Clean Living, Revisited

I just re-published the entries I wrote about my cleanse and wanted to follow up and tell you how it went, since I stopped writing about it.

I ended up lasting through the whole 6 weeks, which was a miracle. I lost a little weight and figured out that I am allergic to coffee. I also figured out I'm sensitive to something else but unfortunately on my first day after the cleanse I ate a veggie dog in Golden Gate Park so I'm not sure if it is soy, wheat, dairy, corn, sugar, or any of the other mystery ingredients in veggie dogs and refined white flour hot dog buns... On the other hand, I definitely determined that reintroduction is the most important part of an elimination cleanse!!

An update for today: I'm now at 185 (!!) and we live in Durham, NC. I'm trying to lose weight now but I will not post photos (yet).

Also, I've gone back to my Unsolicited blog, so visit me there for updates.

Thanks for reading!

Take care,
Charity

Image source: The Secret Yumiverse

Clean Living, Day Five: Setbacks

So the things I ate today were pretty standard good cleansey things. Yay. I had a pretty good day at work and am making some headway into my new job tasks. There's still a lot to be learned. Like, a LOT. But I made a nice little start.

Then I went to the acupuncture clinic where I volunteer and had a nice time, and had a wonderful acupuncture treatment. It was great, and I was feeling great.

Then I got home and Collin and I got into a fight and now I'm just tired again. So I've watched 3 or more episodes of Fringe, put apple cinnamon oatmeal in the slow cooker for the morning, and looked unsuccessfully for the six packs of floss I ordered from Amazon several months ago. Collin is playing video games and the cats are looking to me for Third Dinner.

But, I'm going to bed. Tomorrow will be new, and maybe I will finally do yoga.

We'll see.

Clean Living, Day Four!

Stats

Time awake: 7:45 and finally on time for work
Video Games Played: 0, but the craving was pretty bad today
Water: probably about a liter
Caffeine: 1 cup of coffee (black), 3-4 cups of green tea with mint throughout the day
Time to bed: 12:30 (ACK!)

Food Eaten

Breakfast - Coffee, one egg cooked in olive oil

Morning Snack - Raw carrots, roasted unsalted chickpeas, cacao goji energy nugget, green tea

Lunch - Leftover roasted beets and sweet potatoes, green tea

Afternoon Snack - Leftover kitchari (1-2 cups), cacao goji energy nugget, green tea

Early Dinner/Snack - Roasted unsalted chickpeas, kombucha

Late Dinner - Leftover kitchari, roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots

Late Snack - Roasted unsalted chickpeas and an orange

Yoga

I have realized that I don't like doing yoga when Collin is here. It's hard for me to focus that time for myself when he's around. It's weird. So we spent 4 hours watching Hemlock Grove, the most terrible TV show in history (Thanks, Netflix).

Insight

I need to either 1) find a time to do yoga while Collin isn't here or 2) be more disciplined about making time for myself. It's kind of hard in a small apartment, but it's totally important. I know I won't feel like I'm doing all I can for my health until I'm able to commit that time for myself at least every other day.

Also, I'm eating a lot. It's good, but I'm not getting out of the habit of mindless snacking, which is a really bad habit that I struggle with quite a bit, and have for a while. 

Clean Living, Day Three!

Stats

Time awake: 8:15, and almost on time for work
Video Games Played: 0, but I watched Collin play for a few minutes
Water: not very much at all! oops. I totally forgot
Caffeine: 1 cup of coffee (black), 1 cup of green tea with mint in the afternoon
Time to bed: 12:15 am (not ideal!)

Food Eaten

Breakfast - Coffee, kombucha throughout the day

Morning Snack - Raw carrots

Lunch - Large handful of Castelvetrano olives, two vegan almond butter cacao truffles, a few vegetable chips with sea salt

Afternoon Snack - Leftover bean soup and black-eyed peas (2 cups), green tea with mint

Early Dinner/Snack - Several slices of roasted turkey

Late Dinner - Kitchari, roasted beets and sweet potatoes

Late Snack - Roasted unsalted chickpeas

Yoga

None! I feel so bad! Day three! But I'm ok. I'll feel better when I get the hang of this, but I'm doing ok so far. I'm very proud of myself for the progress I've made with my diet. I can't wait to start yoga. I've selected my routine. :-)

Insight

I felt no afternoon energy crash! That was cool. And I've been getting sleepier and sleepier all evening. I'm really hoping to sleep better tonight. 

Speaking of that...

xoxo

Clean Living, Day Two!

