Cold Turkey

Thanksgiving, what a day! Everyone loves Thanksgiving! Who wouldn't? Family, friends, good food, and lots of it. Every household prepares a feast, with little variation from year to year. From the appetizers to dessert we mix it all together and enjoy every second of this festive celebration. Every second? Not really. Just take a look at your friends Facebook statuses. So many quotes like, "I ate too much and can't sleep." "I'm so stuffed I can't breath." "I was up all night because I ate everything and am now combusting at both ends." That last one is my favorite. So what to do today? This is a great example of what we who eat relatively healthy might do after just one night of indulgent eating. We think "cold turkey." No more! Never again! So we wake up most likely with last nights food still in our stomachs because it was so poorly combined. The food is basically rotten in the stomach and throughout the elimination track. So of course the logical thing to do is eat as clean as possible, today! Right? Of course not! Today or any day following a "not so great night" of eating or drinking alcohol we tend to think we should try to "put out the fire" with fresh juice or fresh fruit. Save yourself! Sip water for the morning. No need for juice or fruit. This would be akin to dumping gasoline on a fire to douse the flames. It would work at first but one spark and this will ignite an even worse fire. You may feel good in your mind because you are doing the "right thing" because you're eating better food than the day before, but what follows is very uncomfortable and not how you want to proceed. This will cause real bad gas by fermenting the new food or juice and of course the already rotten food in the stomach will further decompose and leave you feeling worse than the day before. So following a night of indulgence, ease up the next day and try this. Sip water till you feel your stomach is empty. A way to know this is when you belch, and you will belch, you should not taste anything from yesterday! Then you can have a green leafy salad. Now if you feel, due to alcohol consumption or just too much food that a salad would be too "clean" then try having just some steamed veggies and a baked yam or millet or quinoa. This will ensure that you don't set yourself up for another day of fermenting your meals. So cold turkey may be appetizing on the day after Thanksgiving, but today eat it properly combined. Today may also feel like you want to "go cold turkey" and "never eat like that again." Slow down, take a breath and take my advice. We cannot erase yesterday's "sins" with clean living the very next day. Ease back into your cleansing lifestyle and your body will thank you. Yesterday is behind you. Leave it there. Today is another chance to do it just a little bit better. Enjoy! Be well. Peace & love, Tom