Article by Wendy McCance
Yesterday I decided to end the Master Cleanse. I was just worn down from the hunger and the stress of the emphasis that I was putting on eating. Because of thinking about eating all day long, I began to really crave what I felt I couldn’t have.
Needless to say, it was a recipe for disaster. I rebelled and ate my way through my kitchen. I made cookies and ate several. I had a big rich dinner. I had some bread. Basically, I gave the finger to all of my hard work.
Last night my body wasn’t happy with me. I spent quite a bit of time hanging out in the bathroom (which is never fun).
My aha moment came this morning. I tossed and turned throughout the night. I kept waking up in pain because of a horribly stiff neck, arms and legs. Turning over in bed was horribly painful and difficult to do.
When I got out of bed, I had little energy. I was stiff and sore. I had already forgotten how bad I could feel. I had just been celebrating the fact that I had felt terrific. Lots of energy and very little pain. Now I was feeling like I got run over by a truck. My body felt like I had bruises all over my body. It was completely depressing.
That’s when I realized that the cleanse was the greatest thing I could have done for myself. I had been on to something great. If I eat more fruits and vegetables, and cut out the sugar and carbs where possible, I’m going to feel amazing. Another thing I should note which is really important is that I drank more water each day than I have in a long time. I think staying hydrated was just as important.
So, now I know how I would like to proceed. I can’t absolutely cut out sugar and carbs. I will feel miserable, deprived and know I’ll end up gorging on the bad stuff. At the same time, I will put more of my focus on what makes me feel good. I can carry a water bottle around and have vegetables cut up and ready to snack on.
I feel grateful that I am not a huge processed foods junky and I don’t crave salt. Two huge hurdles I won’t have to deal with.
So, in the end, the cleanse was a teaching tool for me. It taught me how my body reacts to different foods and what works well in lessening some of the effects of the fibromyalgia.
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Wendy McCance
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Oh Wendy, life never stops being a learning process does it.?.. I’ve also found as I’ve worked my way through seventy five years, that as my body changes, what I can eat, and what I want to eat has changed.too, and I’m still playing and experimenting!
As an alternative to fasting I’m going to start alternate days of having nothing but soup, and eating ordinarily…the body absorbs the nutrients in soup much more easily, so that should give it a rest from heavy digesting…if that makes sense!!!
Sounds like an interesting experiment. Let me know how it works out.
What a great take away from this experience. We don’t always have to take the “plan” at face value. The best thing we can do is adjust any existing plan to meet our needs and fit who we are and the lives we lead. Sounds to me like you are about to begin the perfect Wendy Plan! Congrats!
Vicky
Thanks Vicky.
I am sorry it ended like it did for you. But a lesson learned is priceless. Don’t worry, now you can start weeding out some of the bad foods one at a time until you get back to feeling as good as you did. It is a horrible process, but for me, I had to decide if feeling better was more important than the craving, in my case it is dairy. I guess I am a Wisconsin girl through and through
Loving dairy and Wisconsin would be an incredibly tempting combo. Mmmm cheese.
That is so true. It’s funny, I started on a low carb diet for many reason; to be healthier, to avoid diabetes (runs in the family),to feel better and have more energy. So with that said, great minds do think alike, huh.
I’m beginning to think you must be a long lost relative.
You never know… LOL.
So glad you are finding the learning outcomes from your cleansing exercise, and that you learned more about “Wendy with fibromyalgia” along the way. As Patanjali informed us two thousand years ago: “Ignorance of the Self is the source of all of our suffering.” If you are interested in a different approach to living with fibromyalgia, Dr. Timothy McCall’s book, “Yoga As Medicine” (ISBN 978-0-553-38406-2) dedicates an entire chapter (Chapter 17) to Fibromyalgia. Likewise, if you are interested in a different approach to cleansing, Banyan Botanicals (www.banyanbotanicals.com) provides Ayurvedic (all natural & organic) cleansing kits. I am sure you would want to confer with your internist (or endo.) on the effects of any type of fasting with Graves disease. Nutrient imbalances can have a profound effect on thyroid function. Namaste.
Thanks for all of the good information.
Great post, Wendy. Like so many others I too suffer from fibromyalgia plus I have a separate intestinal problem that gives me lots of grief. I have been considering trying an elimination diet to see if I can pinpoint some triggers and your experience makes me think it may be well worth it for me to experiment, too. So happy for you that you have found a new way to deal with your symptoms. Thanks for sharing with us.
You are so welcome Sylvia. I would be curious to know if you hit an aha moment considering you deal with fibromyalgia as well. All the best.
Cleansing/detoxing is always a difficult task for me, simply because of my love for food. Well done Wendy for going so far.
Thanks so much.
I’m sorry you had such a rough night. I don’t eat salt, can’t stand the taste, but sugar is my down fall and will leave me feeling like you did last night when I have it. While you cut your cleanse short, I think you learned so much by it, good luck.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
I, too, have fibromyalgia, arthritis, and many more physical problems. I am in the process of revamping my lifestyle. With God’s grace I shall win. Hope you do too.
Wishing you all the best. If you find something that really works well, I’d love to hear about it.
Awe shoot… Hope you get back to feeling better soon
No prob. Now I know how to do it.