Week One of a 3 week Ayurvedic Detox
21 Day Ayurvedic Detox - Week One Notes
Here I am, Day 8 of my first Ayurvedic detox. I made it a week! And what a week it’s been. I’ve purged you guys. And I'm not talking about my stomach…. It’s everything. So much emotions. SO MUCH.
First big lesson
Going into a 21 day detox, it’s important to have a plan laid out for you. I did some soul searching ahead of time, and came up with my best intentions for this adventure. You can read about my plan here. The thing I didn’t do was print it out, and place it somewhere I would see it every day.
How could I have missed the #1 rule of goal setting?!!
A daily checklist, daily reminder; A daily opportunity to visualize my WHY (why on earth am i doing this?). Something to help me when the large flood (typhoon might be more accurate actually) of emotions hit. THIS IS REQUIRED.
That being said, with any amount of effort, comes a shift. And this week I jumped right in.
Summary of week one:
Day 1
Ok wow I think about food a lot. Literally every train of thought leads to the kitchen.
Remembering I needed to go somewhere = thought about the cafe right near there.
Walking into, through, or anywhere near the kitchen = thought about eating
Taking a pee break = thought about a snack break
Feeling stress = looking for emotional comfort = food
Already the feeling of being empty is making me want to cry.
On the Menu:
Morning fast; ate breakfast at 1030. Stewed apples and a green juice
Skipped lunch
Dinner at 5, turkey bone broth with carrots and zucchini. Chewed mindfully and a lot. Made paste. It was kind of gross. Interestingly, I missed the hunger after I ate.
What Else Came Up
Thanks to the first day motivation, I felt an aversion to my phone. I tidied the kitchen without noise, and drove to an appointment without the radio or my Bluetooth. Felt like I was visiting a friend I hadn't seen in a very long time
Day 2
Wooooaaaahhh I'm so hungry. And decidedly not in a physical way. At school today watching other people eat. Just seeing other people's packed lunches and feeling like crying. I recognize that the fact that I want to cry over seeing people's lunches means that this is something I really should be doing.
On the Menu:
single serving matcha with coconut oil and honey 8am
stewed apples with chia and a green smoothie for breakfast 10:30am
bone broth for lunch, felt nourishing and like it was what my body wanted
Sauteed Swiss chard with apple cider vinegar and a little bit of honey for dinner (this filled my craving for salty and sweet and actually made me feel quite happy again)
Day 3
Had a good restful sleep last night. Didn't have a great poop this morning (not normal for me, I’m usually a pooping champ). According to the basics of an Ayurvedic detox, it may be time for an enema or a salt water flush.
Cravings have lessened today. Getting used to the emptiness. Felt a migraine coming on from the toxin flush; chlorophyll in my water to the rescue! Cleared it right up (keep an eye out for an upcoming blog on this).
On the menu
Made a tomato and avocado salad for lunch which really filled me up. Had a little bone broth too. This level of fat is something I was lacking the last 2 days so maybe that's why I'm feeling better.
5:30pm dinner - korean hot & sour soup
Big Win!
Woah, went to an event tonight where they served artisan doughnuts. and I said no!! never, EVER have I done this. So proud!
Day 4
The last three days I've naturally woken before 530am. My brain is feeling exceptionally clear. With this clarity comes free flowing thoughts, action plans, expanded knowledge. Downside to the thoughts - this is going against the plan of detoxing from thought and finding more silence. I'm overrun with ideas! and feeling excited about conversations with people. Extra engaged.
On the menu
Breakfast: 8am half matcha with coconut oil and honey, 10:30 Stewed apples with cinnamon and chia
Lunch: 1pm half beefsteak tomato with S&P, half cup sauerkraut.
Dinner: 530pm curry soup and salad rolls
Facing a lot of emotions today
Afternoon revelation - it's entirely probable that my need for conversation is just acting as a substitute to my need for food or shopping. Up comes the crying feeling again, when I realize I'm afraid to be alone with myself, just digesting all my thoughts. Intention to talk less re-established.
Feeling emotionally sensitive; engaged in a miscommunication with my spouse. Switched to default mode and responded to the stress by taking the kids out for dinner. TRIED to make a healthier choice by going to the thai restaurant, where I shared a bowl of curry soup and some salad rolls with the kids. I left most of the noodles behind and removed the wrappers from the rolls, but still felt guilty for the decision. REMINDED MYSELF not to shoot the second arrow. Of all the choices I could’ve made, that was probably one of the best. And I'm still on track.
Set an intention to clearly communicate my needs and request support moving forward in the detox from my spouse tomorrow.
Day 5 - Saturday.
Ok. good start. Needs communicated. Well received. Feeling extra grateful for the support, even though it came in exchange for a full day of hunting tomorrow.
Problem - woke up sick. I was managing well so far with the food, but wow this just upped my game in terms of the silence and going inward. No longer feeling chatty that's for sure! Feeling slow and just looking inward. Seeking silence and quiet and comfort and warmth. So that’s it, the universe was sure to give me what I needed.
On the menu
Started the day with bone broth. sipped slowly and warmed my chest and belly
did have a single matcha, with only honey - no coconut oil, no coconut milk. a little extra honey to help with congestion
midday decided to do a salt water flush. a quart of warm water with 2tsp of himalayan salt and some lemon. Woooooosh. Wow, that cleaned me right out.
