Some Thoughts On Food

This butterfly has nothing to do with food, but it's pretty, and it's on my finger. So in it goes.

So this week I'm doing the Detox Diet again. I'm trying to do it every 3-4 months, since it really helps me feel better. I did it last year for the first time (you can start reading about it here) and it was great. I've done it a few times since and each time, around Day Four, I start to feel better. I do the cheater version: just fruit, veggies and rice, plus some vitamins and lots of water. I should be doing the meditation and exercise and whatnot, but frankly that's just too much work. And I'm tired. So, happy food and more rest -- that's my detox diet.

It's really not hard. Just all the fruits, veggies and rice product you want, in whatever form. No starvation, no weird recipes or thick glop to drink. Just food that I like to eat anyway.

It always makes me wonder why I don't stick with it, in modified form, longer.

One is that it does take a little bit of effort and planning. You have to have the fruits and veggies around, and you have to think about what to make with them (or be prepared to eat them just plain, which is actually usually fine with me).

Two is that the baking always trips me up. Baking is such a stress reliever for me, and it's fun. I'm trying to whittle it down to baking only once every week or two; we don't need baked goods all that often but apparently I need the stress relief MUCH more often.

(yes, I could substitute in exercise for baking, but I did that last week and what did that get me? A big old bee sting on the side of the head, that's what!)

Really, other than baking (and cheese), I don't eat all that differently than this diet most of the time anyway. I think it's the sugar and wheat that does it to me. I don't eat very much cheese, just a little bit now and again. So, that leaves the baking. And sugar in general. I think I'm very sensitive to it, since once I'm 'off' sugar (and wheat) for 4-5 days, suddenly I feel GREAT again.

But do you know what a drag it is to avoid sugar and wheat? It's a HUGE DRAG.

So, we'll see how it goes this time around. I've been looking for a longer-term project, and I'm also hoping to feel better, longer. So maybe I'll try some new things with the diet, over the summer. I'm never going to stop eating sugar altogether, but maybe I can try some new, lower-sugar desserts, and going wheat-free is relatively easy since I rarely eat bread. Just the baking. Dang.

Maybe (and here comes the Virgo in me) I could devise a month-long menu plan full of fruits and veggies, with low-sugar desserts built in. (I need dessert. I really do.) Oooh. And then the graphic designer in me wants to make it all pretty and stick it up on the fridge.

Where I will soon forget about it, even though it is right in front of my face, because I have the memory of a small chicken these days.