Thursday, January 26, 2012

Documentaries will kick your ass. Lesson learned.

My roommate encouraged me to start a 60 day juice fast with her - after I watched the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead." I fought the idea in lots of ways, but then I actually decided to see what her tarot cards said in order to make a decision. I am totally not kidding - I used Gaia Oracle tarot cards to show me the answer, and there it was, pretty much plain as day. The next step was to watch the documentary.

I'm playing the film for the second time as I type this. I strongly believe in repetition as a way of learning, so I will most likely play the film on repeat for the upcoming days, and then some more as we start our fast just as a motivator. 60 days of no chewing is going to be difficult, but I've actually done something like this before.

During the summer of my 6th-7th grade transition, I did a smoothie fast for 40 days, or at least, close to 40 days. I was excited, but nervous, especially about my cheerleading camp that summer. I wondered if I would have enough energy to do everything that was required of me at camp. It turned out that I had more energy than I'd ever had before, and I ended up becoming one of the 2 UCA All-Star Cheerleaders from our squad. Now, I realize this was just cheerleading - as a middle schooler - but this was huge. I was never one to win anything athletic, and I remember being able to do things that week I had never done before... and haven't done since, truth be told. I did jumps like I weighed 75 lbs. I truly surprised myself.

Fast forward to a year and a few months later, I was diagnosed with Insulin Resistance (aka Metabolic Syndrome, Syndrome X, Prediabetes, etc.) after telling my mom I had chin hairs like she did. She didn't believe me until I showed them to her (I would pull them out, so we had to wait for them to grow in again for proof), so we went to the doctor, did some blood work and many, many tests (I've got NO LOVE for glucose tolerance tests!), and the diagnosis was made for both of us. It was saddening, and I remember my doctor telling me that if I continued down the path I was on, I would develop cancer and not be able to bear children. That was a pretty sad truth for a 14-year-old.

I'm 26 now. I exercise often. I eat pretty well whenever I cook at home, which can be sometimes infrequent. I drink a ton of coffee. I don't sleep very much. I feel pretty good most of the time, but there are times where I don't. I'm constantly craving rest and often lacking energy. My weight has gone up, many thanks to my lack of self-control at Christmas (homemade cookies by old Southern ladies were my ultimate weakness), but I'm not concerned about my weight, really. Perhaps, I should be as there is a direct correlation between the number on the scale and my Insulin Resistance, which has led to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which has led to Hirsutism - the cause of the hair on my chinny chin chin. Ok. So, maybe I am concerned about my weight a bit more since I put it that way.

This documentary started out with a man believing that his body could heal itself. He proved that it can. I believe that it can as well. I believe that my Insulin Resistance, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrom, Hirsutism, Chondromalacia Patella, Heel Spurs, and herniated L4/L5 spinal disk will heal themselves. I'll jump start that process on February 13 for 60 days.

I'm excited. :)

1 comment:

Casey Smith said...

Interesting! I'm excited to see how this goes for you. I watched the doc a few days ago and the thought pf not "eating" for 60 days terrified me. I hope you're able to do it with a good percentage of organics or produce from locally sourced small farms, 'cause I don't trust all that cheap conventional stuff. And I don't know if this is "allowed" but Remi and I sometimes use this really great nutrient dense meal replacement powder http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Life-RAW-Meal-2-6lb/dp/B0031JK95S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327615315&sr=8-1. It is pretty awesome, but kind of tastes like grass.

Good luck, lovie! PS. I know you're busy but it would be awesome to get more frequent blog posts while you're on your journey!!