So Sunday was the last day of our cleanse. Whew! Made it. And with minimal cheating (only on the last day, and it was by having a real dinner) :) Sorry this will be a long post!
This whole process has been really eye-opening. I lost 6 lbs, which is pretty exciting, considering it was only due to a change in diet. My husband lost 12 lbs! Awesome. I feel like I look better, and I know I feel better. Today we actually got up at 5:30 (!!!) and went for a 40 min run/walk! This is an absolute turnaround for us. For me, at least. I have always had an extreme love/hate relationship with running (also with getting up early, but that's another story). I hate running. I love thinking about liking running. It made me get D's in high school gym class, and has always been something I dread. So for whatever reason, this week, it popped (I almost wrote "pooped," which would be equally appropriate) into my head that I wanted to run a marathon. Crazy. And so this morning, my husband and I got up, ate a quick and small breakfast (healthy peanut butter on multigrain toast and some fat free cottage cheese, yum!), and took off. We are following the beginner's training program from RunnersWorld. Basically, you warm up by walking briskly for 5min, then run for 2min, walk for 4min, etc., alternating for 40min. I won't lie, it was tough. My knees still ache (they are awful anyway), and my lungs were burning. But we did it, and I only stopped for a second, then my husband reminded me that I can indeed do it, and I did.
The most interesting thing I think I've learned about from this cleanse is not portion sizing, or better food choices, but the reactions and attitudes of those around me. I thought everyone would be really supportive, and say "way to go!," or "that's awesome," or something along those lines. What we got instead were lots of doubters, and people who couldn't (and still can't) wrap their heads around what we were doing. "So you're not eating?" was a question we got a lot. "Aren't you hungry?" "Don't you want a burger?" "Why can't you just have a beer?" I would explain that we were cleansing, and we were getting all the nutrients and vitamins we needed, and truly, the majority of the time we were actually not hungry because we were getting what our bodies had been deprived of for years with poor food. Sure things were tempting, but paying attention to actual hunger vs. boredom or temptation was a big part of it also. People gave me a really hard time about my choices; some even laughed or made snide remarks, like they knew I was going to fail, and there I was, silly me, thinking I could accomplish something and have control over my own health! Yes, I really do like fresh veggies, and I won't apologize! Sure cookies sound good, but I feel like I've reset my body a bit, and those old cravings are gone now that I've flushed out the feeling of fatty, sugary junk food. We treated ourselves to a dinner of sushi last night. And sure we ate a bit more than we should have, but we enjoyed it, and we've made a great grocery shopping list of healthy foods. We're going to start making our own bread, cheese, maybe even yogurt. I firmly that believe taking part in the creation of your food leads to a deeper appreciation of it, and if you take time to enjoy it, you stop yourself from going overboard. My obsession with the magazine Cooking Light has been really helpful in reminding us that a diet change is not about deprivation, but portion control and paying attention to what our bodies are telling us.
So for those of you interested in using the same program we used, it's called IsaGenix (I wish I was paid to endorse, but I'm not). You probably have to buy it from a consultant; our chiropractor ordered it for us. Overall, it was great. For the future, I don't think I want the same shakes and snacks, but I'm a little better equipped now with what I'm looking for in my food choices.
And for all the haters and doubters... mind your own fat! Please don't try to put me down because I'm doing something for my own health and future! Join me or don't, but please be supportive!
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