how to eat like a bird: and on the seventh day...

When I started my "detox" plan, consisting of a preparatory week of a restrictive diet and four days of a juice fast, I thought for sure the juice days would be easier. It seemed far more clearcut--I wouldn't constantly have to think about what I could or could not eat because I wouldn't be eating. It appealed to my lazy side because I wouldn't have to cook (nor chew). I imagined myself happily accepting a wan existence, lounging in bed with one of those flexible straws hanging from my mouth at all times, drinking cranberry juice laced with ground flax seeds, arugula and papaya smoothies, and whatever other gross concoctions I could come up with.

But now my prep week is over, and has been over by a day, and I'm scared to start the next stage. And that's because it's been going so well. All the hunger I anticipated, the withdrawal symptoms from depriving myself of caffeine, sugar, and wheat (as well as meat and dairy)--the pounding headaches--never took place. Maybe because I had already stopped treating Coke as if it were an IV drip necessary for daily function, maybe because I was stuffing myself with fruit which contains natural sugars, but it was all a relative breeze, a walk in the park, far removed from my memories of many years ago when I was on the South Beach diet and made my friend uncomfortable with the way I was looking at her panini.

Yes, the first two days I felt a little tired and slept more, mostly because I was living on green tea, gazpacho, and Concord grapes. I wasn't getting enough calories (once again, being lazy). But then, the weather turned and in my rediscovery of lentils, I realized I could have comfort food on this diet. It buoyed me and beyond one grumpy night of an overexpensive, labor-intensive fruit salad when all I wanted was good pizza or maybe a lobster roll, I haven't had many overwhelming cravings. I tried not to resort to the typical diet visual of someone chomping on celery sticks for days on end. I had vegetable curry, lovely sashimi (fish doesn't count as meat, does it?), and a rich, creamy hummus from The Hummus Place.

All week, I've felt much better than I normally do. Never hungry, but never full to the point of excess. My skin seems a little brighter and my stomach flatter--it's soft like veal, but no matter. I didn't weigh myself at the start of the week because I wanted to make it more about health than weight, but I know what I usually weigh, and it looks like I lost five pounds. I fit into jeans that have been too tight for two years.

But what I'm most pleased with is the clarity of my head. Not in smarts--I'm sure I'm dumber--but in terms of congestion. I didn't realize how full of mucus I was. I usually have to blow my nose a few times when I wake up and before I go to sleep, and I sneeze quite a lot. But this week I've felt exceptionally clear. I can breathe. And I think because of this in part and because of my new found restraint, things taste better. A lot better.

Which is why I'm afraid to go on the more extreme juice fast. I worry that I will come out of it with an insatiable need for a lasagna with bechamel sauce. When right now, if I could have anything I wanted tomorrow, I would want either the hummus, with a side of falafel this time (the falafel is delicious there--vibrant and green inside, with nary a trace of grease) or the sashimi again. And it would satisfy. Normally if I were ordering sashimi rather than sushi, I would order the Deluxe portion plus an order of gyoza to ensure I had enough. But this week I had a Regular portion with a side salad, and got full before I finished.

I had a lot to do today, so didn't think it would be a good time to feel weak on a juice fast. But I'll give it a go over the weekend and try it for at least two days and we'll see how it goes.

Comments

Wow, sounds like success so far. I am jealous. I can barely manage to fast for the holiday tomorrow. I just needed a sip of water (the fast is actually sunset to sunset..i might not make it to sunrise!

Posted by: izzy's mama | September 21, 2007 at 11:16 PM