Food
I wrote at https://twittertales.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/new-years-resolution-in-another-month/ about my plan to eat for maximum digestive health for four weeks, as naturally and gently as I could (today is day 5). Since I’ve been reading about pregnant-lady foods, I know herbs can be pretty intense. So I’m not taking any, except actually in food (so it’s LIKE a detox program, but without stripping my stomach of nutrients or causing me to fall down). I confess I am taking folate, and vitamin C (to try to absorb iron, which appears to be working better than iron tablets). But mostly, I’m just eating good food.
It’s a shock to the system.
I’ve had a theory for a while that I eat so much chocolate that it’s become a vital part of my digestive system. I haven’t had any chocolate since last Monday – no caffeine at all, actually – so I have the usual headache (fading now, as usual after a few days).
I just finished a plate of celery, red capsicum and hommus for morning tea (instead of, say, a family size pack of maltesers), so it’s natural that my body is a bit freaked out. I think the internal cogs creak and clash for a week or two (based on “the all-bran challenge” ads) before they remember how the system is actually meant to work. So I feel sick after eating almost every meal. But I do have moments of glowing virtue every so often, so that bodes well for the future. I think the easiest thing to do, which also has the greatest physiological response, is to drink a glass of water before breakfast (especially if it’s warm, with a squeeze of lemon). Sometimes drinking that water makes me feel as if someone’s just kicked me in the stomach, which I believe is because my gut needs something to get it working, and is shocked when that something isn’t chocolate. I assume that once the digestive system is actually working, the pain will stop. It’s actually really cool that ordinary food is having such a big effect, because it shows how easy it is to seriously improve my health (after the initial fortnight, anyway).
I’m still really bloated, which I figure is also a “What?!? You’re feeding me REAL FOOD? Arg!” from my belly. I’ll let you know how things change over the next three weeks!
W said,
June 30, 2010 at 11:45 am
I’m pretty sure I actually get withdrawal symptoms without sugary beverages. It’s kind of sad. But I did manage to avoid the supermarket on the way to work, and *didn’t* buy soft-drink.
I eat healthily on occasion – when I cook on mondays it’s almost always something with healthy benefits. The rest of the week isn’t so good. I regularly have fried eggs for breakfast, I rarely eat fruit(!), and vegetables usually occur in my main meal, rather than any others. I’ll happily eat a primarily meaty diet.
But I do get weird vege cravings on occasion. There have been times when all I wanted was a crunchy carrot. It’s very weird.
Dammit, now I want chocolate. I will resist. I will resist. I will resist.