Let the Cleanse Begin
10. May, 2010 
3 Comments
I’m going to be honest with you. I love cake. My favorite ice cream is Ben & Jerry’s flavored–drum roll please–”Chubby Hubby” (chocolate-covered peanut butter pretzels in vanilla…need I say more?) And I’ve never been one of those people to put down my fork in the middle of a chocolate brownie sundae and say, “oh this is too rich for me.”
I love dessert. I’ve also been known to enjoy my share of pizza. And I can’t tell you how relieved I was when I heard a karmic astrologer whom I respect explain that her chart actually states (implies? hints at?) that she is drawn toward rich foods. Amen. I’m with you, sister.
And, yet, I’m wondering if it’s time for me to try something new. With two kids growing older every day–and becoming more aware of their mommy’s eating habits–I just don’t know if it’s right to keep my dessert habit up. Even more important to me, when I take the time to reflect on how I feel after eating some of my favorite foods, it’s not so great. I’m a little irritable. A little on edge. And I think it makes me less able to enjoy my kids.
So, I’ve joined my amazing friend and integrative nutritionist Simla Somturk Wickless in doing a month-long delicious cleanse. Simla has worked it all out for myself and the other nutrition-goers who’ve signed up…two weeks of eating super healthy whole foods that don’t tend to involve food allergies or sensitivities for people. Then two weeks of slowly reintegrating foods that could cause issues–from gluten to dairy.
I’m on Day 1, which means I’ve eaten exactly one detox breakfast menu and had one cup of my detox tea. I’m feeling tired and a little shaky. My brain interprets this as hunger–as a sign to eat something else–but, actually, my stomach feels fine. It would be easy to blame these symptoms on the super healthy breakfast that I ate but chances are it’s my body withdrawing from that fun day of food I had at the Phillies ballpark yesterday: two beers, a soft pretzel, a hotdog, and half a box of cracker jacks. Oh my gosh. Did I really consume that? Yep. And I enjoyed every minute of it.
But today is a new day: a chance to invest in myself and my health and feeling really really good inside based on the nutrition I put into my body. A day to lay a brick in the foundation of my whole family’s health.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Thank you, Lao Tzu. I’ll try to remember that.
No related posts.
I’m curious to know how things are going…. is it just such a pain to be preparing all of these special foods? Are you exhausted – or feeling refreshed?!
Hi Timoney,
Thanks for asking. Sorry to take so long in responding…I’ve been so busy trying to eat healthy that I’ve lost a bit of my momentum on my blog and other personal writing project! As you may have gathered from some of my recent posts, my body seems to be in flux. I have been really low on energy…not sure if I need to figure out how better to balance my daily diet with more protein due to my eating more veggies or if my adrenal glands are just trying to heal themselves after months of not enough sleep and, now the removal of all those carbs and the black tea I had apparently been using to keep myself propped up. I just remembered how much acupuncture boosts my energy and think I may be due for a few sessions!
All of that being said, I am so glad to have made this eating shift. I have lost 10 pounds in three months–by exercising and adding in this new eating routine, which puts me back to pre-second-baby weight. Hooray! (I’m not even going to try for pre-first-baby weight–please). More important, the kids are eating healthier and I feel like I’m helping to build long-term health for myself and the whole family. It is a big change and hard work due to all the grocery planning/shopping & meal prep, but it feels very “right.” I never could have done this without the help of my nutritionist.
Was that the long-winded response you were hoping for?!
Hope you all are well!