Thursday, April 15, 2010

Two Months of Drinking Green Smoothies

It's been almost 2 months since I started drinking green smoothies. I began with drinking 2 1/2 cups of smoothie a day, and have worked up to 5 cups (1.25 L). I have also started adding supplements such as bee pollen, brewers yeast, and protein powder. I noticed a difference in how I felt almost immediately. I felt energized. I began craving the green drink and looked forward to having more.

I have been training for a half marathon and within 2 weeks I drastically improved. One day I dropped 30 seconds per mile and have maintained that. Last Saturday I went on a 10 mile run at a comfortable pace and ended up running 7:52 minute miles. Now after almost 2 months, this week I have started to run another 10 - 15 seconds faster per mile. I have been running again since June and have not had such drastic improvements until I started drinking green smoothies.

In the last few weeks I have been having an easier time waking up in the morning and feel more happy. I have not felt myself since having my second child 4 1/2 years ago and I am beginning to feel the old me coming back. I am slowly beginning to have more patience with my children and feel more able to handle them. My skin is starting to clear up and I am losing weight. I am also working on eating more healthy in general and eating less meat.

Another aspect to drinking the smoothies is that I have had some weird symptoms which I read are called detox symptoms. After a few weeks I got a cold and cough that has lasted for a long time, and is still lingering now. I have had some very bizarre skin issues. Acne, sudden dry patches that come and go, red blotchy itchy spots. I had times where I felt very fatigued, light headed, have had headaches, and a hard time focusing my eyes. Very random strange things that come and go. I did some research to find out that these symptoms are all very normal when you start drinking green smoothies and change your diet. These symptoms can mean your body is cleansing itself and getting rid of toxins, or that your body is releasing toxins faster than it can get rid of them. These symptoms can also be withdrawal symptoms if you drink coffee, tea, or caffeinated soda. http://ezinearticles.com/?Detox-Symptoms---How-to-Cope-With-Them&id=1939469

3 comments:

Linda said...

Katie,
I love this blog and find it very interesting. I too believe that the food we eat affects more than we realize. I have been going to a Naturopathic Doctor for over 2 years now. She seems to be a lot like Barbara. My doctor helped rid me of acid reflux and infertility just by changing what I ate. I have a smoothie breakfast most mornings as well, yet yours seem healthier than mine:) I have backtracked some and lately have been bad in what I am eating (and can totally tell a difference in my energy levels). Anyhow, I hope your green experiment helps with your Strep G and RA. I love you tons!

Please Pass the Green said...

Linda, I'm so happy you commented! That's amazing that you've found ways to naturally overcome acid reflux and infertility—that's huge. Your doctor does sound a lot like Barbara. There really is a cause and a cure to everything. Thanks for the support and keep me posted on how your health is too. Sounds like you have a lot of good personal experience to share too.

Brooke said...

Hello, girls! I was just looking through the blog, and I know what you're talking about, Sam, w/ detox symptoms. I experienced some odd things like that as I converted to my new gluten and dairy free way of life--all of which went away in time. Now after the one-year mark, I am feeling much better. Better than I have felt in years. Like you, I am trying to eat less meat now, too. I think this past year has given me an increased consciousness of my body, and meat takes a lot of energy for me to digest it--energy I'd rather use on other things! (Perhaps one day I can truly understand how to eat meat SPARINGLY!) It is hard, though, to change from the typical American diet of eating meat every evening for dinner, and often for lunch, but it is exciting to learn how to use all of these other foods. Thankfully I love to cook! Hope things went well for you this weekend, too! :)