Well, here's my latest update on my nine days of mono meal eating. I have a headache this evening and I'm headed to bed early. I'm hoping the headache is a detox symptom and that it will be gone when I wake up.

April 9, 2008

I went to bed around 11pm and woke around 7am. Again, my mind was awake but my eyes felt tired. They still feel tired, actually. I feel like I have less energy than I did yesterday, but the day is just starting so I don t know for certain how I ll feel later. The sun isn t shining as brightly as it did the past few days. I m glad I spent as much time outside as possible to collect the energy while it was there to be taken. ;-)

8:08am

I m not even close to being hungry. I ve decided that I m not going to eat unless I m hungry. When I do become hungry, however, I m definitely blending the pineapple for my meal. That was an amazing drink yesterday!

10:15am

I showered and then meditated. My mind was jumping all over the place until I became fully present. Then I reached a place of peaceful vibration, which makes me feel almost blissful during and after the meditation. I m wondering now if the most memorable meditations are those times when I was eating more lightly, when my digestion wasn t keeping me so grounded, or something. It s difficult to explain, but I feel very grounded right now, but also very light and not of this world. I ve written about this in my personal journal in the past (Dancing with Maya). This morning s meditation wasn t as deep/intense as past ones, but once you taste that feeling/connection/disconnection you never forget it completely. Even the smallest hint of that experience causes the vibration to begin. It s quite lovely, but difficult to explain.

I cut up my second pineapple and blended it in the Vitamix. It yielded five cups. I am now drinking about two cups and I ll consume the rest when Jim comes home for lunch.

1:00pm

I finished the rest of the blended pineapple from this morning. I m very full right now. I m also quite tired.

3:00pm

I have a slight headache and I feel kind of sad/depressed. My eyes are dry and my tongue is slightly coated. Also, my stomach is burning a bit probably from the acid in the pineapple. I m still very full from the drink this afternoon and I can t imagine consuming any more pineapple. The bananas aren t fully ripe, yet, so I ll move to the next color for dinner: GREEN! Yay! I m so excited about getting away from the fruits. They ve been tasty, but I really like greens best right now in my life. I probably should have done the global juice feasting like so many others are doing right now, but I knew it was more than I wanted to take on at this time. It definitely would have allowed my body to replenish any low vitamins/minerals I may be missing.

Anyway, for dinner this evening I ll have cucumbers! I couldn t decide between the celery and cucumbers, but I figure the celery will stay fresh longer. The cucumbers still look great. I took a few of them out of the fridge and put them on the counter. I don t like cold fruits or veggies.

Ooh! Is that the sun I see !!! I m headed outside to soak up some of the rays. I bet that will make me feel better. Well, it was teasing me it s hiding again.

4:26pm

Well, I definitely have a small headache. My stomach is burning, too. I had a large glass of water, but that didn t help. So, I have started my next food a bit early. I spiral-sliced two medium cucumbers (yielded about 3 cups) and I m going to eat that now. It seems like maybe it will be claming on my poor stomach after all that acid. We ll see. As for the headache, I might have to take a nap if it doesn t fade away.

5:39pm

I am very hungry right now, so I m going to cut up some more cucumbers. They taste great as they are, but I have to admit that I would love, love, love some salt sprinkled on top of them .ooh, and maybe a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of lemon, and some chopped herbs. I am definitely not a long-term mono meal eater, that s for sure. Well, at this very moment that s what it seems like; I have no idea what I ll prefer in the future.

Isn t it strange that I started the day feeling pretty good almost blissful. Then I felt a bit down/depressed and headachey. I guess all I can do is experience it all and let it pass. It s fascinating to observe how we respond to different things, isn t it?

7:36pm

I have a horrible headache. I ate five cups of cucumbers for dinner. Then my husband drew a bath for me so that I could soak since my head was hurting. I thought about doing a sauna, but that usually makes my headaches worse. I soaked for a while, but I felt hungry again. So, I got out, meditated for a bit, and then ate another three cups of cucumber, but just couldn t eat any more of it. My calories for the day are only 528, so is that the reason for the headache? Or is it detox? I have no idea, but a headache is usually the point where I m willing to do anything to get rid of the pain. I ve suffered from migraines all of my adult life until I went raw. Now I only get the occasional one, and a few ?regular? headaches (which is what this one is).

I ve gone back and forth in my mind, debating about whether or not I want to give up on this mono eating for nine days. I really want to do it, because I think it s good to cleanse the body every once in a while, I think it s good for me to get used to not eating so many nuts and fats, it s a nice way to celebrate Navratri and pay a bit more attention to my spiritual side, and I m curious about what eating this way does for the body. This headache, however, makes me want to eat that leftover nut dip that Jim made the other day. Usually (since going raw) if I am having a headache, I can eat something like that and the headache will fade a bit. Anyway, I ve decided to call it an early evening and I hope to wake up feeling refreshed and free of this headache.

Total Expense for pineapples consumed: $7.82

Body/Mind/Spirit/Emotions

Physically, my eyes feel dry and a bit heavy. My nails are whiter and harder than usual (I remember that this happens whenever I consume a lot of pineapple. What is it in the pineapple that s good for fingernails ). I feel tired/sleepy today. I ve struggled with a headache most of the day. My shoulder aches, too. Emotionally I feel like I might cry, but I can t think of why. Maybe because I m out of my comfort zone? I don t have to do this, I choose to do this, so I don t know why I m almost complaining that I want to eat other food. Spiritually I felt great this morning, but right now my physical and emotional self is taking too much focus/attention. Mentally, I am prepared to continue with this. We ll see how I feel in the morning.