Two weeks into my blended raw veggie, superfood cleanse and…
1. EVERYDAY WORKS:
Everything in my closet fits and daily life is easier. My thoughts are clearer, anxiety largely gone, reactions are better, and mood is balanced.
There’s no random bloating, intense cravings, evening cramping, IBS, or constipation. There’s no time taken out to recover from odd meals, sugar spikes, or toxins from the night before.
I don't fear the dark corners of my mind as toxins spike my chronic inflammation, steal B vitamins and magnesium, and leave me without a mental life preserver when stress happens.
I hadn’t anticipated the 'life is just easier' benefit of this Vitalist cleanse.
2. I NOTICE MY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD
With my cells being fed and blood sugar balanced, I’m not actually hungry. BUT I still very much crave sugar to get me through dull moments and distract with a high. The lack of option is liberating and over time the cravings went down.
It’s nice to have the decision already made, to just feel the urge and notice it without struggling with whether or not to cave to it. My brain slowed down it's ADD search for sugary escape once it knew it wasn't an option. I enjoyed more natural focus.
3. I'M LEARNING BALANCE
After doing the first week by the book, I detected a craving from my body for animal protein. I had been on the easy to digest, raw, vegan, masterfully combined superfood blends. I had done the herbs, the castor packs, the tummy massages, the oil drinking, the rest, and even the dreaded coffee enema. It all felt medically good for cleanse purposes but not necessarily perfect for my body chemistry daily.
So I played with balance. I promised myself I'd focus on the wins.
I celebrated my exhibition of more discipline than I thought possible for my rebellious, impulsive, use-sugar-as-a-drug spirit.
Off alcohol and sugar the last month+ to prep and build slowly, I was able to celebrate how big of a deal that was and allow modifications the second week with total self love.
After the big liver and gallbladder flush, I observed a rebellion against the 5x/day herbs. I wanted to sneak in a deviled egg or cooked soup stripped of its original enzymes. I wanted spice intensive, flavorful, sugary curry.
And so 2nd week, I allowed myself, and I watched.
A bit of bloat creeped back in with harder to digest choices and less fluids but I retained a desire to continue mostly blended superfoods 70% of the time for ease and comfort.
I felt a welling pride that I was shifting my flexibility around previous all or nothing thinking and could hear my body's preferences. I knew I could go back to 5 days of herbs and all blended before the next liver flush and really appreciated the ease these food combinations were bringing to my life.
I liked having the blueprint AND noticing where my wiggle room was on the spectrum. I was celebrating wins instead of counting personal errors.
Halle-friggin-lujah!
I love that my food spectrum no longer includes slurpees, ice cream snickers bars, or cheetos. Sugar and starchy processed carbs are my Achilles heel. Others may struggle with dairy or meat, but I really get worked over by blood sugar spikes.
A recent habitnutrition.com blood test had confirmed what I already intuitively knew: I had sensitive pancreatic cells struggling to release insulin so often. I am prone to diabetes if I eat common sugary desserts – even more so as my activity level downshifts with age.
Plus, like many people, I have chronic inflammation from fast living and high toxin exposure compounded with intense internal dialogue ~ {I suspect originating from early trauma and attempts to system override to prove worth through "productivity."} My already high cortisol levels don't need sugar's 'helpful boost' and the path I was on is ripe for an autoimmune disease.
Even knowing about inflammation's damage, I feared letting go of my sugary security blanket and frankly doubted I could. I had asked the universe for a done for me, easy, delicious way to break my patterning. And doing this first step FEELS HUGE! :)
I know I don't really have the luxury to continue to treat food like an escapist drug rather than information for my cells so I'm super grateful these blended drinks weren't gross. I had to find a better coping mechanism than sugar and the delicious Vitalist superfood blends made exploring this transition possible. The chocolate chia protein powder nut milk blend mimics a cold chocolate mousse and got me through cravings.
The Takeaway
Experimenting with truly balanced blood sugar for 2 weeks has been such a gift. Having clearer thoughts, needing less sleep, feeling lighter in my body, enjoying a svelte physique, and reducing decision fatigue in the food arena has been great. I suspect the aloe in my favorite 'Aloe Detox' blended drink has also helped repair leaky gut damages to my intestinal walls. That drink will forever be found in my fridge.
Pretty excited to be past the all liquid part so I can get back to the Unicorn nutballs and the nut cheese, jalapeno chip Nachos. I love food and want to feel good and sometimes that's a tough balance for this sugar baby.