Listen To Your Body

I find it hilarious when I read books or listen to people yakking away in a public place. It seems everyone is aware of the fact that fast food is junk food and that junk food makes you fat. Everyone knows this. Everyone knows that the food your grandparents used to make is more ‘wholesome’ and ‘nutritious’ than today’s supermarket produce. As well as finding it hilarious, I find it rather disturbing that everyone seems to know this, yet still are content to dash into the store and buy some pre-made, frozen heat’n'eat meal.

We may know whats right, but we don’t do it! If you were to just take the time to listen to your poor body however… you would hear it crying out for mercy. “Stop killing me! Stop feeding me this rubbish! Stop pouring plastic into me! I need nutrients, vitamins, minerals… fresh vegetables, fresh meat…. arggghhh the chemicals, they burn - they burn…’

You get the picture! I’m only starting to be able to listen to my body. Correction - I listen to it, but I don’t always pay attention. About a year ago now, I started a detox. It was fantastic. I used to get cold sores all the time, but once I did the detox, I hardly got any - and I could pinpoint exactly why I’d get them. I also was much less tired, had a lot more energy, and could eat more. As I began to eat better and better and eliminate bad stuff from my diet, I felt better and better as a result. There were a couple of weeks however, when I let everything slide. I was on vacation - a few vacations in a very short time (including Christmas) and I ate rather badly and consumed a lot of sugar. I was relaxed and felt great, but one day I woke up with a coldsore. Not just a small one, but a big coldsore. Not fun when you’re on vacation in another country. Suddenly I realised - my coldsore was not because my immune system was run down. It wasn’t because I was tired. It was because I had been eating too much rubbish, and this was how my body was telling me to stop. I knew I was eating too much junk - but I justified it because I was on holiday.

So… listen to your body! Do what I did… detox for a couple of weeks, and then go cold turkey. Eliminate all sugar. Eliminate wheat, all processed foods, alcohol and soy. Go completely cold turkey for at least 30 days. You might hate it while it lasts, but you may also acquire some new taste buds, and you may come to appreciate the natural flavors of raw unprocessed foods. You may also realise that it is cheaper to live like that. Your skin may clear up, you may have more energy - and you may be a complete convert! It can’t hurt to try can it? Now when you feel amazing, its time to start re-introducing those ‘bad’ foods. Only do one at a time.

Now because you’re eating more ‘healthily’, you’ll be more in tune with your body. When you re-introduce these foods, you will probably be able to listen to your body and understand what is good and what is not so good for you. For example. When I re-introduced grains and wheats in the mornings, I just slumped by 10am. I was so tired - digesting the grains just drained away my energy. It was rather scary to be honest. To think I’d lived so long thinking I needed more sleep when really I just needed different food! Now when I eat sugar I also feel incredibly tired and breakout in coldsores (upon excessive amounts).

What I can’t understand is the reluctance to try something like this. What have you got to lose? You have one body, one life. This body is supposed to last you the whole way through. Why would you not try it? Its 30 days of cold turkey. 30 days is such a small amount of time. Don’t wait for a Monday to start. Start now. Today. Don’t waste any more time! It is so so important to be able to listen to your body and start feeding it what it needs and nothing more.

Tagged as: cold turkey, junk-food, processed foods, raw foods