1. Educate Yourself
The most important thing I constantly did when detoxing was learning about it. I was always reading and watching things about detox and health and it would fuel my drive to continue with it. I made a deal with myself; if ever I was down and wanted to give up, I’d watch a Dr. Morse video, read health blogs, books, or anything to remind myself why I was doing this very hard thing. I found it very motivating to learn about detox because it was a constant reminder of why I had to do this. Not only was it motivating for me, it gave me the knowledge of how to do it. If I didn’t know the nature of the body and what a healing crisis might look like, I would have quit at the first sign of one and deemed this to “not work for me”. For the chronically ill, this kind of intense detox can often make things worse before they get better, that sure was the case for me. But it does get better, and knowing the why’s and how’s of detox allowed me to see these uncomfortable healing crisis’ as the blessings that they were. These signs, while unpleasant at the time, meant that this was working! To others, I looked like I was dying, but because I knew how regenerative detoxification worked, I knew this was just part of the process. This is the number one point I want to stress to you as it was my number one driver to stick with this!
2. Wellness Routine
Do other wellness practices too. I centered my life around healing and my daily activities always contributed to this goal, whether it was to help with physical symptoms or just keep myself happy and busy. Such things included mindfulness exercises (meditation, visualization, affirmations etc.), steam sauna, music, enemas, movement, stretching, etc. Healing is not only about food—it is mind body and soul in harmony with one another. Keeping yourself happy and positive is equally as important as eating fruit. Self care practices encourage you to love yourself and detoxing is the ultimate act of self love. I had a list of things and everyday I would choose a few of them to motivate me and make me feel like I was bettering myself. And I was. There’s now an app that can help you do this called Envol from @julieshealing that is awesome!
3. Parasite Cleanse
One physical thing that made a huge difference for me was the Parasite M tincture by Dr. Morse. I took a ton of his tinctures and this one was always being cycled through, I’d do two weeks on, two weeks off. There was a month where I was off of all herbs and the starch cravings were driving me insane. I started taking just the Parasite M and there was a noticeable difference in the intensity of the cravings. Get those critters out!
4. Always be Prepared
This is the most important part of healthy eating in general. If you don’t have ripe fruit ready to go then you’re most likely going to result to something else. With some fruits needing to spend some time on your counter to soften/ripen, you need to account for that time and plan accordingly with ready to eat fruit, like grapes or apples. Frozen fruit is always a good backup in case your melon is a dud! Always leave the house with more fruit than you think you’ll need!
5. Quality Fruit
I couldn’t do my own shopping, so I relied entirely on my dad for supplying me with fruit. Let’s just say this was a new territory for him so it was bumpy at first. If this is you, please take the time to explain to your caretaker how to properly pick ripe fruit. Unripe fruit is very unappetizing and won’t help you on your healing journey as it is actually acidic. It is best to go with the seasons. Buying quality fruit makes a huge difference in wanting to eat something and eating it because you have to. If you are not the one shopping, have a conversation about it and really explain how fruit ripens. I always have frozen fruit stocked up as a backup!
6. Be Mindful When You Eat
A lot of days I was very grateful for this way of life—for this great knowledge and the healing that would come from it. Other times I felt like I was in a detox prison and I had to sift through this punishment in order to get to the other side. You have a choice in your perspective and being mindful while eating helped me choose the right way to look at things. What I mean by mindful eating is:
-Focus on eating and not whatever else you were doing before it
-Take time to appreciate the good you are doing for your body
-Imagine your food going inside of you and wrapping you in a nourishing hug
-Visualize this fruit breaking up toxins and congestion within you
-See your organs celebrating this vibrant healing energy you are providing them
-Honour your food—this is your ticket to a vibrant life!
-Set healing intentions as you prep and eat your food
Instilling these habits every time you eat will become a helpful custom to keep your perspective on the positive side. Plus, we’ve all seen the experiments where two of the same plants are grown; one with words of love and the other with words of hate. The one with words of love always grows beautifully while the one with words of hate tend to die. Intention is more powerful than you think!
7. Consciously Shift Your Attention
At times, this kind of discipline had me writhing and seething. I just wanted to indulge, feel normal, feel warm, to crunch on something damnit!!! If you keep focusing on the lack, that’s all you will feel. Pick something up, do something else, you need to shift your attention elsewhere. If you instil this habit every time a craving comes on, you can move on from it.
8. Create a New Instagram Account
I created a new Instagram account for the sole purpose of looking at appetizing fruit, other fruitarians, spiritual posts, and motivating quotes. I didn’t follow anyone I knew or anything that didn’t pertain to uplifting me. I wouldn’t even follow people who posted salads and stayed away from any raw or vegan food pages because it made me want it! Keep this account strictly for a pick me up when you need it. I can’t tell you the amount of times I wanted to quit fruit fasting and eat something else for a change when I’d pop onto the gram and read about someone’s healing experience, good mood, or motivating quote and feel my own perception shift for the better. With a touch of one button you can switch between Instagram accounts so it’s easy to have multiple accounts.
