Breakfast, lunch, dinner melon - What is a mono diet?
In this context, the word 'mono' stands for eating just one fruit only. This term is used for 'mono meals' like eating a big portion of just peaches for lunch or munching on mangos for breakfast. When you talk of a 'mono diet', this often means eating a certain fruit for a longer period of time. There are people that went on grapes only for several weeks, and Anne Osborne even did a mono diet of melons for 6 months. Can you imagine? So why would someone commit to such a simple diet instead of munching on all the delicious delights the fruit and veggie world has to offer?
Mono mealing for power healing - The detox effect
Most of our daily energy goes into the work of our digestive system which means that less energy is available for the detoxification and regeneration processes taking place in our organism all the time. A temporary mono diet boosts your body’s detox, since it has more energy to get rid of toxins that we ingested with a poor diet, pharmaceutical drugs and vaccinations, alcohol, pesticides, heavy metal residues (for example from the amalgam fillings in your teeth), chemical substances in our cosmetic products or others.
So although you might feel fit and healthy, a mono fruit diet like a melon island can help you to expel some unwanted toxins that might harm your body in the long run. In today’s society it is pretty impossible to stay away from any toxins within your environment, so everybody can regularly benefit from a proper cleanse of their system.
What kept me going - Healing the body, mind and soul
I did a watermelon island for the duration of 5 and after a little break even 10 days a few weeks ago. Besides cleaning up in my body, on the first melon island I was hoping to loose some stored fat and accumulated water in my body and to improve my skin. And I can proudly say that both was accomplished during this melon feast - I not only lost about 1,5kg, my skin especially in my face became so clear and smooth. Before the mono diet, I had some digestive issues which quickly resolved after two days on melons only. Apart from that, my mind was more focused, I had a greater ability to concentrate and my meditations became deeper.
The second island was meant to enhance my overall health on the long run and it definitely proved to have cleansed my body on a deeper level, since the detox symptoms were much stronger. I can not really say if my health has improved through that, since it was just one step within a longer journey for a more vibrant health. But it certainly taught me to better understand my body and find comfort in the discomfort - a good foundation for the other detox regimes that I am planning to experiment with in the upcoming months such as other mono diets, intermittent dry-fasting and water fasting.
Your fruity path to success - How to start
Of course, if you have never even tried to eat one meal of just a certain fruit, this might sound absolutely bananas to you. But every transition to a different lifestyle is a journey of many little steps. Every great surfer also had to learn how to swim in the beginning. As well as jumping into the waves as a toddler head first, a spontaneous dive into a mono diet can be too hard on your body. Therefore you might want to prepare properly by eating a healthier diet beforehand. That means avoiding meat, diary, nicotine, alcohol and other drugs for maybe four weeks and then switch to raw foods and veggies for two weeks before starting your monodiet.
Sounds pretty harsh to you? Well, a healthy and vibrant lifestyle is something we have to earn and our body will definitely thank us for every little step towards a more nourishing way of treating it. Alternatively to a full mono diet, you can also first start with mono meals for breakfast only and incorporate a mono lunch after some days or weeks if you feel good with that. Try to listen to your body and if it does not feel right you can still switch back to other foods. If you are coming from a diet or lots of processed foods, meat and dairy you might want to just check out Steemit accounts like Ishappy, Amy Goodrich or Healthy Food for some inspiration towards a healthier diet for preparing your mono island. If you jump onto the raw food train later in your journey, browse through my own recipe posts to get an appetite for this new world of eating.
Enjoying the ride - A roadmap for your melon trip
It’s not that complicated in the end, just eat as much watermelon as you like. Don’t overeat and don’t go hungry - that is pretty much the best advice for any sustainable diet you might follow. In the beginning, you might struggle with consuming enough food since melons are low in calories and your stomach is not used to such great amounts of food. But it adapts quickly and you will soon be able to eat as much as you need to keep your energy levels high. To get an idea of the meal sizes I ate - about 3 melons landed in my tummy daily, each weighting on average 3-4kg. But everyone is different in that regard and you have to listen what your body is telling you.
For choosing the perfect watermelons you want to be picky. Only ripe fruit is as nutritious, easy to digest and mouth-watering as it should be. Don’t settle for less. Check out this post for learning how to choose the ripest, sweetest and juiciest watermelons.
Stormy weather on melon island - How to deal with challenges
Of course, if your body gets the change it really starts to clean up. And it will show you naturally when you need to rest a little more. Symptoms that you could face on several detox regimes might be fatigue, nausea, digestive issues or finding yourself in an unusual emotional state. Don’t be afraid of that, embrace the fact that your body is working for you to become more energetic, vibrant and healthy. Take some time for yourself, engage in activities you like such as reading a great book, doing some gentle yoga or watching a joyful movie. And of course, if your symptoms should worsen you can ship off the melon island back to the mainland any time by eating other fruits again (continue reading to learn about a successful transition back) and the detox processes will slow down.
You can also support your body in its cleansing processes with some powerful herbs like licorice root, milk thistle, slippery elm, burdock root, chaga and Siberian ginseng - in form of teas, powders or capsules. This might ease uncomfortable detox symptoms and make the whole journey a little easier for you.
Between enjoyable journey and tough ride - My own detox symptoms
My own experiences where totally mixed. On the 5 day melon island I felt some nausea and fatigue now and then, but it was totally manageable and I just try to listen to my body and its needs - sometimes this was movement, other times resting and relaxing.
The 10 day experiment was a little tougher and I had to fight with more uncomfortable detox symptoms, some days less and some more intense. These included pain in my joints for a few days, weakness, dizziness, strong emotions, nervousness, unpleasant body odor and expelling excessive mucus through my stool. This might sound a bit gross and also intimidating to some of you, but it might help to deal with the uneases you might face during your own detox journey. I knew beforehand what symptoms could arise and tried to embrace the discomfort as my body’s sign for expelling the toxins and starting to heal.
Final countdown - The importance of ending it right
Breaking a watermelon island in the right way is very important for your wellbeing. If you introduce hard to digest foods right after eating just melons your body will be overwhelmed and might give you a stomachache or digestive problems as a payback. So be gentle with yourself and slowly add other fruits like mangos, peaches or bananas into your meals, until you then try green salads with avocado or some slighty cooked veggies after a few days of transitioning. You will be so thrilled to feel how your taste buds became more sensitive through this melon journey and everything will taste like a delicious firework in your mouth. Some people even experience a loss of cravings for refined sugar, fast-food, salt, nicotine or other addictive substances - a cleanse can have such astonishing results!
I hope I could stir up some curiosity for embarking on your own detox journey and support your body in reaching its full health potential. Maybe I even inspired some of you to experiment with their own cleansing melon island. Nevertheless, be kind to your body and remember that any small step in the right direction makes a difference to your wellbeing!
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Have a wonderful day and a fruitful journey ahead!
Yours, Anais
Nomadic adventuress since 2018 | Raw foodie | Health enthusiast | Minimalist | Freedom seeker | Passionate believer in a life full of bliss.
🍓Hungry for more healthy nuggets? Check out my other raw vegan posts:
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- Roadtrip Through Bali - Between Beaches and Rice Fields
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🌟Let me inspire you to explore your full potential, with these lifestyle stories:
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Disclaimer: I am not a registered dietitian, doctor or trained detox expert. My goal is to share my knowledge from conclusive research and personal experiences to inspire you on your own raw adventure. I do not give medical advice and am not liable for any negative consequences you might face by following any information from this post - even if it is too much energy from a newly gained vibrant health and no idea how to deal with it. Always do your individual research when it comes to your precious health, it is absolutely worth the extra effort!