Dinner was a few forkfuls of sauerkraut and 2 cups more bone broth
Spent the evening drinking ginger tea with a little honey
Thinking I'll stick to mostly liquids through the weekend, to support my cold. Also feeling like come Monday, going back to the grind and the more responsibilities, I may struggle with no food.
Taking it slow
Increased my self care today. After the salt water flush I took time for a bath, and a full body self massage and sitting in silence. Spent the afternoon snuggled up in blankets watching a movie and hugging my babies. This felt like the perfect detox afternoon. This is the feeling I'm after. Just doing the bare minimum, getting all of our needs met as a family. Keeping low key and relaxing with each other.
Day 6
The last 2 days I've slept right through till 7, no night wakings. Deep sleep. Feeling so much better today. The bone broth did wonders for me.
Taking it easy
In a good flow of doing the bare minimum around the house, just tidying up after ourselves and not making things difficult.
Had to run out for a few errands. Successfully went to 3 of my favorite stores without buying anything that wasn't on my list... Ok I bought one thing. A beeswax candle. It was on sale... Ok I bought 2.
Had a lovely relaxing afternoon visit with just the right kind of friend. No drama. No gossip. Just enlightening, easy conversation. An exchange of energy, no depletion.
Took a walk to the park as a family after dinner- that's something I've been missing on this detox is my intention to be outdoors every day. It was perfect. Avery pushed me on the swings. Can't remember a time when I felt more just.... just perfectly balanced.
Proud moment; I left my phone behind allll day today. Checked it in the morning, then not again until the kids were in bed. Yessss! Fully present mom day!
On the menu
Matcha with honey no coconut in the am
Breakfast was hot and sour soup
Home to an Asian beef noodle soup which I picked the noodles out of
Going Deep
No poop again this morning. Time to pull out the big guns. Time for:
an oil enema and then a chlorophyll enema
(the next paragraph is pretty graphic y’all)
Woooooaaaahhhhhh. sh*t got real.
Oil felt nice. Had no trouble with 3/4 cup sesame insert, rubbed my belly for 40min, had a nice movement.
Then went for the full enema. Recipe suggested 2 quarts of water. My enema kit must’ve been of poor quality because the clamp thing that's supposed to hold it closed didn't work for sh*t so every time the bag was lifted above the hose it started pouring out. My only option was to insert the hose while standing with the bag down low, then hang the bag and quickly try to lie down. Success! Made it to the floor, hips raised with the help of my squatty potty. But the next issue immediately became evident.... there was no way 2 quarts of liquid was going to fit. I was yelling help and laughing because what the f*#k and my husband couldn't get in the door because i was on the floor with the squatty blocking the opening. The only thing I could do was pinch the hose and pull it out. Luckily the hose reached to the toilet from where it hung on the door. Except I let go of the pinch too soon and it sprayed EVERYWHERE. Dark green water coated the walls, floor, and me. No sooner did the bag empty then I was in danger of releasing liquids all over the floor myself. Gloriously made it to the toilet. Looked like something out of a horror movie.
Not sure I'll be trying it again but I have to say I'm feelin pretty fresh right Now!
Day 7
What a beautiful morning!! Feeling light and airy and healthy and clean and clear again today. Successfully did our meal prep before taking the kids to school and daycare. Drank some water with chlorophyll to continue the detox of my empty belly. Took the walk with my morning cup of matcha (honey only added). Feeling blessed to take the time to breathe fresh air each morning on this walk. Arrived back home to grab my things and when the warm inside air hit me.... woah. I vomited!! Seriously had to run to the toilet. Suddenly dizzy and nauseous as all get out.
INSERT BAD CHOICE. I wasn’t feeling hungry, but in the face of the stress I decided that this must be happening because I’m hungry. Flipped the default switch and hit the cafe on the way to school for a kombucha and a fancy and full of sweet granola bar.
Word to the wise; when easing out of a few days of no food - maybe don’t eat a sugary chocolatey granola bar
Went down like a ton of bricks. Feeling just yucky. Where'd the clarity go??
So overall today's been a slip. some strange bodily feelings that I didn’t know how to deal with, so I slipped back to old coping mechanisms. I'm going to give myself a pass on that. My body responded in a way that shouldn’t surprise me. It's sad. My tummy hurts. Easing back into food should include better choices.
Freakout moment - THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I HAVEN’T DONE DETOXES IN THE PAST
Going too hard or too full on causes problems when you come out of it. not to mention the fact that much of this weekend was spent fantasizing about the day when i can go get a vegan mexican chocolate cookie again. I’m done here.
Ok... 4 hours later... I threw out the bathwater but kept the baby. Took some time to reflect. Reminded myself of the importance of going inward to expand. Because truly beyond the cold and the weird vomiting today I have felt pretty wonderful this week. I'm resetting my baseline. I'm re-finding my cravings for the right things. I'm cleaning out the nooks and crannies. I'm giving a well needed assessment to my time management. All valuable. Immensely so.
And so I continue. I skipped dinner tonight. Not giving up.