Day 8- 1 week down ~ 3 to go!

Whew, we made it through one week and I must say, it hasn't been all that bad! Last night I had a dream that I was stuffing my face full of some yummy, creamy pie-type thing..not sure what, but all I know is that it was GOOD. And I was hiding while doing it. Do you think that's a bad thing? My biggest fear is that when the cleanse is done that I will go into overeating mode and gain back all my Pre-P90X weight (I'm now down 20 pounds). "It's just a fear", is how Daniel coached me this morning, "as long as you don't act on it, it's ok..and you won't". I can't tell you how solid I feel to have someone there to be accountable to and to talk me down off the ledge!

So, as I opened our cupboard this morning, that stupid Box of Protein bars that are sitting up there waiting to be eaten one day leered out at me, and I thought, "I really want one of those and what would happen if I cheated on the cleanse" and then I realized that I would not only be letting myself down, but I'd be letting Daniel down too. That made me not want the protein bar anymore...well, maybe i wanted it still a little!

Anyway, I am feeling great!! No headaches and the yeast die-off isn't half as bad this time as the last time I did the cleanse. Usually the yeast die-off causes bloat, severe spaciness, irritability, and so much more. I've had some of those symptons, but overall I feel great and clear. It feels so nice to not have a "vice" anymore and to need some caffeine-fueled beverage to pull me out of bed. Now it's the GREEN ELIXIR that gets us going. Here's the recipe (but I suggest you make your own concoction up since you may not be cleansing)

1 scoop Greens Powder (Macro Greens are good, or Vitality Greens by Donna Gates)
1 scoop Pure Vitamin C Powder (From a natural food source)
10 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract (powerful for killing bacteria, viruses, great for immunity)
1 TBL Olive Leaf Extract (great anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-yeast)
1 TBL Chlorophyll (for the blood)

Fill glass with water and a dash of Pomegranate juice. If you're not cleansing, I highly recommend using Coconut Water! I can't wait to have coconut water again!! YUM!!

Optional additions:
4 drops Oregano Oil (this stuff is super powerful and doesn't taste so great, so chug it back quick)

So now I have a new vice..a really good one. The Green Elixir of Life! I know that I am getting through the day without any fake boost, aka caffeine. My adrenal glands are loving me right now. Did you know that Caffeine releases Cortisol in the blood which is what happens when your body goes in to "fight or flight" or protection mode?? That means your body is working super hard all day and trying to protect you for no good reason other than from phantom source (caffeine) that puts it into a tail spin! Also, the constant secretion of cortisol makes it hard for you to lose weight. If you will notice, a lot of people under stress hold weight around the middle. This is due to Cortisol release into the blood.

Anyway, yesterday I came up against a wall after I ate my lunch. I was working at Mr Horton's house and I brought my homemade Red Potato Salad over that I was going to eat with a large bunch of Greens. Well, I got so busy, I never got around to getting the greens, so I noshed on the potato salad. (side note: red potatoes are the lowest in sugar of any potato and are ok on this cleanse as they do not give you the same insulin spike as other potatoes). Well, even though they are ok on this cleanse, eating them alone with no other protein source resulted in me hitting the WALL! I was in a major 3pm slump. It was the first time I've experienced that on this cleanse other than general lethargy from my body releasing toxins 24/7. It was hard for me to push through, but I made some hot herbal tea and felt better. At that moment I realized how powerful food is and how what we put in our mouths on a daily basis is so important. How we can go through tremendous highs and lows throughout the day just by what we are eating and drinking. How our mood can be affected. How we can be irritated or angry..and all of this comes from these highs and lows that processed, refined foods and caffeine cause. It's utterly mind-blowing!

So, as you read this, I hope you will think about what you are putting into your mouth. We all metabolize food differently and if you are really interested in knowing how your body metabolizes food, I highly recommend reading "The Metabolic Typing Diet" and taking the test in the book. You can find it at Amazon.com. It's really the only book I have ever found that makes sense about how you eat according to how you metabolize and what your blood type is.

Today I am going to make some soup, but before I do that, I promised a recipe for my Creamy Cauliflower & Carrot soup with Dill. So here it is:

2 TBS Coconut Oil
2 heads of Cauliflower, cut into florets
5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large yellow onion or maui onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
6 cups water or Veggie Broth
1 tsp. tumeric
Fresh Dill to taste
1 TBS Sea Salt (only if not using broth)

Heat Coconut Oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and celery and saute until soft. Add cauliflower and carrots and stir together to combine. Add water or broth, tumeric & sea salt if using. Stir together, turn up heat and bring to boil. Cover with a lid and turn down heat to low and let soup simmer until vegetables are tender. Once done, stir in fresh dill. Using a blender or blender stick, puree soup until creamy. Top with freshly ground black pepper. ENJOY!!

I'm off for today, so have an amazing day and remember You Are What You Eat!!!

If you want more information on Candida and cleansing, please feel free to email me at missy@karmachow.com