At the end of January hubby and I embarked upon our first ever cleanse. Though the idea of a system reset has always been appealing, up until this point the thought of a cleanse terrified me. There are so many options out there, many of which, in my opinion are extreme. And if there's anything I'm not all about, it's extremes. So when I noticed a friend doing this one and sharing what appeared to be normal food (!) on Instagram I picked her brain. Cut to - we ordered the supplements, picked a 10 day slot (the 2nd hardest thing about the cleanse) and planned our weekly menu. Now here we are, cleanse complete and feeling great. But let's recap a bit, shall we?
As a vegetarian my first concern was that I'd starve, feel weak and tired, or just fail. I'm not saying it's healthy, but a bulk of my "fullness" comes from breads and starches. To ease my worries and get excited we geared up with some healthy grocery shopping, and with our friend (aka cleanse coach) created a special Pinterest board with approved meals and tips to make it through.
The rules: no dairy, grains, sugars or alcohol - seems somewhat manageable. I really thought I was eating not too far from healthy. Just cutting out a few key areas. Until you realize that everything has sugar in it, everything. Whole wheat healthy looking tortilla's - sugar, organic marinara - sugar, natural peanut butter - sugar. Ugh! Sure it might not be ridiculous amounts, but I really wanted to do this right, so a label checker / homemade everything maker I became. And here's what I learned:
- This particular cleanse includes a fiber drink for the mornings - Peaches and Cream is the best flavor. Citrus is too chunky, and whatever you do, don't let it sit - chug it before it solidifies!
- The second and third day were the hardest. (Should have had more water.)
- Sugar is in everything (did I mention that?)
- Zucchini "pasta" is fabulous.
- Cauliflower "mashed potatoes" are delicious.
- Did I mention water? It's imperative.
- Two weeks after completion, I'm really sensitive to sugar (not a bad thing I guess.) I used to gulp a venti iced chai from Starbucks like nobody's business but those days are over. Now, my sweet treat is a small glass of almond milk and a piece of dark chocolate, more than that and it's bellyache central.
- I really did miss wine though. And cheese.
Before we started I had just returned from nearly a month of travel. "Road food" had taken it's toll on me and I felt completely gross. A few pounds were lost, but the ultimate goal was just to feel better, healthier, and make the grossness go away. Mission accomplished. Now I'm having a food research moment and engulfed in this book.
How are you eating healthy these days?
Wine and cheese, you just can't be beat–but bravi to you guys for doing it (and doing it again)!
ReplyDeleteI've found that homemade cooking really limits the amount of crud you eat–added sugars, preservatives and who knows how they extracted those "natural" flavors–and I'm sure that'll stick once you finish the next cleanse (and ease up a little on traveling)!