Cleanse

I had the worst headache in my whole life last night. We decided that it’s probably the detox, since I’m getting all the nutrients I need. Maybe it’s an alcohol deficit. Even the ibuprofen did not work. I went to sleep in pain. I feel fine now but I really hope that was the last of that. Awful.

This day feels good. So far, I have not had a single craving for a cigarette today.
I don’t want to make too much of a big deal about this, but in all four of my lifetime quit attempts, this one has surpassed all but one other time back in 1999 when I quit for about 2 months. The difference between this one and now, though, is back then, I was only in my early early 20s and practically everyone I knew smoke. That and the fact that I agreed to quit for someone else and not myself.
The similarity between that marginally successful attempt (the three others only have lasted 2 or 3 days) and this current one is that during each of these two times, I have replaced my cigarettes with working out and exercise.
There is just no way that I, personally, can work out and be a smoker.
This morning, I woke up at 8am instead of 7 so I could sleep an extra hour. However, I got right out of bed at 8 and did 45 mintues of yoga and some weight-training afterwards. What I found with the yoga was that my breathing is so agonizingly bad, it makes me very very sad. However, I know that there is not much point dwelling on that, and the most important thing right now is that I am a non smoker now and with every day, my breath returns to me. I cannot wait to see how great my breathing feels during yoga and running three months down the road. That, in itself, is a motivation to stay quit. Already, after three days or working out, I can feel the definition of my muscles tightening and getting firmer and harder. Even after just three days, my body looks fitter to me when I look in the mirror. I want to continue to see these changes. I am excited to go running again tomorrow. These things give me something to look forward to…but only if I never pick up that first cigarette again.
A realization hits me on the car ride to work this morning. I am going to do this. For real this time. Oh my god.
What has also struck me today, is a deep and profound sadness that I felt this morning that has continued into the afternoon. This is not a sadness that I am deprived of something that I want that I will never have again…instead, it is more like a mourning. Like a mourning for a part of me that has died and passed on. It is not sadness because I want that part of me back, just a sadness for something that was once me that is no longer me. I think that’s natural.
And as this part dies, there are other parts that have seemed to come alive. I walk my normal route after lunch each day, and I smell so many things…fragrances from flowers, the scent of food being cooked at restaurants, etc that I had never noticed before. Even the visual world seems more vibrant. Things out of the corner of my eye that I notice now, I had never noticed before (and from what I have read, it’s not that far off since smoking does in fact decrease the oxygen levels in the blood, there is less oxygen going to the sensory organs. People report an increase and vibrancy in peripheral vision several days after they quit smoking).

As far as the detox goes, I think my body is doing nicely. And I feel good today. I was able to get to sleep by 12:30 last night which is better than the night before. I am a bit tired today, but I do feel more alive.
Updates will follow…

7:30 am

Waking up feeling refreshed and energized. I got a good nights sleep, and had a great dinner. I had quinoa pasta with organic tomato garlic sauce; and a salad of raw spinach greens, tofu slices, bell peppers, tomato, and onion with vinaigrette.  Delicious. It’s simple and easy and amazingly good. I hope I can keep this feeling throughout the day, I’m going to need it. I’ll be taking a cliff bar with me to class, as well as a jug of water. I should never be without something to munch on, just in case I get stuck somewhere sapped of energy.

