DAY 5     of the 10 Day Challenge 

          "Being defeated is often temporary. Giving up makes it permanent."
   
     And so we start day 5. I've been hearing some great feedback from you about the simple changes being made in diet choices and how Good taking control of your life feels. I am so proud of you. Keep up the good work.
     Two things I want to address today. 1)  that time of day when you are craving something salty or sweet. That time for me is 8 pm. For nearly fifty years I have had a snack near or around that precise time. As a kid it was raisins, popcorn or even prunes. But as I got older and in "control" of  my snack time, it was apparent that ice-cream would be a pretty constant friend.
     I realize it isn't good to eat after 6 pm. Your stomach needs time to digest dinner before laying down for the night or else it will have to do that work while you sleep. Sleep is the time your body is supposed to use to rejuvenate, replenish and heal... not be hard at work digesting tonight's chicken and broccoli with the extra side of brown rice. However well I know that, I am still working out my own kinks. We have turned our family tradition of ice-cream into an apple covered in cinnamon. Or a bowl of sweet cherries. Or a bowl of popcorn popped in coconut oil with garlic powder sprinkled on top. The ice-cream withdrawals are barely noticeable.  : )   What are some of your favorites snacks?

     2)  Gut issues. With the current American diet I can easily assume many of you have them. Gut issues I mean. Whether it's heartburn, stomach pain and nausea, ulcers, intestinal bloat, constipation or gall bladder issues most of us have had them and most likely still do. I know from my own experience that when you start cutting down and finally cut out the majority of processed foods and breads with all the gluten, that all these symptoms start being cut down as well.

         If you keep up the good choices you've been making this week you should be saying good-bye to Prilosec, Xantec, anti-acids and Mylanta soon. I was on up to two Prilosec a day. I actually started my own personal challenge a week earlier while getting Accupunture for Gut issues. I nervously went off Prilosec cold turkey. But with it went away 95% of my processed foods and sugars. Except for a few minor eruptions of gut pain, I can say I have had NONE. Before this change IF I did not take Prilosec I was in severe pain.  I call it a miracle. Reality is that we are not meant to have to break down all the fake crap that comes from processing. Our bodies react trying to tell us so by way of all the above mentioned symptoms. It wants you to stop eating the crap. It is not healthy nor does your body want you to medicate the pain away and then keep eating the crap.  I hope I've leaned this fact once and for all.
        IF after you have cleared out most of the junk foods and you still have digestion issues take 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar in 8 ozs of water a couple times a day until it's relieved. It doesn't hurt to add some digestive enzymes and a probiotic to your daily regimen either. Then, throw the darn donuts away.