Saturday, June 30, 2012

Green Smoothies Diary II

In the Green Smoothies Diary I mentioned that skin rashes broke out on my body due to an unknown reason (why, oh why!?)

Green Smoothie Day, everybody!
On the day 5 I suddenly noticed that my hair had fallen out more than usual! (more hysterical note here)
I loose only a few strands of hair everyday, this time I certainly lost more than a few, but fortunately much less than the average amount of 100 strands/day. Still I was anxious. Instead of having plenty of hair as Clent Manich, the guy featured in the Green Smoothies book promised, could I end up loosing it and looking like a bald condor with red blotches all around?
Fortunately the hair loss incident happened only that day, so I blamed the new band I used to tie my hair and decided to go on with the green smoothie / (half!-)raw diet experiment,  though it is hard not to have cooked foods when you usually eat them at least once or twice a day.



On the day 6 and 7 I finally managed only to eat 2 portions of salad (with tofu and cheese in it.  Are they considered uncooked?) / day  in addition to the 2,5 L of green smoothie since I eventually was able to 'ban' the images of food from my head. IF I can be on this diet for at least a month, I will
  1. have less work (cooking) in the kitchen, 
  2. have fewer things to wash and clean up! 
  3. only buy more fruits and leafy greens for us and some vegetarian cold cuts / deli slices for my husband. 
  4. eat no meat
  5. use our dishwasher less frequently
  6. save money: less water for washing, less detergent, less frying oil, less spices to use, less gas for stove, etc..
  7. lead a more environment friendly life!
Aside from the financial gain above, my body seems to benefit from the diet too. I don't crave for chocolates as the way I used to when I was having premenstrual syndrome.
I don't sweat much though the weather has been very hot lately (over 34C), and like Clent I am also  feeling calmer.
The energy boost from the GS diet people keep on talking about hasn't happened to me (yet).
On the contrary, I am having a languid mood. I know, my body misses chili, spices and co.
I suppose that not only do hot, spicy foods produce heat inside your body, they also increase the production of sweat, AND affect your temper.

I notice that I don't go to the toilet to do the 'small business' (urinate) so often anymore and when I do the 'big business', I can see that my poop (sorrrrryy!) has darkish green color.
I heard of cases in which people were having diarrhea for a certain period of time when they just began this diet and the symptoms disappeared after their bodies got used to the smoothie diet.
Unlike those people, I didn't suffer anything like that, on the contrary I got constipation and I get it still.

The organic waste in less than 3 days
I usually do the 'big one' once a day, now I do it less frequent, sometimes only once in two days! No wonder my stomach has been bloated ever since.
Maybe the constipation is caused due to a disruption of routine,- instead of  drinking plenty of water and juice, I drink more smoothies and much less water. I have to drink more water, and see if it will improve my condition.
Another  theory of why only certain people get constipated while others don't is because the first group leads a frugal life (see the 7 points above),  avoids to waste anything,  so even letting out their own poop is considered as a waste.
Nah, it is only joking. If you want to know more about constipation see this link.

The skin patches
BTW I got a patch test done too due to my suspicion of having allergy against dandelion greens. It was an ordeal to come back 3 times within a week. They applied some patches on my upper back which were kept in place with special adhesive tape, took blood sample, removed the patches after 3 days, marked the test sites with a black pen and on the forth day checked my back for any signs of allergic reactions. During that period, I was not allowed to take a bath (!!) nor do exercises to keep the marks visible. I don't need any pomade for my hair, all coming oily, shiny and natural.
I haven't got any conclusive result yet for the allergy test since I have to wait for the lab result on the blood test. The red blotches on my body have mostly gone, but the skin feels so coarse and flaky. Strange.

I got also strange looks from people, not because of the flaky skin, but because of the green mixture.
The first question they asked would be, 'What is THAT!?'
And, 'it looks so poisonous,' or 'it looks disgusting, it must be very healthy!'
When I explained what it was and offered them to try it, the reaction would be a series of vigorous head shaking with a quick response 'No, no, thank you! It is too healthy for me.'

Though I am sure it is getting easier to only eat raw foods in the course of time, I don't think I want to do it for long,  especially if winter is coming. My body will probably crave for warm foods.
Besides, I am a person who really enjoys eating, which is to say I like trying, tasting new foods. With this kind of diet, you can only vary / rotate the fruits and greens, basically you create no new recipes.
Another factor that contributes to my reluctance on following this diet is the lack of motivation which certainly play a negative role in any diets. I am doing the diet more out of curiosity. Unlike Clent, I don't have to lose any weight nor suffer any illness relating to overweight. In fact, I don't mind putting on 2-3 kilos muscles, though till now I stay a constant weight and have the same body fat percentage.
But let's see what happens in the future, maybe I can even live on light only, which will even be more money and time saving for me (me, fantasizing).

