IT'S OVER!

I'M DONE I'M DONE! That's it. I've finally reached the end of my cleanse. Overall, I think it was a really good thing to do (despite being cranky at times), and really improved the way I will now approach what I eat. Now, it's not like I've had some great revelation and I've sworn off cheese and sugar completely, because I haven't. In fact, I had a LOT of sugary sweet stuff yesterday to "reward" myself. But therein lies the problem; with a detox like this, you're working so hard just to get through it, that the light at the end of the tunnel comes in the form of a chocolate chip cookie (without the chocolate chips, in my case). So now what, I have just spent three weeks ridding my body of crap just to put it back in? But realistically, I can't eat like a detoxer forever (well, I could become vegan, but who wants to do that?). I am definitely ready to start adding minimal amounts of dairy, carbs, and even sugar back to my diet, but am doing so with caution. I am much more aware now of what I am eating, and have started to recognize that just because something doesn't have a lot of calories doesn't mean its good for you.

And so here's my other problem. Being on a detox gave me an excuse to eat healthy, and to turn away down the carrot cake in the break room at work. Now, I have no excuse. Am I going to have to rely on *gasp* self-control? I certainly don't have much of that. So ending this detox, while I am excited to be able to eat many of my favorite foods again, has left me with somewhat mixed feelings. Aside from the fact that I don't want to feel guilty about eating chocolate (which I sort of do now), I am interested to see how long I am going to be able to keep this up without some sort of accountability. I'm crossing my fingers (and toes).

5 more days, 5 more days, 5 more days..

Soo, I know I've been slacking on the posts this last week, and I'm sorry, but its actually been a very busy week! Today finds me in day 2 of week 3, which means that I have added eggs and gluten-free grains back to my diet. My detox buddy and I spent a good deal of time poking around the gluten-free section of the grocery store tonight debating between gluten-free pancakes, gluten-free sugar cookies, gluten-free chocolate cake (and frosting!).. only to decide that we were going to wait it out until next week. We settled on gluten-free pretzels instead.

Last week we were able to add back beans, lentils, soy, and seafood, which meant a lotttt of fish for dinner. Honestly, by the end of the week, I was a little fished out. So for dinner tonight, we made a kickass stir fry with rice noodles, a garlic-ginger-sesame-soy sauce that Jerry made, and a bag of stir fry veggies from Trader Joes. IT WAS SO GOOD! Definitely the best dinner we have made throughout this detox.

Now, I have heard people say that when they do this cleanse, they lose all cravings for sugar, dairy, carbs, etc. I must be a weirdo then, because I am exactly the opposite - I am craving EVERYTHING. Cookies, cupcakes, cake, pizza (duh), even foods that I don't normally want (hellooo McDonald's, you look sooooo good), you name it, I want it. I am literally counting down the days until this is over and I can eat a piece of chocolate without feeling bad. (This last sentence implies that chocolate is one thing that I just seem to kinda let slide and have not 100% given up entirely.) My best friend (who also did the detox) is coming to visit in two weeks and it seems that all we can discuss is the food we're going to eat when she's here.

I am a little hesitant about this detox ending because I have been feeling so good during it all - I don't get tired during the day, I have more energy at work, I feel good about myself, and I even lost a few pounds. While I am absolutely pumped to have sugar again, I don't want to feel guilty every time I want a cookie now. I don't want to worry that it is going to make me sleepy. But there are just some things that I can't totally give up. As I have mentioned before, I am definitely going to incorporate elements of the detox into my daily life (for one, I am going to stick with the smoothies for breakfast), but there are some things that I just can't live without, like pancakes, and so they are just going to have to make a comeback - their big debut is Saturday morning, by the way.. :)

sunday funday

Sooo, it's day 9 of the cleanse. Yesterday I was able to add beans, lentils, and seafood back to my diet, but I have to say, I'm still a little bored. Jerry did bring home a delicious broiled filet of sole last night, done in a vegetable stock with roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, white asparagus and spinach, and that was a really nice change from night after night of soup. So I am definitely looking forward to more fish this week. I would say, "week two and going strong!" buuut we treated ourselves today. It's not that we don't have the self-control or will-power to resist, but it's been a week and a half of very unsatisfying and unfulfilling food, so we decided to reward our week well done.. with pizza of course! And it was DELICIOUS. (For the record, it is very thin crust, with fresh tomato sauce and minimal cheese, but it was still amaaazing.)

I think that was just what I needed though, to give me the motivation to get through the next week, sooo bring it on week 2!

rockstars!

