Crazy Sexy Wednesday cleanse

Happy Hump Day!

Menu:

Morning –> applesauce w/ cinnamon, crunchy maple sunrise with almond milk

Noon –> split pea soup & gluten-free/vegan corn bread

Afternoon snack –> blueberries, honey roasted peanuts, chocolate chip cookie dough Larabar

Evening –> olive oil & rosemary potatoes, green beans, BBQ sunshine burger w/ ketchup & mustard

Bedtime snack –> dark chocolate and decaf black tea

Overall thoughts & feelings:

I was exhausted when my alarm went off and thought I would need loads of green tea to wake myself up but the run seemed to have cure that.

I hit a 3:00 slump, but a snack and some tea seemed to help that. Usually I would go to Crackbucks but blueberries are far more delicious

The chocolate chip cookie dough Larabar is basically to die for. If you haven’t tried it yet, you must. So much deliciousness in one little bar.

Gluten free is hard. I still cannot believe how much my world used to revolve around pasta. And how much hidden gluten there is. I’m not gluten intolerant so I’m not worried about the hidden gluten so much, but it makes me realize how careful people with an intolerance need to be!

I’m in love with Sunshine burgers. The BBQ variety isn’t my favorite but it still beats basically every other veggie burger out there

Today’s run:

4 miles. I don’t really remember any stats other than I turned the treadmill on and upped the speed every once in a while because I ran about 15 minutes after getting out of bed and apparently my brain can’t function like that…

What I’ve decided

I’ve decided that I wanted to be a Crazy Sexy cleanser. Again. Not for 21 days, not yet at least, I don’t think that my psyche could handle that right now.

But I’m ready to take little, baby steps.

A great friend of mine always said, “Healing is not a linear process”. Steps forward are often followed by 2 steps back. I’m ready to take a step forward, though! I *need* to take a step forward!

So, for this week I will be Crazy Sexy Adventure cleansing for Wednesday and Thursday. As of right now. Wednesday and Thursday are set in stone and, depending on how the week unfolds, I may add in more days (like Saturday and/or Sunday).

My Crazy Sexy 2-day cleansing goals:

– No meat (shall be easy!)

– No dairy (a little tougher but my body will thank me)

– No gluten (zoinks!)

– No alcohol

– Green tea and decaf tea/coffee only

– Lots of fruits and veggies!

Back on the bandwagon

I’m just going to come out and say it: I fell off the Crazy Sexy Cleanse bandwagon in a major way this weekend (well, Friday and Sunday mostly) and it has taken me all of today to collect my thoughts on what my next step should be.

And to be honest, I don’t know what I’m going to continue the cleanse “full force”.

On one hand, that makes me feel like a failure.

On the other hand, going through this whole experience made me realize that while I’m getting to the place where food will no longer be an issue, I’m just not there yet. And that’s alright because I’m slowly chugging in the right direction.

And while it feels like I’m quitting, I keep telling myself that I am not. I am simply making the changes necessary to the cleanse so that I can live my life in a sane sort of manner. As of right now, I have added some dairy and gluten but not meat into my life and I’m happy with that decision.

So, I guess my goal for the remainder of the cleanse is: LOTS OF FRUITS AND VEGGIES and a little bit of dairy and gluten. And that’s what I want my lifestyle to be. What “failing” the cleanse has taught me is that it is possible to live a moderate life.

And here I am, slowly yet steadily climbing back onto the wagon. Bear with me as I figure all of this out!

{Today’s run: easy 3 miler}

Crazy Sexy Cleanse, Day 5

This school-week flew by! It’s already day 5!

