I'm trying hard to stay positive and just buckle down and bare through this, but my mind is really messing with me.... and that's the biggest obstacle to overcome: the mind! By conquering the ego and false scripts, one can overcome anything. The key (and the most difficult part) is to identify the negative messages, observe them, feel them, and let them pass, knowing that the body is a miraculous machine that has self-healing capabilities. Easier said than done, right? This post details my struggle on my 1st and 2nd Day of my Healing Plan.
Here is my Day 1 (Thurs 12/8/11) Health Diary. K's replies are in red italics
2. Date: Thursday, 12/8/11 (day 1)
3. Weight in pounds: 68.4 in the AM (no weight loss)
4. How I felt today physically and emotionally: Calmer, minor anxiety. Very tired/drained. VERY hypoglycemic and hungry. Craved food (especially melted banana/date icecream!). Tried to stay positive. Still had mucus-flatus that occurred mid-day (copious amounts). Some gas. Tongue less coated/swollen. Less halitosis, but still present. No bloating...flat stomach (probably because I had no food in it!). Increased gas after steamed veg meal. Felt cold
5. Energy level on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high): two. No energy to workout
6. Symptoms: See number 4
7. Main concerns/struggles: It's hard to not eat meals. I'm afraid my stomach will shrink, making it hard to eat when I'm off the juice diet. I fear losing more muscle and not working out. IDK if I should try to sleep as much as I can or not.
** your stomach will love you if you don't worry about it and eat simply*
8. Questions I have:
1. My blood sugar was very unstable today. Should I increase the portion size (5 oz for fruit/veg juice. 6-8oz for smoothie. 6-8oz for veg juices. 8oz for cooked meal) or increase the frequency from every 2-3hrs to every 1-2 hours?
** not yet, let's evaluate on Monday
2. Should I still take my probiotic? I take ReNew Life 50billion 10-strain CFU. Here is the label: http://www.iherb.com/Renew-Life-Ultimate-Flora-Critical-Care-50-Billion-60-Veggie-Caps/22252?at=0
** I doubt if it will help…it's up to you
3. Should I focus on trying to increase my sleep (I have been sleeping less than 5-6 hours for the past several years, if not longer)?
** more sleep and almost complete rest is what u need
4. On your food combining chart, is says that "cooked starchy foods are difficult to digest and clogging" and it lists sweet potatoes and squash under this category. Would it be best for me to avoid sweet potatoes and squash then? (And just do zuchini, carrots, celery for my cooked meal?).What is the reasoning behind including sweet potatoes/yams/squash into the healing diet if that disclaimer was written?
** they become sweet when cooked, but you might have less gas without any cooked food, try it a day or 2
9. My level of trust in my self-healing power is 60%.
10. I am sure / unsure that I will heal and stay well (please circle one). I'm trying to remain positive, but I fear the damage is already done
** you can heal/improve everything 90-100% in the next 12 months — believe!
11. Healing signs: None so far... Less bloating, but that's because I had way less in my stomach
12a. No. of bowel movements: 1 in AM, as usual.
12b. Diarrhea? Started out hard-ish/formed, then softer/loser but not diarrhea
12c. Blood? A little, not bad.
12d. Mucus? A lot. Mucus-flatus, as usual. COPIOUS amounts
12e. Pain? Colon spasm during BM and in AM. No cramps today. Minor stomach flutters
13a. No. of hours of sleep: I slept-in for the first time in years! Approx 7-8 hours! Sleeping a lot seems to make me MORE tired though....
13b. No. of hours of rest: Most of the day. I didn't do much (tired, some orthostatic-ness)
13c. No. of hours of work/chores: None. Went to the store
13d. No. of hours of exercise: None, just walked my dog around the block
13e. Type of exercise:
14. I am / am not following the Vegan Healing Diet (please circle one).
15. Total water intake in quarts or 8 oz. glasses: Not sure... not much, maybe 1-2 glasses over the course of the day?
16: Meals:
9:10am: 6oz apple-celery-romaine juice [Was very hungry and wanted something more substantial..but filled up immediately]
10:25am: 5oz apple-celery-romaine juice [Felt rather hypoglycemic. Filled up quickly, but became hypoglycemic approx 45min later]
Noon: 1 persimmon + ~3oz apple-celery-romaine juice Smoothie [YUM!!!! I was really hungry]
1:45pm: 8oz carrot-celery-romaine juice [delish! felt full, but quickly subsided. MUCUS-FLATUS around 2pm...copious amounts that ruined my underwear. :-( No matter what I eat or do, this always happens to me several hours after awakening]
** that should subside within the next week or 2, hang in there!
3pm: 8oz carrot-celery-romaine juice
5:15pm: 8oz steamed garnet yam + zucchini + carrots + celery. Eaten whole and steamed for 10min [This was SO good! The flavors were amazing and it was nice not to have something sugary for once! I can't believe I used to douse this stuff with salt and peppers and other spices before! I had some gas afterwards and some stomach flutters...maybe my body isn't used to starchy veggies and cooked food?]