Stats

Time awake: 8:30, barely (late for work, not ideal)
Video Games Played: 0, but I watched Collin play for a few minutes
Water: probably only about a liter (not ideal, especially since I got a massage...)
Caffeine: 1 cup of coffee (black!), 1 cup of green tea with mint in the afternoon
Time to bed: 11:15 and counting

Food Eaten

Breakfast - Aforementioned coffee, kombucha throughout the day

Morning Snack - Cold oatmeal (about 1.5 cups, surprisingly delicious)

Lunch - Raw almonds (large handful), raw carrots (same)

Afternoon Snack - Aforementioned hot tea, leftover bean soup (about 1.5 cups)

Late Dinner - Black-eyed peas, roasted and unsalted chickpeas, raw cacao truffle (SUPER AMAZING)

Yoga

None! I feel so bad! Day two! But to be honest, I didn't get home until after 9 pm since I had a massage and acupuncture after work, then had to go straight to Whole Foods, and then wait around for muni after muni. I would have preferred yoga, but I was hungry and tired when I got home so I just didn't. However, I packed my lunch for tomorrow, so hopefully I won't be late for work again (!) and I feel absolutely amazing after acupuncture and massage.

Still doing herbs, meds, vits, and supps. I've been taking double dose of Calcium Fizz, which has magnesium in it, and I'm thinking it is helping with my restless legs! They didn't bother me during acupuncture tonight, which is a blessed change, so I'm going to keep doing it.

Yeah!

Clean Living, Day One!

Stats
Time awake: 10:00 am
Weight: 165.0
Video Games Played: 0
Water: 2 liters, approximately
Caffeine: 1 cup of coffee only
Time to bed: approximately midnight (would love to get to bed earlier tomorrow!)

I've taken my measurements but I'VE GOT TO DRAW THE LINE SOMEWHERE! I'll keep track of them offline.

Food Eaten

Brunch - Steel-cut oats (approximately 2 cups), coffee with creamer (prepared by my sweetie without realizing it contains both sugar and dairy, which I'm not eating, but sweet nonetheless)

Afternoon snack - Roasted and unsalted chick peas (probably too many, but YUM!), ginger kombucha

Dinner - Tamari and ginger seasoned tempeh with zucchini and carrots, hot herbal tea with ginger, and lemon water

Snack - Banana and lemon water

Yoga

One run through of the Introductory Iyengar routine outlined by Geeta Iyengar in Yoga: A Gem for Women. (I want to do something a little more rigorous next time, although I can't really say I gave it 100% since we were watching Hemlock Grove while I was doing it. I know, I know.)

Insights

This has been fun. I'm looking forward to it. I'm soaking black-eyed peas for tomorrow, and I've soaked the mung beans and rice for kitchari. I was looking forward to making it for dinner but then I realized I made an appointment for acupuncture and a massage after work. I know, my problems seem insurmountable at times, but I'll make it. Somehow.

Also, I don't think I was supposed to watch Dredd twice and 3 episodes of Hemlock Grove while on my cleanse. It just felt ... dirty somehow. Although Dredd is SO. GOOD.

Oh HI CLEANSE

Let me let you guys in on a little secret.

Ergh...

I'm almost as fat today as I was on my wedding day. Yes, it's gotten out of hand. Again.

I know I know, I'm so cute what could be wrong? Well, that's actually just the shirt talking (GO SANTA CRUZ!). In the other photos I'm wearing a bathing suit, so the cuteness is quite diluted.

Now, as I am totally not one for public shaming (of myself, obviously), I shall hereby disclaim that I love my body. My body has been through a lot as/with me, and it is for myself that I want to help my body out of its blubber wrap before it gets totally out of control.

My acupuncturist has recommended an elimination diet for me (and Collin, LOL) so I figured now is the time. 36 it is! (By the way, it's SO WEIRD that I'm 36. So weird. I wonder if everyone is as surprised as me about growing older.)

In this cleanse, I will eliminate a number of foods that frequently cause inflammation and digestive problems in people, and then gradually introduce them back in, one at a time, so I can determine which of them, if any, are problematic. These include: soy, wheat, corn, peanuts, dairy, and for me, nightshade plants (potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers), among other things. I will drink more tea and less coffee. I will do yoga daily. I will not play video games (WAAT?!?!? Yes it's true). I will regularly get acupuncture and massage to help support my body through this process and keep myself motivated.

So in thinking about this cleanse, one of the suggestions is to make a list of intentions and goals for the cleanse. In keeping with that suggestion, here are my Cleanse Intentions:

1) I will be able to get up without creaking so much.
2) I will be able to digest my food more predictably and smoothly.
3) I will be able to sleep better.
4) I will be able to wake better!
5) I will not crave random weird foods late into the evening.
6) I will be calmer about the changes happening to my body as it gets to be more "lived in."
7) I will lose a few pounds.
8) I will have more time to do things I like.
9) I will feel more confident about my body and my life.
10) I will prepare myself and my body for pregnancy in case that is the path we end up taking.

Overall I'm pretty excited about this thing. I'll post summary stats in separate posts for each day, just because it's easier to keep up with. I've ordered a cleanse journal so as soon as it gets here I may stop keeping these facts public but in the meantime, I guess there's no harm in it.

So without further ado...