Fasting, not feasting

Over the past few days, perhaps a little over a week, my dietary regimen has been rather uncertain, just like my emotions. An upset tummy and a recurrence of that dratted vertigo, with a bloody-minded sense of vengeance, had my doctor ban anything caffeinaceous for a week, except for chocolate, and that only for the sugar and soothe value of it all. No caffeine, try and detox, clean your tummy, drink plenty of water, rest, avoid all your usual running about, let the housework go for a few days, forget stress, stay away from all emotional turmoil and, most of all, eat often but small meals, with more salt that your usual, but not too much, he almost-yelled. I nodded mutely, fighting the wave of sick dizziness that threatened to wash over my unbowed head, and fled back to unscheduled page-making. As a result, I ended up being able to slide into my tightest pants, even though sitting for too long was rather painful and the lack of oxygen made my normally gently tanned face an incipient blue. Pleased as I was with that fact, I spent the day trying not to breathe too much and hoping that it would be over sooner rather than later.

That apart, eating little and hanging about doing not much more than play with Small Cat and read a lot was a good deal as far as I was concerned. Eat light was the easy part. I was not especially hungry. Too many emotional ups and downs, too much stress, too much disturbance of normal routine, too much food that was not on my usual menu, too much nervous energy and way too much angst, worry and associated stress. So anything that went in wanted to come out. Which meant lots of water, lots of yoghurt and no tea, no coffee - which I had got into the horrible habit of slugging down as soon as I got to work – and no limbu paani, which I like. I sat in my large chair, idly scratching Small Cat’s ears and watched her go into tiny paroxysm of delight, occasionally grabbing my fingers for a gentle bite.

Detox is a much abused word these days. I believe in it, yes, but not the way the magazines suggest. I detox by cleansing the mind as well as the tummy, drinking lots of water, nibbling at only what the mouth craves, eating only what the tummy wants and doing only what the energy stores allow. For me, it was all about a little dahi, an occasional spoonful of veggies and regular doses of sugar, like it or not. Gradually, the floatiness faded, the sickness retreated and the headache went back to wherever it had come from. I chased Small Cat from room to room and we wrestled and giggled, occasionally stopping for a warm hug and a little coochie-cooing over a handful (mine) or cat-biscuits (hers). As my mind calmed, so did the body. And by Monday, as I slid into my snug trousers, I was ready to tackle everything from the irascible boss to making pages and finding writers for stories that were always just that little too late.