** try no cooked food for 1 or 2 days and see what happens
20. Supplements: Probiotic at night
21. Medications and dosage: nada
22. Therapies: Therapy session with Gerri
23. Medical advice received today: None. Gerri told me to look into the Spirituality Center for meditation classes and to keep thinking positive. She also said to try to focus on getting more sleep
** good….and focus on being still and watching the breath and sensing your arms, legs and belly
24a. Time spent reading Self Healing Colitis & Crohn's today: Approx 20-30min
24b. Time spent studying the Vegan Healing Diet sections today: Same
25. Other Natural Hygiene literature read today: Browsed some food charts
26. Tests and health medical exams I am planning: Blood test
27. Healing and lifestyle plans I am making: Implementing the Healing Plan, positive thinking, no wt lifting, gentle exercise, increasing sleep, getting off the 30BaD forum (I'm making my own blog instead!)
28. My affirmation of the day: Have faith, don't lose hope, stay positive
29. I will schedule a consultation with K on this date: When should we do another consult?
*** Monday if u like. I am off till Monday AM. Be well! ♥ Dave
30. How can K best support you? Answer my questions and emails :-)
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I felt a bit dismayed but his comments. For one, they did not answer my questions...they were very vague. I need more support than that. I need to be able to understand what's happening, what to expect, and to feel like he is taking the time to fully be involved in my care.
I wrote him this email this AM:
Dear K,
It was extremely difficult for me to defecate this morning after my first day of the new diet. My body has never done well on a low fiber diet in terms of being able to have a BM. It started hard with mucus, then was extremely mushy and unformed. It would not come out on its own and i had to manually evacuate it the entire time, change sitting/squating positions, push on my abd, etc. My colon spasms are now really bad. What should i do?
I was pooping so much better on the lfrv diet prior to this juice diet (even thought i was only going once per day, sometimes twice, everything came out that i had eaten that day...perhaps i was just eating portions that were too big and needed to ease into it slower?). I feel like the juices are stopping me up and making the peristalsis issue worse. Ive done juice diet before and i usually get really constipated....and the transition to eating foods again is usually not easy for me
Also, my wt was down a pound this am, despite not doing any exercise
Lastly, my blood sugar is extremely unstable, probably bc of the lack of fiber??
Any suggestions?
As far as the mucus flatus goes, ive looked over my sypmtom logs overr the past few months and this symptom always occurs without fail approx 5-6 after awakening. No matter what. This is so odd and horribly uncomfortable and embarrassing
I was pooping so much better on the lfrv diet prior to this juice diet (even thought i was only going once per day, sometimes twice, everything came out that i had eaten that day...perhaps i was just eating portions that were too big and needed to ease into it slower?). I feel like the juices are stopping me up and making the peristalsis issue worse. Ive done juice diet before and i usually get really constipated....and the transition to eating foods again is usually not easy for me
Also, my wt was down a pound this am, despite not doing any exercise
Lastly, my blood sugar is extremely unstable, probably bc of the lack of fiber??
Any suggestions?
As far as the mucus flatus goes, ive looked over my sypmtom logs overr the past few months and this symptom always occurs without fail approx 5-6 after awakening. No matter what. This is so odd and horribly uncomfortable and embarrassing
His short reply:
Just rest and be patient with the juicy diet.
Seriously? That's all he has to say?
I then retorted with this:
Hi K,
I think i might need to be more clear about my situation. My weight is now at 67.6 pounds as of this am. This is scary-low for a 25yr old. I cannot lose any more wt, yet this juice diet is recipe for just that (i doubt it contains over 500 cals).
Im dizzy when standing up, i am MORE constipated than when i was eating fruits, i am starving (literally), my mood is very labile, my blood sugar is extremely unstable, i have no energy (and i had a ton when eating fruits), my fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue and soreness is back (when it disappeared when eating fruits), my heart is pounding, im freezing cold (and i was hot on the lfrv diet), and im not urinating much at all (not good for my kidneys, which are damaged), the list goes on...
The only thing thats better is less bloating and cramps...but probably bc there is nothing in my stomach!
Idk if a juice diet is good for my condition. Perhaps what wouldve been a better route to go would be to decrease the large portion sizes i was eating (to stretch my stomach), and instead eat smaller, more frequent portions thru out the day, ending the day with a green juice at night???
