Exploit Habit to your Advantage

For those of you who have been trickling back to catch up on the latest with the detoxing blogger—I apologize. The number of followers has dwindled down to an unimpressive zero as of today. So I have decided that I need to be far more consistent in my blog writing. So now for the update: I completed 8 days of what started as a 5-day detox. Once I arrived at Day 5 I considered going for 10 days but with a wedding looming on Day 9, I decided that I would be content enough in finishing after 8 days. I awoke at 5:30AM on Day 9 and wolfed down a can of tuna (strangely enough)…not in keeping with the ‘Ease-Out’ portion of the detox, I might add. After my slightly guilt-ridden, impulsive protein feast I went back to bed and tried to erase that little nibble from my mind. Obviously, that hasn’t worked, but what is important here is that I had successfully not chewed anything for 8 days, and most importantly, am still chuffed (happy) with myself.  The following is a little piece I wrote for a newsletter that explains more the reasons and benefits of the detox:

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"Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of." -Unknown

Since Easter, when I over-did it on the mini-eggs, I began to develop some bad habits in terms of my eating. I had become a little apathetic regarding some of my food picks, and began to notice a difference in how I was feeling from day to day. I was more tired than usual, and a bit foggy in my thinking, and my jeans were hugging a little tighter than I would have liked.

It was time to press RESET. Veering in the wrong direction, I know it’s time to create a new mindset, a new vision—RECALCULATE—as my GPS would do. There can be many a slippery slope, times when I am open to losing influence. And to add fire to the pan, I am aware that the longer I’m heading in the wrong direction, the more likely I am to lose sight of my initial destination.

Detoxing is a great way to press reset. This is why I enjoy and endure a detox every season. It provides me with a fresh perspective on many levels—physically, mentally, and spiritually.  

So a little bit on the Benefits:

From a physical perspective, my digestive system has a chance to rest and eliminate the build of up of toxins, both those that the body produces, like lactic acid, homocysteine, and ammonia; and those that are human-made, coming from our environment, food and water. When the blocked energy in the intestine is freed up, it frees up energy throughout the body—blood, nerve impulses and lymph move without hesitation when the channels are unblocked.  Some of the more tangible benefits that I can see resulting from detoxification of my body include softer skin, clearer eyes, noticeable reduction in levels of arthritis in my left hand, (my only problem spot so far, and hopefully for ever if I continue to pursue a healthy lifestyle), some body fat reduction, sleeping better, and brighter skin. It is worth mentioning that I was rarely hungry or dizzy.

The benefits from a mental perspective include greater clarity of thought, and greater energy. I should mention here that there were days when I was quite tired, and this is one of the common side-effects of the detoxing process. However, for the most part I was pleasantly surprised by elevated energy levels.

Given that detoxing is such a holistic process, the physical, mental and spiritual benefits are often blurred. So from herein, I will not relegate my findings to any specific area, rather I will set the stage from a broader perspective.

"Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters."

When I eliminate food for a period of time, I start to become conscious of how often I used to eat unconsciously—not noticing, not enjoying the textures or tastes, not aware of whether the food is ‘helping’ or ‘hindering’—mindlessly gnawing on something while my mind is still pre-occupied with the details of the day.

When I start to re-introduce food following a detox, I am so much more aware of the flavours and textures of the food. I am better able to choose the best foods because I am no longer searching for something to satisfy cravings. The detox is my summersault off the springboard back to the nutritious, holistic foods that I deserve.

Nathaniel Emmons is quoted as saying; "Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters." Exploit habit to your advantage. 

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The detoxifying cleanse I just completed is called the Master Cleanse. Go to www.themastercleanse.org for more details. If you are interested in checking out a detox book, The Beauty Detox Solution by Kimberly Snyder is a good, easy, informative read. Jason Vale, a.k.a. the Juice Master adds a bit more hype to the scene and you can find everything from recipes to retreats at www.juicemaster.com Join me in my next blog on ‘the metaphorical detox’.

Sign of the Times with the Detoxing Blogger--DAY 2

Day 2: Actually when I woke this morning I was pretty chuffed (content, for you North Americans) with myself for my success on Day 1. As I waited for sleep last night, I anticipated great disappointment on waking to discover that yet another glass of lemonade was in store, and I figured that the thought of my usual crunchy muesli or omelette would have me instantly salivating. But, thankfully not.

A couple of hours later at the Farmer’s Market at Wychwood Barns in Toronto I was put to the test. These vegan hipsters with their dreads and lumber-jack accessories thought they could win me over with their gluten-free, wheat-free, flourless, cruelty-free, eco-friendly, sugar-free, dairy-free, soy-free quinoa bites, but no.  I was a force to be reckoned with. I came armed you see, with two full bottles of lemonade and Monika.  Monika is my current coach who inspired me to do the detox in the first place. She was figuratively sitting on my shoulder through out the experience. Every time another hippie stepped up with a tasty sample of their wears, in her Polish accent, she would pipe up, “It’s not worth it, Darling” and “I’m on Day 6.” Between encouragement and a healthy dose of competition, I was inspired. I left with an impressive bottle of maple syrup to add to my stash at home, and a bouquet of tulips.

It’s now time for some shut-eye so until tomorrow, when I’ll be back as the detoxing blogger with some words on motivation from my soon-to-be-launched home-study package on overcoming emotional eating and living life on purpose. Thanks for tuning in!

Sign of the Times with the Detoxing Blogger

Ticking off the ‘fail box’ is a no-no when you’ve got public humility at stake.  So even if it’s just about saving myself embarrassment, this blog has become my modern-day version of the public lashing. You see, yesterday I was inspired by a colleague to start a liquid detox. (Beyone Knowles is also a fan of this detox.) And considering that I just finished writing a piece on motivation in which I recommend clients to blog about their trek from ‘fat’ to ‘fit’, I thought this was a good opportunity to ‘walk the walk’, ‘talk the talk’ and all that….so here it goes. 

Day 1:  This morning I opened my eyes with a combination of excitement and trepidation at the thought of chewing absolutely nothing for the next five days. I have since discovered a few things:

1.     I have saved myself a huge amount of time. When you eliminate making a grocery list, grocery shopping, putting away said groceries, preparing groceries, and eating groceries, there’s a few extra hours in the day. Hence more time for said blog.

2.     And in true fashion, I have managed to call numerous friends today in an effort to procrastinate. No hard feelings, but no one cares to hear about a detox. Unless your friend/colleague is also detoxing, I advise the topic be avoided at all costs. I’m not sure why no one’s interested, but I imagine with all this spare time, I’ll conjure up some good notion as to why by day four.

3.     Hunger has surprisingly been satiated by the mix of water, lemon, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. This is a relief.

4.     Another surprising observation is that I’m quite alert. I’m not a caffeine junkie thankfully so going without the morning coffee was not an issue for me. (However, if you are partial to your morning latte, it’s advised you move from the ‘grande to the ‘short’ over the few days preceding your detox.)

I’ll provide an update tomorrow. Of course, it could just be that no one cares to hear about a detox or read about one, in which case….