After of few years of some unexplained joint pain I decided to try to change my diet to see if it would alleviate some of what I had been experiencing. Just after Thanksgiving I made the switch to a gluten free diet. I had read a lot and had heard from many others that eliminating gluten from their diet helped to reduce arthritis and inflammation as well as improve fatigue. My friend introduced me to the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead which follows a mans journey through juicing to overcome an autoimmune issue. After following her experience with a 10 day juice detox plan Derek and I decided to try it to. Ten days definitely felt like a long time when thinking about it, but in a way I thought it would be a fun challenge. Apparently as a stay at home mom, new diets are appealing to me and my idea of "fun".
So, we decided to start just after the holidays and New Years. So on January 3 we began our first day of the 10 day plan. I really did like this plan for a few reasons. First of all. it was entirely juicing the whole 10 days. You do eat eat meals of fruits and veggies supplemented by juices for the first few days. Then towards the middle of the week there are a few days that are all juice and then it weans you back into some meals of fruits and veggies with juicing. Was it easy? No. was it a lot of preparation? Yes. Am I glad I did it? Yes!
We did have headaches and a lack of energy for the first few days, but later in the week we gained a lot back and then some. The juicing days were the hardest for obvious reasons. There are some interesting juice recipes, Some I liked and will continue to make. Then there were others that I had to chug quickly to get through it. But only a couple were that unpleasant. Either way, they were necessary for a detox and my goal was to help my body feel better. So I chugged.
Between going gluten free and doing the detox I feel so much better. I have not had any real flares of pain since changing my diet and I have way more energy than I have in years. Sadly, I didn't realize I was that tired before. I knew I was tired but I thought that was just a result of chasing 2 year olds around all day. I felt like I needed a nap when they did and I was still ready for bed by 9. And I couldn't blame my fatigue on not getting enough sleep at night because Si and Lu both sleep 12-13 hours a night. But now I can get up, stay alert all day, and stay up until 11 or so without getting tired. Big difference.
It is definitely something I would recommend to someone and I think I will try to do it at least once a year with maybe a few 3 day detoxes inbetween.
So, we decided to start just after the holidays and New Years. So on January 3 we began our first day of the 10 day plan. I really did like this plan for a few reasons. First of all. it was entirely juicing the whole 10 days. You do eat eat meals of fruits and veggies supplemented by juices for the first few days. Then towards the middle of the week there are a few days that are all juice and then it weans you back into some meals of fruits and veggies with juicing. Was it easy? No. was it a lot of preparation? Yes. Am I glad I did it? Yes!
We did have headaches and a lack of energy for the first few days, but later in the week we gained a lot back and then some. The juicing days were the hardest for obvious reasons. There are some interesting juice recipes, Some I liked and will continue to make. Then there were others that I had to chug quickly to get through it. But only a couple were that unpleasant. Either way, they were necessary for a detox and my goal was to help my body feel better. So I chugged.
Between going gluten free and doing the detox I feel so much better. I have not had any real flares of pain since changing my diet and I have way more energy than I have in years. Sadly, I didn't realize I was that tired before. I knew I was tired but I thought that was just a result of chasing 2 year olds around all day. I felt like I needed a nap when they did and I was still ready for bed by 9. And I couldn't blame my fatigue on not getting enough sleep at night because Si and Lu both sleep 12-13 hours a night. But now I can get up, stay alert all day, and stay up until 11 or so without getting tired. Big difference.
It is definitely something I would recommend to someone and I think I will try to do it at least once a year with maybe a few 3 day detoxes inbetween.
No comments:
Post a Comment