Detox
   
     

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Rational?

If losing excess fat and eating healthily was so easy, then everyone would be doing it. In truth, it is not so easy. There is no rational reason to eat junk food.
It is fatty, contains very little nutrition and destroys your body. We all know the logic, yet people continue to eat badly. Why is this?


Junkie

Junk food is chemically addictive. This means that all the logic, rationale and good intentions in the world are not going to work. Your body and your mind wants the junk. It craves sugary food.
The junk makes you feel good. It tastes good. It fills you up. It picks you up.


Toxic habits

Alcohol, drugs, sugar, smoking etc hinder mindfulness. e.g. alcohol dulls the senses. The original meaning of intoxication is "a poisoning".
The euphoria people experience from alcohol isn't the outcome of being healthy and present. It is the consequence of poisoning the brain. You cannot be mindful and clear if your brain is dulled.
Drinking alcohol is the polar opposite of mindfulness.


Alcohol

What alcohol does to your body, brain & health | Huberman Lab podcast #86


Resistance...

People may drink alcohol regularly, read this information and then object... It can be worth asking yourself why?
The answers are simple: habit, lifestyle attachment, emotional investment, peer pressure, self-image and even (potentially) addiction. Common sense and reason are inconvenient.


Imagine waking up each morning full of energy and vitality yet also feeling calm and relaxed about the day to come. It sounds like a miracle yet this state of abundant health and wellbeing should be our birthright. In our natural state we would face each day with joy, peace, and a deep connection with our bodies.


(Jane Alexander)
 

Re-balance

If your mind and your body have been compromised by addiction, what can you do? There is only one answer: stop. Regain control. Find balance once more. End the addiction. Reclaim your body.
The junk food addiction means that your craving and your apparent hunger cannot be trusted. The addiction also means that you are out of control. Your body is betraying you.


De-tox

To move past unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits, your body and your mind need to be cleansed. The adverse chemicals, the stored body fat and the poor eating habits all need to be removed.


Is a serious act of self-discipline required?

If you truly want to lose fat, have a slimmer, healthier body and feel physically better, then you are halfway there. You have the desire. The passion. The intent.
Consider: if this is something that you want to do then no force is required.


What are you fighting against?

Not yourself, but the falsehood of the craving. This is not a battle that involves willpower. It requires understanding, sensitivity, honesty, clarity.
Your aim is not to vanquish anyone. You simply want to return to a natural condition of fitness.


The challenge

If you feel down at first, remember that this is something you want to do. Something positive. It will have long lasting benefits for both your body and your mind. That is no small feat.
You are not being forced. No one is making you do this. The challenge and the accomplishment is your own.


It will get easier


If you can make it through the first 6 weeks, things will get far easier. At some point you will lose interest in junk food.


Cold turkey

Detoxing is not easy. It is a psychologically-gruelling challenge that will test your ability to stay the course and endure.
You may indeed feel awful, restless, tired, depressed and your body may ache. Your bowel habits will change. Most likely, you will want to quit the detox.


Why is it so hard to detox?

Because you are an addict. You are chemically addicted to sugar, salt, caffeine and all the rest. These chemicals affect your brain.
The film Supersize Me compared a junk food meal to a 'class A' drug; the neurological effect was that serious. A detox is not a casual undertaking.


A little won't hurt...

You will be sorely tempted to resume junk food. This temptation will plague you.
The only way to become clean is to avoid sugar, fat, additives, colourings, flavourings, processed food, packet food and desserts.
If can manage it, try staying clear of caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and drugs as well.
A little taste of junk food here and there may not seem harmful, but within a few weeks you will be back to eating just as badly as you did before.
If you want to be free of poor eating habits then you do need to change.
 

Have you heard about the bird
That lives in the south
The phoenix that never grows old?

He will touch no food
But the most exquisite fruit,
Drinks only
From clearest springs.

An owl
Chewing a dead rat
Saw the phoenix fly over.


(Chuang Tzu)


Just desserts

There are a growing number of desserts that are organic, low calorie and low fat. If you simply cannot do without dessert food, look for products that are less than 5% fat and 120 Kcal or less.
Many low fat desserts have high calories, and/or gelatine (pig) in them. Be careful.


Learn from meditation...


A good approach to dieting is to treat it as you would a meditation exercise. In meditation, the mind wanders continually and you bring it back to the 'anchor' of the breath.
In dieting, we fail to make progress and then get twisted out of shape. People make such a big deal out of set-backs.


Set-backs are OK

In meditation, set-backs are continual, on-going and expected.  You just start again. And again and again. The trick is to keep going. Do the same with dieting...

More...


Page created 21 May 2002
Last updated 06 October 2023