more later…

By far, this is my best day so far on the detox…I have not had a craving for a cigarette yet today and since it has officially been over 72 hours since my last cigarette, I have completely ridded my system of the nicotine. That doesn’t mean that it is completely over, because there are still some nicotine metabolites left over in the system that are gradually eliminated over the next 7-10 days. However, as far as the cravings go, the worst of it, should be over by this point.
My one biggest problem I am having…insomnia. I have read this is a temporary side-effect of nicotine withdrawal. I have so much energy now at night, I have no ability really to lay down and sleep. I built a bookcase and a clothes rack last night around midnight and finished off with my room around 2am. It was near 3:30 before I actually fell asleep, even with the kava tea. However, when the alarm went off this morning at 7am to get up and go work out, despite my only 3 1/2 hours of sleep, I got up, got dressed and went running and then did aerobics. That gave me such a burst of energy, it was definitely worth it.
Now, it is 12:30pm and I am dragging a little, though my spinich salad at 2pm when I take my lunch should help. Hopefully, my tiredness at this point, will simply cause me to go to bed at a decent hour tonight, so I can get back on a better sleep schedule. I have yoga tomorrow morning and have to wake up again at 7am.
I stepped on the scale this morning and I have lost 2 pound in the last 4 days…most likely visceral fat, the best to lose. The most important thing about this kind of detox diet is that the weight you lose, is NOT WATER WEIGHT like on diets such as Atkins, Ornish, and The Zone where you are elimating carbs…those diets cause you to lose great amounts of weight at first, but what you are really losing is water weight…
Has anyone looked at the statisics of people 6 months to a year later on those kinds of diets? Almost 80-90% gain every last pound back, some even more than they started with. That is because these types of diets are unhealthy and they are not designed with true lasting nutrition in mind, just simply to get the greatest most drastic affect in the least amount of time. But then, we Americans love instant gratification, don’t we?
Though not designed with the specific goal in mind to lose weight, that is often a product of being on the Detox Diet, as the body rids itself of harmful toxins that were clogging and congesting it. However, this is the kind of diet that produces lasting changes and allows people to slowly lose this type of harmful weight (mostly visceral fat in the abdomen - and even thin people have this very dangerous kind of fat) that they will keep off for good and be able to maintain by staying on a slightly altered version of this diet (adding in additional foods in several weeks, like high quality organic dairy, meats, and other grains if need be), to maintain optimum health for the lifetime and keep the body’s alkaline/acidic ratio in balance (the true reason for detox is this very thing - when this ratio gets out of whack - and that occurs on diets that include meat, dairy, processed foods, alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs - which is why pretty much everyone needs to detox from time to time).

My goal is not really to lose weight, per se, (since I don’t have very much weight I could lose without becoming too thin), but simply lose whatever visceral fat I have, while maximizing muscle.
I have found that my addictive personality, which got me addicted to cigarettes in the first place, is best appeased by trading one addiction for another. By becoming obsessed with nutrition and health, I have the best chances of beating this cigarette smoking. By getting up every morning and forcing myself to run out there, despite my very low lung capacity at this point, it makes it less and less likely that I would ever reach for a cigarette again… Why would I? Running, yoga, and working out have now become my primary means of stress relief…not cigarettes. But they are contradictory to a lifestyle that includes smoking. Therefore, to keep them IN my life (which I want to because already I can feel the glorious feeling of my muscles tightening and toning up and my lung capacity expanding), then cigarettes have to stay OUT of it.
I will continue on through weeks end with the fruit/vegetable/quinoa diet with some added tofu for protein. Next week, adding in some other grains like brown rice, cous cous, and some spelt pastas to mix it up a little…

Day 4 - as a non-smokier…
Updates will follow…

P.S. For those who might be interested, I realize now, that I forgot to mention the name of the specific book where all of this information on the Detox Diet came from. I have read various books on dietary and lifestyle detox, but the particular one we are using at this time is: The New Detox Diet by Dr. Elson Haas. I HIGHLY recommend it to everyone. EVERYONE who lives in this toxic world of ours, has a need to detox from time to time…

As I have explained, the low energy levels probably have very little to do with caffeine. I detoxed from caffeine years ago. The first two days were bad, after that, I pretty much could live without it. Caffeine does not have quite the addictive quality that nicotine and cocaine has. FATIGUE is the #1 symptom of detox. Especially, detox off of processed foods and alcohol. The body is working overtime to rid itself of the toxins that were stored inside of its tissues, conjesting the system. However, on the detox diet, the digestive system kicks into full gear, experiencing freedom it has not known in years. As it begins clearing out toxins, however, it is working VERY hard. This is the reason for the fatigue on the system and the need to sleep more. The severity of these two, both indicate the level of toxicity that your body was already in, and therefore the need for detox. The more of these symptoms, the more severe the toxicity and, therefore, the greater the need for detox.
However, I do suggest that you bulk up a little more on protein. Try adding some more tofu. More nuts would also be good because they are high in fat and you need some fat in your diet since this is already quite a low-fat diet. Also, Cliff bars are my personal favorite. Though slightly processed, they are organic and contain only whole grains and fruits and they work wonders as an energy boost. I used to take them on my 20 mile bike rides.
Working out may help accelerate the rate of detox as well. May of the toxins are stored in in the visceral fat tissue that lays deep inside the stomach, underneath the ab muscles. A slightly restricted calorie diet, where more energy is expended than is taken in, will cause this fat tissue to start breaking down, and the toxins are then released into the blood and eliminated through the urine and bowels. Another great way to eleminate them: sweat. Hence, why exercise really helps step up the detox process. Hang in there…depending on the level of toxicity, some people really do experience 5-7 days of feeling pretty awful before it gets better. But in the end, it will be worth it…