9. Have an End in Sight
Not an end to your detox, that can take a long time and it’s best not to focus on that end, but a temporary end. A reward for your hard work. I started doing this after about 4+ months on all fruit when I felt I needed some new motivation. Once a month I would have a “cheat day” (that sometimes turned into two) where I would indulge in raw and cooked food. When I got that craving for potatoes, I’d pull out my phone and tell myself that in 14 days, 21 hours, and 37 minutes, there’d be a Caribbean sweet potato in the oven waiting for me. It started off cheating with unhealthy food (Indian takeout is my fav) but I quickly learned this was an extreme shock to the system and resulted in horrible digestion, pain, and unpleasant elimination from both ends. This is truly a horrible thing to do to your body and I strongly advise you not to find that out for yourself. Learn from my early mistakes and indulge in some guacamole, beautiful raw salads, and some steamed/roasted veggies and maybe a mucuslean meal. Throughout the month I’d even have fun planning what I’d have on my cheat day. Sometimes you need to get it out of your system in order to find balance and move on. I really don’t think this hindered my healing any and I think having a reward day was instrumental to my mental health.
*there’s a right and a wrong way to break a fast..break with raw veg before anything cooked or heavy! Avoid anything processed or high in protein as this will be hard to digest, nuts & seeds included.
10. Countdown App
I used a countdown app on my phone to show me how many days I’ve accomplished and how many more until I reach my goal (in which there is a reward, and yes it is food!). There have been countless times where I’d be close to giving into my cravings when I’d pull out my phone and see that I’ve made it 18 days on fruit, and then be like “damn girl you’re killing it don’t mess it up now” Honestly, having to reset this app made me feel shame and failure, and knowing I’d feel that shame when I’d reset my countdown and ruin 18 days of killing it would keep me in check. It’s the physical act of resetting it that did it for me. Having this day to look forward to, and knowing how many weeks, days, and minutes until it happens (thanks to the countdown app) really helped me stick to my goals.
11. Tea Time
Teas are a great way curb cravings because making it occupies you and drinking it takes a while so you can forget about your craving. It makes me feel a little more satisfied, I do this at night when I’d normally get peckish.
12. Reflecting
I would have several journals to write and reflect in, but one in particular was exclusively for when I was on a high. Basically a book that I wrote in whenever I was feeling like the bad ass detox warrior I am, stoked on life and the healing that I knew was coming. I would fill it with gratitude, hopes and plans for the future, detox accomplishments, and reasons to keep going. When I got sucked into the darkness of depression I would reread this and it’d help me shift my perspective.
I also made a vision board (I had a lot of time on my hands ok?) I went snipping through magazines and created a fold out vision board covered in raw food, people running, nature, travel, etc. I pasted affirmations and encouraging bits all over it and while I kept it hidden, I looked at it every day to remind myself of what I was working towards.
Seeing my hopes, dreams, and encouraging words of wisdom would wrap me in gratitude for the life I knew I was building.
13. It’s ok to say no
For my own healing, I was isolated and I liked it that way. Family gatherings would stress me out beyond words because of the judgment I would face and having to try to explain something that most people don’t and probably won’t ever want to understand. I looked like I was dying and I can’t blame them for seeing that and being worried so it was easier for me to skip these events. Now for me this wasn’t hard because I was 26, single, and bedridden, but I understand this is a major stressor for many detoxers as they have more responsibilities. When embarking on this kind of journey, you start to really see the corruptions in the food and health industry, and you wonder how others don’t see this too. And you might feel like they need to know, you might wanna shout it on the rooftops, I know I did. Take it from me, don’t explain it unless asked. Avoid situations that you feel will stress you out or send you back into old behavioural patterns, like social friend gatherings. Ask your friends and family to please hold faith that you know what you’re doing, and while they might not understand it, to have respect that you know what’s best for you. Ask your loved ones for space to heal and for their support, whether or not they agree with you. It’s ok to remove yourself from these situations as they can be triggering, and low stress is imperative on this journey!
So that’s it. I’m sorry there is no easy answer other than it basically comes down to your mindset, will power, and ability to maintain a positive perspective. After the first few days of all fruit it starts to become habit, I call it the three day hump because it gets easier after that. Take pride in knowing that by doing this you are doing all that you can to heal. That you are putting in the work and even if you can’t see it right now, it is working inside of you. Remember, it took years to build up to this level of toxicity it’s going to take some time to get it out. There is no good or bad, only perspective and lessons. While you might feel like you’re in hell right now, one day you will look back on this as being the greatest thing that ever happened to you, because you now shine brighter than you ever have before.
