BLOG: This all began as a thought – or better yet, an inspiration over a month ago after watching the movie “Julie and Julia”.
Fast forward to today and it is October 24, 2009 and I am about to undertake something that I have wanted to do since spring time, many months ago. Now that I am implementing this now, in late fall, it may pose a larger challenge as it is going on ‘winter’ and the weather here in Vermont is getting cooler by the day! One may agree that this is not the most optimum time to start a “10 Day Food Challenge” that includes predominantly raw whole foods, (call it a “cleanse” if you wish) but when is it a good time? For many reasons for me, now IS the time.
For health reasons, weight reasons and for sheer mental acuteness, I am excited to take on this personal challenge. Anyone up for joining me?
The 10-Day Challenge: Purpose- to cleanse my Body, Mind & Spirit- increase my energy, lower blood pressure and cholesterol and to lose the dreadful 15 lbs. I have gained since I stopped being a personal trainer and moved back to Vermont. OK… since my health is quite vibrant, my LARGESTS motivation is to lose this “meno-pot” that I swore I would never get when I approached the age of 50! Now at 52…. I say MENO-POT BE GONE!
Purpose
As someone who usually keeps my personal life private- agreeing to do a blog on my 10 day experience is actually quite an emotional “stretch”. But I agreed to do it and I will follow through!
I am hoping by doing so that it may encourage others to take a stand for their health/their life and join me or perhaps to encourage others to begin eating a more healthy and non-processed diet… All in all, for 10 days I believe by being open and honest with my activities/food intake/thoughts etc. it will keep me more compliant and on track with my commitment. Much like when I was a personal trainer. I stayed fit, I wanted to BE and LIVE the example of what I taught. Now the same applies here.
Approximately 7 years ago I took this same 10 day “challenge” with a company called “The Brain Garden” and assisted dozens of others as well. The average female lost 9 pounds in the 10 days and the average male lost 12 pounds…and inch loss, due to releasing toxins, was tremendous. I wasn’t an “average” woman back then, I was more an active athlete who simply needed to drop a couple of pounds- clean up my diet… and I did. I lost 6 pounds in the 10 days and was so inspired by the way I felt and looked that I went on a plant based diet for many years, which kept me extremely fit, healthy and lean. It literally changed my life.
Fast forward 5 years and I moved from the desert in Arizona back to the beautiful state of Vermont. The motivation to move back to Vermont in early November, just when the desert cools down in Arizona and the cold penetrates in Vermont? I was soon to become a Grandmother! Somehow my daughter and her baby became a more important focus to me than taking care of myself, and the quest to stay warm in a cold climate that winter, coupled with rarely leaving the house due to the cold, not to mention turning to cooked food for comfort led me to gain ten pounds of what I will call “excess baggage”. I rationalized that having “meat on my bones” would act as an insulation and keep me warmer that winter. In reality I became very unhappy with how I looked and how I felt. Has anyone ever felt that way? Ever wore sweat clothes or fitness outfits all the time because they have elastic waists and seem to stretch over any additional inches you may have gained? Ugh, I know that… and I don’t’ mean Ugh as in Ugh boots…. Although that first winter back in Vermont, I barely took mine off!
A year went by, I gained another 5 pounds and here I am, at age 52 looking at myself in the mirror and asking the question I use to ask my clients, “Who the heck IS this person looking back at me in the mirror and how did I allow myself to gain this weight”? Where did my tiny waist with six-pack abs go? Is it true that all women my age end up with a meno-pot around the stomach like my mother had told me?
I am not beating myself up, rather in some warped way am amused that now I sit on the other side of the table. When I begin to say it is the mid life “menopot” or change of life, I realize that is a “crock” and not so at all! So when I begin my 10 day challenge, I am going to be 100% honest with what I feel, think, experience, consume, etc. and I am expecting amazing results!
Ok…so this coming week, beginning on Tuesday the 27th of October I begin my 10 day “challenge”. (Perhaps I should call it “a 10 day program” instead so I don’t take it on as a challenge, but then again, in all honesty, it is a challenge, so there remains the verbage I will use in this blog.)
I have made an appointment with my local doctor to have a full annual that includes all kinds of blood tests as well as the usual blood pressure, pap etc. I want my findings to be 100% accurate and as scientific as possible. When I helped a naturopath go through her 10 day challenge many years ago she wanted to see the scientific results as well. By having complete blood tests “before and after the 10 days” she was absolutely astounded that her blood pressure and cholesterol had improved so dramatically in only 10 short days that she went on to be a huge fan of this approach. This time, I want to see it with my own eyes as well. And for any Raw Foodists who may glance upon this, you know what I am talking about. The DVD “Raw in 30 Days” or book “Living Foods for Optimal Health” are both great examples that document how this form of diet can change your health, within days.
Yes, I plan to detoxify & balance my Body, Mind & Spirit using a synergistic combination of ForeverGreen’s clean & organic products and other whole foods as close to mother nature as I can find. (Get the Food here) For me, the most difficult thing I anticipate is giving up my morning cup of coffee and hazelnut cream and my evening cocktail(s).
By the way, did you know that toxins are stored in fat tissue and the cleaner your body is and the fewer toxins you have -the less fat you’ll store? It’s really quite fascinating. More on that later!
So follow me, if you wish, on my new adventure… I challenge you!
