5 day detox: done and done

i finally succeeded at one of my life-altering plans. and for the positive! i am 5 days free of junk, all kinds of junk, and i'm pretty proud of myself.

i actually didn't feel so great most of today. i don't think i drank enough water and i'm pretty sure i didn't eat enough food. ultimately, this left me feeling cranky and with a low-level headache for most of the day.

we picked up lots of yummy vegetables at the farmer's market this morning as well as some homemade jam and local honey to help shift us away from extras in food. tonight, i cooked a roasted vegetable pasta bake from 100 Days of Real Food which i liked, but the kids wouldn't touch. V ate the pasta, but i forgot N hates tomatoes so that didn't work out too well.

i'm hopeful this manageable section of change has been enough to catapult me into a more healthful lifestyle. it's like setting sail into a new method of cooking and eating.

bon voyage!

ps - i'm really looking forward to a cup of coffee tomorrow morning, though. that is going to taste excellent.

5 day detox: in the home stretch

it's kind of amazing how long 4 days can seem when exercising such control over one's intake. i have actually managed to eat only whole foods these past 4 days with no smoking and no wine.

the challenge for me came in around dinner time tonight. we had plenty of food in the house to cook for the girls, but i had managed to eat every last vegetable with my lunch today which left nothing for me to eat for dinner.

my work got out early today so i came home and pulled out a yoga dvd that i hadn't looked at in probably 8 or 9 years. i hadn't looked at it because the one time i tried to do the workout i completely failed. my friend and i made it about 20 minutes into the 60 minute program, gave up and watched the rest from the sidelines like it was entertainment. which, frankly, it was at that point. today, i went through the whole thing. i don't know why i have a 60 minute "power yoga" dvd in the first place, but i am kind of proud that i can do it now. 10 years later...

anyway, back to my salad, it had a whole head of bibb lettuce, half an ear of farm fresh corn, avocado, cucumbers, a little onion and lemon to dress it. so. good.

this evening, after the kids went down for bed, i sat and planned the menu for this week coming up. i thought i had missed something, but in planning, there's only one meal that has meat and we're going to grill chicken. in 4 days, my thinking about what makes a meal a meal has shifted. again, i ate pretty well before, but this is different. after tomorrow, i won't be quite as vigilant, but i'm willing to make an effort.

5 day detox: i'm really doing it

for day 3,  my morning started with yoga. i spent 5 hours in the car yesterday driving up to a meeting and back again so stretching felt pretty good. i focused on hip openers and finished with a brief seated meditation. (that didn't last too long as M started making breakfast and packing lunch in the next room.)

i ate leftover cooked oats with berries for breakfast and had a hard boiled egg for snack. another big green salad served as lunch today with arugula, mushrooms and other raw veggies plus brown rice, chic peas and a little oil and vinegar to dress it. i would have preferred lemon, but they didn't have any where we were.

one avocado, a bunch of grapes, an apple and peanut butter and edamame later and here i am writing this evening. i spaced all that out over the afternoon and evening, but i'm pretty hungry at the moment.

i have to say, i'm surprised at how good i feel physically. i read those testimonials about people who eliminate something from their diet and poof! they're cured of whatever ailed them. i tend to be a bit of a skeptic when it comes to pre-set programs and revelations through diet, but i feel really great. and my digestion is excellent. for me, this stands out as a really big deal as my health issues all revolved around digestion.

although, while i'm not usually a person who craves sweets, i could really go for something sweet to munch on. like a pastry. or bread with jam. fruit tastes sweet, but i crave something with more substance. and i did have a moment today when i was ready to quit early and have some french fries.

in the scheme of things, i'm glad i decided to do this.

5 day detox: part 2

today, i feel better than yesterday. let's just start with that.

i rounded out my first detox day with a pretty excellent smoothie. i found the recipe here and modified it slightly to meet the ingredients we had on hand. an added bonus to this smoothie is that the kids not only helped make it, but loved it as well.