WE MADE IT THROUGH WEEK 1! Well, almost.. but tomorrow is the first day of week 2 and that means seafood, beans, and lentils! Hallelujah - hummus I have MISSED you! I am sure meals are going to get much more satisfying once we can add those crucial foods back into our diet. I think all in all, I survived week 1 alright. I am definitely feeling sated after I eat, I am just not totally satisfied. That's not to say that what I'm eating isn't delicious - Jerry makes a mean soup - but I just feel like I'm missing out on something. For someone who looks forward to every meal, I have just been kinda disappointed with what I'm eating. But like I said, I am sure things will get much better this coming week.

I will say, tough as this is, I am really glad I am doing this. I feel SO GOOD! My workouts are better, I sleep so soundly, and I feel constantly refreshed - I just have so much more energy! While the first few days REALLY suck, I would definitely recommend this to anyone; the benefits are so worth it.

detox, days 4 & 5!

So, as promised, I have definitely started feeling better. I had an awesome workout yesterday in which I didn't feel fatigued at all, and I have stopped having that empty feeling all the time. In fact, my body rarely gets hungry at all. Which I'm not sure is healthy either. If I have a smoothie for breakfast, I don't start feeling hungry until about 4 or 5 in the afternoon. I then eat a snack and I could be done for the day. By 10 o'clock last night when I still didn't feel like eating, I had a bowl of soup just so I would have something in my body. I know my body is adjusting to the detox which is a great thing, but am I really supposed to be this satisfied on hardly any food at all? I'm still really craving foods I can't have, but I am also feeling content with what I've been eating.

I had a conversation with my boss (who is studying nutrition) today about these detoxes and she asked me what I was really craving. The obvious answer, pizza. When she asked me when I was going to eat pizza, I said, "in like three weeks when I'm done with this thing." She said, "no, this weekend." We then got into a discussion about how these cleanses are great, but while they're supposed to set the tone for a lifestyle that you'd like to have, they are somewhat unrealistic. I definitely want to continue to be healthy and make smart eating choices when I'm done detoxing, but I also want to have chocolate. I talked to my friend tonight who is in her second week of the same detox and she told me how she had taken a trip to San Francisco, and "cheated." But when you're visiting Napa with friends you haven't seen in a while, are you really going to sacrifice having a glass of wine? Definitely not. We both agreed that she should definitely not feel bad, especially since she is back to following the guidelines. Even during this cleanse, I don't think there is really anything wrong with the occasional "bad" food, especially if you intend this to transfer to a real lifestyle. I'm still going to try to get through these three weeks without any of the "taboo" foods, but come day 22, I'm sure as hell going to have a piece of pizza. I'm absolutely inspired to continue my detox eating habits past the end of the cleanse, but with the occasional slice of pizza of course. Because, realistically, who wants to live in a dietary world that doesn't include pizza? Not this girl.

detox, day 3..

As promised, our smoothies this morning were delicious! Definitely the best thing we've made so far. The recipe was actually from the book that comes with the Jack LaLanne bad-ass juicer that Jerry has. I have to say, since dating a chef, I have inherited some pretty cool kitchen appliances.. :)

Anyways, I've been feeling like crap for the past three days. Whining, complaining, threatening to quit and go get pizza when I'm by myself tomorrow, you know the drill. But I can't help it! I've had a headache, I've been nauseous - these veggies just don't seem to be doing it for me. In fact, for someone who normally loves veggies, I've been very turned off by them all of a sudden (I know, I know, it's only day 3, suck it up). The big surprise of the day, however, came this afternoon during our run. Now, lately I've been having a really tough time with this favorite pasttime of mine. It's either my asthma, my IT band, or my legs feel so heavy I can't seem to get them off the ground for very long. But today, I felt GREAT. I don't know, maybe my problem lately has been all the crap in my body and now that I'm finally getting it out, I'm going to see benefits in not just my energy levels and sleep, but also my exercise. I sure hope so at least.

I hear that tomorrow I'm supposed to start feeling great. After a very filling dinner of roasted veggies (mushrooms, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, sweet potato "fries" and crisped kale - yum!), I'm actually not starving going to bed, for once. Hmm, maybe this is a sign of good things to come.

P.S. yummy recipe alert!

I do just have to add, that yesterday I had an awesome lunch.. avocado with cucumbers, tomatoes, and scallions with a olive oil & lime dressing - definitely worth trying. You can get the recipe here (I substituted peppers for cucumbers cause I don't like peppers :))