I’m standing on the deck a little after 7am taking deep breaths and in my right hand is a mason jar half full of cold pressed green juice. I drank a room temperature glass of water with lemon upon waking, so Suja comes next.

If a year ago, or even a month ago someone would have told me this is how I would start my day, I would have said, “You don’t know me very well”, but this is the year I started listening to my body. Every time I eat or drink, there’s a pause afterwards to check in with my body to see if what I consumed agrees with it.

This journey didn’t start 3 weeks ago in a Doctor’s office who specializes in Chinese medicine and Bioenergy. I knew I was eating things that made me feel tired and bloated, no matter how healthy the recipe, there were things in it that my body didn’t like. I’m on week 3 of keeping a food journal and it has everything listed that goes into my body, but Dr. Jason also wants to know what comes out and how often.

When I first met Dr. Jason he performed a Bioenergetic Assessment of my body and it was sad. We’ll get into more about that later on, but after the assessment he suggested a few things to get my body flowing. “I want 75% of your diet to be nothing but fruits and vegetables. Drink 100 ounces of water a day and keep a daily food journal. My goal is to retrain your body to poop at least twice a day”, he said.

I just stared at him because I felt blessed to poop once a day, but he reminded me our body is supposed to poop after every meal.

If I hadn’t started listening to my body this year and removing things from my diet, I probably would have left his office feeling defeated, but I had worked my way up to this. I often wonder about the timing because my Google newsfeed is full of so many comforting recipes, but I’m committed to make my body happy.

1. Coffee-Dr. Jason believes coffee is a cup of mold. This hurt my feelings a little bit, but he said if I drank a cup to make sure it’s organic and to grind the beans. I was already doing this, so I asked him about MudWtr and he said, “It’s better than coffee.” I’ve been drinking MudWtr since March, so a cup of coffee is a rare treat.
   Why have I stopped drinking coffee? I didn’t like the way it made me feel.
   
2. Dairy- For the love of God I loved cheese!!! But…my body didn’t. I would buy 5 different kinds to make a tray of cheese and crackers with a side of grapes and munch on it all afternoon, but by 3 o’clock I felt comatose. My body felt completely clogged and my belly would be bloated, so one by one I started removing cheese. Over a course of four months I let go over every cheese, but one. Parmigiano Reggiano makes life better and the Caesar Salad.
   
   This is one of the things I love about Dr. J….he doesn’t tell me what I shouldn’t eat and encourages me to eat what I want, but then make note how I feel afterwards.
   
3. Sweets-I stopped making cookies for my neighbors because I would lick the bowl and set aside a few for me before sharing with them. There are healthier recipes that don’t require a stick of butter, so I’ll resume this tradition eventually. I don’t do without sweets though. My favorite is dark chocolate covered cashews!
   
4. For breakfast I stopped frying bacon, eggs, sausage and using whole milk in my cereal. I love a good bowl of cereal late morning, but my body didn’t like the milk, so now I use Oat milk. I asked Dr. J about half and half and he said, “Barbara, if you’re down to one stellar cup of coffee a day, add your splash of half and half.
   
5. Water- I have always heard to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water per day and I did this religiously, so I was shocked to hear I was dehydrated! How did Dr. J know how many ounces of water my body craved? By tapping my hipbone and counting in increments of 20. When he got to 100, he said, “100 ounces per day”, but I have found my body flows better consuming 120 oz.

Gosh, if you’re still reading, I love you, but will stop typing. There’s more to tell, but I needed to lay some groundwork and form a start. Thank you for reading and walking alongside me on this journey to heal.