3 Day Cleanse

Last month I decided to try a two day juice cleanse. It was difficult but I did it. I stuck to it and I was so proud of myself. Last Saturday, I started a three day cleanse!

I was a little leery about starting a cleanse on the weekend. Weekends are for wine, pizza and cheat foods! So it will be a great test of my will power and strength. And so far it's been great! The juices are from a new company called Glow Juicery. I found out about them through Facebook and first tasted their products on Canada Day at our community festivities. They are delicious!

The cleanse consists of 6 different juices and a salad for lunch, no dressing. You can use apple cider vinegar (ACV) or lemon juice as a dressing. It's also recommended that you drink lemon water, water with ACV or aloe as much as possible, to help in the detoxification. You can even have herbal teas. A timeline of when to drink the juices and the order they should be consumed is sent with the cleanse so there is no confusion on how to proceed.

Day One

I made sure to weigh myself right off the bat this time. I forgot to when I did my first cleanse and remembered on the second day and at that point had lost 4 pounds. I didn't find the first day too bad. I wasn't home much so I wasn't tempted by the fridge or cupboards full of food. I did my bootcamp class in the morning and had a day full of sports to watch, my newphew's baseball and my stepson's football games. The dinner hour and evenings are tough. Evenings are when I sit down to watch my shows with a glass of wine. Only this time, I sat down with lemon water and herbal tea. I really find that an herbal tea in the evenings helps a lot! I went to bed early, as I was tired from being up so early, bootcamp and lack of food. I did go to bed with a grumbling tummy but managed to fall asleep anyway.

Day Two

I woke up with memories of the dreams I had overnight. Food. I had a dream that I ate and ate and ate, then remembered I was doing a cleanse. Oh boy! I didn't wake up hungry though. I had my hot water with lemon, then my first juice. It was a little hard to get down for some reason, but I did it. It wasn't the taste, I think it was just a lot of liquid so early in the morning. I weighed myself first thing too and I am down 4 pounds! Today would be a true test of will power because it's my sister's birthday and we always have family dinners on birthdays. It was torture! All I wanted to do was pass out face first in the baked ziti and eat it all! Pasta, breadsticks, salads...oh and chocolate birthday cake! But I did it! I didn't have a single bite of anything! I got home from dinner and made my herbal tea and headed to bed.

Day 3

Monday. No one likes them but the come once a week. It's my last day on the cleanse, so Monday was going to be a good day! I got up and  weighed myself first thing. Down another 2 pounds! Sweet! I felt weak in the morning though. I had to sit down to blow dry my hair. Could have been the lack of food, or the bootcamps I had on Thursday and Saturday! My legs are killing me!! The afternoon seemed to drag on. I had a great salad for lunch but by 2 pm I was hungry. But my next juice was at 2 pm so that filled me up. I did find today difficult, maybe more so than the others and I think only because I knew it was my last day. Today I felt a little down too, almost depressed. I think I was missing food! No joke.

But it's over! I did it! I can see myself doing another one, definitely. Although it's tough, it's a great test of will power and strength. I could have easily caved at anytime but that's the easy way out. "Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight", to quote a Bruce Cockburn song. And that includes your health!

The Big One

When I turned 30, I thought it was the worst thing in the world! I dreaded that day. But nothing was worse than turning 31. I was no longer 30, I was IN my thirties! 40 seemed way off in the distance but before I knew it, it was here, I was 40. I had a much easier transition into entering this new decade. I had a fantastic 80's themed party with my friends and family, stayed up way too late, drank fabulous wine and ate delicious food!

Let's go back about a year. When I turned 39 I decided that I was going to change my life. I needed to exercise more and be very conscious of what I put in my body. I scoured the internet for recipes, blogs and anything I could read that would help me along. Well, like most of my bright ideas, this one stalled. I love wine and I love food. It's just so easy to come home after work, cook some comfort food and pour myself a glass of wine. This became routine. This is what I did five days a week. Weekends were pizza, sushi or eating out at one of our favorite restaurants.

Then one day, my pants didn't fit like they used to. Things were a little snug. And then I noticed that I was developing a belly. I have never had and issue with a flabby stomach before. Hips and butt were and always will be my biggest concern about my body. I have booty and hips, no denying it. But now I had this belly and I was stressed!

So I started with little things, no more wine with dinner, and if I was going to have wine, I would have a glass only on the weekends only. I cut out white sugar which was a challenge because I am a tea drinker. I love Earl Grey tea. But I did it. I started drinking herbal teas. I started exercising, but I still wasn't happy with the results. My journey is on going, like anyone else, I fall off the wagon, but I start over and try again.

A turning point for me was reading Kimberly Snyder's The Beauty Detox Foods. I don't follow her principals to the letter but I do incorporate several of them into my life. Her blog is fantastic too! She helped me in so many ways. I started to read labels, buy organic (when possible) and just had an overall consciousness about what I was consuming.

I don't eat read meat (maybe once in a blue moon I'll have a steak) but I do still eat chicken and pork. I cut out a lot of dairy. I still have cheese once in a while as it is one of my favorite things. My family thinks I'm a little strange but I feel better eating this way and it's my choice. It is a lot of work mind you! You have to be prepared, it's the only way to be successful in eating healthy in my opinion. And yes, there are days where the last thing I want to do is cut up veggies, cook a pot of quinoa or shred lettuce. And those are the days I fall. So prep your food! If it's there and ready, you'll eat it!