Mango Coconut Water Smoothie

combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. makes about 2 servings.

• 2 cups mango chunks (i used frozen, but fresh i have to imagine is better)
• handful of frozen raspberries
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 cups unsweetened coconut water
• pinch of cayenne pepper

then, i focused on fruits and vegetables primarily today, but i had to add in some protein or i wasn't going to make it. cleansing away from one's normal routine may be one thing, but i still have to work, care for my kids and make lunches at night. i need a little something.

for day 2, breakfast included cooked rolled oats with berries, walnuts and some local honey. raw carrots and cucumbers, a mix of walnuts and pecans, 2 hard boiled eggs and a handful of grapes were spaced out over the day with a big green salad in the middle. for the salad, i dressed it with lemon and a little oil. for dinner we ate whole grain soba noodles with lean pork, raw vegetables and sauce from only whole ingredients. 

like i said at the beginning, i feel better today. the only thing i wish i'd manage to add into my day is some physical activity. i should have gotten up to practice yoga this morning, but i thought i might not have the energy after not eating much for a day. 

i must admit, i felt a little worried undertaking a 5 day commitment like this, but i'm pretty pleased with how its going. i mean, i'm not glowing or anything, but the dark circles looked less noticeable under my eyes this morning. 

i'll call that progress.

5 day detox: take 1

after reviewing so many different detox plans, programs, diets and recipes, i ultimately decided on a combination of programs to suit me.

research on detoxing shows about anything you want it to show you. for example, one says to fast the first day and another says limiting calories demonstrates no benefit, only fatigue. one set of programs suggest eating yogurt and eggs, another tells you to avoid all dairy and eggs, but nut milks are ok. you can find the one i'm modelling my plan on here. i'm super good at the clear liquids diet, anyway. after being ill for so long, i know what counts and what doesn't.

photo credit: the full time domestic goddess

here's what day 1 looks like for me:

• mostly drink water (lots and lots of water)
• hot water with lemon is good
• detox tea (or other decaffeinated tea) is on the menu
• melon

i've already downed a full water bottle (24 oz) and had a cup of tea and lemon water. on my lunch, i'm going to head out and get some melon. i don't know why it's melon on day 1. i found it in at least 2 of the programs i investigated. i guess i would say i'm off to a good start. more calories coming on day 2.

jumpstart with detox plan

it turns out, quitting smoking and drinking are difficult. so, i'm going to re-start my plan by diving into a 5 day detox program.

now, to be clear, i'm not talking about a formal order-my-product, pay-for-my-plan kind of program. i simply realized that by trying to eliminate habits that occur as part of my normal routine and keeping the same normal routing is not working for me.

starting tomorrow, i'm going to eliminate all smoking, alcohol, caffeine, processed sugars, processed everything from my diet for 5 days. i'm going to add in as much water as i can swallow. (everything i've read suggests 10 glasses per day. i have a big water bottle, so i'm going to shoot for 3 full water bottles.)

i will eat, but only whole foods, grains, fruits and vegetables.

i find that my resolve is excellent when i wake up, but falters as soon as i hit a stressful situation. for example, my littlest one completely fell out at breakfast this morning. i have no idea why. offering her cereal is apparently sob-worthy material.

i'm also going to use chains to track my progress with one chain each for yoga, no smoking, no non-water beverages, eating whole foods.

i am determined to make a change. i just have to find the right switch in my brain.

back to back fitness

for yoga tuesday this week i attended our on-site zumba class with a handful of co-workers. the class lasted a very short 45 minutes. for me, i felt much less awkward than the first time i participated. i don't know if it was because i knew the moves a little better or if i just felt better generally. regardless, my arms felt sore this morning from all that pumping and punching.

from yoga journal

then, this morning, i rolled out of bed with the full intention of a good 30 or 45 minutes of practice, but instead ended up cleaning up cat puke. and then following the cat around the house as she continued to puke in various rooms. awful.

