Raw Food Detox Journal – Days 3 & 5
“Jul. 06”
Last year, I began a radical, new path to better health and began writing down my experiences in the hopes that it may be of service to others someday. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Here’s days 3 and 5 of my experience with “going raw”:
July 3, 2006 at 7 months
Today will be first day completely off dairy. I ate much less of it over the past few days, but today I am ready to go all the way. Man, I already feel so much better. More alert. More energy. Reading Natalia Rose’s, “The Raw Food Detox Diet.” Incredibly inspiring book. She recommends going raw slowly to prevent experiencing the full force of the detoxing effects it produces as it cleanses your colon and cells – kinda like easing your way into a pool full of chilly water.
July 5, 2006
I am still in withdrawal. Last night, I had a huge sugar and dairy craving. It happened at a family gathering to celebrate the fourth. I went prepared; for lunch I brought an organic veggie salad with homemade raw tamari dressing (basically, tamari sauce, cider vinegar, and olive oil, with a dash of fresh lemon juice and salt and pepper) for me and Zack, my nine-year-old son. (He kept making yummy noises the whole time.) For dinner, we grilled lemon-pepper wild salmon and a bunch of organic veggies while everyone else ate burgers. Then we had fresh, local farmer’s market watermelon.
Later, we set off fireworks. Mom had a bunch of junk food out, which didn’t appeal to me at all. We’d also brought some frozen fruit with a little bit of organic yogurt to drizzle on top for dessert. (I figured that little bit of organic yogurt was better than the ice cream I almost ate. I would have gone for it, if it weren’t for my ex-husband, Mat. He told me, “Look, you just inspired me to get off dairy and I am going to stick to it.” Then he added, “At least for today.”)
Before my yogurt and sugar slip, I’d gone two whole days without dairy. It’d been longer since I’d had sugar. I also came close to drinking a diet coke yesterday. As a substitute, I made lemonade with fresh farmer’s market lemons, and sweetened it with Stevia – yum. Want a coke now. Damn. I am not going to do this perfectly. I seriously thought I would just go cold turkey off sugar, wheat, dairy, and my favorite; diet coke with lemon all at once. I’m not even trying to get off meat yet — just no beef or pork. And I didn’t have the illusion I’d be able to get off coffee right away. I had green tea yesterday. Today, coffee. This is so not gonna be easy.
“Dec. 06”
How do I feel? Well, I woke up feeling like hammered putty today. Zack also felt bad. He said his chest and head felt yucky. Apparently, he’s detoxing, too. My back acted up (bum disks) and my lungs hurt (asthma) today for the first time in weeks. It will be interesting to see if they do heal, given that I’m off dairy now (knock on wood). Man, if I could just breathe better, that improvement alone would change my life completely. I’m taking Echinacea and extra Vitamin C to help the detox process along.
You know, for someone who always thought of the word, ‘discipline’ as the “D” word, I think I’m doing amazingly well. Knock on wood.
