I apologize for paraphrasing a Britney-at-the-beginning-of-her-insanity song, but I was trying to think of a clever title for the fact that I'm now convinced that I'm carrying around toxic stuff. Maybe it's my gullibility, maybe it's the fact that I fell asleep during the Kinoki Foot Pads commercial, or maybe it's the fact that for the past month, vegetables have been unknown to me and I haven't eaten one piece of chicken that wasn't frozen and shaped like a star. Whatever. I just know that my body isn't loving its current state. I'm tired all of the time, I crave sugar nonstop, I hate the way I look, and I haven't had nearly the energy levels I've had in recent years. Don't worry - I know that I'm not, in any sense of the words, fat or overweight. I just eat crap. There's no "sickness" in the true sense of the word; I had an MRI last October, so I know I don't have some softball-sized tumor lurking in me, I'm just - for lack of a better word - unhealthy.
So what's a skinnyfat kid to do?
I'm thinking of going on a toxic cleanse. I don't think I can handle spicy lemonade for 14 days straight like Beyonce did - while she can do whatever method works for her, I'm not trying to lose weight, I'm just trying to feel better, start craving the good foods, cut back on the caffeine, sugar and alcohol, and get the body working like it should.
Anyone ever tried one of these things? Have any advice? I have a Whole Foods, a SuperFresh, and about four farmers' markets within a half-mile of me (I'm really going to miss that about Philly!) so I know I can find the foods I'm supposed to eat. I still have a few obstacles though, and I'd love to know what I can do to combat them.
1. I take medication that has a reaction with Vitamin C, or more specifically, Ascorbic Acid. It doesn't do anything harmful, but it decreases the effectiveness of the medication, and I really need that stuff to work. So I can't really be tearing into things like citrus fruit, pineapple and the like. Not to mention I always get canker sores from them. Sorry to be dodgy about what the meds are, but I gotta keep a few things in this world off the internet.
2. I am not a huge fan of vegetables. I want to be, I really do. But I'll never be able to eat broccoli or sweet potatoes without a gag reflex. I DO like the following: asparagus, green beans, spinach, raw carrots (not cooked), lettuce (I know, no nutritional value, but it's green), tomatoes, and a couple other randoms. I like just about any fruit, but I'm not crazy about pears.
3. I can't cook. Okay, I CAN, I just don't LIKE to. And my microwave is broken. I need some way to find convenient, healthy foods, even when I'm sick to death of fresh fruit.
4. I really want to eat organically, local and CHEAP. My grandmother has had health problems most of my life that she often attributes to things like artificial flavors/colorings, pesticides and other toxic things in food, and I don't want to end up having to be super-careful and hermit-like as she's been forced to do in recent years. I already encounter toxic chemicals with painting that are literally banned in several states - I'm not taking any more chances. As for the "eating local" part, I just kind of want to do it because I think it's the right thing to do. It saves fuel (transporting tomatoes from Chile in January consumes a lot of fuel) and over time in the aggregate, it reduces farmers' dependence on subsidies as well as lowers the cost of food.
5. While I'm on the "better for the world" trip, I'd like to eat meat-free every once in a while - but I don't want to miss it. I had a high school teacher tell us once about why he was a vegetarian, and it had nothing to do with animal rights. The United States produces the lion's share of the world's grain crop, and in fact, the amount of grain we produce is enough to feed the world. That's right, we could eliminate hunger. But instead of consuming a pound of grain, we feed that pound - plus thousands more - to a cow or chicken that provides us with far fewer pounds of meat. While I love meat, I don't think I absolutely need to be that selfish at every meal. I'm thinking that so much meat isn't really good for us anyway, so if you know of ways I can eat meat-free and still get my protein, holla.
6. I love coffee, sugar, fat and all that jazz. How in the WORLD can I give it up for a couple weeks without hating my life?
7. Finally, I need to know WHY it's benefitting my body. I'm not going to be one of those people that denies common sense - I mean, twinkies haven't ever killed anyone directly, but I'm smart enough to know that they're not gonna make me a dancing granny. But I think half our problem in the whole obesity epidemic has been the fact that we don't look at the science behind things we take as gospel - low-fat, low-carb, grapefruit diets are my prime examples.
Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? Am I completely stupid for trying one of these things? Anyone done one before? Have a recommendation for a particular plan or type of cleanse? I'd love to know what to expect.
***Edit: No, I am not talking of those "colon cleanse" things you see on the internet. I poo just fine, I eat yogurt and everything. I'm talking about the whole-body thing. Actually I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I'm not talking about the cleanse where you go from the train not leaving the station to a Richter-Scale-worthy rumbling tummy.****
Monday, June 30, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
I don't suppose Wawa salads are organic, but I lived off those and cheez-its.
When you move back, I will let you raid our garden. We have green beans, spinich, lettuce, tomatoes...and other randoms.
We grow our own meat too (okay, the cows; the butcher handles the rest.)
Everything tastes better when you grow it yourself.
You can drink protein shakes instead of eating so much meat. I like Metabolic Drive brand. Strawberry is my favorite and you can put milled flax seed in them to get more fiber. Fiber is basically all you need from veggies if you also take a good vitamin. That way you don't have to fill like you have to eat so many veggies. Eat the ones you like, add flax seed to your diet, and take a multi vitamin and fish oil pill.
btw, I think it is impossible to eat cheap and organic at the same time.
Not sure whata cleansing thing would entail but I can tell you my own experience. I was eating out all the time with work and getting sick everytime I traveled. It was to the point that I had done it for so long that I didnt even notice anymore but Craig said "you get a lot of tummy aches" and when I thought about it I did. I went to a nutrionist and she gave me great ideas that I can share in an email but the point is, once you start to eat better you will feel better and stop craving the bad things as much. Try not to concentrate on not eating sugar or drinking but nake positive goals such as making sure you drink 6-8 glasses of water and having so many veggies a day. You will start to find that when you concentrate on those things you will not have room in your tummy for the bad stuff. For protein my nutritionist suggested milk, cheese, protein shakes, edamame, and peanut butter, all not meat and she suggested have one ate each meal.
Post a Comment