#cleanse 2014

[yoginyc-blog]

Feeling it!

I'm feeling what the Clean Program seems to call 'symptoms'. I've got an enormous headache, I'm tired and stuffy...nut this is apparently all a part of the detox. It's the toxins in my body rising to the surface. Well, I can't wait to get rid of them. On the plus side, I'm not hungry. Not even a bit. I even had a small dinner of some broths soup tonight (after a bigger lunch and late snack, I might add for those who are afraid I'm starving myself). I'm also craving more interesting food at this point. Well, and French fries. And wine...not for the stress relief but for the ritual of it, which is telling. Anyway, the headache is really getting to me. Just wanted to share more about my experience. Another plus? I do think that my skin is a smidge glowy. :)

[yoginyc-blog]

The cravings have started...cleanse update

I'm definitely beginning to crave wine, sweets, and solid food after lunch. Right now, in Day 4, I'm not really seeing the benefits quite yet. I'm low on energy (but this could be the running around and teacher training), I'm stuffy (which is a common detox side effect apparently), and even if I'm not hungry I'm dying for red wine and pizza to soothe my tired, frazzled nerves. But I guess that's what is interesting about all this. I'm acutely aware that I'm not hungry, so it's really obvious that in daily life, I'm soothing myself with food and drink. Like the pamphlets in this say, things become very obvious when you're paying attention to your symptoms. Now I just wish I didn't feel so zapped of energy.

[yoginyc-blog]

Cleanse Day 2

Menu:

- Yummy chocolate Clean shake with cacao chia seeds, small handful dried cherries and almond/coconut milk. Definitely a must-repeat. Possibly tomorrow.

- Mustard roasted chicken thighs (old paleo favorite, made with coconut oil) and wild rice with cherries (couldn't get enough) and green beans mixed in

- Snack: 1 oz turkey jerky, some homemade guac (with NO nightshades) and celery sticks...most of which boyfriend ate because he assumed it was a communal snack.

- White bean soup, pureed. Delicious but overly thick. Saved the leftovers and will whisk in some stock for next time.

Not a bad day :) Probably won't post my menu every day but there were some interested followers. I'm still feeling fuller, and lighter, and am sleeping pretty well. Since it was a Friday and a busy day at work I did get some wine cravings, but since it's snowy and I don't have any in the house that passed quickly...oh, and a french fry craving...because normally I steal those off of boyfriend's plate.

Interesting how those cravings were definitely habit driven, and mostly emotionally driven. I wasn't hungry or thirsty either time. I could wax emotional on that but I think I'll just leave that there.

[yoginyc-blog]

Cleanse update

Started phase I of the Clean program on Monday, which entailed cutting out alcohol, coffee, gluten, dairy, nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers), beef (but not lamb or gamey meats) and shellfish.

Started phase 2 (or the actual Cleanse) yesterday, which replaces breakfast and dinner with shakes or soups...while still cutting out the rest of the foods for my remaining meals.

The goal here is not to simply lose weight, although hopefully and probably I will...but to detox the body from the stress it's been under during the holidays and pre-holidays. i want my body to be in fighting shape with TONS of energy so I can tackle the amount of yoga I'm doing and the heavy workload. I'm also curious to self-diagnose the extent of my gluten allergy once I've been off of it for awhile (aka, how do I feel once I reintroduce it).

With 20 days to go on the actual cleanse, it's already feeling like a relief not to cook so much, and my body is doing its "gluten and dairy detox" thing, where I already feel 10 lbs lighter even though I probably weigh the same.

I'll keep you posted on how it works out. Thus far, the plan is easy to follow, I can still eat out for lunch, and I think only my boyfriend is sad that he's missing out on my cooking for a few weeks.