The joy and ease real-life difficulty of detoxing

The first week of my detox didn’t go so well. I am ashamed of myself to admit that, but it’s truth.

Sunday, the first day, was great. I sailed through the day.

I sailed through Monday too. Until about 3:00 p.m. And then, I was hit with a ferocious headache. Horrid, couldn’t focus-headache. But I kept on with everything.

Tuesday morning, woke up with another killer headache, this time with nausea. The nausea whipped me more than the headache pain did. But I still kept up with everything.

Wednesday. More headache. Downright stomach ache.

By this time, I was feeling pretty weak. Like after I’ve worked out but haven’t consumed enough calories before hand, kind of weak. I wasn’t missing the caffeine or sugar that much, but living on fruits and veggies was making me ravenous—and I finally figured out my headache was a “hunger headache.” I still kept up with everything, just tried to eat more nuts.

Thursday morning, by 11:00 a.m. I was cranky and famished. NOT a good combination when doing daycare. I gave in. I had a cup of coffee and Triscuits and cheese. Fifteen crackers with cheese. From no processed foods or dairy to a plateful of it. 

I was disappointed in myself but I began to feel better. Whether it was the food that did it or the coffee, I’m not sure. But I suddenly felt relief from the headache and didn’t feel so weak.

For lunch I joined the kids with sandwiches (versus salad) and supper that night was venison and rice with vegetables. By Friday I was back to my normal energy levels.

This week? This week finds me being more balanced in my approach than extreme. I have come to the conclusion the only way I can ever do a true-blue detox is have a week where no children need me. Seriously. It takes that much out of me by day 3. This week, I am eating my usual cheese and crackers (procssed) and had whole wheat pasta with pasta sauce for lunch. However, I am incorporating 3/4 – 1 1/2 quarts of some sort of green smoothie each day, which is helping me keep the processed foods to a minimum. I’m also snacking on fruit and/or nuts and/or veggie more than snack crackers.

My goal is to eventually move to a 80 – 90% raw/UNprocessed lifestyle, but I know now, it’s gonna have to be gradual. For now, gradual remains smoothies each day, no caffeine, limited-to-no sugar, and snacking on veggies, fruits, and nuts instead of junk food.

Green Smoothies versus Juicing

Speaking of green smoothies . . .

Last summer it occurred to me one day, that for all the juicing I was doing, I really wasn’t getting much fiber. This wasn’t based on anything I had read, it was just gut instinct.

Then I stumbled across this article

Is blending fruits and vegetables better than juicing for detox?

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After reading this I began doing smoothies more than juicing. And it was hard to get used to. I’m a big texture person and the texture to smoothies wasn’t pleasant.

My blender died a month into doing this and I bought a new one: the Oster Fusion Blender – BRLY07B. It was more than I would have spent on a blender normally ($80) but with six blades, it was worth it!

My smoothies became much nicer in texture. And I could tell I was getting much more fiber from drinking them from trips to the bathroom that increased – which, without giving TMI, was a big deal as I ruined my digestive tract during bulimia-abuse-laxatives years and struggle to use the bathroom without fiber or laxatives of some sort.  As long as I am doing smoothies, I have no need of aids for this part of my life and no longer need IBS meds either!

I actually got to a point during the summer that I began enjoying the smoothies and would use that as my lunch. Hard to imagine now, as I am re-learning to like them, but during the summer, I was easily drinking a quart of them and feeling quite satiated.

What goes into a green smoothie? I have two different combinations I use. One is the yogurt smoothie (my favorite) and the other is straight fruit and greens. For example, this morning I had:

1 cup of kale

1 cup of spinach

2 cups of fresh pineapple

3 squeezed oranges

I blend the greens with 1-1/2 cups of water first until smooth. Then I add the fruit in.

Green yogurt smoothie

For the yogurt blend I will often do:

1/2 quart of homemade kefir (article coming soon on kefir)

1 cup of yogurt

1 tbsp of ground flax seed

1 cup of blueberries

1 cup of spinach

a banana

some protein powder

Since the straight fruit/vegetables ones aren’t my favorite I do those in the morning to “get them out of the way”. By afternoon, when I’m tired and craving sweet, I’ll do the yogurt one.

It varies day to day, based on what I have on hand. Sometimes I may add avocado to one of them for more caloric intake. Some days it’s apples. I may use coconut yogurt other days for new taste and leave out the banana. Pretty much anything goes when making smoothies. It’s up to you to find your favorite combination.

My dream some day is to own one of these:
Vita-Mix 1700 Turbo Blend 4500 Countertop Blender with 2+ HP Motor

I’ve heard they blend fruits and veggies into a dream smoothie mix with hardly any pulp whatsoever, which would help a big texture person like me! In the meantime my Oster Fusion Blender works great for the budget I have.

In summary:

In keeping up with our 52 weeks to the all natural lifestyle, it’s about going slowly but not going backwards. Gradually incorporate 1, and then 2 smoothies into your day. The next time you eat up your chips, don’t buy a new bag but buy some nuts instead. The next time the Chips Ahoy run out, buy some fresh bananas and eat those for a sweet tooth craving. Going extreme may not work for most of us, but gradual is doable!

Let me know how you’re doing!

Week 1, Part A

Week 1, Part B

Week 2, Part A

Week 2, Part B

Week 3

Week 4