Menu:

Morning –>crunch maple sunrise (gluten free) with almond milk

Midmorning snack –> no sugar added applesauce with cinnamon, blueberries, square of dark chocolate, decaf black tea

Noon –>Sunshine falafel veggie burger on whole wheat toast with ketchup/mustard/sliced tomato & asparagus

Afternoon snack –> endamame, apple with dark chocolate dreams PB

Evening –> gluten free/vegan roasted veggie pizza

Bedtime snack –> square of dark chocolate, decaf black tea

Overall thoughts & feelings:

No caffeine again today! It was incredibly difficult for me to resist the siren song of Starbucks as I was leaving class today but I am happier for it. I never realized how jittery and anxious caffeine made me!

The lack of caffeine definitely make me a bit headache-y though. And groggy feeling. Running did help perk me up a bit.

My cravings have been getting a bit stronger but it’s really not so hard to ignore them will all of the delicious food I’ve been eating! Feeling healthy and rejuvenated outweighs everything else.

I’ll be completely honest…the rice crust pizza was not so delicious

Overall, there’s nothing *huge* to report. I guess no news is good news!

Today’s run:

Easy 4 miler (pace capping out at 8:34)

Crazy Sexy Cleanse, Day 4

It’s day 4, lovelies!

Menu:

Breakfast –> PB&J Larabar, all-natural/sugar-free applesauce, mug of decaf

Midmorning snack –> blueberries

Noon –> gluten-free/vegan cornbread, split pea soup, pomegranate tea

Afternoon snack –> red pepper & spicy chipotle hummus, dried mango

Evening –> Sunshine falafel veggie burger on whole wheat toast w/ tomato/mustard/ketchup, asparagus, apple with peanut butter

Bedtime snack –> square of dark chocolate & decaffeinated black tea

Overall thoughts & feelings

I had NO caffeine today. I was exhausted when I woke up this morning and was incredibly close to just making myself some caffeinated black tea, but once I drank my decaf and some water I felt surprisingly awake. The morning run definitely helped too.

Life without coffee/major amounts of caffeine is a lot less jittery than life with it.

I feel a lot more emotionally open. Journaling and blogging and talking and reading has helped me release a lot of negative feelings. I’m actually quite surprised at how much my mood has improved!

Runner’s high = much better than caffeine high!

I was feeling a little headache-y and tired at around 5:30, but nothing too unbearable.

Today’s run

0.5 miles @ 9.31

0.5 miles @ 9.13

1 mile @ 8:40 – 8:57

1 mile @ 8:30

0.6 miles @ 8:30

0.4 miles @ 8:00 – 8:30 pace

0.5 miles @ 9.31

Total = 4.5 miles

Crazy Sexy Cleanse, Day 3

Day 3 has arrived!

Menu:

Morning –> green smoothie (banana, coconut milk, spinach, frozen blueberries), mug of green tea

Noon –>homemade guacamole, gluten free crackers, blueberries

Afternoon snack –> dried mango, pistachios, mint tea

Evening –> veggie sub on whole wheat (with provolone)

Bedtime snack –> square of dark chocolate, decaffeinated black tea

Overall thoughts & feelings

I think I hit my “wall” last night but I woke up this morning feeling ready to start anew.

I did have cheese on my sub. I almost took it off but then I remember why *I* am doing this cleanse and it didn’t involve taking cheese off a sub if I wanted it to be there.

I really dislike coconut milk. I can’t quite pinpoint why but I will definitely be sticking to almond milk from now on.

After lunch, I was craving sugar like no other. I reached for the dried mango but chocolate would have been amazing.

I’m experiencing some detox symptoms today…I didn’t sleep very well last night, so some of my symptoms could be attributed to that, but I feel mostly energetic, just slightly foggy and headache-y.

I finally managed to come out and talk to the boy about my stresses. For me, a big part of this cleanse is emotional so telling him exactly what was on my mind was freeing and wonderful and made me feel like a whole person.

Today’s run

Rest day!

Crazy Sexy Cleanse, Day 2

It’s Day 2!

