Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Loveliness, Juicyness and Stress

With day two complete of my juice feast I am sitting at home reflecting on a pretty hectic day. On my drive home (my car is my seat of contemplation) I realized that I have some serious digestive issues. What I have noticed is, although I am consuming only liquids, I have had a fair amount of really good energy. Comparing this to how I usually feel is like night and day. I am usually very tired especially after a meal. I have also been dealing with some abdominal pain that has lessened quite a bit in just these last two days. Of course I have been hungry, that goes with out saying, but the juice has truly been sustaining me.
This is because liquids are the most easily digestible food.
Today I drank 16 oz. of green veggie juice with spirulina and coconut oil, 32 oz. of carrot juice, 16 oz. kombucha tea, and 16 oz. of mango guava loveliness!

I didn't hit the gallon mark unfortunately, but that is only because I was extremely busy today with work (and the coconut man is on hiatus). Being on the juice has also allowed me to really tune into when my emotions trigger my appetite rather than hunger. When I get stressed or under pressure I turn to food to ground myself. But I must ask the question is this really healthy? Is this really what my body needs? If I eat when I am stressed, not when I am really hungry will my food be properly digested? Probably not. When the mind senses stress it sends a message to your body to send blood and hormones to your muscles in your arms and legs. Where does this extra blood come from? From organs that aren't need to fight or flee, such as the digestive tract and the brain. So our digestive capabilities are compromised when we are under stress, so it doesn't help to eat right at that moment.



From now on I am going to make time to relax before, during and after my meals. I am also going to notice the emotional triggers to reach for a snack and look into dealing with the emotion in a more appropriate way.



Until tomorrow, I am Herbally yours!
Eranah