In the Beginning

Food for Thought

I feel as though a new era of my life has begun... I had an experience that truly changed my outlook on life, erupting into an entirely new set of interests and possibilities. I never would have thought to write about it, but my mother suggested it a few weeks ago, and the idea has been stewing on the back burner ever since. I finally got the chance to watch Julie and Julia, and was inspired to give the whole blogging thing a chance. I have no expectation that anyone wants to read what I have to write about, but it occurred to me that getting all my thoughts out in one place would probably be beneficial, if only for me. So here goes... I may as well start from the beginning.

I was reading an article in a magazine sometime last month, the topic of which was how to do a liver detox. I had toyed with the idea of going on a detox diet before, but had never actually tried it. I decided to attempt a three-day juice fast - mainly for the purpose of cleansing my body, but I had heard of the profound spiritual effects of fasting, and figured I'd make it a time of renewal in both aspects of my life. My friend Deondra had recently acquired some spare time, and, recognizing that she may be up for some renewal as well, I invited her to come stay with me and participate in the fast. The night before, we stopped by the store and bought a week's worth of fruits and veggies. Our basic strategy was to make fresh juice every time we started to experience stomach pains, which ended up being about every two hours. We alternated between fruit and veggie juices, trying new combinations of each to create fantastic pairings of flavors. The distraction of the juicing definitely help to alleviate some of the hunger as well. Day one, I didn't feel great - I wasn't terribly hungry, but I had a headache. The second day was better. By the third day, I felt completely back to normal. I could not believe this... I hadn't eaten a single bite in three days and I felt amazing! The reason I felt as good as I did was two things: 1. I was getting more actual nutrients than I had ever had in my life. 2. My body wasn't having use any energy digesting. Something just clicked.

Now, I'm not a terribly unhealthy person. I don't eat fast food, I don't drink sodas. I've been trying to eat healthy for years, but I was going about it all wrong. What finally sunk in... TRULY sunk in... is how important fruits and vegetables are to our survival, and how much better I would feel if everything I put into my body was something truly nourishing. What I had known in my head for years somehow sunk into my soul - I now know it as ultimate truth. I've never been great with will-power and self-discipline, but this doesn't feel like that at all. It feels like something that just... happened to me. It's a very subtle shift in thinking, but such an important one: I used to be solely concerned with what I SHOULDN'T put into my body, but now my primary focus is what I SHOULD. Junk food just doesn't wield the same temptations over me that it once did, and I'm enjoying more and more vegetables and whole grains and generally healthy foods than I ever thought I could.

So fast forward to today. I've become completely obsessed with food - I spend all of my free time learning about nutrition, finding new recipes, calculating nutrition facts, planning meals, and cooking them. I just can't get enough! I know many people already know a lot of the things I'm learning, as I'm still just in the basics right now, but I really like the idea of having everything in one place. So, here's to food, and my journey to understanding it!