Thursday, May 25, 2006

When a Good Scare Gets the Juices Flowing

Ugh. If I could roll my eyes any harder, I'd get a nice look at my brain. I promised myself not to be "the woman who started eating right because a medical scare rocked her world." I hear those stories all the time. Well yesterday was a reminder to go ahead and implement the plan, or I'm gonna miss the mark.

I was sitting at my desk, having a conversation about American Idol with a co-worker. During the conversation, my left arm went numb. I had to be subtle, because I didn't want to alarm my visitor. I wiggled my fingers and made a few loose fists. As my mind turned down the volume on our conversation, my loudest thoughts asked the question, "What the heck is going on?"

I was thankful for the company and the conversation, because it kept me from panic. After a short walk and a trip to the bathroom, I felt almost normal again.

Now there are a few potential reasons I had that scare.

1. I often have strange occurrences on the left side of my body when my digestive system goes on strike. Years ago, I had to see a specialist about it, who told me chest pain and referred pain is not uncommon. Another friend with digestive problems said her pain would settle in her left shoulder. Too bad that's the same marker as a heart attack!

2. Later last night, I had problems with my left collar bone. When I type a lot, a nerve on the left side of neck starts to protest. The numbness was probably my warning for a long night of that weird nerve thingy.

3. My bra is really wearing on my shoulders under the responsibility of carrying around... well... Double D's. You might go numb too.

In spite of the non-emergency nature of the problem, I experienced a moment in time where the status of my health came into serious question. Long periods of eating like a teenager can't possibly be good for a 35 year old body.

Convenience. Habit. Comfort. Habit. Celebration. Habit. Boredom.
Did I mention HABIT?

A cleanse is coming some time after Memorial Day. I'm ready to reset. I really don't care how many times I have to try. The only opportunity to win lies in not quitting.

Rock on.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Back from the Black Hole

Monday, May 1, 2006

Well dang. I disappeared for too long. Do you ever have those times in life when you fall into a black hole, and some unseen force is munching away your days like M&M candies?

I apologize for being away so long.

I finished my last cleanse on Day 5. My tongue was turning pink, and that sealed my thought that I need to leave a little more time between each cleanse.

I'll go dig up the message I left at the Yahoo board and share it here...

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Day 6: Pink Tongue and Orange Juice

This last cleanse was a breeze, and I felt great the whole time. I was surprised that I could only get down 3 to 5 glasses of the lemonade per day, and sometimes I was trying to chug that before bedtime! In spite of getting much less lemonade, my energy was great, my eliminations were great, and I'm pleased with the results.

On the evening of Day 3, I checked my tongue and noticed pink. I ignored that as a hallucination, because that seems waaaaaaay too early for a pink tongue. Lo and behold, I am on pink alert again today, so goes the cleanse.

Having left about 2.5 months between cleanses, I guess it's possible I'd be pink on Day 6 the third time around. Besides the short time off the cleanse, I considered some other possibilities:
  • On the last cleanse, I eased myself back to eating MUCH slower. I continued to "cleanse" and lose weight afterward with the orange juice and lots of produce.
  • I gave myself a hard time about returning to some foods. Now, I realize that I developed some good habits that I didn't give myself credit for. I became a nut about drinking lots of water each day, I replaced MANY of my snacks with organic pistachios, I increased my intake of fruits and vegetables, and I incorporated more whole and organic choices.
  • My wardrobe is slowly getting too big for me. I hadn't really noticed, but people had been commenting about the way my clothes fit since before I started this third cleanse. Just more evidence that I'm doing something right between each cleanse.
I want to do a cleanse at the end of June, as a summer seasonal thing. The timing is perfect, because I'm able to leave a full 3 months between cleanses.

Rock on, y'all!
Hawa (Moderator)

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