Food Fog

Five Day Juice Feast - Day 2

Tuesday, 30 November 2010

It seems like the second day of any break in routine is the most challenging. The first day, the system still hasn't caught up with the fact that there's been any change. By the second day, it's apparent. Today was tough; definitely some emotional turbulence and I just felt really drained and tired. I abandoned the idea of a yoga class in the evening, opting instead to circle the neighborhood with the dog a few times on the dark, windy night.

I've kept in touch with my friend, Tracy, who is along for this juicy adventure, and that's helped keep me motivated to follow through. I'm not yet feeling very cleansed, but more exhausted and like I'm emotionally detoxing. But, I know from experience, this will pass, and I should be feeling better by tomorrow. Sometimes it's good to just give into the fatigue and emotions and ride it out. I'm optimistic tomorrow will be the summit, from which I can coast the rest of the way down!

Five Day Juice Feast - Prep & Day 1

Monday, 29 November 2010

As a little pre-holiday season cleanse, I agreed to do a five day juice fast with a friend. Having already done a ten day fast with Darren at the beginning of this year, I figured five days would be doable. Of course, I don't expect a week of rest, relaxation and self-pampering, but I'll try to take it easy and enjoy the experience.

So, on day 1, I slept late, got up and got the kids breakfast and got Flo out the door with Grandma for her ice skating class. Next, I bounced on the rebounder for about 20 minutes, and then made my first juice of the day, which took about a half an hour from start to finish. The juice was less than exciting, but went down fine. The rest of the day progressed fairly similarly, with two more green juices, and a couple cups of peppermint herbal tea. Then I made it to an evening yoga class, and came home with little energy to spare. Day one... complete... four to go!

Raw Emotions

Saturday, 06 November 2010

Since my last entry, I've reflected further on the direction I really want to go with my approach to nutrition. For awhile, I was doubting whether it was realistic to continue on this nearly all raw food path long-term. I was grappling with the idea of possibly adding ten to twenty percent of healthy whole organic cooked foods to my diet as a more feasible long-term plan. I was contemplating this, not because I was having trouble finding healthy raw food options, or because I found the raw food lifestyle difficult, but more as a response to some emotional bumps in the road, and lack of a real support community for this somewhat "extremist" approach to diet.

After I made my last YouTube video, several things made me look inward at my motivation for change. I stumbled across Angela Stoke's book, Raw Emotions. She talks about her journey from obesity to health using a raw food diet. She really delves into the emotional detox or reconstruction that will inevitably arise on a long-term raw food diet. It made me realize that I was kind of at a crossroads of where I wanted this journey to go. And, for now, I've decided that, continuing on an all raw diet is not only a tool for continued improvement in my physical health, but a catalyst for further self-discovery and emotional healing. So, I will forge onward through the dietary darkness, curious to see where the light of raw/living foods will lead me.

Today, that light showed up as a raw food class, offered by a local naturopath and cafe owner. I saw the ad last week, and thought it was great to see raw foods mentioned in the area, but figured the class would cover topics I'm already familiar with, so I really didn't need to go. But, then since Darren and Joe were going to be out of town with hockey, I decided to sign Flo and I up, figuring it would be a fun mother-daughter outing, and at least someone, other than me, would be preparing the food for once! It turned out to be a fun and relaxing few hours and a chance to connect with some great people. Just another affirmation that I'm on the right path.

So, I'm looking forward to further exploring the emotional connections related to food, experimenting with nutrition, even within the raw spectrum, and just looking at the whole process as a creative venture. I'm thankful for all the opportunities and resources available to me, and am excited to feel the energy and vitality of real, whole, fresh foods, starting to emerge in the collective conscious.