Friday, February 24, 2012

True Hunger vs Toxic Hunger

Alrighty, let me update you wonderful people.  First, I want to briefly talk about TOXIC hunger vs TRUE hunger. For those who are beginning this journey, or for anyone who has ever attempted to cut out the processed and preservative filled garbage we so often fuel our bodies with, you have felt "toxic" hunger. It's actually your body detoxifying itself.  The toxic hunger Dr. Furhman discusses in his book, Eat to Live, is described as irritability, headaches, weakness and that growling feeling we all have felt before deep in our bellies. That feeling usually only satisfied by eating something unhealthy. Often times we begin our diets and start feeling this way and we give in because it feels like we are literally STARVING! It's a vicious cycle. Guess what? We were WRONG!! It is the same concept as when a drug addict gives up their drug of choice and begin to go through withdrawals. We are addicted to unhealthy, preservative filled junk food! Our bodies produce the same response when you deprive it from what it craves. I have gone through this over and over during the last week! Except for the giving in part ;)
Now, let me talk just a bit about TRUE hunger. Once we can move through the withdrawal phase successfully we are able to recognize what TRUE hunger feels like. True hunger, apparently, begins in your throat. Your sense of taste heightens, and your salivary glands will be more active. I wondered if this was just something Dr. Furhman made up so I Googled it (my most reliable resource ;).  I found from multiple sources (unrelated to Dr. Furhman) that this is, indeed, true. Although I have yet to feel this true hunger in my throat, much of my withdrawal symptoms have faded and I am hoping to soon experience true hunger.
Now, let me update you on where I am in this journey. My first full week ended Wednesday night. I weighed Thursday morning and found that I have lost 3.1 pounds. Let me be honest. I was disappointed. I expected to jump on the scale and see an 8 pound difference. So after weighing and feeling disappointed in myself, I had to take a sec for a reality check. I said "Jenny! you lost 3.1 pounds in a WEEK! Why the heck are you disappointed??!" Then I responded with, "Wow, you're right! That's great! What if you do that every week for a month?! That would be 12 pounds lost! Better still, what if you do that for 6 weeks?? That would be 18 pounds lost! How amazing is that?!" Ok. So the sadness is gone. So happy with my results at this point!  Bringing me to the biggest achievement, making it a whole week without cheating. I did it. So freaking proud right now. I'm beaming.
In other news, my magical Ninja food processor/blender showed up on my doorstep this week. I have been so excited about getting this for making smoothies, dressings, whatever else I may feel compelled to process or blend. However, before I could even use the dang thing, I managed to cut the end of my texting thumb off on the blades while washing it. Man, I really thought the blood would never stop. Anyway, finally got it washed and blended the best green smoothie ever! I pretty much stick to the same recipe everyday (spinach, kale, flaxseed, strawberries, blueberries, banana).  I feel pretty good at this point. I am feeling less hungry between meals and not craving the junk food like I was. The biggest change for me I've noticed is in the evenings I feel more energized. I haven't needed the afternoon coffee just to make it to bedtime. This has truly been a blessing for me and I am so thankful for my decision to go with this. Everyday I have success makes it harder to turn back and I pray it continues. Thank you so much for reading. All the positive notes really boost my morale :)
The All Star basketball game is on tonight, so I'm going to close out on that note.

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