Problematic Cravings, Stress, Media and the City – Waterloo Community Cleanse Day 4

Physical soreness, days of hot yoga and other exercise catching up to my muscles, exhaustion, stress…all just spells the recipe for disaster to staying on track for a detox.

One of the first things they tell you when starting a detox is to get adequate rest and reduce stress levels. Otherwise, your body doesn’t have energy to cleanse itself – it’s spending it all trying to make you survive the day. When you’re sleeping, the liver is cleaning itself, the body is absorbing all the nutrients that it has taken in during the day. Now, if I’m not sleeping enough, when is my body doing that? Certainly not during the day. During the day it’s working to keep me alert, moving, digesting food, etc. That’s more than enough work for it already!

Let’s tack stress on top of it. My body is trying to cope with the overload my brain is feeling, and going into defense mode to cope, which by nature is to store fats and lower metabolism (think preparing for a harsh winter). Sounds perfect for a detox huh? My body is actively fighting it!

Of course, when I’m sapping my body of all this energy, then no matter how well I’m treating it, it’s still going to have energy lows and demand sugar spikes.

Fortunately, I carry apples, nuts, Larabars, coconut macaroons, and whatever else in my purse so that I don’t end up buying something unhealthy.

Unfortunately? After eating those tasty treats, I still want more. Remember my last post about cheating on a detox? This would be called cheating. Those treats are healthy, sure, but too many Larabars, nuts, coconut or other detox indulgences will do the same thing as any indulgences will over time. Curses.

And then there is the power of media. And there’s no escaping the media in a place like downtown Toronto…billboards everywhere, outdoor TV, flyers, posters, transit ads. It’s a junk mail overload. The smells of bakery, of BBQ or whatever else when walking past an open patio restaurant does not aid matters. And then, being an artist, I had to pick up this week’s copy of NOW magazine. Figures that there would be a restaurant guide and review too. I am a self-titled food connoisseur. Just reading the recommendations alone has me immediately thinking about when I will try the place myself and the succulent dishes. And then I realize that I’m detoxing…anger!

You know that tip about cravings? Identify whether you’re just craving it or are actually hungry. Do not eat if you aren’t hungry. Tell yourself that you don’t need it, and you’ll feel better for it. This is a useless tip. When we’re truly tired and craving something gross, we totally disregard any rationale we have for health. Kudos to those who can follow this tip, because I know from experience that I can’t.

So if that can’t help us, what can? For me, the answer has become obvious: Education. Just reciting a mantra cannot encourage me enough. I need to see all the underlying layers before I can turn myself off a craving; if not to turn off the craving, at least to walk away for other reasons (eg. animal rights, toxins). Let me provide an example so you see what I mean (this is a true story):

Scene 1: I smell McDonald’s. Mmm…fish burger. My guilty pleasure ultimatum. It’s just tasty fish…who cares of it’s fatty. No, it’s McDonald’s! Who cares? I do! The fish has been frozen for ages, is breaded, fried, fatty. Tons of tartar sauce. Still not enough to convince me yet. Fried oils…when in high heat releases tons of free radicals which are toxic to the body. The burger itself full of preservatives. Alright, so my cravings didn’t completely go away, but with enough of that in my mind, I was able to walk away.

Scene 2: Gelato place. YUM. Gelato made of milk…milk from cow breasts. If that isn’t enough to put me off…they are udders that get violently sucked everyday to produce the milk. Horrible. Appetite now dead. Good job. (PS. I apologize for anyone who has now lost a taste for dairy products. But on the bright side, in my opinion, milk isn’t good for you anyways. And cows will thank you. I am not trying to change anyone; this is my story, take what you will from it.)

In the end, sometimes I still don’t find myself completely believing my words. They’re just words. I can repeat my knowledge just like the cravings mantra, and still eat. That’s the problem. Education has to be accessible. And when I see a list of chemicals that I cannot read, I just jump over it and never actually absorb the importance. Today, I found myself staving off cravings more because my brain tangented into a debate of “You don’t believe what you’re saying, you need to believe what you’re saying or else the cravings don’t go away! / Ok, but how can I do that when my first reaction isn’t what I want it to be? / Think harder on the words! What are they saying?”

I worked so hard to believe my words that I eventually forgot about the food. I suppose that’s a reasonable tactic. So there you go. The next time you tell yourself the mantra craving, tack on the education, and STILL are having trouble, start having an internal conversation on why you should believe the words. Hopefully, you will have crossed the street and passed the fast food restaurant by then.