Menu:

Morning –> steel cut oats with coconut milk, coconut butter, cinnamon, and a touch of maple syrup & a mug of green tea

Noon –> split pea soup, gluten free/vegan crackers, blueberries

Afternoon snack –> dried mango, apple with peanut butter

Evening –> roasted veggie pizza (not gluten free but vegan), coconut

Overall thoughts & feelings:

I was amazed at the energy I woke up with. I was a bit groggy when the alarm went off but as soon as I ate breakfast I felt great. I almost didn’t want to drink my tea (but I, uh, still did)

I had another cup of green tea after my run…not because I needed caffeine, but because I wanted the taste (which is a first in this apartment!)

It’s official: whole foods keep me full and happy for much longer than processed snacks and foods that I was cramming into my face before. Basically, eating healthy(er) makes me feel amazing and happy and like dancing!

Amy’s split pea soup = amazing.

When I got home at 5 I was feeling a bit munch-y but overall my energy was fairly high considering I had only had 2 mugs of green tea, which is far less caffeine than my body is accustomed to.

Emotionally, I feel okay. Focusing on eating healthy and treating myself correctly has made me had a lot of realizations about the way I have been treating myself and what I need to fix!

I feel a bit guilty about the coconut. It was sweetened but soooo delicious. And there are far worse things to enjoy!

Today’s run:

3.5 mile recovery run @ 9:31 pace

Cleanse, day 1

Today is day 1 of the Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse.

{Disclaimer: I’ll be honest, the word “cleanse” still somewhat conjures images of deprivation and hunger. I suppose that is how society “molded us”. But knowing how vivacious and embracing Kris Carr is and how dedicated she is to having a beautiful, bodacious, and fulfilled life, I am not doubtful of any advice she gives. I think it’s healthy to retain a bit of skepticism in life but I do know for a fact that this cleanse is about nourishing and respecting your “bod pod” and not starving it}

{A few notes: I won’t be completely cutting out gluten and dairy for these 21 days because I don’t find that my body is extremely sensitive to their effects. With that said, I will be trying to keep gluten and dairy out of my eats until at least dinner time.

But while I am not completely cutting out all dairy and gluten, I will be cutting out meat and processed “meat”, at least 99% of the time. I do find that my body runs better on vegetables.

Overall, this cleanse is about treating my body the way it should, being gentle on myself, and getting to the root of my “problems”. So while I am going to try my darnedest to avoid processed foods, meat, etc I am not promising perfection.

In regards to caffeine, I will be having 1-2 mugs full of green tea each morning and then will stick to decaf/herbal teas for the remainder of the day.

I will try to post my menu each day but, at the very least, I will be doing a short recap of my eats and feelings for the day.

If anyone is interested in joining, leave a comment and/or check out the Crazy Sexy Life website!}

The menu:

Morning –> green smoothie (spinach, almond milk, banana, coconut), gluten free raisin & pecan bread with peanut butter, 1 mug of green tea

Noon –> asparagus with salt & pepper, endamame, dried mango

Snack –> pistachios, blueberries

Evening –> veggie chili & gluten free/vegan cornbread

Bed-time snack –> dark chocolate & tea

Overall thoughts &  feelings:

I am honestly amazed at how much energy I had throughout the day. I only had one mug (and not one of my ginormous mugs!) of green tea and I felt I was ready to take on the day. As a student, that is a HUGE deal…there were days when I had to drink 3+ cups of coffee just to feel human in the morning.

Emotion-wise, I felt good. Having energy and not feeling like a sloth made my run amazing, which in turn made me into an endorphin-high happy freak.

Knowing that I was only putting “clean fuel” into my body helped me be more comfortable with eating when I was hungry.

I wrote a journal entry in the morning, as opposed to in the afternoon or the evening, which helped to “cleanse” my mind and cleared my thoughts so I could tackle what I need to do. As much as this all may appear to be about food, I think that not treating my stomach like a garbage dump will help with my overall outlook on life.

Basically, I am just incredibly excited to see where this journey will take me.

