The Truth Behind My Diet
Finally....I've made it through my seven day miracle cleanse. According to the website of this lovely program, the first 10 days I eliminated parasites and toxins that had been building in my digestive system for my 26 years by eating only fruits, vegetables, rice, and beans, and by taking 17 pills a day that claimed they would clean out all of the bad and leave all of the good. Based on my body's reaction to them though, I really think they were just herbal laxatives. (Sorry...that's gross). Anyways, the second stage of the program involved fasting for 7 days and taking different pills that were suppose to essentially do the same thing. Again, based on my body's reaction to them, I think they were just more herbal laxatives. Both forms of the pills would make me nauseous for a few hours each day and a couple of times at work incapacitate me to the point of needing to run to the back room so I wouldn't pass out in the middle of making coffee. Sounds fun doesn't it!?! Despite all of the "fun" though, I've learned some good lessons through this diet and I'm glad I did it. Not because I feel like I've cleaned out my colon, as was the original intent of the diet, but because I found some truth in the lies that I've believed about myself the last few years. Here are some examples:
Lie: There's no way that I would ever have the will power to fast, even for a day.
Truth: I can fast. For 7 days in a row actually and its really not that big of a deal.
Lie: Everyone around me can tell when I gain or lose a single pound and will treat me differently based on what they see in front of them.
Truth: They notice when the difference is about 10 pounds. But they really don't treat me any differently. It's me who acts differently based on my weight. (This is a subject, that goes much deeper with many more facets and one that I've blogged about many times before and will continue to blog about)
Lie: I would look a lot better to those around me if I lost 10 pounds and everyone will love me more and boys will ask me to marry them.
Truth: After losing 10 pounds, I do look better when I see myself in the mirror, but I don't really think those around me care that much. And no boys have asked me to marry them in the last two weeks.
Lie: My colon needs to be cleaner.
Truth: My colon is just fine the way it is.
Lie: Dieting will make me a healthier person.
Truth: Dieting makes me obsessive about food and my body image. I may be physically more healthy when I restrict my diet to veggies and fruits, but internally I am messed up when I'm dieting. What works better for me is staying active by playing lots of ultimate, jogging lots of miles, roller blading, crunches, push-ups, skiing, hiking, pilates, etc. and not crying over the fact that every once in a while, a cheeseburger sounds really yummy.
Lie: My friends are really close and know me really well.
Truth: My friends are much closer after we've texted, discussed, and agonized for 17 days over our bowel movements and compared how many times we visited the bathroom in a 24 hour period.
So there you have it. I'm glad I made it, not because I feel like I've cleaned out my digestive system, but because I've grown internally through some trials and realized some deeper truths about myself, my friends, and my own body image.
Lie: There's no way that I would ever have the will power to fast, even for a day.
Truth: I can fast. For 7 days in a row actually and its really not that big of a deal.
Lie: Everyone around me can tell when I gain or lose a single pound and will treat me differently based on what they see in front of them.
Truth: They notice when the difference is about 10 pounds. But they really don't treat me any differently. It's me who acts differently based on my weight. (This is a subject, that goes much deeper with many more facets and one that I've blogged about many times before and will continue to blog about)
Lie: I would look a lot better to those around me if I lost 10 pounds and everyone will love me more and boys will ask me to marry them.
Truth: After losing 10 pounds, I do look better when I see myself in the mirror, but I don't really think those around me care that much. And no boys have asked me to marry them in the last two weeks.
Lie: My colon needs to be cleaner.
Truth: My colon is just fine the way it is.
Lie: Dieting will make me a healthier person.
Truth: Dieting makes me obsessive about food and my body image. I may be physically more healthy when I restrict my diet to veggies and fruits, but internally I am messed up when I'm dieting. What works better for me is staying active by playing lots of ultimate, jogging lots of miles, roller blading, crunches, push-ups, skiing, hiking, pilates, etc. and not crying over the fact that every once in a while, a cheeseburger sounds really yummy.
Lie: My friends are really close and know me really well.
Truth: My friends are much closer after we've texted, discussed, and agonized for 17 days over our bowel movements and compared how many times we visited the bathroom in a 24 hour period.
So there you have it. I'm glad I made it, not because I feel like I've cleaned out my digestive system, but because I've grown internally through some trials and realized some deeper truths about myself, my friends, and my own body image.
posted by carlymarie | 1:07 PM
1 Comments:
Yeah...I'm not really sure what everyone else got from the cleanse, but I would venture to say that each of us was affected differently. It's doubtful that any of us were really affected much by the colon cleanse part of it, as was the origonal intent, as much as we learned some stuff internally. I know that God used the diet in ways that spoke to some of the issues I deal with normally, particularly concerning insecurities about my weight/looks, but I know everyone deals with things like that differently. I would be interested to hear what the other girls (and guy) have to say about the experience.
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