I am in the midst...

of a fruit-only detox... I have given up my all-time favorite things... that mostly contain chemicals: sugar free popsicles, diet dr pepper, crystal light, flavored sugar-free bubbly water...

I am about a week into it with a few little cheats or slip ups... but I am only drinking distilled water- nothing else. In the past this would have KILLED me. For some reason, the timing of this must be right for me because it has not been too hard. I felt like crap the first few days (this is a detox side effect, so I have dealt with it and feel better each day). I have not eaten ANYTHING (other than a spoonful of Light Miracle Whip) processed at all. No condiments. Nothing canned. Nothing out a box. No restaurant food. Not a bite of Mike's pizza. Not a sip of soda. Nothing.

I have also cut out meat. This is totally against what I have done for years. Basically all I have eaten was meat- a very high protein diet... because that is mainly what keeps me lean. Protein is the ONLY thing that grows muscle. I find most women REALLY skimp on protein. So this makes me nervous. Eating fruit makes me nervous. For so long, I avoided it as most bodybuilders and fitness girls do. Too much sugar- even though it is wholesome sugar. So in the back of my mind I am wondering if I am going to gain 20lbs... but I have decided that this is an experiment and if I gain weight, I gain weight. I am sticking to it for long enough to decide if I feel a lot better over time.

I have just not felt well for a looooooooooooooooong time. Tired all the time. Drained (granted I work a very weird schedule). Massive stomach issues and bloating- I deal with this 100% of the time and am generally miserable. I am going to continue on this for probably a month and then see how I feel and where I am at physically. I have been reading and researching a ton because I have been so conditioned to eat for aesthetic purposes only. Not health purposes, though for the most part they coincided for me.

I was thinking I would post every day a pretty detailed tracking of what I am doing and how I am feeling... mainly so I can look back and notice if things are working or not. But I am in the process of starting a new business venture in addition to my current personal training schedule, so it will be challenging. I am also reading everything I can possibly find on vegan and raw and detox topics... now I am not going to start hugging trees or anything. I just want to explore a totally different approach and see how I feel. If it doesn't work out, I will return to my meat-eating ways (minus the chemical foods).

I will post here as much as possible........