Ive done juice diets before and always end up in worse shape than before (lazy colon, constipation, severe wt loss, inability to tolerate much food after ending the fast, etc). I dont want my stomach to shrink again, for its volume size is already really small.
My therapist is extremely worried about me and urged me to contact u. She fears me continuing this during the weekend, especially because of my wt dropping, my energy non-existent, the constipation, and the other issues im experiencing. What do i do if my wt keeps decreasing!?
U told me to listen to my body....my body does not seem to like the "extremeness" of this juice diet. My body has been thru a lot over the years, but especially in the last month: the change from a high fat/pro animal-based diet that i had been following for years, to a fruitarian/lfrv diet that i switched to overnight for 2 weeks (and ate larger portions sizes than my body has ever been accustomed to, let alone the fact that my body was adjusting to the sudden influx of massive amounts of fiber and sugar, when i had been relying on ketones and little fiber for years), to a banana only diet for 4 days, to a juice fast diet of less than 3/4 the cals and fiber than what i was previously consuming
This is too many drastic changes for my body to handle. My body does not handle change well, nor does it like extremes. Please advise me as to what to do. I really fear continuing this, for my wt is decreasing rapidly, and the other symptoms im getting are very worrisome
I was experiencing lots of positive improvements on the lfrv diet, but needed guidance on it...
Please help. I cannot wait til monday to discuss this
Thanks for understanding
I think i might need to be more clear about my situation. My weight is now at 67.6 pounds as of this am. This is scary-low for a 25yr old. I cannot lose any more wt, yet this juice diet is recipe for just that (i doubt it contains over 500 cals).
Im dizzy when standing up, i am MORE constipated than when i was eating fruits, i am starving (literally), my mood is very labile, my blood sugar is extremely unstable, i have no energy (and i had a ton when eating fruits), my fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue and soreness is back (when it disappeared when eating fruits), my heart is pounding, im freezing cold (and i was hot on the lfrv diet), and im not urinating much at all (not good for my kidneys, which are damaged), the list goes on...
The only thing thats better is less bloating and cramps...but probably bc there is nothing in my stomach!
Idk if a juice diet is good for my condition. Perhaps what wouldve been a better route to go would be to decrease the large portion sizes i was eating (to stretch my stomach), and instead eat smaller, more frequent portions thru out the day, ending the day with a green juice at night???
Ive done juice diets before and always end up in worse shape than before (lazy colon, constipation, severe wt loss, inability to tolerate much food after ending the fast, etc). I dont want my stomach to shrink again, for its volume size is already really small.
My therapist is extremely worried about me and urged me to contact u. She fears me continuing this during the weekend, especially because of my wt dropping, my energy non-existent, the constipation, and the other issues im experiencing. What do i do if my wt keeps decreasing!?
U told me to listen to my body....my body does not seem to like the "extremeness" of this juice diet. My body has been thru a lot over the years, but especially in the last month: the change from a high fat/pro animal-based diet that i had been following for years, to a fruitarian/lfrv diet that i switched to overnight for 2 weeks (and ate larger portions sizes than my body has ever been accustomed to, let alone the fact that my body was adjusting to the sudden influx of massive amounts of fiber and sugar, when i had been relying on ketones and little fiber for years), to a banana only diet for 4 days, to a juice fast diet of less than 3/4 the cals and fiber than what i was previously consuming
This is too many drastic changes for my body to handle. My body does not handle change well, nor does it like extremes. Please advise me as to what to do. I really fear continuing this, for my wt is decreasing rapidly, and the other symptoms im getting are very worrisome
I was experiencing lots of positive improvements on the lfrv diet, but needed guidance on it...
Please help. I cannot wait til monday to discuss this
Thanks for understanding
His reply:
Ok, no more juice, just banana smoothies and solid food.
Call me, do not wait for emails. I will not be doing email today or this weekend, My off-hour rate will be $2.50/minute.
SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?!?!! WTF?! He knows money is tight. He already over-charged me for the consult (150 instead of the previously negotiated 125).
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I then wrote Kim out of desperation. Here is our exchange:
Hi!After my first session with K, I am a bit dismayed by the appt.I am very underweight (68 pounds...well, now 67 at 5'1) and he wants me to juice fast. Here is his plan:
Upon awakening: 1 glass water, light exercise if tolerated
1. apple (or pear, grape, watermelon) + celery + lettuce juice (5-6 oz at a serving)
2. more fruit/veg juice (and may repeat one more time)
3. Smoothie (8oz or so) of some of the above juice with either 1 banana and 2-4 dates, 2 bananas, 1 persimmon without the skin, or papaya
4. Carrot + celery + lettuce juice (6-8oz)
5. Repeat the veg juice
6. Lightly steamed meal of sweet potato/squashes/carrots/celery (1-2c serving...this can be whole food or pureed into a soup by adding celery juice)
This sounds like a wonderful detox plan!