Energy levels very low - Debbie suggested more protein, and to go work out. I agree with her that the lack of energy is probably not caffeine related, more likely it is my body trying to flush itself and working overtime to do so. I also seem to need more sleep than I used to. So today I’ll head to the gym after class.

I bought myself a scale last night, I weighed in at 248. This is a lot better than I thought, the shitty scale I had before kept telling me I was 260+.

I need my energy levels come back up. The headache is not as severe as yesterday, I hope it stays that way.

3:3opm: I feel like I’m walking through mud. I see the world sideways. No energy. I had every intention of going downtown to work out, but I just could barely keep my eyes open. I’ve been eating tons of nuts, and I just got myself some cliff bars. Fatigue? You said it.

Day 3 for me…
I am hoping that the awful awful symptoms I have read about regarding Day 3 of nicotine detox came a bit early for me.

I do not believe I have ever experienced anything as I experienced last night.

After having moved a week ago, my bedroom was still mostly in boxes and I decided to unpack everything last night. Things seemed to be going fine until about half way through, I realized that there was NOT ENOUGH FUCKING ROOM in the closet, which is painfully small even though it is a walk-in.

This caused me to flip out and my immediate thought was, “I need a fucking cigarette!!!”
I tried to take several deep breathes, but this was to no avail. So, I finally decided to take some empty boxes down to the recycling bin in the garage and then walk around the block. However, as I was leaving the apartment, I could not figure out how to unlock the door (there are a total of four locks on these doors and this is still all brand new to me)…I was fucking flipping out, as my roommate Beth (who was watching TV) just looked on in concerned awe…I finally got the door open and flung it hard and back against the wall…
As I walked down the stairs to the garage, I found myself overcome by a grave feeling of sadness (I’ve read this can happen with nicotine withdrawal)…

Upon returning to the house, I discovered that by flinging the door back against the wall, I had now put a hole through the plaster (due to the metal doorknob) in our brand new apartment…
Excruciating sadness washed over me because of the completely stupid thing I had just done…
“I want a cigarette!!!”

Instead, I went into my bedroom, closed the door and fell in a heap on the bathroom floor where I began sobbing uncontrollably. I then called Mark (who I was supposed to call during times like this because he is my support for the quit), but the reception of the phone was so poor, he kept asking me to repeat everything i said and this just frustrated me even more…I finally just hung up the phone…

I cried in agony for about 5 more minutes…at which point it seemed to pass, and I was able to pick myself up off the floor and continue working on the room.

All of this I can now look back on as a silent and objective observer…
That was not me…that was nicotine withdrawal…that was how the physical side effects of the withdrawal manifested in me. And that was only Day 2…they say Day 3 can be the worst…god, I hope not.

However, I am armed and ready. If I got through last night, I can get through anything.
And an even more striking thought occurred to me…
90% of people who have just one drag after quitting, will go back to full-time smoking. Those are the statistics…
If I were to have only ONE cigarette, there is a 90% chance, I will go back to being completely addicted. Which means…if I ever wanted to quit again, I would have to relive last night…
And that is nothing that I ever want to do again…

I came through that…I didn’t break the detox…
Instead of a cigarette, when I had calmed myself enough to go out to the kitchen, I made some kava kava tea, read a little, and then went to bed.
5 hours later. I woke up COMPLETEY REFRESHED…
I have never slept 5 hours before in my life and felt so fucking good. But this morning, due to the fact my body was detoxing so nicely, I slept very little and felt like I had enough energy to last the rest of the day (they say this is often the case…detoxed bodies need MUCH LESS SLEEP…think of all the extra hours needed for the body to clear out the toxins of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, bad foods…and you will begin to understand why…)

