It can be an anxious time, when we finally decide to take that long over due leap and change our way with food (have you forgotten how it feels to vibrantly healthy?)
Sadly, this decision usually comes about by hitting rock bottom. We feel so crap and frustrated about not having enough energy anymore to enjoy our life, we say to ourselves ‘right… that’s it… I’ll do whatever it takes to feel good again!’
However, we need to come to this decision ‘ourselves.’ No one else can tell us when to make the changes. In fact if we hear a lecture from a well-meaning family member or friend who thinks they know best for us, it’s pretty common to run in the other direction! You know who you are ( and I’ve sure done this!)
Unconsciously, over the years of ‘putting up’ with less than average health, we go through a slow process (it might take decades) of mentally listing proof on what works and what doesn’t with others, pro’s and con’s of seemingly ‘us going without’ and what that would look like for us, fighting with ourselves about it and finally working up the strength and determination to decide that this is it…! We HAVE TO/NEED TO make the move and overhaul our diet and lifestyle because we’re sick of it!
Sick of waking up in the morning feeling un-refreshed (like we’ve a hangover, but in reality we haven’t had a drink for days.) Feeling mentally dull, using coffees as our crutch for ‘energy,’ unexcited and struggling to work up the drive to get through until lunch time! After which, sugar cravings and negative self talk bombard us through out the afternoon, eyes heavy and tired, until night time, when we can finally get some ‘me’ time!
We crave this ‘me time’ so badly (and we finally have some energy that’s been missing all day.) So we stay up too late at night, because we don’t want this time to end!
Hello… this is the vicious cycle which has become so very common in our lives.
When we have a diet overhaul, where we get rid some foods and add other foods, it can be a very individual things as to how long it can take to feel better.
Some people will feel better with a few days and these immediate results will inspire them to continue. They’ll be raving about it! But this isn’t true for everyone.
For others, this transitions phase can be really tough, and in their first few week they might feel worse, more fatigued, headaches, digestive changes and even rashes. If you are one of these people, let’s be honest, it not going to be a very inspiring time and we are going to be fighting with ourselves whether to give up or keep going.
I’ve got to say for me, it’s nearly impossible to pick who is going to transition early and easily and who’s going to have a testing time.
But knowing why and what is going on with your body will help you to understand the process. So that you can be more of a ‘witness’ during this time, rather than be so consumed with every little change you feel (you can do this by daily meditation by the way.)
This larger awareness will help you see ‘the light’ at the end of your tunnel.
So for example, if you are used to eating lots of carbs and sugar, it could take 2-4 weeks to adjust to your better diet. Your metabolism would have run on sugar as fuel for so long, and now it needs to shift to run on fat (as it should.) You may have symptoms known as the ‘carb flu.’ Mood swings, cravings, anxiety, tiredness, digestive problems are some things to expect. But it depends just how much and for how long carbs and sugar were a part of your diet.
Ways to help yourself is eat good fats, hydrate really well, exercise, rest and have coconut oil (a spoonful) between meals, which will sure give you energy.
Also know that there will be a big shift in your hormones at this stage, such as cortisol (one of the king hormones) and this big fellow will re-arrange all the others down the line. Thyroid will also alter, trying to find it’s natural rhythm again and certainly the biggest thing, our gut microbiome (bacteria) alters and this will change all other processes in our body and mind.
So you see, we need to wait for EVERYTHING to first of all change (in our bodies) then settle into their new role again. It’s a bit like starting a new job, there’s a lot of teething problems, feelings of awkwardness because we’re learning the ropes, fear and overwhelm, until finally we find our rhythm in our new role and everything begins to become ‘easier.’ Same as changing our health.
It’s important to remember that we can’t expect our body to fix itself in a short period of time. Our bodies may have been going off balance for 20 years, therefore how can we expect such damage to be mended over night?
That’s why my mission is to educate people (so that they can educate their children) about ‘preventative health.’ It will take a lot less work to maintain our health, rather than having to fix up our mistakes of ‘un-thoughtful’ eating and ignoring our stress.
If you haven’t already, SIGN UP HERE For more help and support like this inside Empowered Women’s Health, so that you can start taking control of your own health.
I hope this helps you xo
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