I already lost 1.5 pounds overnight and have become constipated. My energy is horrible and my mood is lowsy. He does not recommend any supplements (and I know u do) and I feel I need some due to the fact I am so depleted. Im dizzy when standing up, i am MORE constipated than when i was eating fruits, i am starving (literally), my mood is very labile, my blood sugar is extremely unstable, i have no energy (and i had a ton when eating fruits), my fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue and soreness is back (when it disappeared when eating fruits), my heart is pounding, im freezing cold (and i was hot on the lfrv diet), and im not urinating much at all (not good for my kidneys, which are damaged), the list goes on...
I'm so sorry to hear how stressed you are!!
I don't mean to undermine your worry but this sounds like detox to me. The weight loss is only water. It is physically impossible to lose 1.5 lbs of fat and lean tissue in one day... even if you were to not consume ANYTHING.. you could barely lose that much fat and lean tissue in a week let alone a day.
The water you've lost may have been there due to the infections as your body's way of protecting itself by surrounding any and all toxicities with water in order to dilute the acidity and prevent it from leaching into the blood.
OR
The water could have been due to the fact that you've stopped your workouts. Muscles naturally swell with water and once we stop stressing them, they release it.
Could have been a combo of both! :)
You don't need supplements, no body needs supplements. You need real nutrition which is better than any supplement. Remember, supplements are derivatives of unnaturally isolated nutrients found only in FOOD. The majority of the time the body has no idea what to do with such altered proteins and thus attacks/destroys them. Supplements cause the body more harm/stress than they could ever possibly do good.
You can't honestly expect to have no discomfort whatsoever during a detox, as well, you can not expect the symptoms you have been struggling with to just up and vanish in ONE day. You need to have patience. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was your malnutrition.
Smile!! :)
Detox is a miserable process that usually makes symptoms worse before they are better. This is fact and why bed-rest is always accompanied by fasting/detox. You won't be able to reap the rewards from detox unless you calm down and have patience, allow the process to work. :)
The only thing thats better is less bloating and cramps and less of a coated tongue/halitosis...but probably bc there is nothing in my stomach!
Idk if a juice diet is good for my condition. Perhaps what wouldve been a better route to go would be to decrease the large portion sizes i was eating (to stretch my stomach), and instead eat smaller, more frequent portions thru out the day, ending the day with a green juice at night???
Ive done juice diets before and always end up in worse shape than before (lazy colon, constipation, severe wt loss, inability to tolerate much food after ending the fast, etc). I dont want my stomach to shrink again, for its volume size is already really small.
You're worrying far far too much :) Your stomach shrinking is not half as important as your GI and infections healing completely. Stay focused on the bigger picture, don't lose yourself in the fine details! :)
My therapist and chiro are extremely worried about me. They fear me continuing this during the weekend, especially because of my wt dropping, my energy non-existent, the constipation, and the other issues im experiencing. What do i do if my wt keeps decreasing!?
You are detoxing. You are not going to have ANY energy... you should be resting and allowing the body to perform it's miracle. The body is self-healing. The juice diet is giving your entire body the break and nutrients it needs to start rebuilding. It's much like a water fast but slower in the sense that you are still taking in nutrients and calories. :)
my body does not seem to like the "extremeness" of this juice diet. My body has been thru a lot over the years, but especially in the last month: the change from a high fat/pro animal-based diet that i had been following for years, to a fruitarian/lfrv diet that i switched to overnight for 2 weeks (and ate larger portions sizes than my body has ever been accustomed to, let alone the fact that my body was adjusting to the sudden influx of massive amounts of fiber and sugar, when i had been relying on ketones and little fiber for years), to a banana only diet for 4 days, to a juice fast diet of less than 3/4 the cals and fiber than what i was previously consuming
You need to give your body a little more credit than that... it's a miraculous divine machine that will always maintain homeostasis and thus does not hesitate to heal when given the chance. It is ALWAYS trying to heal. 24/7. :)
This is too many drastic changes for my body to handle. My body does not handle change well, nor does it like extremes. Please advise me as to what to do. I really fear continuing this, for my wt is decreasing rapidly, and the other symptoms im getting are very worrisome
I was experiencing lots of positive improvements on the lfrv diet, but needed guidance on it...I was so excited to see K, but IDK if his recommendation is prudent to my situation. I've tried contacting him, and all he tells me is "be patient and love your stomach."
I wholeheartedly agree with him that you need to practice patience. It will be alright if you can just breathe, calm down and let your body do what it needs to do. :)
I really respect K, but I think he missed the mark with me. I was praying he could help, for my body can't keep being abused. It needs nourishment! Plus, finances are are huge issue for me and my family....my disability check doesn't cover my living expenses, let alone food.
