Day 3 - End of Cleanse

I was skeptical today because I was introducing meat protein back into my diet.  I would consider myself a part-time vegetarian.  I wasn't like this in the beginning, but I do occasionally eat ethically raised meat.  My snack before lunch helped to subside my hunger and I wasn't really hungry until dinner came.  No lightheadedness today.....thank the Lord!  

Breakfast was the same, except I added almonds since I didn't have a reaction to them the day before.  I also had an amazing spicy vegetarian soup that was LOADED with zucchini, squash, broccoli, carrots, onions, garlic, chickpeas, etc. for lunch accompanied by a salad without any dressing of any sort.  Dinner consisted of a small portion of chicken with roasted veggies.  All of it delicious, filling, satisfying and again....NO CRAVINGS!  I drank another gallon of water as well.

This concludes my cleanse.  I lost another 1.2 pounds, which brings my total fro this cleanse to 8.2 pounds in 3 days.  That's pretty fantabulous!  For the next couple of weeks, I will be testing different foods everyday for inflammation in my body....even chocolate, wine and cheese.  :)  Ooh-la-la!  

    

Day 2

Day 2 of my cleanse went well again.  One thing that I will change today is to have my snack in the morning rather than the afternoon because the time span between my breakfast and lunch is longer than my time span between my lunch and dinner.  I was a little light-headed at times from getting up too fast after bending down to help a child.  This is why there's no exercising during a cleanse because your energy levels are down.

My tested almonds and brown rice yesterday to see if those caused inflammation in my body, but the scale this morning said NO!  I was down another 2.6 pounds so no weight gain here!

I will say the food on this plan is very tasty.  My dinner last night rocked my world with sauteed kale, shiitake mushrooms and chopped zucchini smothered in a spicy coconut sauce and topped with some brown rice.  I'll be having that one again for sure!

Another key is to drink A LOT of water!  I can't express this enough.  A whole gallon went through my system yesterday and will again today.

Day 1

Today's meals were delicious and definitely filling.  I am extremely pleased and amazed at the fact that I went through my whole day without one craving.  People were walking by me with brownies and other desserts and I'm usually tempted by those, but not at all today.  I'm a bit shocked.  Just goes to prove that when you put really great food in your body, the cravings subside.  I also drank large amounts of water today, which isn't going against the norm, but man....I had to excuse myself several times to use the restroom.

Tomorrow I am testing my body for almonds to see if there is any reaction.  Crossing fingers that it's a big fat NO because I love, love, love almonds.

On to day 2 tomorrow.  My lunch bag is all packed with it's goodness.

Update:  10/2/13 - The scale said this morning I lost 4.4 pounds from my first day of the cleanse.

Pre-Cleanse Day

I am all set for tomorrow.  Everything is ready!  I have my meals made for the next two days at least.  I am feeling very positive about this new adventure.  On the lineup for tomorrow's day is my homemade flax granola, ginger-carrot soup, salad, steamed broccoli, steamed kale with veggies and a beet and carrot salad.

My scale is ready for my body to be weighed first thing in the morning as well as my detox tea and water. I can feel my body already opening itself up to all of these delicious foods.

One of the side effects of doing a cleanse is that you feel aches and pains.  I have been struggling with sciatica for a few months now and only very recently have I been starting to feel better through acupuncture and massage.  I am hopeful that the aches and pains will pass over my body like a silent fog and never make contact.

Cleansing

Recently I've been doing more research on how foods cause inflammation in our bodies.  I consider myself a relatively healthy eater.  I cheat sometimes, but hey, one has to live.  I have been noticing, though, that even with healthy choices, I still get bloated and gain weight from it....significantly.  I had a 5.5 pound difference between evening and morning just this past week, so I know that certain foods are causing reactions in my body and now the mission is to find out which foods.

I was going to start a 3-cleanse tomorrow and thought I was prepared, but alas, I need to do some soaking overnight and baking before I can start.  So Tuesday will be my start day.  After my cleanse, I will proceed in an elimination process to figure out which foods exactly are the culprits.  And once I find out, I'm taking them down!

What I like about this cleanse is that I can still eat food.  I'm not a big juicing person only because I don't own a juicer YET.  So, this cleanse works for me and my appliances on hand.

Why cleanse?  It's a way to reset the body by decreasing inflammation and creating a neutral base line.  This way, when introducing new foods, you are able to test them accurately.  Interestingly enough, cleansing is an ancient practice in which nearly every culture and religion participated in.  Through time our bodies become desensitized to the foods we eat all the time.  But when you do a cleanse, your body gains it's function back of properly recognizing invaders.  I remember when I switched over to an 85% raw food diet and after two months of this, I shared in a Thanksgiving feast with family....turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc.  Within an hour I was doubled over in the most intense pain.  Do you know how many Thanksgiving dinners I've had and this has never happened?  It was then that I knew I was doing the right thing for my body and continued on that path.

My plan is to document my journey throughout the cleanse and elimination process.  I hope any reader will find it informative and encouraging.