On 5 hours of sleep and a fruit/vegetable/hard grain-based diet, I got up at 7am and went RUNNING…and then did WEIGHT-TRAINING. Sure, my body did not funtion at either of those tasks as well as that of someone who had never smoked, but the point is it functioned pretty damn well considering…and we’ve all got to start somewhere…
So far today, Day 3, there have been no urges for cigarettes…I ate an apple in the car on the way to work to curb them there…
Updates will follow…
By 2am this coming morning, I will be 72 hours into the nicotine withdrawal at which point all nicotine and 90% of it’s metabolites will be completely out of my system (due to the fact that I decided against using the patch and forcing yet more nicotine into the system…might as well just completely go through withdrawal all at once)… Still a long way to go, but I think I’m getting near the end of the worst of it…

What is extremely interesting is just as with Day 3 of quitting smoking, they say Day 3 of the detox for people who were not already eating a healthy vegetable/fruit/grain based diet can be the hardest day. But the symptoms you may feel - fatigue, headache, that “hung-over” feeling - are only the body’s way of showing you that it is going through detox. If you really do stay the course, I promise you it gets much better. You will be shocked how much energy you will have. Those who already eat a rather light healthy diet, do not detox as harshly. So, they will not experience quite as much fatigue and other symptoms. There is a lot of shit (no pun intended) stored up in your system that your body will begin releasing on this type of diet. Those toxins go into the blood and are eliminated. That is why the symptoms of the detox may be so harsh for the first 3 or 4 days. But the other side will feel so fucking good. I promise you.

Woke up feeling like I had a hangover. Pretty weird, but the more I wake up the better I feel. Had myself some water and a shake with protein powder with a banana. I fell asleep last night thinking about water and our bodies. 65-70% of it being water. We are indeed walking bags of water with some bones to hold them up.I can feel my body reacting to this diet, already. It’s subtle, but my digestive tract seems to be enjoying itself. I seem to be pooping a lot more. I had one already this morning (as of 9:30) but I feel that it will not be the last of the day.

I’m taking carrots, almonds, cashews, water, hummus, pita bread, and a pear with me today.

Tonight it’s going to be hummus, sliced raw bell pepper, and tofu chunks. I have a really awful headache.  Must persevere…

Day 2, for me…
So far the detox for me has helped with quitting smoking. A recent study published suggested that eating a lot of raw fruits and vegetables when you are quitting will help reduce the cravings. Smokers also say they make cigarettes taste worse.
I had originally planned on buying lollipops to suck on while in the car to replace the cigarettes, but decided against it when I arrived at CVS and saw the plethora of yellow, red, and blue color additives added to them (all linked to cancer in laboratory animals).
Since the detox is about cleansing your body of ALL of these harmful additives and toxins (synthetic, environmental, and animal-based), I decided to forgo the lollipops.
Instead, I ate raw carrots and red bell peppers in the car, which seemed to help.
The cravings were most intense yesterday afternoon around 5:30. I have only had one craving today, considerably less than yesterday’s 6.
I am currently demo-ing a food nutrition module for possible future use with my patients, and decided to enter the contents of my detox diet from yesterday:

Breakfast:
1 banana

Lunch:
Raw spinich salad
Roma tomotoes
Herbed tofu
Sunflower seeds
Orange

Snack:
Raw carrots
Raw bell pepper

Dinner:
Quinoa
Tofu
Banana
Peach Detox Tea

However, it seems that I may be low on the calories, as this amounted to only 690 calories for the day. Since I don’t have much extra meat on me, I may have to step up the calorie intake at some point so that I don’t drop an excessive amount of weight, especially with the running, weight training, and yoga program that begins tomorrow.
However, I am feeling great on the cleanse and so much so that I cannot imagine putting some cancerous, poisonous smoke in my lungs, at least at this point…which I suppose must explain why the cravings have been so dimished today.
I was not addicted to caffeine to begin with, so no problems there.
No alcohol again until June 1. Right now, I’m fine, though I suppose this weekend I might be missing it.
However, the long term effects of this cleanse will be so worth it in the end, the paybacks well exceed the annoyance of giving up drinking for a month.
I feel so good right now, I think once my body is detoxed off the nicotine, I will consider going on one of the juice only cleanses in the summer.
More to come…