I tried contacting him, and he wants me to call him at $2.50/minute!!!! WTF?!?!?! I'm desperate, and all he frickin cares about his money. Like he doesnt already make enough!
If you NEED to call him then call him. Don't be angry with him for charging money.... he's a part of the human race like both you and I and unfortunately he has lost himself in the hustle and bustle of the rat-race. That has no bearing on the intentions of his heart, however. I don't agree with it either... but if I needed to speak to him, I would find a way to get over it and just do it.
I understand being hard-up for money.. if that means that you CAN'T at ALL afford to speak with him on the phone then try to relax... breathe really deep... and give your body time with the cleanse. It has only been ONE day, remember. :)
My gi feels fine while juicing, but after I eat the smoothie, that's when the gas-mucus starts and my tongue becomes coated and furry. However, my blood sugar and energy are better after the smoothie. Flip side: My blood sugar and energy are horrible when I just juice, but the GI symptoms are not present.
Juicing makes me constipated. The fiber from foods helps push things out.
When going through detox the body redirects it's energy to the highest priority. Sometimes that takes away the energy from the digestion process and thus creates constipation. Give it some time, it will right itself.
I'm at a huge catch-22. One method helps with one set of issues, and the other method helps with the other set of issues the one method does not address...but they both aggravate the symptoms of each other. This is SO frustrating!!!!!
I know that serious healing requires lots of energy from the nervous system, but digestion uses a lot of this eneryg...thus, when healing, it is best to eat lightly until things heal. I have a lot of fat in my blood, so it will take time to get rid of it, but I dont want to get malnourished and lose a lot of wt in the process. Do I then increase the amount/frequency of juicing (ie, juice a certain amount of fruit/veg juice in the AM and sip that throughout the AM, do a small smoothie for lunch, then juice a large amount of veg juices for the rest of the afternoon/evening, with or without a serving of squash/veg soup for dinner)??? How much of the fruit/veg juice and veg juice should I consume for the AM and PM?
You can absolutely increase your juicing to slow down the detoxification process. I believe the consumption of a steamed veg dinner can also aid in slowing things down and helping to keep the discomfort more manageable... especially the sweeter it is (sweet potato, butternut squash, carrots, etc).
Although it's cooked and goes against what we know regarding raw veganism. I'd like to remind you that the Okinawa are a people who generally live to 120 years of age whilst still appearing to be 80. This culture's diet consists of 93% carbohydrates coming from cooked sweet potatoes. The rest of the diet is supplemented with steamed rice, seaweeds, small amounts of tofu and local vegetables such as bitter melon. As well, they eat around 1,200 calories a day, sometimes a little more.. sometimes less. They rarely use oils or seasonings such as soy sauce.
If these people can stay healthy enough to live until 120+ years of age on a COOKED, calorie-restricted, carbohydrate diet... without any disease whatsoever... you can certainly get through this detox.
Give it a few days. The first 2-3 days are always the absolute worst. Always.
Try adding in more juice, as well make sure you have a cooked veg dinner. It should help to slow down the detox. Although I am not Dr. K and am not schooled in what he knows. I really suggest giving him a call if you are still worried.
But please please please try to breathe! Everything will be alright if you just let it. :)
*big healing hugs*
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Kim is amazing... and if I didn't have her, I'd be SO lost and frustrated...and scared out of my gourd. I wish she lived closer... emailing is not as optimal as face to face. Plus, it would be nice to have a friend to hang out, shop, and trade fruit with! She has helped me out SO much since I met her on 30BaD...I owe her SO much!
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I also wrote a woman on 30BaD who healed herself and her husband from massive GI/health issues. Here is what she told me:
sorry to hear u r not feeling very good.
i think his recommendation is good.
the thing is u may not be able to gain weight before u repair ur system and u might lose some weight while repairing the gut. it will take a while for ur stomach to repair and even longer for the kidneys to repair.
stick with his recommendations but dont be too strict about it.
u can replace some of the juice for bananas or fruit.
u can try fruit all day however ur stomach likes it (small frequest meals) and salad for dinner.
or u can try fruit all day and some greens juiced at some point so that u can get the minerals.
just go with how u feel.
u can try the steamed sweet potatoes- they might help u pack some weight.
u have to take it slowly. it will take a while but u will get there.
dont panic.
for candida the best is- 2-3-4-5 fruit meals (depending on size) and greens for dinner with tomatoes or zucchini.
i would follow his recommendations and adjust wherever u need to.
u r not in a position to gain weight because of the malabsorption issue. and that can be fixed by fruit and juice but it will take a while and meanwhile u might not gain weight.
u will eventually. but first things first.
most healers would tell u that u may even lose weight while repairing the gut.
i think his plan is good because u will get a ton of minerals through the juicing and good healing fruits and some steamed sweet potatoes for calories.
in a week or 2 on that reassess and see. u can increase fruit then, decrease juice or the opposite depending what ur stomach tolerates better. personally my stomach has no troubles with fruit but juice seems to be more work.
u will start feeling good and energetic pretty quickly and ur stomach will feel better soon but to feel great it might take months. for ur kidneys it might even take a year.
just trust that what u r doing is good
because personal believes in the power of what u r doing has a lot to do with healing.
