Day 4-5 is less than fun for me. Oh, I was all cocky at the beginning - "maybe because I tend to eat pretty cleanly, this is easy peasy". What was I thinking, tempting fate that way. Last night around dinner time, and all through the night, and all day today, my body has experienced a deep cleansing. An emptying. It's not pretty, and it hurts my belly. AND I'm peeing like a mo-fo. Seriously hard to get any work done today, constantly heading to the loo. Those little herbal pills and drops contain laxatives and diuretics. I read somewhere that it's not a great idea to have both happening at the same time. Hmmm. I see why. So I humbly state that this is not a walk in the park. My mild headache continues to hover in the background. Apparently it won't last long, this slightly aggressive and really unpleasant cleansing - the promise is that by day 5 or 6, you feel strong and refreshed and clear and alive. Well, today, day 5, I want to leave work and climb into bed. AND last night and today I've had my first cravings - cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate bar are at the top of my list. I'm eating well, but I rebel against being told what I can and can't do in ANY area of my life, so my little rebel, and my loud need-for-variety voice are both yelling at me. Give up. This is silly. You feel sick, let it go, just go back to eating normally. You love pleasure and deliciousness and yummy food adventures. Give up on this silly quinoa/nuts/rice/veg starvation diet. oooh, and how I want to listen to this voice.
BUT.
Instead, I had a big lunch of brown rice and chicken and onions and spinach cooked in coconut milk. Divine and delicious. And I had a plum, instead of the chocolate bar I want. And now, mid-afternoon, to soothe the grumbling in my stomach, I'm having broccoli soup (no cream or milk). And for dinner I will pop my pills and eat a quinoa/tomatoes/cilantro/oil&lemon salad and my apple with almond butter.
AND
I will survive. No, more than that, I will triumph. Likely my belly will be settled tomorrow. And I will continue to enjoy the feeling of not being bloated, feeling light, feeling solid and firm inside, with a clear and calm mind.
And at the end, I'll have had 12 days of super-clean, everything-from-scratch eating, had a little clean-out of my liver, kidneys and digestive tract, and likely lost about 10 pounds. I didn't weigh myself before this (I don't own a scale) but this seems to be the norm when people do this. Almost all water-weight, I'm sure. And I'll have likely broken some of the bad winter/studying habits I'd developed regarding chocolate bars and convenience eating. All very very good things. I need to keep repeating them to myself when the cravings and discomfort start SHOUTING MY NAME!!
Tuesday, 31 March 2015
Monday, 30 March 2015
Clean freak weekend #1
So I've made it to Day 4 of my Wild Rose Cleanse. And through one full weekend, which can be a tricky time for a cleanse, because of social times! So far, so good.
I've been taking my herbal pills and drops every morning and night before breakfast and dinner. I've been drinking water by the barrel, it seems. I've had some odd belly gurglings, more toots than usual, and a little more bathroom activity than normal, but nothing shocking or disturbing. I wonder if this is because I tend to eat quite cleanly normally - I don't consume much wheat or red meat, drink occasionally, tend to only have one coffee a day anyway, and really have minimal dairy intake except for cheese. (gosh, that sounds boring, doesn't it?!) I'd say sugar and chocolate are the one big thing I consume the most of. So I guess maybe there wasn't a whole lot to clean out. I've had a few little achy headaches - I woke up with one this morning - maybe more detoxing happening. But I do notice that I'm feeling pretty great, all in all! Though my external body doesn't look or feel any different, I have this interesting feeling of feeling tight and firm inside. Like, there's no bloating, no puffiness, everything feels tight and great inside my abdomen. I don't know how else to explain it. But I like it a lot.
Sunday afternoon was tricky as I went over to a friend's place for some afternoon visits, and there was wine and beer and yummy crackers and all kinds of cheeses and spreads. I wasn't tempted, because I'm pretty committed to this, but my mouth was watering, and I could almost taste the brie, and the fig and black olive spread, and the asiago cheese dip. oh man. I do miss that kind of fun food. That might be my first "end-of-fast" indulgence:)
So I've been having such fun with the meals. The key, I learned the first time I did this, is to make sure you have all kinds of wonderful ingredients in your house, so you can cook what you want and have things to snack on when the urges and cravings hit.
Important things to have for snacking:
raw veggies cut up
almond butter
apples
berries. lots of berries.
Nuts and seeds. I'm loving sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds; almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts.
