were horrible but that is because I don't have a juicer and am too lazy to strain. Blech. But...and this is huge, I was not hungry at all, and didn't have any sugar withdrawal headaches. It was crazy. You take a vitamin c with every meal and flax seed oil in the morning.  I napped in the afternoon, played with the kids outside, read in the evening. Had Ty around for help. He was 100% supportive, which is a must. But by 9pm he  had an ex large pizza right in front of my face. I was a little tempted but the juices were so gross I didn't want to start over. Ha! That night I slept extremely well for my book. No night waking, which also means no night eating! Success.

Day two: Sunday morning was pretty calm as far as Sundays go. We had a slow morning and by the time we were driving to conference I realized that 1. I wasn't hungry and 2. I wasn't cranky and 3. I wasn't dreaming of what dessert I would make that night. By sundayafternoon I still felt great, but choking down dinner's smoothie was awful. But I did it! And I was tired and went to bed quickly (usually takes me awhile to wind down). I slept like a rock, no night waking again.

Day three: Monday morning baby woke me up early and after I put him down I went back to bed. After a few minutes I realized that I wasn't tired! Or groggy! Or cranky! What the? So I got up, did my morning routine and even slipped in some yoga in front of my sunny bedroom window. I felt fantastic! and, i had lost 7 lbs. (i know it was all water weight, but it still was shocking that i felt so great) The sugar crashes and ups and downs were gone. The mood swings were gone. The snacking was gone. But by 2pm, some of the kids were way off their schedule and eating the said former pizza for lunch, and oh! it smelled so good. i was sitting there cutting up pieces for rodney and ate around 6 bites. and funny enough, i wasn't that upset at myself. i just drank some water and moved on. and i didn't eat any more pizza the rest of the night.


REVIEW:
i am very happy that i did the detox. i had been working for a few months with this program for my food addiction, and spiritually it was very helpful, but physically i was still addicted to sugar, and how!  i felt that it was right for me to cleanse and start anew and it worked. i feel great. the sugar cravings are gone. the carb cravings are gone. but as with everything, i know that relapse is always around the corner if i'm not careful.  for me, sweets and things with white flour in them are just too much.  i've compiled a lot of healthier whole food and/or raw paleo versions of my favorite sweets for holidays, birthdays and special occasions. these two websites have been lifesavers!  *feeling good through food and * simple healthy tasty and my bloggy friend emily (thanks em!, and i hope it's ok i called you em!)

i slowly transitioned tuesday and wednesday back to whole foods, instead of  raw juices. and it's been good. a protein smoothie for breakfast (with my favorite protein powder and super greens), salad or soup for lunch and a smaller portion of dinner that everyone else is eating (i try really hard to eat what everyone eats at the dinner table, the girls are all old enough to notice) i think i had a few tastes of phoebe's toast with jam on it (it was so good joyce!), but other than that i am still sugar free and loving it. no night waking (except rodney's been up once every night, gargh! but * no night eating* hooray!)

now, this weekend is trying to prepare for rodney's birthday party on monday (family, you're invited!). i'm going to have to be creative for this one, but i have a lot of good ideas and am ready for change.