I have decided to finally prioritise my health and to devote the next 30 days to looking after myself and doing a lovely detox. Nothing radical. In fact, it is quite wonderful.
I get to eat lots of fresh fruit and vege, give myself a massage twice daily, meditate for 10 mins, exercise for 1/2 an hour, breathe, eat oily fish and brown rice, drink hot lemon and honey eat morning before breaky, and generally look after myself.
Here is a reference to the book on Amazon (you can look inside and have a read if you like)...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Detox-Yourself-Jane-Scrivner/dp/0749917660/sr=8-1/qid=1157724526/ref=pd_ka_1/026-9635898-5263668?ie=UTF8&s=gatewayHopefully by the end of the month, I will be in a routine where the physical body is always nourished with kind and loving foods.
So, for anyone who's interested, I will add in a little entry daily to let you know how I am getting on.
Day 1: Bugger it. Why put it off any longer. I may not be prepared, but I need this. I want this. And it needs to happen NOW. Just got back from holidays and have nothing in fridge and meetings today, so breaky is a peach and pear with some pumpkin seeds sprinked on top and a herbal tea. Lunch - 1.5 litre bottle of water and a fruit salad. Starving by the time I get home with shopping, so eat about 5 peaches and make a scrumptious dinner of brown rice (tick that off my checklist), with feta, balsamic dressing, green leaves, red pepper and smoked trout on top. Divine. Pick on fruit all evening, so must eat more during the day. Feel very tired in the evening but maybe that's recovering from the holiday.
Day 2. Slept like a baby. Sprung out of bed as the beloved moans from exhaustion. Could it be working already? Run around all morning and by 3.30pm am exhausted. Got a headache and mild flu lilke symptoms which is meant to be normal. Feel knackered but in a positive way. Need to rest and relax so start writing in blog. Am thinking of sofa and book I want to finish. Meant to be cleaning house for sister in law's arrival but cannot be arsed. Oh had a delicious lunch today and we are going out for dinner so stopped by the restaurant to see if something I can eat on there or whether need to eat before hand. A few nice things on there but no tomatoes is somewhat limiting.
Day 3 - woke up feeling pretty good this morning. No headache - hopeful that may have passed quickly. Went to a meeting this morning after healthy breaky and hot lemon water. So far so good. No time to skin brush and didn't feel like cold shower. Have had a headache all afternoon and might have to repeat the nanna nap of yesterday (which ended up being almost 2 hours). Have cleaned 3 rooms of the house from top to toe and about to start on office and bedroom. I so need to get a new cleaner... I am however noticing very active bowels, which for an IBS person is welcomed. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Day 4 - work up feeling sleepy, but went to bed late. Went for walk for an hour and then came home knackered. Rested a little, but then went out shopping with my sister in law for the afternoon. Grabbed a quick lunch before we left the house, so as not to feel hungry when out. This requires some planning... Got home exhausted and headachey before cooking dinner. Am bored of the food but have discovered sparkling apple juice which I think is OK. Am doing to have to get very creative with the cooking and food prep.
Day 5 - woke up in the night with painful legs. Not quite anything I have experienced before. They just feel heavy and strange. I think this is OK and am not worried. But energy levels are high today and it feels like a breakthrough. Will see how I go this afternoon. Rest of the day was fine and managed to skip nanna nap and stayed up late playing Backgammon! Made a delicious soup for dinner and went for a walk. All good.
Day 6 - woke up a bit tired. Have to be very organised with this food thing, as we went out for the day and ended up eating dried figs. Not great, and not that exciting. Have plenty of energy except tired on hot stuffy tube. Starving by the time I got home. Not managing all my kidney tonics each day, but feeling very calm and laughing a lot. Think it is inner peace rather than insanity!
Day 7 - had a busy day out and about. Generally felt OK. Seemed less exhausted than the other travellers after a long day which was unusual for me. Am enjoying the process but need to make sure I have enough food to keep me going for the whole day, allowing for changes of plans. Seem to be eating a lot of fruit in packages!