eventually, i managed to find a little cat-puke-free space and practice for about 10 minutes. i started with a couple sun salutations, then moved through warrior 2, side angle pose and triangle on each side. using vinyasa to transition, i ended with pigeon pose, seated forward bend and cobblers pose. i tried to sit quietly at the end of my practice, but i just couldn't let the thoughts move past.

stupid cat.

good/bad

10 minutes - morning stretch

one of the really good/really bad things about quitting smoking is the moments when my sense of smell starts to properly revive. i can smell everything. (wild mint! truck exhaust!)

credit: survival in the wasteland

one of the good/bad things about our new house is the downstairs bedroom which is currently serving as an office, spare bedroom, yoga studio, playroom and cat litter closet.

this morning, M and I both woke up around 5:30am- he to get ready for cross country practice and a pre-work day and me to practice yoga and get ready for work.

good: M cleaned the cat box.

bad: i couldn't even walk in the room, let alone practice because all i could smell was the cat litter. (granted it was clean cat litter, but it still smelled like chemicals.)

good: we have a playroom, now. i can practice in the playroom.

bad: we didn't clean the playroom last night before bed so i had to clear a little circle for myself to settle in.

good/bad: i still practiced, but it wasn't the practice i woke up imagining.

yoga tuesdays

75 minutes - vinyasa 1/2
30 minutes - yoga for core strength

tuesday is officially my day to go to the yoga studio. and, they even offer 2 choices on tuesday nights- a level 1/2 vinyasa class or the full primary series. this week, i chose the vinyasa class.

we flowed in and out of poses, but kept coming back to side plank. first, with a knee on the ground, then the full side plank, then lifting one leg, then binding the lifted leg with the same side arm. i nearly toppled over several times, but so did everyone else. it was a supportive and fun kind of class.

this morning, i did a little practice i found somewhere on the internet. i didn't keep the page, but just wrote down the series. (i think i meant to print it, but the internet failed me.) i added a little here and there, but i understand why they called it yoga for core strength:

1. cat/cow
2. hand/knee balance (from table, lift opposite arm and leg)
3. down dog
4. plank
5. side plank
6. high lunge
7. half moon pose
8. chair pose
9. eagle pose
10. boat pose

i will say, i wish i'd look ahead a little because it makes much more sense to come into half moon pose from the high lunge. i figured it out on the second side and had to go backwards to get the first side. also, i would add one more pose at the end to counter the boat pose. i chose cobbler's pose. a seated forward bend would work, too.

happy yoga tuesday!

good morning hips

30 or 40 minutes - hip openers

credit: balanced yoga

after feeling like a lump yesterday, i set my alarm for 5:45am and actually made it out of bed by 6am. i headed downstairs armed with a little home practice i found on yoga journal last night. they have a whole section on home practice which can be nice especially if you're a little out of practice.

i started with a couple rounds of sun salutations to warm up and added a standing forward bend before i started the series appropriately called hip enough? i liked the flow and i added a vinyasa here and there to help the transitions, but overall i felt like i flowed right on through.

and now, i've started my day a little more open and a little brighter. i had to refocus my focus to remember that i'm choosing to do this. it is my choice. i choose to wake up and practice yoga.

change is hard

my first week of lifestyle shifting is going ok. not great, but ok. i feel like i didn't actually arrange enough time to accomplish all my weekly goals this week, especially as i'm coming off of a (lovely) weekend of travel into a full work-week, an anniversary celebration and a wedding this weekend.

too many special occasions for full-on victory this week. but, i found this image from yoga on high this afternoon and it brightened my outlook a bit.

now, i'm going to re-set my brain and turn my can't into cans and my dreams into a plan for a yoga retreat.*

*i feel like i sound a little chipper and perky on this one, but i've felt a little sad and a little isolated this week since most of my social habits are linked up with stuff that's not so healthful. pulling away from conversation and friends to not be around the stuff i don't want to do is a bummer.