Final Thoughts

I meant to blog yesterday but time just got away from me. I just wanted to jot down a couple final thoughts on the whole process. Unfortunately, I have an admission to make. West and I were fighting, which is usual for us, we're always bickering about something, but this fight was a pretty major one (not a deal breaker, don't worry, but enough to stress me out) so what did I do last night? Reverse back to old habits. I went by Carls Jr and got a hamburger, zuchhini, soda and chocolate shake. That's right. The shake too, and I sat in front of the TV last night and ate the entire meal. I have never felt so stomach sick in my life, mostly from eating so much food but also from being pissed at myself that I let him get to me like that and after so much hard work in the past few weeks, I go and slip up with one of the worst meals I could ask for. *sigh* I guess old habits really do die hard but that's ok I've decided. Instead of saying screw it, I ruined the whole thing and give up, I'm going to start today over fresh like it never happened.Sadly, I got on the scale this morning and had gained an incredible 5lbs since the last time I had gotten on the scale Saturday. I knew that some of the weight was going to come back but I have a feeling a chunk of that weight is attributed to last night alone. Oh well. Back to my final thoughts!
Overall I thought the detox was beneficial but I don't think it was long enough for me. Trust me, psychologically it was plenty long enough lol but physically, it wasn't until the last two days that I started to feel tons of energy, the thoughts of food completely gone, and starting to see real detox symptoms when it comes to bowel movements (you can google these symptoms on your own, I don't need to get into the messy details lol) plus my tongue started to form that white texture that it gets when its starting to release toxins only on the last day. After researching others experiences, there are just those out there that have so much toxins in their body that it takes a couple rounds of detoxing to really see the results. I don't know if the toxin part is completely true but I will say I think my body is stubborn and I feel I will see better results on round two. I do plan on doing it again, probably in January (every 6 months). They say on round 2 or more those symptoms of energy, cleanliness, white tongue, food cravings going away etc. come a lot faster and with each time you do the detox your body gets cleaner and cleaner. It just comes off in layers and it takes a few times doing it to peel all those layers back I suppose. The weight loss was a nice side effect and I can definitely see the benefits of drinking lots and lots of water. I notice now that I was sleeping better on the detox too. Ever since I came off of it, I'm waking up at least once a night and not sleeping so soundly but hopefully this will go away. My skin is better, my hair and nails seem to be growing faster, and my teeth definitely got whiter, probably from all the lemon juice. It did get rid of my cravings for sweets and caffeine. It won't keep me from eating either one once in awhile lol but I haven't had a chocolate craving since I came off of it. It definitely shrunk my stomach so I can't eat the portions I once did without feeling sick and that's an improvement in my book. I think more than anything, this detox was a psychological thing. I began to notice what your body needs to survive compared to the amount of food I was eating. If your body can survive on lemonade for seven days, it sure doesn't need a 12 in sandwich, chips, and an extra large drink to sustain itself lol I also noticed how much of our gatherings, outings, and socializing is centered around food. Everything has to do with food from watching TV to going to the movies, to even shopping. There is food all around us and and to make matters worse, its the crappy unhealthy convenience food that is the easiest and cheapest to make or grab on the go. No wonder America is the fattest nation on the planet. Everyday, everywhere, we're conditioned to think and eat food all the time and with portion sizes what they are, and most of us growing up with the "you can't leave the table until you clean your plate" syndrom, it's amazing that there are skinny people among us lolMy original plan was to jump right into a diet but I think I've changed that thinking a little bit. I think I'm going to spend some time eating whatever I want at that moment, but with portion sizes that are severely smaller than I was eating. I'm also going to try to keep in mind that we eat to live, not live to eat, so when I go to grab that cupcake, I can try and think about whether I really need it, and if my willpower just inists that I must, that at the very least, I only eat half of it. I think eating healthier and living healthier is now more than just making a decision on the food you eat, it's a whole different mindset. It's really stopping to pay attention to when your stomach is hungry or full and knowing the difference between boredom/emotional hungry and the real hunger when your body needs nutrients. It's making better choices no matter what situation you're in and being educated enough about the foods we eat to know whether it's good or bad. I think I've discovered it's never going to be easy for someone like me that has a weight problem. I'm never going to wake up one day and not struggle with every day decisions when it comes to food and exercise. I'm never going to be one of those people that can eat whatever they want, and how much of it they want and not gain a pound. I will gain a pound or possibly two lol and it will never come natural to me to pick an apple over chocolate cake or a visit to the gym over going out to ice cream with friends. It will always be a conscience decision, it will always be a struggle between what I should do and what I want to do but now that I realize that, I'm a little bit more prepared for it I think, a little more at peace with that. It might get a little easier once new habits are formed like drinking more water, eating smaller portions, getting in a regular exercise program thats consistent every week, etc. but until then, it's going to be hard. If it was easy, none of us would have a weight problem would we! lolSo, there you have it. In short, I think it's beneficial both for mind and body and I will do it again in 6 months. It was a hard, long process and there were several times when I didn't think I'd make it, but I did and that gives me the confidence to keep going with it. I'm going to try and get on here once a week and blog about my diet and exercise program and post some progress. I want to see if my metabolism has changed at all etc. etc. so I will keep you all posted.
P.S. For those looking for numbers, I did lose a total of 13lbs during the detox and 10 inches over all, so we'll see if I can keep it off and lose some more!