Day 8 - Got very organised and took lunch with me but wasn't allowed to eat it in the restaurant we went to. Hate feeling like I am making a scene over food, but I guess if I am going to have kids, I am going to have to learn to accept things like inconveniencing others from time to time. Have learned that this whole thing is a series of little choices that if taken one at a time are easy and pass quickly. Have never noticed how quickly a sticky toffee pudding or devonshire tea come and go. Am a bit bored of eating similar things, but just need to get a bit more creative in the kitchen. And I found today I can eat prawns, so that is going to be great! Oh and I think I have lost at least 1 kilo, my jeans are baggier and someone asked me if I'd lost weight yesterday. So that is all a bonus.
Day 9 - I am just bored of the food I can eat. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Got it?! As my sister in law points out it's all in the mind... hmmmmm. And I'm hungry...
Day 10 - well am back on track today, after gaining inspiration from the detox book and transformed boring brown rice into a wonderful sweet potato, sage and pea risotto with sheep parmesan (can't remember the name - pecorino reggiano? - is my brain going soft?!). Oh well. Cleaned office like a mad woman as had enough of mess. Can even fit washing line in there. All is well and I am going to work tonight. Hope I don't forget something important. A sense of calm prevails, and I don't even miss tea that much.
Day 11 - am so tired of nuts and felt hungry pretty much all day despite the lovely risotto I had leftover from last night. Had my water, lemon tea, a(nother) fruit salad from M & S, and then a dodgy salad for dinner. By the time I got home at 11pm, I was starving, so cooked a bit of fresh tuna, which is not the way to do it but I had to eat something substantial. We walked for miles yesterday, so did more than my 30 minutes of exercise - feel very virtuous. All seems to be going fine, I have loads more energy and am starting to feel like a thin person!
Day 12 - woke up knackered as only had about 6 hours sleep but quickly bounced back and have plenty of energy for the day I think. Lots going on, but I am really enjoying this. And I got on the scales and am the lightest I have been for years! Which at this juncture is a blessing. All my squidgy bits are feeling less squidgy, which is also nice. The Beloved even commented last that I noticebly lost weight, which is a bonus, but certainly not the focus. All good, just got to make a nice lunch and eat enough today. Went to a surprise party last night and took prawns as a treat. Divine. I think people were even looking enviously at MY food!
Day 13 - had an interesting day food wise. Ended up eating fish and chips minus the chips and the batter, so it was rather disgusting and I felt a bit dirty afterwards. I've been so virtuous, and it wasn't weakness but rather not being arsed to kick up a stink. And I did have a sneaky glass of moet last night at the do. It was a moment of celebration, and it was Moet, so I thought it was treat worth having. And it was just one and I didn't touch the chocolate cake or any yummy sweets. Anyway, after the 'cod', I was delighted to eat my brown rice, tuna and salad with balsamic for dinner when I got home. This detox is wonderful gift to the body, and an opportunity to gain awareness around my eating and food choices. Feeling fortified and can see myself integrating some of the things into my every day. I just hope my bloated stomach stops being bloated!
Day 14 - was so relieved to eat my brown rice and tuna tonight. Had a few potatoes which are supposed to be allowed, but I have an intolerance to them and they have little nutritional value anyway. I think I will swap them for quinoa which is a wonder food! Stomach still bloated - I think it's the rice.
Day 15 - feel a deep sense of well being and calm. My skin feels amazing and I am drinking more water. Am actually enjoying herbal teas too. Everything seems on track and I made a lovely prawn, sweet potato and asparagus risotto tonight and followed up with mild goats cheese on rice crackers with blueberries and raspberries. Blueberries and goats cheese are amazing. The pecorino tasted really salty so my taste buds are getting more fine tuned. It's amazing how much taste there is in things that get covered up by sauces and other condiments. Interestingly, this does not feel like a struggle as if it's almost too easy. Funny how we think something has to be hard to be valuable!
