Like the very first time you ride a bicycle, one is bound to always remember their very first detox experience. Years later and many more times after, you consider yourself a pro and laugh at the awkwardness of your first ride. At first you are scared and unsure, you are aware of the many health benefits, the hundred and one reasons why you should do this, but its always the most difficult to pedal on your own for the first time. It takes guts, but the reward is definitely worth it all.
I was then 33 but I felt like I was pushing 50
I decided to detoxify for the first time about two years ago. I was then 33 years old but I felt like I was pushing 50. I was always tired and it felt like my days peaked an hour after I woke up, slackened to sluggishness by lunch hour and by the time I came home at night you’d probably mistake me for a character from the Walking Dead. To add to this, I was asthmatic and overweight, so my body, saturated with so much medication was literally tired and giving up on me. That’s when I learned about detoxifying and I thought to myself, why not give it a shot? I bought a juicer and I went on a 5 day vegan detox.
The night before day 1, I literally could not believe my eyes, I was dumbfounded by the amount of vegetables that went into the pitcher (1.5 liters) of Green Vegan that I was to consume the next day. My kitchen counter was overflowing with vegetables and the end product was a mere pitcher, not to mention the time it took to wash, peel, prep and actually juice everything. One other shocking thing I learned that night was the mess that juicing a days worth of vegetables created (and I have to do this every night for 5 days?). It looked like Captain Planet and the Planeteers just finished fighting an all out war to save our earth… right in my kitchen! What do I do? I did what any self respecting fairly attractive mom would do, I ordered my husband and kids to clean up the mess.
During the first day, I was paranoid, I wasn’t sure if I was gonna be able to actually go through with an entire day without eating a single crumb, so again I did what any self respecting fairly attractive mom would do, I packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some crackers in my Neverfull (in case of a dire hunger emergency!). When I came home that night, the sandwich and crackers were still intact in my bag because surprise of surprises, I never got hungry the entire day! I was filling myself with so much nutrition with every gulp of the green vegan that my body never craved for food. Well my body didn’t ask for food but my mind sure did! No small thanks to my officemates who took sadistic pleasure in stuffing their faces with food in front of me. Nevertheless, I came home proud and happy with myself that night. I think it was only my husband, daughter and son who were a little less than thrilled because they were dreading another night of cleaning up the kitchen after I finished juicing for the second day.
before I knew it I’d completed the 5 day detox felt 10 years younger and lost 14 lbs.
The remaining 4 days went by pretty much the same. The temptation and urge was always there, especially when I cook dinner for my family. It got awkward when my husband and I visited a friend and I had to refuse the meriyenda being served. The host felt obliged to feed their guest so they kept coming back from the kitchen offering me fruit or tuna and anything else they thought people on crash diets normally eat, so I accepted the tuna and made my husband eat it. Looking back there were difficult moments and I swear I could smell and identify the actual brand and flavor when my son opens a bag of chips from across the room! But I held fast and I held strong… and before I knew it I’d completed the 5 day detox, felt 10 years younger and lost 14 lbs.
I remember reflecting at the end of day 5 and I realized it was way easier than the countless diets I went through because of the simple fact that I didn’t get hungry. With all the other diets I had to battle constant hunger and temptation, with the vegan detox there was no physiological hunger, its just a test of will to overcome the urge to eat out of habit. My entire family now detoxifies regularly (we try to do a minimum of 5 days every two months). My daughter and I sometimes do a 12 day detox and the results are fabulous! We still enjoy our steak and barbecue, who doesn’t? We’re just more aware of the toxins and preservatives we put in our bodies and since our bodies are temples, we make sure we do our periodic spring cleaning.