Today’s run:

0.3 miles @ 9:31

1.7 miles @ 9:13

2 miles @ 8:00 – 9:00 pace (I alternated but didn’t really keep track)

0.5 miles @ 9:31

0.5 miles @ 8:00 – 9:00 pace

0.5 miles @ 9:31

0.5 miles @ 8:00 – 8:30 pace

0.2 mile cool-down

Total: 6.2 miles

Time to clean up.

Last night was a very introspective night here at the panic at the disco apartment (what I have dubbed my apartment as it has witnessed and been part of so many meltdowns and happy moments of my past 2 years). I was feeling upset because I felt as if I had been giving my entire body and soul to everyone…doing favors, answering questions, always being the first to offer to help. And, like I’ve said in earlier posts, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. But trying to take care of everyone else *and* myself is exhausting. And I don’t often ask for help because I don’t know how to articulate what I want or need but sometimes I just feel like I should stand up on a platform with a bullhorn and shout “what about me?!”

I also been had a lot of thoughts regarding my 2011 goals swirling around my head. But mainly I’ve been thinking about my “cleanse once a week” goal. I love that goal, I think it’s healthy and, the way I have it planned, not meant to caused deprivation. But I have been lax on enforcing the whole “once a week” rule; two weeks have gone by and I have yet to treat my poor body any better.

And then Kris Karr announced that with the release of her new health book, Crazy Sexy Diet, there will be an accompanying 21 day cleanse. And I want in.

Why?

Because there are no strict rules (simply eliminate animal products, processed foods, excess caffeine, and dairy. Because there is no special shopping list. Because I won’t be “required” to live off of only smoothies and juice for 21 days. Because her book, which I will be buying, emphasizes worshiping your body and health and not starving yourself. Because I was inspired to begin this journey by a v-log about vulnerability and Kristin Armstrong’s latest blog post…I believe there’s a lot to be said about improving your outlook on life from within.

So basically, 21 days devoted to treating my body better and focusing on my health. Sounds like just what the doctor ordered. And, starting on January 17, I will be writing about my progress on this here blog.

 

The day of the cleanse

In my resolutions post, I decided that I would do a cleanse once a week. Whenever I mention this to people, their eyes get wide and there is a general feeling of “oh my goodness, she’s really lost her marbles this time.”

So I wanted to clarify. A once a week cleanse does not mean that I will not be eating once a week. Quite on the contrary. I will be taking in my “required” amount of calories (so that when I run, bike, and swim, my body doesn’t completely revolt and refuse to perform)…but instead of eating a lot of grains and meats and dairy, I will be focusing primarily on green smoothies, veggies, and fruits.

The idea of a once a week cleanse came to me from this article on Crazy Sexy Life. I thought about doing the other varieties of cleanses (3 days every other week, 7 days once a month) but with my lifestyle that did not seem feasible. And, because I do not want to set myself up to fail, I wanted to start small. In the future I may decide that I really love my green smoothies and veggies all day (and I don’t really doubt that that will happen).

But *why* do I find it important to do a once a week cleanse? Because I have a history of treating my body poorly and I’d like to attempt to reverse some of those effects while I’m still young and have more of a chance of being successful. And because I’d like to learn to be more mindful. And, let’s face it, because I’m a student who in general does not get enough green in her life.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m generally not a tree-hugging hippie but when it comes to emotions and food, well, I kinda am. I just don’t really broadcast that to the entire world because in my line of work, that may freak my patients out (which is a sad statement about the culture in our society but that’s a whoooooooooole ‘nother post!).

But I digress.

I will be following (mostly) Kris Carr’s ACT guidelines tracking my efforts using the ACT food and lifestyle journal (although I will be modifying some of the questions to fit me more appropriately). And, like I said, right now this is a once a week affair. Although I may really love my first day and want to continue it. Or at least carry over some of the principles into my day to day life.