Day 16 - let me introduce you to what I have stumbled across to be a wonderful breakfast - SMOOTHIES! I really didn't like the sheep's yoghurt (too strong) and I have an aversion to goat (after I smelt a revolting goat stew in China and had seen the goats walking around in the dirt and other shit - nice). And I was really missing my soya milk. So, I have started having one for breaky and it lasts me til lunchtime. Recipe: put some fruit in the blender - I've had peach and mango, peach, raspberry and blueberry - then pour the soy over. Just blended on its own is delicious. Or you can put honey, I've also been adding a teaspoon of psyllium husks for added fibre and they are wonderful for cleaning the gut, and a sprinkle of mixed seeds (they are a bit crunchy, but it is a healthy smoothie and adding them is in great for you with all those omega 3 and 6s). Blend and serve. Delicious!
Day 17 - worked like a dog all day, and was surprisingly not hungry given survival on one small bowl of quinoa with fruit and a fruit salad. Drank plenty of water and then had a good dinner (salad and salmon with balsamic) and a lovely herbal tea with honey for dinner. Got lots of energy despite living on very little sleep.
Day 18 - this is going by pretty quickly. Am well over half way through now. Still doing the cold showers, skin brushing (my butt is as smooth as silk), moisturising, drinking 1.7 l of water, brown rice, fruit and vege etc, but not great on the self massage or daily relaxation (although I do meditate in bed each night - i guess that counts). The only things I miss are eggs/ omelette, but I do feel I have changed some patterns or am changing them. Fruit is the best snack as are nuts and seeds and smoothies are a wonderful start to the day. Have got a peach, mango and rasberry one lined up for the morning after my all nighter. Have managed to stay strong despite hellish work schedule and it's quite easy.
Day 19 - well I had about 4 or 5 hours sleep last night, and by breakfast the mango and all the peaches were gone so I had a raspberry smoothie for breaky. It's amazing how at one point, I would have got through with coffee and cigarettes but today I feel fine and hydrated. I actually enjoyed my late night herbal chai with soya and honey. I have discovered a wonderful soup that is perfect detox food. Fried onion and garlic, carrot and short grain brown rice with marigold vegetable boullion (it's the best one - not a bad thing it is aside from the palm oil) and some of your favourite herbs. Use this as the base and I often add in celery if I have it. Last night I had it with salmon and today I also added in some coriander into the mix. Just so simple and so delicious, you don't even needs to have anything with it. I am going for a little nap now on my favourite chair and should be in great shape for tonight. Bring on this detox as a state of being!
Day 20/21 - busy weekend with lots of running around and not great in the food department. Finally found some epsom salts to do a bath tonight. Apparently meant to be pretty powerful, so am only using 1/2 packet. Want to be kind to myself rather than shock the body too much. Had delicious BBQ salmon cooked to perfection with salad for lunch in the sun. All good.
Day 22 - well had an extremely emotional today for many reasons and spent most of the afternoon in tears. I think that it all decided to come out. Was blessed with a visit by some friends in the evening who bought me a soothing carrot cake. So not on the detox, but felt so much better after treating myself. I am sure I'll feel loads better tomorrow.
Day 23 - woke at 6am for work trip. Knackered and eyes still puffy from crying session. Bringing loads of food with me to last a couple of days - lemons, honey, herbal tea, nuts, fruit. Very disappointed that my mouth watering nectarines were mouldy inside. I think the nectarine and peach season is over...Am managing to find appropriate food when I need to and eating less. Scales are dropping slightly too. Bonus!
Day 24 - work up in hotel room and made myself a comforting lemon and honey drink. What a great start to the day. Had a ludicrously long day - ending up with my own pillow at about 1am. I think I almost managed to do everything on the list today, including dry skin brushing, fruit and vege, oh except not the 1.75l of water. It's starting to become a way of life and not so inconvenient for others...
