My supplements for the next three weeks.

So, tomorrow I’m beginning something that I swore I’d never do. No offense to the super healthy, but I’ve never put much stock in today’s trends toward the uber-healthy way of living. I don’t buy organic, we’re not much for vitamins, I still drive through McDonald’s occasionally, and I exercise only sometimes. And I’m really OK with that. You’d think being overweight and dealing with cancer would change my mind … but no. I figure those things are flukes.

And then, over the past several months, I started experiencing some pretty extreme back pain. At first I could manage with one Aleve, every other day. Then it was every day. Then it was twice a day. Then it was two Aleve twice a day. Then it was “Heidi, you need to see a doctor!” I disagreed. Until I could hardly walk and couldn’t sleep and getting in and out of the car was more painful than a thousand bee stings … So I gave in. I called a chiropractor.

X-rays showed there wasn’t anything crazy going on (no slipped or bulging discs and nothing broken). But the aftermath of months of chemotherapy, coupled with a few years of comfort eating and lack of exercise, had eroded my body’s internal ability to take care of itself. My sciatic pain was through the roof on account of a tweaked pelvis, poor spinal structure, and the erosion of everything in between.

While I continue to see a chiropractor to adjust the offending vertebrae, the chiropractor (also a nutritionist), my oncologist, and I decided that maybe it was time to face facts: I’m not in great overall health. I function, fairly well actually. But my energy level is low, my weight is still an issue, and obviously my body is having a hard time caring for itself. And then, the kicker – the nutritionist asked me to track everything I ate for a week … and, I was faced with the unpleasant truth that I don’t feed my body well, and that it’s time to make some real changes. (You know how you THINK you eat one way, and that the trips to Del Taco and McDonald’s are the exception to the rule? And then you take a look at the facts and realize those things have BECOME the rule? That’s what’s happened around here.)

So I’ve been forced to admit the truth (which is half the battle, right?), and with the doctor’s help, am going to kick-start the many changes my life needs. For the next three weeks I will be doing a CLEANSE. I’m rolling my eyes at myself, because I can’t believe I’ve come to this place. But it’s time to flush my system (namely, my liver) of all the bad of the past few years, and attack it with a replenishment of good. For the next three weeks I will be eating nothing but fruits and veggies, drinking only water, and taking a few supplements. THREE WEEKS! It’s insane. But then, for as long as three weeks can be, it’s actually not that long. And it is TIME to take care of my inner self, so that I can be at my best and continue to care for those around me. I don’t want to go through anything like cancer again. Or this back pain. (This cleanse requires daily exercise, too. DAILY! What the WHAT.)

I know that three weeks will not wholly solve the problem. But I am praying it is the kick start, a fresh beginning, that I need to get back to truly healthy living.

More to come! I think this will be a good process to blog about, so I’m hoping to keep this updated. Besides, I need a place to record what I actually ate and how it made me feel. Read at your own risk I suppose.