Detox In Review

I was asked almost daily why we were detoxing. I didn't have an answer. I guess it was, at first, assumed in my head that detoxing is what you're just supposed to do to get in better health. As I am doing with many things in our lives--I began to review the why in this detox.

What got us here?

Why is this important?

What am I trying to accomplish?

Here's what I've come up with so far, and forgive me for the bullets--I'm not feeling very eloquent in my writing today.

• The further away we were from the summer/farmer's market season, etc., The fewer vegetables were being consumed. We primarily have potatoes and carrots remaining, and well--those aren't even really the best from the vegetable world. It was really making for a boring dinner menu.
• Save for the recent lack of vegetables, we really don't eat all that bad. I really enjoy the food we eat, and deprivation from certain foods allowed me to re-learn and appreciate food again.
• Detoxing also reenergized my food creativity. At first I was just so down and tired that cooking and re-learning to cook differently was a struggle. Now, I'm looking at recipes differently. It also inspired our garden-to-be for 2010.
• One thing I didn't accomplish that I fully intended to make a part of the program was to spend more time in prayer and meditation over God's word. Instead, to stave off hunger pains I used distraction--facebook primarily--which, has led to another self discovery that we'll save for another time.
• After the detox I understood hunger better. I'm not eating as much as I did before the detox. I feel full easily, and I'm more aware of when I need to eat.
• Throughout the experience, I knew this wasn't some sort of game of beating myself into food submission. I wasn't fasting, and I allowed myself certain--for lack of better terminology--"cheats." For example, the day my wedding ring was destroyed in the garbage disposal I ate a handful of chocolate chips. After a LONG labor and birth--a few bites of grilled chicken. My body, mind, and soul needed those, and I do not regret or feel that it was wrong to eat them.
• The detox stimulated a lot of conversation for my husband and myself. I think we're detoxing life right now, and this was just the first step to help us understand what is to come in 2010.

So, maybe you die-hard detox champions out there think that I really didn't do a "real" detox. Oh well. This wasn't for you. I feel good, and I pooped like a champ the whole week. We plan to do another in the summer--when more produce is in season. I'll probably still eat chocolate.