Nothing in this life is entirely good or bad. I have experienced enough benefits from this cleanse/detox already, to know that it was worth whatever discomforts I may have had to endure. Most of the negatives I had expected. Many of the positives – weight loss, more energy, clearer skin, better sleeps – I had hoped for. But as with all things in life, I should have expected the unexpected.
Making drastic changes to your diet and lifestyle – both permanent and temporary – can be a hard adjustment. Cravings, headaches, frustration due to lack of options and of course hunger are just some of the obstacles that you’ll have to overcome. What I didn’t expect was how the other people around me have been affected by this cleanse.
I’ve gotten used to being a pain in the butt when it comes to social occasions. Being a vegetarian seems to be a major impediment for non-vegetarians to overcome – especially if I’ve been invited to dinner. No one ever knows what to cook and it always seems to cause copious amounts of stress. I usually end up with a frozen vegetarian lasagne and perhaps some bread. Now that I’m detoxing, even those options are off the table!
In the last ten days I’ve had no less than three people remark that my husband and I “picked a bad time” to cleanse. In each one of those situations my detoxing status had somehow become a burden to the other people I was with. Either they didn’t know what to feed me or we couldn’t go to such-and-such a place because she can’t drink alcohol right now. Somehow my cleanse had rained on other people’s parades!! Last night was the kicker when one of our friends said, “I can’t wait until you’re done detoxing so we can have fun again!” I will admit, I was insulted by the insinuation that I was somehow “unfun” because I couldn’t eat chips and get drunk. When did our society become so tightly bound to our junk food and alcohol?
So now I’m left feeling rather torn. I like how I feel when I’m cleansing. My mind and my body function better, I’m sleeping well, losing weight and my skin is finally clearing up. But I’ve come to dread social situations. The subject inevitably comes up because people ask you why you’re eating carrot sticks when there is cake and sweets to enjoy. It’s even harder when you would trade all the carrot sticks in the world for one bite of that damn cookie! So what happens if I want to make some of these changes permanent? Do I risk being a social outcast forever, or will people get used to the fact that I don’t eat this or I won’t drink that.
Tomorrow will be a whole other challenge, as I spend my last day of the cleanse at my father-in-law’s retirement party. Although I’m glad to be going, I am dreading the inevitable alcohol-ladened toasts that will be made and the needed explanations of why I’m turning down the cake and appetizers. Well you know what they say – whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!
Until then,
Correne
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