Food Fog

Still Clearing the Food Fog...

Wednesday, 24 March 2010

Even after five years of gradually losing and maintaining my weight, I still have times where I struggle with old patterns of thinking and behavior. The difference is now that I have more faith in myself to redirect my energy into positive actions and thoughts. But, when they say, "it's not about the weight," it's really true. Of course, when you're carrying around a hundred extra pounds, it feels like it's all about the weight. But, once the weight is gone, you really do have to keep up the process of self-discovery and loving yourself enough to walk through the challenges and triumphs of life without using food as a drug, but rather to nourish and sustain you through the journey.

Reflections on Eating

Tuesday, 16 March 2010

It's my birthday, and about week since we ended our 10 day juice fast. I'm still reflecting on finding balance with food, but feel the fast brought more consciousness and awareness to my relationship with food. I feel like my life will be a continual process of uncovering solutions and unearthing new mysteries with regards to health and everything else, as well. And since our perceptions are formed out of contrast, the juice fast experience provided an amazing contrast to my normal "eating" life. This will undoubtedly serve me well on this journey.

Juice Feast - Day 10

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

We made it! Ten days of drinking nothing but green juices. What an experience! I think I will need a few days to reflect upon it, once slowly transitioning back into eating solid food. I'm a little nervous about the whole process of breaking the fast in a gradual and healthy way. I can't help but think that the first morsel of solid food will unleash a ravenous desire to eat. But, intuitively, I know that my body feels differently now and as long as I stay conscious and connected to those feelings, I will nourish myself in a balanced and mindful way.

So, I'm excited about tomorrow. Chewing! Woo-hoo! Who would have thought that would be such a revered sensation? I think we're going to break our fast with melon, as it's always been one of the easiest things for me to digest. We'll mix in a couple more green juices or a green smoothie, and another fruit mono-meal, too. Then on day 2 and 3, we add chopped veggies, salad and a little fat in the form of avocado or olive oil. Then it's back to meal to meal, just paying attention to how we're feeling. So, the adventure continues!

Juice Fast - Day 9

Monday, 08 March 2010

Today was one of my busiest days, and since I didn't have time to juice this morning, and I had just exercised, I was dragging pretty badly until around 2 or so, when I finally got a few minutes to juice. After that, things pepped up, and I actually had a fairly productive day.

I am noticing that keeping the juices mostly vegetables, with minimal fruit, yields better results for me. It gives me better long-term energy, makes my teeth and gums feel better, and just makes me feel more grounded somehow. It's easy to chug bag a jar of sweet fruit juice, even if it's got spinach or kale in it, but drinking a good veggie juice is a little slower process. Of course, the margin for error with vegetable juices is bigger. You can really make some nasty ones if you don't combine things well. I find that a good base of greens, celery and cucumber are best, then I add things depending on which way I want to go with flavor. Tomatoes, carrots, parsnips and red pepper give more of a V-8 taste. Adding things like jerusalem artichokes or celery root make a lighter tasting juice. We've even juiced sweet potato and added cinnamon, which is surprisingly sweet and yummy. Then, sometimes we just keep it really simple like tonight we had cucumber, coconut water, and spinach. Very refreshing. Lemon, a little pear and cucumber is great, too... kind of like lemonade. Anyway I think we're now Master Juicers. Do they have a certificate for that?

Darren's off to DC tomorrow, so we juiced a couple jars for tomorrow already. That means only two more juices to make tomorrow! Well, I guess we'll probably start off our "breaking the fast" day with a simple juice, but at least juicing four times a day won't be necessary anymore. Phew! Of course, for all the effort and challenge of the juicing routine, the experience has definitely been helpful and will be a great memory for Darren and I, both.
Nine down... one to go!

Juice Fast - Day 8

I don't have anything earth-shattering to report today. We haven't experienced any startling new symptoms or any overwhelming challenges. We are definitely getting a little bored with the juicing routine, but nothing we can't stick out for two more days.

We bought the rest of our produce today for the last days of our fast. I think it's all averaged out to about $40/day in juice. I guess that could be expensive, but we don't do much else, and we weren't consuming anything else, so it didn't seem so bad. We bought mostly organic produce, but you could do it even cheaper if you went to Costco and loaded up on non-organic stuff. We try to keep it as local and seasonal as possible in our regular diet, but it's challenging on a juice fast. Greens are just not plentiful locally this time of year. If we ever do this again, I would definitely do it when more greens are available through our co-op and the weather is warmer.

On to Tuesday... the end is near...

Juice Feast - Day 7

Sunday, 07 March 2010

Wasn't Sunday supposed to be a day of rest? Well, no such luck this week. I started my day with a board meeting at our church. Then we did get in a short ride in the car, just to enjoy the sun, and let Zofia snooze. But that was a brief interlude, and then the sibling rivalry between Flo and Joe preempted any potential relaxation, and Zofia woke up and screamed most of the way home. We did catch up on paperwork, and made our first batch of sauerkraut, which should be ready in a few weeks. So in between that and making juice three or four times, and preparing a couple meals for the kids, it didn't leave much time left in the day. In fact, the day is over; it's already tomorrow! But, in this early hour of the day, I'm reveling in the solitude, and bargaining with myself over adequate sleep or time alone to think. I usually opt for the latter, but sometimes am gifted with both, which I hope is the case tonight.

