Green Cleanse

I got off the raw food wagon. Fell completely off and reconciled myself to a life without much raw. I had worked with an acupuncturist who thought it wouldn't work well with my body chemistry. Too damp or something. Then, I talked with a holistic nutritionist who...just by talking with me...decided that RAW wasn't the way to go for me. I needed more 'meat' she said.

Uh huh.

Then, I began to see an allergist who deals with hormone allergies. His treatment has been spot on on so many levels and he advocates a South Beach type of diet without cheese, tomatoes and so forth. I lost 17 lbs. in three weeks following his plan so I figured that he was onto something and decided that...well, I didn't have to go raw. I could escape it.

BWAHAHAHAHA (inject evil laugh here)

Truth is - that RAW has called me back. It doesn't matter what these people say. I know that I have to incorporate more RAW into my diet. It takes away the pain. It takes away the toxicity, which I know FIBRO is (see this ARTICLE if you don't believe me), and it takes away the mood swings. It makes me all the things I want to be.

I can't be scared of who I am meant to be any longer.

I was looking for a way to incorporate more RAW and jumpstart myself back into the movement (a double entendre, y'all if you've ever eaten RAW). I went away for the last few days of 2007 with my hubby and kids. We spent time at my in-laws and it was a freaky food fest. All the Standard American fare you could want...fried turkey, tamales, bunuelos (okay - Tex Mex fare), pasta, pizza, cookies (oh the cookies) and more that I just won't mention here as I feel sick thinking about it.

I partook of most of it, if not all. I felt gross. Sick. Bloated. Gaseous. Nauseous. Disgusting. Depressed. In pain. Exhausted.

Silently I prayed to be delivered. I contemplated the Master Cleanse. You know the Lemonade Flush. Eek!

But I didn't want to starve myself. My hypoglycemia makes me nuts if I do that. Besides, as a former actively practicing bulimic, who still struggles with the behavior from time to time, anything that isn't based on good solid nutrition IS NOT good for me.

I want health, not just weight loss. I know I need to lose a ton of weight. I began the the green cleanse, which I'll talk about a bit more below, at 389.5. I'm a biggun. Not as big as I used to be - I was once 441 - but big enough to scare small children. Seriously, you should see the way some of the kids at my children's elementary school stare at me.

When I got home, in my email inbox, was a note from Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, the Austin Health Coach. She was announcing a Green Cleanse. Immediately, I knew this was it for me.

Basically, the Green Cleanse requires you to drink Green Smoothies and Soups made with...greens, raw fruits and veggies. (Hey, it's not that bad). She bases a lot of the ideas on Victoria Boutenko's Green for Life and, of course, her own experience.

It's a detox process meant to rest the digestive tract and liver so you can improve your health. I'm in my fourth day - and sticking to the plan beautifully. I have moments of pure joy and clarity and spirituality. That's what I want all the time -- okay, most of the time. I know I can't have it all the time.

However, I'm also struggling with detox symptoms. My body is so nutty because i"m getting rid of the bad and putting in the good.