Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Yesterday Sugar, Today Salt

This morning I woke up craving salt - big time. I must be taking in too much sugar with the fruits and cacao. I love the fact that I'm listening to my body now, instead of just waking up like a zombie and heading straight to the coffee maker - then craving bread and dense food because of the whole blood-sugar coffee-drop thing. It's nice to hear the messages.

This morning- the message was loud and clear: "Salt, no sugar, Please".

I've been having green smoothies with fruit in the mornings. I love my green smoothies. They are simple, quick and full of nutrition, but this morning, I had a green veggie smoothie. Here is the Uncooked Rawcipe:

Veggie Smoothie

2 med sized ripe tomatoes
3 big romaine leaves
1 avocado 
2 celery stalks
2 cloves of garlic (haha, yeah, I smell like garlic today, so what??)
a dash of Bragg's
1/2 jalapeno 
juice of 1/2 lime
1 Cup of Water

I think that's it...  Vitamix Action and Viola! 

Oh my! It was definitely what I needed.

For lunch I also opted to go sugar-less. Another Uncooked Rawcipe:

Mock Pimento Cheese Spread

several spoons raw tahini
1 red bell pepper
squiggle of olive oil
squiggle of Bragg's (there is controversy over whether this is raw or not. it probably isn't, but it is staying in my tool box for now)

I mixed everything in a bowl, used my handy, dandy hand-processor, and I swear, it is like pimento cheese spread! Next time I am adding lemon and nutritional yeast so it really IS like pimento cheese spread. That wasn't my intention, but I'll take it!

Then I spread it all on 1 1/2 large portabellos and ate it. YUM. Better than you would think!

Of course, I had an Ulimana Truffle and a WildBar - see yesterday's post to find out more about those delectables. Also, a few brazil nuts. 

For dinner I had a banana and a Cherry Pie Lara Bar. I had a class after work and so I was 'on the run'. I didn't make anything special.

I am noticing a few things. For instance, today my mood is higher. I feel more present already.  I feel like I am connecting with people more and I have less mind chatter. 

Emotional Rawage

Today I felt like I was hungry, but I took a good look at the feeling of hunger, because I knew I couldn't actually be hungry. I ate a lot today. The feeling was in my upper belly...and I don't think it was hunger, but it is a feeling that I have oftentimes masked by eating 'comfort' foods. It was an emotional response. I felt a feeling (not sure what it exactly was or where it came from) and I had an instant 'reaction' to eat something...something bready or fried. 

Hmm... emotional eating. I am understanding. It's not quite like I thought. It's not eating because I feel bad about myself or depressed or sad, but it is feeling the need to use something to make the emotion I'm having - the sensation I'm having in my body - go away. It has been an unconscious response. I haven't been aware that I am using food to make sensations go away. These sensations have nothing to do with hunger.

Instead, I just drank some water and it passed on it's own. Very interesting.

Also, I had another feeling today. I was driving and I felt like I was missing something. I kept thinking, almost subconsciously, that there used to be a large, heavy necklace on my chest, but I don't wear large, heavy necklaces. I checked in with my body and realized that I felt very light in my chest. Exposed. Vulnerable even. Open. Like there had been something right in the middle of my chest, between my breasts, and it was gone. My whole chest felt exposed. There was a light, open feeling...I just kept scanning my body and yes, my whole chest was open. Like, if something had been attached there and it was removed.

It's not like I'm not getting asthma here and there - and I'm still using my inhaler 2-4 times a day, but that is MUCH less and I'm cutting down from 2 sprays each time, to only one spray. 

I am not sure what has happened, but I definitely feel different in my chest. Some energy has moved. Some energy has completely left, like it was a big mass hanging on my chest and it is gone. My heart center feels different than the whole rest of my body. The feeling hasn't left since I noticed it.

Amazing.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, it's Jennifer and Orion! I am really enjoying your posts. I did raw in Atlanta for a year or so. It worked pretty well, but turned out to be a little too ethereal diet for me--not enough fat and grounding energies. I was really cold a lot. Since then, my diet has been strange and I am currently working on tailoring a regimen to my exact needs. So far, I have been working on cutting out dairy and sugar and including more whole grains and soup, (for yin energy. Thanks for inviting us to share your experience.

Love you and very proud of you!

Awesomely Alive! said...

Hi Jennifer and Little O!

Thank you for reading my posts! Yeah, I understand that I will be tailoring the diet as I go. So far, it has been great...no cold, hardly any hunger, but just making sure that I have good things on hand. I'm absolutely loving spinach, red cabbage salad with olive oil and nutritional yeast!

I'm just going to listen to my body and go along with what works for me and makes me feel the best. I think I have a lot of food allergies, so I'll be working to find those out...I think I'm allergic to wheat and dairy, so I'm glad to have those things gone from my diet.

I think everyone's diet should be determined by them and by what they experience. Believe me, if I'm cold all the time and it's not working, I'll be incorporating some warmth.

Also, just eating natural sugars has been great too.

Today is the first day I didn't have to take my inhaler upon rising this morning!!!! Wooo!!!!!

Love you guys!

Grace Walker said...

I have to say, the part of your post where you talk about emotional eating and about the energy moving from your chest is PROFOUND to me!! I read it to my daughter so I could share it with her. How incredible, exciting and enlightening! I've never heard emotional eating spoken of in that way and it made perfect sense to me. Thanks a million Tena. Looking forward to more. :o)

Awesomely Alive! said...

Thank YOU Grace, for sharing in my journey. :) And thanks for sharing with your daughter.

I, too, had never heard emotional eating explained in that way, but that is how I experienced it. It's been very profound for me as well.