Make up some humus. Chickpeas bother my tummy, so I made red bean humus:
Great things to have on hand for cooking and creating:
Chicken
Fish (I cooked with tilapia last night - delicious and served with brown rice fried with coconut oil and almonds!)
All kinds of vegs - lots of greens - just leave out mushrooms
Almond milk
Coconut milk and oil
Soy milk
Brown rice
Quinoa
Steel cut oats
Sweet potatoes. Yesterday morning I made the best breakfast, sweet potato nests! It was so delicious - sweet potatoes and coconut oil all mashed up, and an egg cracked in the middle. oh my god so good:
So, day 4, I'm having fun with it. Feeling just a little deprived of chocolate, but apple slices dipped in almond butter can distract me for a little while:)
speaking of which, I think I need a mid-afternoon snack of exactly that!
ciao for now
I've been taking my herbal pills and drops every morning and night before breakfast and dinner. I've been drinking water by the barrel, it seems. I've had some odd belly gurglings, more toots than usual, and a little more bathroom activity than normal, but nothing shocking or disturbing. I wonder if this is because I tend to eat quite cleanly normally - I don't consume much wheat or red meat, drink occasionally, tend to only have one coffee a day anyway, and really have minimal dairy intake except for cheese. (gosh, that sounds boring, doesn't it?!) I'd say sugar and chocolate are the one big thing I consume the most of. So I guess maybe there wasn't a whole lot to clean out. I've had a few little achy headaches - I woke up with one this morning - maybe more detoxing happening. But I do notice that I'm feeling pretty great, all in all! Though my external body doesn't look or feel any different, I have this interesting feeling of feeling tight and firm inside. Like, there's no bloating, no puffiness, everything feels tight and great inside my abdomen. I don't know how else to explain it. But I like it a lot.
Sunday afternoon was tricky as I went over to a friend's place for some afternoon visits, and there was wine and beer and yummy crackers and all kinds of cheeses and spreads. I wasn't tempted, because I'm pretty committed to this, but my mouth was watering, and I could almost taste the brie, and the fig and black olive spread, and the asiago cheese dip. oh man. I do miss that kind of fun food. That might be my first "end-of-fast" indulgence:)
So I've been having such fun with the meals. The key, I learned the first time I did this, is to make sure you have all kinds of wonderful ingredients in your house, so you can cook what you want and have things to snack on when the urges and cravings hit.
Important things to have for snacking:
raw veggies cut up
almond butter
apples
berries. lots of berries.
Nuts and seeds. I'm loving sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds; almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts.
Make up some humus. Chickpeas bother my tummy, so I made red bean humus:
Great things to have on hand for cooking and creating:
Chicken
Fish (I cooked with tilapia last night - delicious and served with brown rice fried with coconut oil and almonds!)
All kinds of vegs - lots of greens - just leave out mushrooms
Almond milk
Coconut milk and oil
Soy milk
Brown rice
Quinoa
Steel cut oats
Sweet potatoes. Yesterday morning I made the best breakfast, sweet potato nests! It was so delicious - sweet potatoes and coconut oil all mashed up, and an egg cracked in the middle. oh my god so good:
So, day 4, I'm having fun with it. Feeling just a little deprived of chocolate, but apple slices dipped in almond butter can distract me for a little while:)
speaking of which, I think I need a mid-afternoon snack of exactly that!
ciao for now
Friday, 27 March 2015
Spring Cleaning!
Hey folks,
Happy spring time! Though it is snowing here in Ottawa, we're moving toward warmth and springy life. Apparently. And at this time of year, I sometimes like to do a cleanse, to clean out the gunk my body may have hung on to this winter, and to get back to eating clean, and a little more healthily, after this season of hibernation. So, for the second time, I'm going to engage in the Wild Rose cleanse. I used this cleanse a few years ago, after a good friend told me how great it had been for her, and I loved the experience. So here I go again!
Basically, you take these pills and drops twice a day, and you eat clean! Cut out all alcohol, sugar, tropical fruits, dairy, wheat. Eat as much organic as you can. One cup of coffee/day accepted:)
The kit, which costs $45 in Ottawa health food stores, gives you a great little booklet that outlines exactly what not to eat, and all the great things you can eat. There is no shortage of what you can eat, so this is a cleanse where you can eat, and definitely not deprive yourself of food. Which is an important factor to me, as a foody! There are a million wonderful recipes online to support this cleanse - I'm excited to try some over the next 12 days.
Day 1:
First, let me confess that last night I splurged a little, knowing I was going into 12 days of purging and healthy eating. I drank a little more wine and ate a little more dessert than I'd normally; also, it was a fun dinner with a sweet friend, so you know, the pleasure of indulging with friends... a delightful thing every so often!
