So it's been a few weeks since I had decided to go all raw again. My original goal was 2 weeks. But 2 weeks came and went, and I was feeling so GREAT that I just kept going and barely even noticed. That's a really big deal for me. I'm realizing through the entirety of this experience how far I've truly come along and didn't even know it. (Insert morale booster here.)
Well now a few weeks later, I did break the raw cycle and I'll get to that. I really need to start with what it had meant to me to fully return to this lifestyle.
One of the interesting things that had happened while being all raw was about a week into it, I actually experienced a low blood sugar. Like full on, the shakes. It was a day that Josh and I had randomly decided that we were going to just eat blueberries all day. Frankly I didn't really feel hungry for anything else so this was perfect, and we bought a flat of organic berries and went to town.
Well the 2nd day into my mostly blueberry fetish (with a couple other raw nibbles,) I had gone on a pretty decent bike ride that morning and must have really upped the detox process. I was at the office when I started to feel really sweaty and clammy and pale. I was ice cold and my hands were shaking. I seriously had no idea what was wrong with me... I thought maybe I was getting a flu or something. The comedy of it was that I had really special dinner plans with a childhood friend that I literally hadn't seen in 20 years. All I could think was, "She's going to think I'm a crack addict or something if I show up like this." I'm not sure what made me realize my blood sugar was low but I found myself grabbing a bottle of OJ (unpasteurized) and taking a few big swigs. Within minutes I felt better... crisis averted.
So this was a big wake up call to me. In the cooked world I do enjoy certain things like brown rice and black beans, or quinoa, or an occasional sweet treat. Now if you've ever had candida you know how out of control the sugar thing can get. But I've done a lot of work at this point to heal myself of those sorts of physical issues, and I definitely don't think of myself these days as having a sugar addiction. But wow this made me see things differently.
That experience fully impacted and deepened my commitment to returning to all raw, for the sake of uncovering more of the unknown. So up until about 3 days ago I was rocking it. Lots of amazing salads each day, usually a cup of herb tea or mate in the morning, plus my one sweet thing which is a big fat smoothie with fresh fruits and berries, probiotics, and coconut oil and hemp seeds to slow the absorption of the fruit sugars and aid in carrying the probiotics to the gut. It's been great. I can also tell when my body is trying to detox more, because I immediately start craving fats-- avocados, mac nuts, whatever I can get my paws on. I've allowed myself to slow down the detox process a little by taking in those fats, for the simple fact that I'm trying to be more gentle on my body this time. I can't tell you the emotional train wreck it was for me to try and sustain all raw the first time I did it.
And so on Sunday I broke raw. It's for a simple reason really. In fact it's so petty it's bit embarrassing but whatever, it's only fair to see my own reflection. The reason is that I was hungover from drinking too much wine, albeit organic and raw. That's been my one kryptonite in this experience. I've enjoyed many a glass of wine recently. I don't know why! I think all raw has just coincided with a zillion social engagements in which I wasn't feeling solid enough to not drink the vino. But in LA for work all this week and away from those situations, and so it's been great to let my body recoup a little. I'm sure that's part of the reason I've constantly craved fats as well :-p But note-- this is something I intend to restructure a bit when I get back to SF.
So I ended up making some interesting food choices at Whole Foods over the weekend, but I'm letting it all go. I'm not allowing judgement into this equation. I'm soo not perfect! Now I've returned to mostly raw since Sunday.
I'm rediscovering how much I love portable food. Anything that comes in nature's wrapper is my BFF on the road. The hearty avocado and a little tamari to go with it. The refreshing cucumber sprinkled with crystal salt and pepper. The juicy peach, just being its juicy self. Then there's the refreshing bottle of kombucha that always beckons to me. Life is good. Oh, and PS, I do travel with my own condiments. It really helps my cause.
Hopefully you're benefitting a little from my Muppet version of the raw experience! Feel free to let me know what you think. That's it for now. More later this week. Ciao~
"All progress occurs because people dare to be different."
~ Harry Millner
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