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Dr Meade (my awesome mostly-raw vegan chiropractor) was VERY reassuring too. He explained things I didn't understand, and told me the plan set up was very good. He puts clients on similar plans, too. He explained some questions/concerns I had and helped to calm my anxiety. He said the wt I lost is just water and that I will go thru a fluctuation with my wt, but that my body wont let me go too low bc I am providing it with excellent sources of nutrients, which are more important than calories. He said my body needs to heal and get out the toxins, and this is the best way to do it. He's had clients on similar plans as long a month! Yikes....but, at least I know I have support from him and can bounce questions off of him if needed. Phew.
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I also contacted one well-known health coach (B), whom I SHOULD have consulted with instead. He is not so cut-and-dry and rigid as K. He also recommeds *some* supplements if needed, especially for those with severe deficiencies and whom are healing from many issues (nothing major... just B12, D, and maybe a barley powder or multi).
Here is his reply to me:
Shelby, ultimately you have the final say of what advice you will and won't follow. And it's great to be able to go by what your body is saying, but this only works when your body is healthy, meaning, when you are in good health, but your body is challenged by something, it's a good idea to listen to it and abide by what it says to do. But when you are in poor health, you can't always go by what you're experiencing because often you will feel worse before you feel better, and some people will lose weight and dip under their ideal weight for a while and this is what is supposed to happen. But some people see the feeling worse or losing too much weight as a sign that they are not doing something correct, when in fact they are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing.
That said, if you feel that a juice only diet is not in your best interest, than do something else. But what? Try eating the way you'd do in nature, but tailor it so that it doesn't make you ill. We are not counseling together so I don't have your history in front of me to reference, so I can't know if you were eating a fruit-based diet, and how exactly you were eating it, so I can't answer your questions, "Perhaps what wouldve been a better route to go would be to decrease the large portion sizes i was eating (to stretch my stomach), and instead eat smaller, more frequent portions thru out the day, ending the day with a green juice at night?" and "What do i do if my wt keeps decreasing!?" and it would be irresponsible of me to make specific recommendations.
In general I can say one thing to try is to eat zero cooked food, and only eat fruit. But what if your body wants to fast (eat no food at all) so it can heal your digestive system? If I recommend that you eat when your body doesn't want you to, this would not be in your ody's best interest and it would be disrespectful to your body. So if it were me, I'd want to first know if my body wants food or if it wants me to stop eating. And if it wants me to stop eating, but I know that if I do I'll lose weight, and I don't want that, so I go against what my body wants, well, how is that going to help me heal? We can't say to our body, "too bad what you want, you'll have to heal on MY terms" because life (and health) doesn't work that way.
If you do find that your body does want you to eat, then, if it were me, I'd try eating the foods I'm supposed to eat, but that is usually impossible because the foods I'm supposed to eat would have appropriate nutrition, and the ones I'm eating do not. This is why I consume, AS PART OF MY DIET, nutritional supplements. So you might try the one I recommend - Just Barley - and if your digestive system can deal with it okay, then this is a prudent thing to consume (mixed in a banana smoothie).
And you've got to expect some rebalancing when switching from an unhealthy diet to the healthiest of diets... this is considered an extreme change. But if my life depended on me switching ASAP, I'd do so and tolerate the undesirable affects *which is usually detox).
I'd also check my uMMA and 25(OH)D. I will not counsel someone who brushes this off as unimportant, and I have turned down people who sought my counsel because they presented me with a list of "I will not..." and on this list would be "no tests" or is their test showed a deficiency, they refused to follow my recommendations re: nutritional supplementation to correct the deficiency, saying, "tell me other things I can do to correct it because I'm not taking any supplements" which of course ties my hands, knowing what I know. Or they say, "I'd love to take them but I can't afford them right now, so maybe later on." If your health is not the highest priority where you will do whatever is necessary to heal, then you are looking into the wrong lifestyle (LFRV). But there are LFRV educators who will not have a problem with someone not willing or not being able to take supplements because the educator doesn't personally believe in them. But this doesn't change reality.
