I am so glad that I did this. I really feel good, but as it turns out I may have bitten off more than I could chew, or I guess in this case, more than I could not chew. I eliminated a lot of foods from my diet at one time; there were slip-ups. I also got a cold and didn’t get in as much exercise and sleep as I had planned. In other words "Life with kids happened."
Day one was not too bad. I thought through food well enough, but salads are really no fun without sugary dressing, cheese and croutons. The apple cider vinegar was terrible. I didn't know if I was going to continue with that. By the end of the day I had a headache, but I had planned on that. Headaches are pretty common when eliminating sugar and grains especially if these two food groups make up a bulk of your diet. (I probably should have written "since these two food groups were making up the bulk of my diet," but that was too personal!)
At the beginning of day two I woke up sniffing. I drank my ACV (apple cider vinegar is too long to type) first thing as planned forgot to take my allergy medicine. A few hours later after I took the ACV I realized that I had not need my meds. In fact I had forgotten the day before as well, and it had been 36 hours since my last allergy pill. CRAZY!
On the third day I realized how much I love the warmth of comfort food. My husband says the only thing that he would change about me is my body temperature; I am part amphibian. I love the warmth that cooked food brings. Raw fruits and veggies leave me cold. I began making roasted sweet potatoes and baked apples for snacks.
The slip-ups began on day four. I made granola bars the day before. I told myself that I had to have just a bite. At least they were at least gluten-free, right? Grrr...My loss of self-control. It was a slippery slope from there.
I made homemade hamburger buns on day five, and it was a new recipe. Obviously, I should take a bite, or four. Otherwise I would have to make them again to see if it was a good recipe. If it was a bad recipe I would have just wasted my time and ingredients. Who likes waste? Then after I had the bun it was easier to justify a little rice at supper.
On day six the opportunity to try new Snickerdoodle bar recipe presented itself, and again it was a new recipe and needed to be sampled. (For the record they were pretty good!)
Overall I did really well, but once I took a bite of grains it was hard to eliminate them again. I drank a lot of water and turned down A LOT of sweets. I was really proud of myself for that. I went an extended period without chocolate which is a very big deal for me. A cleanse is so different than a diet. My concern was for the health of my body and what food I could put into it in order to make it function better. That in contrast to a diet where the focus on what person can't eat and success/happiness is based on a number on the scale or the tag on a pair of pants.
I am glad that I did it. I do feel cleansed. I would say that I have had more energy when I normally would hit the mid-afternoon wall. Not doing cartwheels on the front lawn energy, but yawning a lot less! The cleanse was hard, but it showed me a couple of things.
1) As much as I have tried to add fruits and veggies to our diets, I still have room to grow. Grains sneak in so easily, fill us up and push veggies out
2) I eat a lot of “Cheerio Calories.” I am not talking about actual Cherrios but sneaking a bite of this while you make a child’s plate or finishing up a half eaten cookie or sandwich. It is mindless, and I wasn’t really aware of it.
3) I found throughout the week that did not need allergy medicine. I looked up the pollen count, and it was "High." I have been on meds during allergy season for over 18 years. (Wow that made me look old. Maybe I should have worded it "since childhood.") I would wake up a little stuffy take the ACV, and my allergies would clear up. Then when I started to sneeze again 5ish hours later and would take more and clear up. I must study ACV to figure this one out! (I see a ACV post in the future.)
If you missed the first part you can find A Spring Cleanse here.
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