Well, yesterday we officially began the 6-Week Deep Tissue Detox. I'd stayed up until sunrise nearly organizing my home, washing my greens and making juices for the next day. Fully prepared with 5 of my favorite juice jugs armed and loaded in the fridge, I was convinced that my detox was off to a successful start.
Making green juices is one thing. Making green juices that taste good enough to consume is something else entirely. Through foresight and determination, I'd done a lot to prepare the stage and put support in place for myself. I got my ex-husband briefed, prepped and on board the program. I removed all traces of gluten or dairy products from the home and hid the soy sauces up high in the cupboard. (Was I thinking I could hide them from myself?!?) The kids made a commitment to gluten-free, dairy-free and LOTS of green juices and smoothies for the next 6 weeks, and I have enough kale, spinach and parsley in my fridge to feed an adult male gorilla for a week, but still…
…I still busted my detox on Day One.
*sigh*
I know, I know. You're expecting me to be a stellar role model of health and discipline with will power of stainless steel. You were hoping I would succeed so I could encourage you. The fact is:
No amount of green food or swamp water supplements had any impact whatsoever on getting me through the spiritual wrestling match with my emotional eating patterns.
*Doh!*
Here are a few speculations as to why:
I clearly ignored Dr. Ritamarie's suggestions to drink more water. In fact, I didn't drink ANY water at all. Just green juice, and even that, I wasn't drinking nearly enough because they tasted AWFUL! 🙁
I was running on a considerable shortage of sleep. Your ability to think clearly, make smart decisions and prioritize healthy choices is SERIOUSLY compromised by insufficient sleep. I'd been running on a couple nights of a couple hours of sleep and it certainly didn't help my late night eating habits.
My house was messy. The kids are back this week. I would swear they each has a set of four arms–two for pretending to be busy doing homework and helping, and two more that come out when I'm not looking to sprinkle, tear, scatter, smash and smear stuff all over the house. They say that a person's home is a reflection of their state of mind and well-being. If that's true, last night I was living proof.
So, since we're not here to brag about our shortcomings, but rather learn from them, here's the action plan for the week to keep us all on track:
1. Take time to go through the sample GI document. Look at the detailed suggestions of how to start your day, prep for meals, and what to consume in between. Put the first steps in place. If you did as poorly as I did yesterday, let us know and we'll add another week to the regime. Just getting in place all the little details of what need to be done can be daunting.
2. Set a policy for yourself about bedtime. You cannot pretend to be doing yourself any favors with all these foods, then think it's okay to trash your adrenals by working until the sun comes up. (While Dr. Ritamarie is a model for healthy food choices, feel free to send her a little love note at 10pm reminding her that it's almost bedtime.
3. Assuming that your preparation week has gone well, that you've gone through all the documents and are on target, you need to take and make the time to go through your first educational teleseminar. The more you understand the mechanisms at work, the better you'll be able to put healthy habits in place.
We have a teleseminar this Thursday. We'll be focused on answering any questions related to the content of the program up until this point in the program. The link has been sent to you, but here are some of the questions that we'll be addressing:
- Why all this green? Why can't we just do liquids, or a juice feast? Why can't we just do less green?
- Why “raw” food? I mean, couldn't it just be a gluten-free detox?
- Wheatgrass makes me want to throw up just thinking about it. How am I supposed to get it down in the quantities recommended for this program? Is there something else I can do instead?
- Can we substitute powdered greens for fresh juices, sometimes? How often?
- Can you please pass along some acceptable transitional recipes or cooked food options that will maximize detox and minimize frustration for me, since I'm having a touch time staying on raw food?
- Is it okay to make our juices and smoothies in advance?
We're going to find out how everyone else is doing, too, and as I said, if we need to add an extra week to the program, to be it. Let's get the results we came here to achieve!
Love and support,
Tera
Hi Tera!
You might be expecting too much of yourself….remember the first step of digestion is your emotional state as Dr Ritamarie would say. I think you need to relax…you can’t do it all in the first day, or the first week or the 6 weeks for that matter…Take a good look at what you’ve accomplished Tera! You’ll be amazed!
My experience has been a little better than I thought it would be. I have moments of euphoria and moments of despair when my little inner voice gives me all kinds of reasons to quit. I take a deep breath and push those thoughts out as soon as I am aware of them and focus on all the good things I am and have been doing for my health on this program and all I have learned…as I learned from Ritamarie’s Jumpstart your Energy program. From the start, since I started late I have resolved that my number one goal or approach with this would be: Do not stress, do your best…besides there is always the next time to learn and apply what has to be done. Up to now the approach has worked! I’m not eating as much greens as I should but I am pretty well sticking to the recommended food. One step at a time.
By the way, I admire your determination and your resolve. I get the impression you’re a bit of the same caring and dedicated type as Dr Ritamarie. We’re in good hands here everyone!!!
Have a great green day Tera!
Jacqueline
Oh Tera, I so get it. In prep for this, I did one week of 100% raw. I’ve never gone more than a day 100% raw before! I was going to do a whole month, but after just a few days, my emotional chaos was making me feel completely crazy. I think you put it so well with “the spiritual wrestling match with my emotional eating patterns.” I was shocked to realize how much I *wasn’t* in control of my own food intake. After a week I gave in and had some gluten-free/dairy-free cooked food and resolved to tackle the emotional stuff in tandem with my diet, lest I end up throwing a tantrum about my food again. 😉
I am not doing super-well this first week, I think, but I’m making progress. An extra week wouldn’t hurt, but I really want to get to the emotional detox part. I think this will be much easier if I can get some tips on coping with the emotional aspects of detox. I told friends I was doing 100% raw vegan, and they said it seemed so hard. I told them the food was really easy – it was the emotional crap it was dredging up that was the hard part!
And thank you for the reminder about bedtime. It’s easy to forget that part with everything else, but it is the linchpin of making this work, I know!
Thank you Tera! I also fell off the wagon yesterday and felt sick and overwhelmed. I woke up this morning and started over. Then I read your blog and cried with relief that I was not the only detox-buster! I was awake from 12:30 to 3 with liver pain and stomach upset – drank some tea and fell asleep listening to a book on cd to take my mind off of “wanting to eat bread!” Yes, it will take me another week so sign me up. See you Thursday on the call.
I think an 8-week program, with the first two weeks being transitional and focused on Phase 1, would be really helpful. It would give people more time to adjust and to read up on all the info.
Wow 6 weeks is intense!