And maybe you need to transition slowly. This doesn't mean continue to eat an unhealthy diet like a high-fat diet, but if you included some steamed sweet potato/squashes/carrots/celery like Ksuggested, then that might be what you need to do to keep some weight on while you're healing.
Then there's the issue of getting enough Phase 4 sleep so you can replenich enough nerve energy. And being well hydrated (not over-hydrated) is important too, but if you're eating high water content foods, this will not a problem (unless the air you're breathing is dry, in which case you should drink some water here and there, AND use a steam type humidifier in your bedroom at night so you don't dehydrate yourself while sleeping.
I can't specifically cover everything you need to do because we are not counseling, and as I said, I don't have your history. And counseling requires that there is back and forth between the two parties, and unfortunately I am not taking on any new clients right now because my present workload is already too much (and I've got to care for my health too).
Unfortunately the LFRV guidance you can get on the various forums are biased towards the particular forum, meaning, most forums base their main tenets on a particular health educator, and that's great if that health educator has 100% correct info, but I've found that most do not... most are missing a few pieces of the puzzle or are advocating some incorrect info. What you must do is to take in the info given, and compare it to the contrasting info, and, using common sense and logic, try and determine where reality lays.
So to recap:
Consider a nutritional supplement that you can add to a banana smoothie
Get your uMMA and 25(OH)D tested and supplement with B12 and/or D3 if the results warrant. I can provide you with resources for the tests and the B12 and D3 I recommend. And you can run the results past me if you'd like.
Look at ALL your lifestyle practices and not just diet. Sufficient sleep is super important.
If juicing doesn't sit well with you and you want to try something more natural, eat fruit but eat smaller meals and more frequently AS DICTATED BY HUNGER. Yes, if you go easy on your eating in an attempt to go easy on your digestive system, you may lose weight, but this is temporary. People who fast (because that is what their body wants) lose lots of weight, and they don't like it, but they realize that this is part and parcel of fasting and thus of the healing process; lost weight will return as health improves.
Determine if your body wants you to fast, and don't allow your own personal preferences to bias your conclusions.
Read the articles at http://health101.org/edu
I hope this helps.
This man makes a TON of sense... for example, the reason I get really tired after watermelon and bananas is due to a chromium deficiency...common in DIABETICS and HYPOGLYCEMICS and can affect a lot of people in the transition phase. Thus, this would be something worthwhile to supplement in the beginning. http://health101.org/art_melon-belly
I sometimes feel like I picked he wrong person to help me. B has just as much if not more experience than K, but isn't as rigid, and seems to take a bigger look at all the factors going on---not just the GI. And I like that he isn't all-or-nothing about supplements, for I do feel that they can be necessary for certain cases. B is also cheaper, and he provides DAILY support (his 30day package is $600, but like I said, this is daily support, whereas it's actually MORE expensive with K, since he charges $150 for the 1st consult, then $2.50/min for any follow ups...but there is not set schedule for follow ups, thus this will probably be more expensive than the package B offers...and the daily support is WELL worth the money).
Did I pick the wrong person to help me? WHY DOES THAT ALWAYS HAPPEN?! For several years, I can't find the right practitioner...and if I DO find the right person, it's either too late, they aren't taking more clients, it is too expensive/we dont have the money, or my mom won't let me change.
I'm really upset and kicking myself. Why can't things ever go right for me!? I just want to heal and be healthy and happy!
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Health Diary for day 2 Friday 12/9
3. Weight in pounds: 67.4 in the AM (decrease from 68.4)
4. How I felt today physically and emotionally: Very tired/drained, especially in the AM. Felt a bit better after my smoothie (much more energy and balance). Much more anxiety. VERY hypoglycemic and hungry. Craved fruit meals (especially melted banana/date icecream!). Tried to stay positive. NO MUCUS-FLATUS!!!!!!!! Some gas. Tongue less coated/swollen. Less halitosis, but still present. No bloating...flat stomach (probably because I had no food in it!). Increased gas after veg juice and steamed veg meal (I pureed it). Felt cold
5. Energy level on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high): two. No energy to workout
6. Symptoms: See number 4
7. Main concerns/struggles: I'm struggling with the wt loss, poor energy, unstable blood sugar, dizziness, hunger pains, crabbiness, emotional lability, ANXIETY!!!!!!
8. Questions I have:
1. Would it be worthwhile to take Just Barley or a minor multivitamin to help me with this phase? I had read good things about Just Barley
2. Exactly how much sleep should I be getting?
3. Why is my blood sugar so unstable?
4. On your food combining chart, is says that "cooked starchy foods are difficult to digest and clogging" and it lists sweet potatoes and squash under this category. Would it be best for me to avoid sweet potatoes and squash then? (And just do zuchini, carrots, celery for my cooked meal?).What is the reasoning behind including sweet potatoes/yams/squash into the healing diet if that disclaimer was written? I seem to tolerate this fairly well... I made a soup today and it was delish!
