This week’s cleanse has been a rich and potent experience. I lost weight (not necessarily my goal for cleansing) and gained clarity and more self-awareness. I thought my relationship with food was pretty balanced. I’m not an “overeater,” an “under eater”, an “emotional eater” or a “binger” but during these past 7 days, I’ve recognized just how much of my free attention is focused, from the moment I open my eyes in the morning, on what I will ingest first. I thought I simply ate to sustain and enjoy myself, but I recognized some patterns of behavior around food that have become a bit of an addiction….like sugar.
Day one was fairly easy. A raw food, pre-cleanse was the order of the day to get my body ready for 5 days of juicing. Day 2 was a bit harder, as my morning cup of coffee with milk and sugar was not on the menu. There was nothing to chew, which was foreign, but the fruit & veggie juices were delicious! I was surprised at how many flavors I could detect when I savored each glass like it was my last meal. Slowing down was one of the most valuable things I learned to do. Really tasting my “meal” in a conscious way made the experience 10x’s more enjoyable. The psyllium husk and bentonite clay drinks really helped to fill the void in my stomach when hunger approached. I found that using coconut water instead of regular water made the drink taste like a sweet, drinkable cereal.
The vegetable stock in the evening was a much-welcomed flavor and also very satisfying and filling. I thought I would feel tired without solid food, but surprisingly, I felt in fact, even more, energized than usual by day 3 of juicing. Days 4 and 5 were off the charts as far as my energy went. I was literally running from room to room in my house as I vacuumed every nook and cranny (even the ceilings!) The cleanse not only spilled over into my physical space (my house) but into other areas as well. For instance, a friend loaned me money more than 6 months ago and I finally got around to communicating with her about an installment plan. I’ll be sending her a bit of money monthly until it’s paid off. I truly believe that cleaning out the debris in my body is what created this forward momentum.
This cleanse included colemas which I administered once a day. The morning colema with the coffee additive was a nice caffeine boost and substitute for my usual cuppa Joe. I also tried the garlic and apple cider vinegar. The experience with colemas was at first uncomfortable, getting situated on the board and pumping water into my colon seemed alien. Most of us are unused to this sensation. It felt a bit like an internal tickle. Massaging my stomach to allow more water in felt counterintuitive, but once I started to get accustomed to the sensation, it became “normal”. Releasing the water felt amazing as I could feel myself letting go of old “stuff”. Some bodily sensations I had during this were sweating and at times chills, as if I was breaking a fever. It truly felt like toxins leaving my system and afterward, I felt lighter. Not just in body but somehow in spirit as well. Knowing that I’m doing something nice for my physical well-being brought a sense of inner peace and self-love as well.
My skin is feeling hydrated and softer and looks clearer than usual. My energy level is high and my usually packed stomach feels lighter and more pliable. I can feel the rest of my body more acutely and some of the chronic aches and pains in my joints are gone. My relationship with food feels like it’s already shifted. I want to slow down and savor my meals and taste all of the flavors there are to taste. I have a desire for raw foods and salads and fruit and healthy snacks. The things that used to look and sound good aren’t really appealing to me right now. I see that I can survive rather happily without refined sugar in my diet. This is not to say that I won’t continue to love and eat my beloved dark chocolate, but I think I will have a newfound appreciation for it. J I’m so happy that I hit the reset button on my diet and gave this cleanse a shot. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to create more health and presence around their relationship to food.