Sunday Blues

I work up this morning feeling not quite on the bubble emotionally. 

It has stayed with me during the day, and feels a bit heavier as my energy levels are dropping, as they usually do toward the end of the day. The grapes which have been just fine to this point, feel heavy as well. I"m missing the comfort of food, especially comfort foods like chocolate, ice cream, a latte, hot soup, toast with jam and so on....   

It doesn't happen very often, but tonight, I'm feeling lonely. I miss my family and friends, miss going out for coffee, miss going out to the movies and the popcorn they serve, miss my bed back home, miss my stuff. Montreal is OK but people here seem unhappy, tired and/or depressed, which is pretty much where I'm at right now. 

Being on this cleanse is helping me to see where I've eaten, not so much because I was hungry physically, but to satiate my emotional and spiritual hunger. A sobering thought.

 Tonight, I'm taking solace in the fact that my bedtime is not far away and that tomorrow is a new day....

Donut Daze

I went to my office, Tim Hortons, again today. I set up shop at my usual table, reading glasses, a couple of books and a cup of mint tea. Actually, it was green tea. It seems there's been a run on mint tea lately, so there was none available.

There I am minding my own business, reading Eckhart Tolle's latest, and highly recommended book, A New Earth. In walks a middle aged lady. She sits down next to me purse in one hand and a tray in the other. She settles down. She starts in on her coffee and first pastry  -a scrumptious looking, chocolate smothered, piece with a silky-smooth, cream-filled center.

In a Tim Hortons restaurant that's an every day occurence, but this wasn't just any day. This was the 17th day of my raw food diet! I was hungry, irritable, suffering withdrawls from sugar and caffeine and God knows what else. Didn't she know better than to sit right next to me.

Her enthusiam knew no bounds. She wrapped her lips around that pastry like she was kissing some long, lost lover. Ahhhhh!!! Get me out of here.

I wanted to tell her that all the sugar was wreaking havoc with her insulin levels, the food coloring was overloading her liver, the white flour was being transformed into a sticky paste that would end up lining the walls of her intestines, interfering with food absorption. All of this being washed down with a cup of caffeine which was increasing her blood pressure. This was a serious situation. What to do?

I decided that I would save her from this nutritional disaster by offering to eat the remaining pastry. Unfortunately, my French is still pretty rusty and I couldn't get the words out in time.

I continue to be amazed at the power that food has over me. I'm sure I'm not alone. I'd love to hear your favourite food story. Just hit the comment link below.....

Tim Hortons

Over the years, I´ve gotten into the habit of setting Sunday afternoons aside for reading and reflection. I head out looking for a coffee shop where I can grab a cuppa joe and read the paper or a favourite book.

This Sunday afternoon while exploring my new neighborhood here in Montreal,  I came across an old friend -a Tim Hortons (TH). Long before Starbucks and the whole upscale coffee scene, THs was a familiar hangout, a place I could get out of my room and cram for an exam, or meet a friend for coffee and a chat.

Tim and I go way back. Over the years, I´ve stopped in at a Tim Hortons in the majority of Edmonton´s 83 stores, and in every major city in every province, except Newfoundland.

Today, I set up shop with a newspaper and a couple of books. I order my usual -medium coffee with two creams and an oatmeal, raisin cookie. Ahhh, the good life.... As I sit down to my weekly ritual I realize this staple in my diet is about to disappear. Gone forever! I´m surprised at how strong my reaction is.

A cuppa coffee and the newspaper are permanently paired in my mind. Like Pavlov, when I buy the paper, I can imagine the smell of a freshly brewed cup of coffee; when I buy a coffee, I start looking for the paper to read. What will I do without my daily "fix"?

I know they have herbal teas, but I can´t bear to look today....

How about you? I´d be interested in your experience or story around letting go of a favourite food.