So this morning I dove right in.
First step - taking these herbal things you see above in the photo. You take 2 of each pill, and 40 drops of the liquid, right before breakfast. And then again right before dinner. each day, for 12 days. These are packed full of all kinds of herbs that clean out your liver, colon and kidneys. I am ready for the next three days to be full of interesting "cleansing" activities (read: frequent trips to the loo) and odd detox symptoms (headaches, tummy aches, sweats, breakouts, who knows what fun will come as toxins flee my healthy bod!)
And then I had an awesome breakfast of steel cut oats, raspberries, nuts and seeds, soy milk and cinnamon, with a cup of coffee with soy milk in it. Delicious, filling, yum.
I'm about 4 hours in from taking those first pills, and here's what I notice - a bit of dryness in my mouth. A bit of grumbles and stirring in my belly. A sense of a bit of a fog (could be related to more wine and sugar consumed last night than I'm used to!). A funny feeling of feeling a little congested, sneezy and a little tickle in my throat. And the touch of a headache, but again, hard to know if its just the effects of the wine last night...
For lunch I'm going to have a big ol' salad with tons of veggies, with guacamole and a lean cut of steak on it. Sounds delicious, right?!
And then supper is going to be salmon and a little brown rice and a bunch of steamed veggies, with my cocktail of pills and drops beforehand. And maybe some berries for dessert.
I think this is going to be a fun adventure. I'm ready for it. I'll be reporting the adventures along the way:)
Have any of your groovy healthy peeps done this cleanse before?! Please tell me about your experiences!
Happy spring time! Though it is snowing here in Ottawa, we're moving toward warmth and springy life. Apparently. And at this time of year, I sometimes like to do a cleanse, to clean out the gunk my body may have hung on to this winter, and to get back to eating clean, and a little more healthily, after this season of hibernation. So, for the second time, I'm going to engage in the Wild Rose cleanse. I used this cleanse a few years ago, after a good friend told me how great it had been for her, and I loved the experience. So here I go again!
Basically, you take these pills and drops twice a day, and you eat clean! Cut out all alcohol, sugar, tropical fruits, dairy, wheat. Eat as much organic as you can. One cup of coffee/day accepted:)
The kit, which costs $45 in Ottawa health food stores, gives you a great little booklet that outlines exactly what not to eat, and all the great things you can eat. There is no shortage of what you can eat, so this is a cleanse where you can eat, and definitely not deprive yourself of food. Which is an important factor to me, as a foody! There are a million wonderful recipes online to support this cleanse - I'm excited to try some over the next 12 days.
Day 1:
First, let me confess that last night I splurged a little, knowing I was going into 12 days of purging and healthy eating. I drank a little more wine and ate a little more dessert than I'd normally; also, it was a fun dinner with a sweet friend, so you know, the pleasure of indulging with friends... a delightful thing every so often!
So this morning I dove right in.
First step - taking these herbal things you see above in the photo. You take 2 of each pill, and 40 drops of the liquid, right before breakfast. And then again right before dinner. each day, for 12 days. These are packed full of all kinds of herbs that clean out your liver, colon and kidneys. I am ready for the next three days to be full of interesting "cleansing" activities (read: frequent trips to the loo) and odd detox symptoms (headaches, tummy aches, sweats, breakouts, who knows what fun will come as toxins flee my healthy bod!)
And then I had an awesome breakfast of steel cut oats, raspberries, nuts and seeds, soy milk and cinnamon, with a cup of coffee with soy milk in it. Delicious, filling, yum.
I'm about 4 hours in from taking those first pills, and here's what I notice - a bit of dryness in my mouth. A bit of grumbles and stirring in my belly. A sense of a bit of a fog (could be related to more wine and sugar consumed last night than I'm used to!). A funny feeling of feeling a little congested, sneezy and a little tickle in my throat. And the touch of a headache, but again, hard to know if its just the effects of the wine last night...
For lunch I'm going to have a big ol' salad with tons of veggies, with guacamole and a lean cut of steak on it. Sounds delicious, right?!
And then supper is going to be salmon and a little brown rice and a bunch of steamed veggies, with my cocktail of pills and drops beforehand. And maybe some berries for dessert.
I think this is going to be a fun adventure. I'm ready for it. I'll be reporting the adventures along the way:)
Have any of your groovy healthy peeps done this cleanse before?! Please tell me about your experiences!
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