sometimes lose my shit. No really, I do. 2 weeks ago was one such “crazy phase” of my life and diet. I abandoned my healthy diet because I was PMSing hard and moody AF and went all out.
And boy, I ate everything. Chips and coke for lunch, nachos for dinner, greasy noodles, fries, bread with butter, fried bread, pasta with cheese, cold coffee, you name it and I had it. I gave my taste buds everything it craved, desired and also the stuff that I never allowed myself. For example, baked pasta with cheese and no vegetables. I mean, who eats that??? It a super heavy meal, takes days to digest and has the nutritional contents of a rock.
BUT YET, I DEVOURED IT LIKE A CHEESE AND PASTA STARVED ADDICT. BUT THE FINAL NAIL IN THE STRAW WAS AFTER I VISITED MY MOM. SHE HAD PREPARED A TRADITIONAL LAMB CURRY FOR ME, WITH EXTRA PIECES OF FAT. YES, YOU READ RIGHT, FAT. IT WAS DELICIOUS, SATISFYING AND ONE OF THE GREATEST MEALS EVER.
But my body, especially my liver, had enough. The result? Me hurling in the toilet at 3 am, feeling like crap and begging the health gods to spare me. My stomach was a mess and I could taste bile in my mouth (Yes, gross!) and my body was distorted in pain. Also Read: 8 simple ways to take care of your liver.
I needed to do something.
I TOOK A VOW
After many bananas, glasses of lemon juice and hours of self-pity, I took the vow to fix my stomach and especially my liver. Now you may say, “You are a health blogger! You should know better”! Well, I should but often even health bloggers like me need a humbling experience. And my body revolting against the crap I was putting it through, did the job for me. Also Read: Monday morning feel good smoothie.
Next step: Detox.
Process: Eating only one meal a day.
ONLY ONE MEAL, YES!
I needed to give my body time to restore and recover which wouldn’t have happened if I would have jumped into eating again, however wholesome. The body needs time to adjust and can surprisingly do with very little food. So I just focused on eating one meal: dinner, at around 9 pm. Also, Read 5 simple homemade detox drinks for weight loss.
“THE NEXT 24 HOURS WERE A PERIOD OF FASTING/DETOX FOR ME, WHICH MEANT NO BREAKFAST, LUNCH OR SNACK. AND I CONSUMED TONS OF WATER ( AROUND 8 LITRES) AND ONE BOTTLE OF COLD PRESSED VEGETABLE JUICE, IN CASE THE HUNGER PANGS GOT TOO SEVERE.”
Ideally, you should make your vegetable juice at home because it’s super easy, but since I am kinda nomad these days, I got my fix from Raw Pressery.
Was it hard? Yes
Did I feel better? Hell yes!
THOSE 10 DAYS
I maintained my “only dinner” routine for 10 days and only consumed vegetables, dal, noodles, soup and such stuff. I avoided any kind of meat, fish and even eggs. And like I mentioned, tons of water and one bottle of cold pressed vegetable juice did the job for me. I didn’t even workout during these days because I had very little energy. So instead, I took long walks and contemplated my life choices. Sigh.
Slowly, I regained my energy and was less lethargic, weepy and my mind felt clearer. My body also seemed stronger, my bowel movements regularized and I felt like my old self again. My whole system rebooted Itself, and I felt great! Also Read: The healthiest veg breakfast: Butter Idli
FROM THEN TO NOW
I am back to my old routine of eating healthy and working out but if you too tend to “lose your shit” sometimes, let me just tell you, it’s okay. Forgive yourself because finally, you are all you got. Seriously. Just promise to get back on track and commit to taking better care of yourself. Also, if you want to try the one meal a day plan or as it’s called intermittent fasting, educate yourself thoroughly first. The process of fasting has a lot of benefits, but only if you do it the right way. Also read: Should you fast before working out?
Lastly, the most important lesson I learned to not use food as a mood enhancer as a tool to “feel good”. Did I know this before? But a lesson only becomes a habit after a practical experience. At least, that’s what I tell myself.