5. I think what might help is to juice 16oz of the fruit/veg juice and sip it thru-out the am to stabilize my blood sugar (instead of drinking 5-8oz at once and waiting 2-3 hours for the other serving). I'll follow that with water, then have my smoothie (1 fruit with 4 dates) when hungry. Water. Then 16oz veg juice sipped over a couple hours. Water. Then squash/sweet potato/veg soup. Is this a good plan?
6. Is it necessary to steam the sweet potato/carrots/celery/zuchinni? I read that the vitamix can "cook" them if blended for several minutes. Is this ok to do? It would save a lot of time for sure!
9. My level of trust in my self-healing power is 35.78 :) %.
10. I am sure / unsure that I will heal and stay well (please circle one). I'm trying to remain positive, but I fear the damage is already done
11. Healing signs: Less bloating, but that's because I had way less in my stomach...No mucus-flatus!!!!!
12a. No. of bowel movements: 1 in AM
12b. Diarrhea? It was extremely difficult for me to defecate this morning after my first day of the new diet. It started hard with mucus, then was extremely mushy and unformed. It would not come out on its own and i had to manually evacuate it the entire time, change sitting/squating positions, push on my abd, etc. My colon spasms and inflammation were really bad.
12c. Blood? A little
12d. Mucus? A lot. No mid-day mucus-flatus finally!
12e. Pain? Colon spasm during BM and in AM. No cramps today. Minor gas-like flutters in stomach, hunger-pains
13a. No. of hours of sleep: Slept-in til 5:30am (yes, that is late for me). Approx 7-8 hours
13b. No. of hours of rest: Most of the day. I didn't do much (tired, some orthostatic-ness)
13c. No. of hours of work/chores: ran a few errands, went to appointments
13d. No. of hours of exercise: None, just walked my dog around the block
13e. Type of exercise: walked dog
14. I am / am not following the Vegan Healing Diet (please circle one).
15. Total water intake in quarts or 8 oz. glasses: Not sure... not much, maybe 1-2 glasses over the course of the day?
16: Meals:
715am: 6oz apple-grape-celery-romaine juice [Was very hungry and wanted something more substantial..but filled up immediately]
9:05am: 5oz apple-celery-romaine juice [Felt rather hypoglycemic. I drank the rest of it (approx 6 more ounces) through-out the AM, but still remained VERY hypoglycemic]
12:20: 1 persimmon + 4 soaked dates + some date-soaking water Smoothie [YUM!!!! I was really hungry and probably waited too long to eat, but I was running errands. Felt satisfied and finally had energy. Got hungry after 2 hours or so] Weight of smoothie = 10.5 ounces
2:45pm-4:15pm: 16oz carrot-celery-romaine juice [Sipping it over a couple hours stabilized my blood sugar a little bit better, but still felt really imbalanced. Some stomach gas-flutters, and some gas, but nothing major. No bloat.]
5:15pm: 8oz steamed garnet yam + zucchini + carrots + celery SOUP! Eaten pureed as a soup [This was SO good! I feel it digested better than eating it whole, like yesterday]
20. Supplements: Probiotic at night
21. Medications and dosage: nada
22. Therapies: Therapy session with Gerri, Chiro appt
23. Medical advice received today: Gerri was concerned...but my Chiro (Dr Meade, a raw vegan) reassured me and told me the plan you set up was very good. He puts clients on similar plans, too. He explained some questions/concerns I had and helped to calm my anxiety. He said the wt I lost is just water and that I will go thru a fluctuation with my wt, but that my body wont let me go too low bc I am providing it with excellent sources of nutrients, which are more important than calories. He said my body needs to heal and get out the toxins, and this is the best way to do it. Phew.
24a. Time spent reading Self Healing Colitis & Crohn's today: Approx 20-30min. Reading the Juice Diet section helped
24b. Time spent studying the Vegan Healing Diet sections today: Same
25. Other Natural Hygiene literature read today: Browsed some food charts and website... spent a lot of time on it
26. Tests and health medical exams I am planning: Blood test
27. Healing and lifestyle plans I am making: Implementing the Healing Plan, positive thinking, no wt lifting, gentle exercise, increasing sleep, getting off the 30BaD forum (I'm making my own blog instead!)
28. My affirmation of the day: Have faith, don't lose hope, stay positive
29. I will schedule a consultation with K on this date: Monday morning
30. How can K best support you? Answer my questions and emails and EXPLAIN things, b/c I'm the type of person who needs to comprehend the who/what/when/where/how/why's of things. :-) :-)
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