The Storm Before The Calm

We are on week two of changing our diet.So far so good. We have cut out dairy, wheat, grain, and processed food. It is a great feeling knowing that we are on the mend. Our bodies have been abused by junk for so many years, it has taken a toll on our health and mental states. We were feeling pretty bad inside and out. We were addicts when it came to processed foods, and sugar, sweets, bready stuff and fast food. Over time I had slowly introduced some healthier eating, by adding in more dark green veggies, cooking at home etc. But we didn't fully follow the healthy ways. We loved our pastas and pizza and burgers with soda pos all too much. It got to the point where we would just feel crummy and bloated. So we made the decision to change our ways. The past couple weeks have gone well, shopping is not too difficult. I buy fresh veggies, fruits and meat. We drink a lot more water and have cut out sodas and juice.We use coconut milk and almond milk for some of our smoothies. In the morning we start by having a fruit and spinach or kale smoothie or banana pancakes which consist of banana and egg only, eggs, sausage or a homemade Larabar.

Lunches will either be a leftover from dinner, chicken salad or egg salad: no bread, some fruit or a spinach/kale smoothie. Dinner is a little piece of meat, a dark green veggie ( our faves are usually fresh green beans or broccoli) we eat sweet potatoes, no white ones.. or just a smoothie. The nice thing about having a Vitamix is you can literally drink your salads. As I mentioned before, salads are not the easiest thing for us to chew a lot of. I like a salad, but just can't eat a couple or even several a day...So you put all the good greens with a bit of fruit and the Vitamix blends every bit of it, pulp and all. Voila...you get all the nutrients and vitamins you need. I have stocked up on fruit and freeze it all, then simply throw it in and add kale or spinach ...that's it. For a special treat, I will make a nice fruit only smoothie or a protein smoothie. 

All natural, all good.

I have been making homemade snacks from dried fruits and nuts. Lara Bars have been a hit. It hits the spot when we have a craving for something naughty for you: like cake. It might not be cake, but it curbs the craving for it. We were quite proud of ourselves for not eating the cookies and cake at church last Sunday also. I told Freckles, just walk away and don't even look at it...She even brought her own healthy snack from home and in the end, it didn't matter that everyone else was stuffing their face with cookies.

I think I have noticed some slimming, but right now it's hard to tell. We need more time of doing this to see  results. One thing I had mentioned to Mr. Darling, is I am not really noticing that I feel good yet... I really think I am so unhealthy right now that I am filled with toxins. This change in lifestyle with our diet has been extreme for us... It's a huge change from what we were doing to our bodies. I feel like my body is in shock. I did some research and found that most people will experience the storm before the calm when you are detoxing. Here is an article I found online which explains what we are going through.

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The Healing Process, Often called 'Herxheimer Reaction' or 'Healing Reaction'.

When starting a detox of any kind or beginning a new course of powerful supplements, it is very important to understand the bodies natural healing process. This is to avoid being surprised when things start to 'happen'!

Understanding this can be the key to completing your detox safely, effectively and not giving up mid-way through.

Many people experience a healing reaction and get disheartened as they think "Hang on, a detox is supposed to make me feel good!". This can be confusing for some people who are unused to thinking about how the body works - it will make you feel good, but there are a few things to potentially get through first!

When commencing a detox many people can experience or report some pretty uncomfortable symptoms. One of the most common is a reduction in energy or 'flu-like' symptoms. They may feel the need to sleep longer, be tired, have aches and pains, digestive symptom disturbances such as gas, constipation, diarrhea, bad skin or the temporary worsening of an existing condition and other miscellaneous complaints. The symptoms vary according to the person and the level of their original toxicity.

The reason for this reaction is very simply explained. The body, during a detox, is ridding itself of the substances that have been making it ill. Detoxes rid the body of the materials that have built up in their individual cells, interfering with their normal functioning. As these substances (or 'pathogens') are ejected from the tissues, they are dumped into the system, making the body temporarily more toxic until they are excreted.

The healing reaction is your own immune systems automatic reaction to this temporary overload of toxins in your system before the body can excrete them all safely.

The healing reaction will be worse the more toxic the person originally. If you experience a healing reaction, embrace it as this means you can actually feel the toxins being flushed out of your body! After they have been excreted then you should notice the benefits. As the toxins will be rampaging round your body for a while it is a great idea to drink plenty of water to help the body with the 'flushing out' process and enable your liver to process,

 excrete and flush out the bad guys.

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So, now I need to keep telling us that it will get better, we just have to get through this storm. Making ourselves sick didn't happen overnight...This is going to take time, perseverance, patience and lot's of prayer. I am just so thankful that we are doing this together as a family, that neither one of is alone and each of us can be a cheerleader for the other. I am however very excited to see us

 transform into healthy people, which is what God intends. 

Here's to another week of health!