So, one week of just juice. It's been an introspective experience and one I'm enjoying on many levels. But, in all honestly, I think the demands on my time at this stage in my life, inhibit the full potential of the experience. Ideally, one would do this when there was a stretch of time to relax more, take hot baths, get a massage, read, watch old movies, talk with friends, etc. We, on the other hand, kept the hectic pace of our normal life, while making a temporary dietary modification. That's not to say I wouldn't do it again, but we would definitely have Darren take a few days off and clear the schedule a little more. It's not that energy has been an issue, anymore than normal, but more just time to "cleanse" in other ways, would be nice, too.

On that note, I'm definitely feeling just about as "cleaned out" as I ever have; at least physically. This process definitely clears the "food fog" and gets you in touch with your feelings, too. But, we are tiring a bit of the juicing routine. If someone would just show up with a delivery of freshly pressed juice every morning, I could go for another ten days!

Juice Feast - Day 6

Saturday, 06 March 2010

The Juice Fest continues! Darren and I are now seasoned juice makers, and are enjoying experimenting with different fruits and veggies. The juice making process is not too restraining, though we cannot go out for a long period of time without remembering to juice a couple jars to take with us. So, it just makes us have to be better planners.

One thing I'm dealing with is just being really cold. I was feeling this way, though, before we started the juice fast. I've been drinking a couple cups of tea every day, which is nice to warm up, but mostly I just bundle up a lot. I'm definitely looking forward to the Spring! Also, my energy level was kind of low today, but that's probably attributed to another night of poor sleep. It's just a symptom of being a mom, I think.

Darren worked overtime (at home) today, and his back is really bothering him. It could possibly be a detox symptom, but more likely attributed to the extra time sitting working in a chair. He's also finding himself a bit more stuffed up (sinuses) today, which I've heard is a common detox symptom. I'm finding my sinuses to be blissfully clear, and I'm hoping they stay that way after last year's horrific sinus infection. Ouch!

I think I will sort of miss the departure from the norm we've experienced during this fast. It's been kind of a time out to ponder and think about the way we do things and what our motivation behind our actions is. We've had some very deep conversations this week.

So, rolling into day 7 tomorrow... just enjoying the ride.

Juice Feast - Day 5

Friday, 05 March 2010

We made it halfway! I feel like it's been somewhat of a big hill I've been climbing up, and from this point on, it's all downhill. That may be due in part to the fact that we're pretty busy up until tomorrow, so as the weekend winds down, the schedule relaxes for a couple days, and our fast will be winding down. Of course, how you break the fast is just as important as the fast itself, so we'll be taking the few days after to slowly transition back into eating solid food.

Sleep has not been abundant for me the past couple of nights, so my recap of today's experience is going to be brief. We started the day early, going to our bi-weekly homeschool co-op, and the day is almost drawing to a close now at close to midnight. So, I do not have the energy to be pensive or insightful right now. I'm just proud of us for sticking with this. I have no doubts we'll make it to the end now. It's just a matter of dealing with all the other stuff life throws at us!

Juice Feast - Day 4

Thursday, 04 March 2010

I started the day tired because I went to bed late, and Zofia woke me up early. But, despite the lack of sleep, my energy level was pretty good. I worked out this morning, though I think I'll give myself a break tomorrow with such a busy day ahead. I'll reserve my energy for keeping up with the kids!

Darren survived his once a week commute to DC, fueled only by green juice. He said it was no worse than any Thursday, getting up at 4am and hitting rush hour traffic on the way home. He made a produce pitstop at the co-op in Frederick to stock up on some more greens for the next few days. Our produce budget has definitely doubled this week, but I guess we're not eating anything else, so it all evens out.

Overall, day 4 was uneventful. Aside from a little girly drama with a temperamental ten year-old, the only other hitch in my day was when Zofia accidentally knocked over a full jar of green juice all over my computer desk. It was the first time I'd gotten to sit down and I was so looking forward to enjoying my juice. So, I cried a little, but as they say, "There's no use crying over spilled juice!" So, I mopped it up and whipped myself together another juice in a few minutes flat. I've got a system down now, and I'm getting more efficient. We're in the "juicing groove" now.

Juice Feast - Day 3

Wednesday, 03 March 2010

You know how when you've gone through a tough experience with a positive outcome (like getting a painful tooth fixed), and someone ready to experience the same thing asks you if it was painful, you kind of bend the truth a bit to put them at ease? Ya, so that's kind of what this juice fasting experience is like. I know the outcome is going to be positive, but the process is difficult at times; though not necessarily as painful as a root canal. It's all the emotional stuff that comes up. You really have to challenge all your emotional attachments to food. Thankfully, my life keeps me really busy, and in some ways, that probably makes it easier. If I had the time to lounge around and rest, I may find it even more challenging because I'd have more time to think about it. So, I guess there's pros and cons to taking on something like this while you're going about your regular daily activities.

Darren's off to DC tomorrow for his in-office day, which means he'll be toting a couple jars of juice with him. I'm hoping his energy level is okay. We've been doing fine, but this morning Darren was dragging a little. I had just come up from working out in the basement, and saw him working away at his desk, looking in need of some energy. I told him he should just go down and bounce up and down on the rebounder for a few minutes. It's a unique feeling. I swear it gets your system moving. So, he went and gave it a try and said that's just what he needs; to add a little exercise to the mix every day. After that, and another few big jars of green juice, he got through his work day with ease.

I, on the other hand, literally felt like I never sat down. With my broken dryer, and having to do laundry everyday to keep up with hanging it to dry, making meals for the kids, and then juicing a couple hours every day, I'm feeling like I haven't a minute to spare. It's almost 11pm now, and I think this is the first time I've sat down. But, truthfully, this isn't much different than most days, so it's just a matter of prioritizing.

So... three days under our belt... one week to go! I wonder if anyone is placing bets on how long we'll last? Ha! Anyone want to join us?