Day 25 - on the home straight now. Am missing the social aspect of eating and drinking and don't think I could give it up completely... But I have managed to get through a gruelling start to the week and don't feel too bad. All I managed to eat today was fruit salad from M & S, some cashew nuts, 2 apples and a greek salad. Oh and a snack size mars bar. Oh and a lovely sweet potato mash with a little salad with balsamic. I haven't really been having my rice, as it makes me feel bloated, but not sure where I am getting complex carbohydrates from. Need to get something substantial into the mix I feel, although I am feeling great with loads more energy despite a long and exhausting week.
Day 26 - had the usual lemon and honey wake up call. Loving that. And 1/2 a raspberry soy smoothie as I spilt the other half due to exhaustion related clumsiness. Got on the scales however and have lost another kilo. Am amazed at how little I need to eat to feel OK, although I do need to eat something a bit more substantial today. Off to get some lovely treats now. Have not managed to eat 3 proper meals a day for the last week or so. I plant o keep doing most of this when the detox officially ends as it really it lovely and it's so nice to feel fresh as a daisy!
Day 27 - well I have had a couple of horror days and I think the epsom salts might have something to do with it. On sunday night I had my first bath in Epsom salts, pure magnesium sulphate, then I had a second one on friday night. Meant to be very cleansing. The book recommends 1kg but I used 500g the first time and 250g the second time. Thank goodness I didn't use the whole lot as frankly, I think I may be locked up now if I had used done! I am not sure what happened or what they do, but I have been extremely depressed for some reason. Maybe there are terrible issues I need to resolve. But maybe not. I am trying to sort out what it is all about, but honestly, use them with caution.
Day 28 - Still feeling very down but continuing on with the detox. Nothing else has really changed to trigger this off, and I don't think it is just tiredness. I am going to see my kinesiologist in a few days to see what she recommends and to find out if I have got deficient in something in the last few weeks. Energy levels are low, mood is sombre despite a little bit of chocolate last night, but feeling thinner at least! Two days to go...
Day 29 - starting to feel a bit better having dealt with some of the issues that have arisen and also accepted that some things take time to sort out. But depression is always a sign there is a change needed somewhere, be it within or outside yourself. Had an amazing lunch today of fresh tuna steak fried in garlic and spring onion, steamed pak choy and tenderstem broccoli with garlic and grated carrot, lettuce and beetroot salad. With a sprinkling of wheat free organic tamari for a slightly asian feel. Absolutely delicious and now I am sipping a delicious cup of peppermint tea. Went for a walk for an hour yesterday so am starting to put exercise into the picture again.
Day 30 - well I have officially made it! 30 days and what a lovely journey even if it has been emotionally exhausting towards the end. I am going away tomorrow and then to the kinesiologist later in the week, so am going to keep on it until I see her. I am not sure what grains I can eat without getting bloated... Advice to anyone wanting to do such a thing? Go for it, but be aware that you may need to make a few lifestyle changes as a result. Enjoy it, and don't be hard on yourself. Detox and life don't need to be a struggle. And share any recipes you discover along the way!
5 months later...
I have started another detox. I'm on day 4. I really really missed it and how quickly I slipped back into old ways. No one really cares what I eat as long as I don't make too much of a fuss. People are pretty accommodating. And if not, well too bad because I feel so terrible when I eat the wrong things for me and so great when I do nice things for my body.
I'm doing 60 days this time because 30 just wasn't enough to integrate it all into my daily life and changes some old patterns.
Day 3 - the headache has almost passed and I feel energised despite working hard the last week. I am tired in me, but not because of all the crap running through my body. This body is a sensitive thing and I need to look after it better. I feel I am back on track. Let's see what happens this time.
Driving through the Tatras mountains, Slovakia.
