My Long, Short History of Food.

If you would have asked me 5 years ago about food the entirety of what I would have told you was I eat what I want when I want and it doesn't seem to bother me. I know that's true for the average American.

My ideas about food changed radically due to a little thing called a fast. I tried doing some small, one day fast. The only thing I could consume during this time was water or unsweetened tea. The Purpose was spiritual but I discovered a little about my physical too. I found out first hand that my body talks to me. I discovered that I craved the strangest things(I thought). I distinctly wanted dry oats during a fast. And my first meal off the fast included strawberries and, just that, dry oats. How boring right? A couple days before that I would have said no thanks to both. But after working some impurities out I now really loved what I was eating. This was my first lesson in eating what my body REALLY wanted.

After that I did longer fasts where I allowed myself to eat, but nothing with meat, dairy, or sugar(I already didn't drink caffeine, but that's another blog)! Yikes! All the good stuff right? Well at first I thought yes. Then something happened. After 3 weeks of literally dreaming of McDonald's cheese burgers something clicked. What was happening was a detox. My body was getting all the bad stuff out. The amazing thing was I started to feel awesome. Really awesome. Mentally and physically. IT was if I was a completely different person. The most outstanding things I noticed was my mood. Constantly in a positive mood, even through some drama. Physically I had a ton ,I mean a ton of energy, never(even with low sleep) groggy. And of course I was loosing weight(which for me wasn't desired especially). But the most profound part of my detox was that my tastes changed. Since it was a fast(not a diet) I was a bit more committed. I rarely cheated, and it made a difference. Week four came and I didn't really want the stuff I had craved a week earlier. I found this most encouraging. I could eat this way and feel this good and not be miserable about it.

I don't know everybody's story of how they try to eat healthier and it just becomes too difficult(it is hard at first). I just know that I don't hear people talk about this phenomenon enough when talking about a desired diet improvement. Your palette will change. If you give what your body wants(or take away the stuff it really doesn't) it'll speak up and change your mind in the end. The misery of giving up junk food will end if you just give yourself a chance. Maybe it would take a week of two longer for someone else but it should happen.

I did find out a sneaky rule of junk food too. Sugar(refined) is a sneaky bitch. It was the hardest to get rid of in my diet. Unlike the other things I rid myself of during the fast your body needs this one in some form. If I let myself get really hungry my blood sugar would drop and I would get frantic and want a quick fix. Whats the sweetest quickest fix? Refined sugar. But it's really quite terrible for you(yet another blog!)! The only way I'd stay comfortable and abide by rules is instead of reaching for the candy bar Id first try an apple or even make a quick meal then see how I felt and if I was a little patient it almost always did the trick. Not that I never wanted a candy bar again but it happened less and less.