I will keep you posted when something new comes up (e.g. I become a hairy guy or my palms turn green, etc).
Meanwhile, please let me know what you think about this whole diet craze.
Do you think it is just a waste of time or do you really believe it will do us good?

The next blog on the new danger (!) of green smoothie: here


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry to say, green smoothies would not suit me at all. As you mentioned it yourself, it is a "diet craze" - try it out, maybe it will work out for you?

The most suitable diet for me is the "F.X. Mayr Kur" - it is considered very old fashion, nowadays there are modified/modernised versions. And it works every time with me: after 2 - 3 weeks "Kur", besides losing 2 - 3 kilos, my blood readings ("Blutwerte") improve tremendously, also my tummy calms down a lot! Unfortunately it does not help very much in the allergy department!

Hermine

Cahaya said...

Hi Hermine,
I have been on this diet for 3 weeks, and I think I will continue doing it since I start to notice the positive change on my body and mind too (unbelievable but true): My energy level finally stabilizes, doesn't fluctuate / plummet as before, I am feeling calmer (especially when asleep, no just joking) than before,
I think about food less often, etc. I will let you know on my next blog. Just give a try, your body might need time to adjust, but after some weeks you will (hopefully) feel better:-)
Cahaya

Anonymous said...

shouldn't the title read 'the new crazy diet'?

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/how-green-smoothies-can-devastate-your-health/

;-)

Clent Manich said...

***WARNING***http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/how-green-smoothies-can-devastate-your-health/
***Warning this is a website virus attack trick*** and do not take suggestions from anyone trying to scare you off with Oxalates. I have looked extra thoroughly into Oxalates and it turns out this is a scare tactic used by diet competitors. They are afraid you will succeed w/green smoothies and not try there products. Oxalates are in almost every food including veggies,leafy greens and fruits. Unless you have trouble with your kidney's or calcium in your body and have spoke to a doctor about it, then ignore the Oxalate scare. Oxalates in plants are easier for the body to digest and excrete then processed foods. Oxalates are pure calcium and become crystallized by food processing(drinking animal milk) and are difficult for your kidneys to excrete. It is the same with Protein. There is protein in every single food we eat. It is like someone trying to tell you the food has too much protein or no protein at all. Too much processed proteins or meats can really over load the kidney's. Yet the protein in plants are much easier for the body to use and excrete. Everything has Protein. Trust me! Just ignore these idiots!!! Green Smoothies are very safe to eat and are a high nutrient density food. If you are worried about the oxygen mixed in after blending, then put in a mason jar, refrigerate 30-40 minutes and the oxygen will float to the top and leave the smoothie settled. Problem solved. New Crazy Diet? Crazy is Continuing to believe you can have a fulfilling life on the S.A.D. Then put down a diet that has been proven time and time again. ***Look Green Smoothies are a wonderful safe way to lose weight and you don't have to just drink smoothies, eat your food as well. Have a steamed potato every now and then. Top it w/a hand made salsa and Tablespoon of Flax oil. Have salads w/squeeze of lemon or blended tomato, Eat a whole avocado w/a sprinkle(pinch) of Himalayan pink sea salt. Steam some veggies. During the winter drink ginger root water, a cup at a time, throughout the day to stay warm. Have a veggie stew (slightly) warmed in a blender. Make sure you check your Vitamin D & B levels regularly as this can be a problem on this diet. Plenty of sun and sub-lingual B6-B12 will work. In the winter take D3-5000IU per day when no sun. After you reach your desired weight(goal)then maintain this weight for life with a Vegan Diet that you can look yourself in the mirror and say "This is a vegan lifestyle eating regimen I know I can stay on for life". Then have a Green smoothie every now and then for fun. You don't have to drink just green smoothies for the rest of your life, Read as many Vegan books as you can. learn and Read and read and read and learn as much as possible. This will help you try different prepared vegan dishes throughout your life. Have fun and eat many colors. For maintenance the rule of thumb is Eat your fruit and Juice your veggies. Have a green juice or green smoothie at least once a day if possible. Learn to love yourself and those around you. Sleep at least 6-7 hours a day(breathe fresh air-leave a window open when you sleep) and drink Alkaline water. Divide your current body weight by 30 and this number will be how many quarts a day your body needs to function. This can include the water in food. Divide the quarts by 4 and this is how many gallons per day. Enough for now. Any questions let me know. I will be watching your blog. I do have lots to say from my own experiences and always look into the validity of the claims I read. Also if you believe you can do it, you will. Just look at me! Average Joe. Congratulations! You can do this! Much love and Admiration! Clent Manich