week three and into four

that's right folks, the journey isn't over even if the juice fast is!

last week saw the end of my fifteen day juice fast and cleanse. a week ago tuesday morning I met with Elizabeth for my last visit for a few weeks. we did a final stone cleanse, "bringing down" the "stones" accumulating in my gallbladder and kidneys - and people there were hundreds. weird little green aliens that I am happy to have leave my body. but the journey didn't end there - I still have a few weeks of candida treatment and we discovered a stomach bacteria that if left untreated would lead to ulcers and gastritis. but no, I still have a long way to go on this journey. some womanly issues I still have to work out as soon as I can afford the price tag of some services. and hoping that my endocrine system will balance out with the help of my OB and a healthier lifestyle.

so as I have slowly introduced solid foods back into my diet I have been TRYING to maintain mostly vegetarian fair. and I am happy to share that I am changed. this process has brought an abundance of education and opened my eyes to real food. I have gone about under the presumption that I eat pretty healthy. and oh, I was so wrong. being a label reader and avoiding high fructose or hydrogenated whatevers doesn't mean you are healthy. anything in a can or a bag has been processed to some degree and is, by it's processed nature, not healthy. we are taught that drinking milk formulated to grow a baby cow into a half ton bovine, will help us become skinny and make our bones healthy. while the truth is that you will absorb more calcium from a few stalks of broccoli, while avoiding all the fat. and then there was my lack of vegetable consumption. one side of veggies at dinner does not a healthy eater make, even if I did eat fruit by the bushel!

learning more about our food sources alone has opened my eyes. so many things I balked at I am now learning there is more to understand! a friend who has long endeavored to feed her family fresh mentioned this little article. scary to think that the FDA actually thinks it is OK for us to eat just a little poison on our foods. and as I have pondered that issue I remembered this! which led to this TIME magazine article about buying local and what that implies for our own community.

we all wear our own rose colored glasses, and I am no different. this process has changed my view and although I could go off the deep end I am doing my best to keep it all in check. my new mantra is veggies first - emphasizing our vegetable consumption with a little side of meat - or even none at all - most meals. but not to worry! if your invited to grace us for a dinner, you won't starve! I invite you all to come give it a try!

PS - and just so you know, I am feeling better than I have in a VERY long time! this week I have been on my bike and I can't wait to see how my running legs fair. super woman watch out, here I come.