Okay, let’s be honest. When I was chanting how I wanted to have a plant-day and jumping from the grounds of the Earth, I was totally excited and stoked to eat this healthy adventure. On my facebook page, I asked everyone to join with me and write their experience of their own plant-day. I again, was very excited. I was reading how a plant-day would make me feel different about my diet, my body, my lifestyle. I even read that it was okay not to make it to dinner if I positively couldn’t, just to try as long as I could. Again, I felt pumped. I have such a desire to be healthy and actually follow through with the meaning of being healthy, that I couldn’t wait to start.
Turns out, nobody answered my challenge. This still didn’t deter me from my own challenge though! I wanted to see how eating plant-based would make me feel. If I truly noticed a difference in myself, physically and mentally. Every few days, I go to our local farm store and purchase produce so when Sunday morning came for the challenge, I knew I was ready.
On any giving day, my counter top usually looks like this, minus the sweet potatoes getting ready to be baked!
Sunday morning, I woke up and had a grapefruit and strawberries. Oh yeah, I did have a cup of coffee. Black. I hate it that way, but I was trying to compromise with myself.No sugar, no cream. My head gets all sorts of foggy if I don’t have that brew! Snack time (with the kids snack time of course!), I had an apple and lunch was an avocado, orange and banana. I did notice that I was hungry more often. But I wonder if this is because I was truly hungry or because I was paying more attention to my food intake. I think it’s a variable in the test that should be considered!
Now, this is when things start to get a little bit fuzzy. Who I am and how I think got in my way, which sounds a little funny. I can over analyze anything and everything. I can get so excited over a blog post I want to write and get up at 4am to write it (even though I went to bed after midnight). It wakes me up in the night as if my brain has a hard time turning off. I can’t say that enough, I over analyze. Which is exactly what I did at dinner.
I wanted to post about plant-based foods right? Then I found a blog that I am interested in that talks about raw foods – which are plant-based. Then I started to think, if I have corn tonight, is it still plant-based even though I cooked it in water? Water doesn’t hurt anything it helps right? Then it led to, what is a plant-based day anyway? If you cook anything it loses its raw properties. So, am I now on a plant-based one-day challenge or a raw challenge? Or maybe I just meant a non-processed food day? Maybe that does include my coffee? Where the heck was I going with this?! I wanted answers and always look to Google to begin my search, which got me thinking again, and then lead me to confusion since I over analyzed. Are you with me?
I do know this – I have a close family member who ate only vegetables and fruits for three days. She was taking a detox class and this is what they suggested. She was quite irritable and snappy. By day three, I was begging her to eat a piece of bread. On the other hand, I personally feel great after I have fruit and vegetables all throughout the day. It mentally makes me feel better knowing I’m doing something healthy for my body. When I drink water instead of soda, I want more. When I have a pink grapefruit for breakfast, I feel good knowing its a natural healthy fat burner. When I eat an avocado for lunch every day, I bank of having shiny hair. When I eat garlic, which has amazing antioxidants, I know I’m going to need a toothbrush to follow.
After all my conclusions and my tummy rumbling, I had those sweet potatoes in the picture, corn and brown rice with tomatoes. It was very satisfying and it made me quite happy. All in all, I have found my comfort with food. The food I enjoy and feel good the most about is food directly from our Earth. It may not come in a box or have a label with sugar content on it but its good healthy food. I like knowing the only ingredient in the list is the apple I just picked up. Or the quinoa in the cupboard is ready to be inspired by other ingredients. Raw vs. cooked with water, please don’t shift my thinking. Perhaps if I write down rules it will be a less confusing that day up front.
I don’t feel I failed this challenge but that I learned a little bit more about myself and who I am. In that perspective, I guess that means I grew a little more that day. Perhaps I’ll try again, but with new guidelines. Let me just think about that while I munch on this carrot.
