Day Three. I'm Done.

Game over!

I consider myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually "reset". Yayyyyy me.

Three days no coffee, three days no wine, three days no food other than fruits, vegetables, and one light, healthy, balanced meal per day.

It really was a lot easier than I thought (dreaded) it would be. I only notice a slight "lethargy" that was the worst on day two (probably because I cheated and had 1 cup of coffee on day one). But today I feel great! And I'm sleeping reaalllllllly well. I may even switch permanently to decaf tea. I actually sort of, kind of  looked forward to it this morning!

I asked Rob if I acted even a little bit cranky without coffee (and food!) and he said "No," Then I said, "What about on day one when I asked why you were chewing your gum so loud?" God bless a man with rose colored glasses and a bad memory! It's especially funny because that's the one day I did have coffee.


I feel like I could stay on this detox plan longer. I'm not quitting after three days because "it's so hard!", it's really not.  I just feel like I got what I needed out of it. I've purged the bloat, the cravings, and I feel like I'm at a great place to launch into "Phase Two". Wait. There's a "Phase Two"? Yes. But it's really just a return to my old "clean eating" habits of the earlier part of 2011 (before we moved).

In case you're new to the clean eating thing, it's not a diet, it's a way of life. It involves eating whole foods, as close to their natural form as possible. Organic, in season, local if possible. It usually involves one entire half of a Saturday every week for shopping (farmer's market, meat market, etc.) but I'm food obsessed, so that part is really fun for me! (I'd rather shop for food over clothes or shoes any day of the week)

Oh, and Rob and I are going to convert the garage (or part of it) to a gym. We toyed with the idea of a gym membership, then we laughed our asses off at the idea. The two of us...in a gym...together. It would only be a matter of time before one of us decided to sport a terry cloth headband. Then we wouldn't stop laughing....we'd cry all over the equipment...people would get mad...we would get kicked out. It's just not a good idea.


Not to change the subject, but tonight, I had the best salad I've ever had in my LIFE! This is from Jenna's blog: Eat, Live, Run (this is also her photo, I knew mine wouldn't do the salad justice):

See, people like Jenna are my heroes. Who would think to just "throw" these ingredients together? I know I wouldn't have.

Romain Lettuce drizzled with white balsamic (it has to be white)
Veggie burger, cooked and crumbled
Goat Cheese (lots of goat cheese)
Big spoon full of Tahini Sauce
Healthy squeeze or three of Criracha Sauce (hot, watch out!)

Wow. Wow. Wow.

Day Two Detox Missing Words Brain Tired

I feel so relaxed! I was a little worried this morning (the no coffee thing), and I considered staying in bed (I really didn't see any point in getting up), but then I realized that I could have green tea (decaf) and I can put a little half and half in it to give me the "illusion" of coffee. It was a nice warm beverage. I kept waiting for the little "kick" I usually get, but of course it never happened. I had three loan applications to submit this morning and I worried I would be too "groggy" to function, but nope. Turns out I'm quite chipper in the morning even without coffee!

I was sure that 11am would find me curled up in a ball, crying. But that didn't happen. And I didn't even get a headache. Maybe that will come tomorrow. I was up to 4 cups a day, I was expecting more drama.

I had to run to the health food store at lunch and nearly had a meltdown. Lee's Sandwiches on one side and Bob's Giant Burgers on the other. "It's for the greater good", I told myself, which really doesn't make much sense, but it's all my dull brain could come up with on the fly. I went back to work and my brussel sprouts.

At exactly 2:27 pm, I took a deep breath, exhaled, and felt amazingly and totally relaxed. I felt like how I must feel when I'm pretty close to my absolute natural state without being hopped up on caffeine or going up or coming down from a carb/sugar high. It felt pretty blissful. Like after a really good yoga or meditation session. I recreated the feeling a few more times throughout the afternoon, but by the time I got home and and into my yoga clothes I was hungry, crabby, and tired. So much for that! I did a little yoga, made some mustard greens and kale over quinoa topped with chili lemon shrimp, and now I'm blogging and eyeballing the blanket on the couch.

Nighty Night!

Almost Day One Detox

I should probably have a better plan, like how long will I be on this detox diet. But I don't know. I guess as long as it takes to feel like all the bad/processed stuff is out and all the good nutrients, as well as natural balance and energy are restored! My best guess is 3, 7, 10 or 14 days. Maybe 30, possibly 360, but I doubt it.

It's only 2 pm on the first day and I'm embarassed (though not at all surprised) to report that I've already cheated! I had coffee this morning. But that's IT, my last cup! And no sugar. (I never put sugar in my coffee anyway, do I really have to stop drinking it?!). I'm pretty sure after our NYE weekend, there's no more booze in the house, so no cheating there. (Rob, if I call you and ask you to pick up a bottle of wine on your way home, pretend you have bad reception and HANG UP!!!)

In case you're wondering, here is "The Plan":

Master Cleanse Lemonade from the time I wake up through lunchtime into the afternoon. I have a 24 ounce water bottle that I fill twice with the following:

6 Tablespoons of fresh squeezed organic lemons, 6 Tablespoons organic B grade maple syrup (not nearly as yummy as A grade), 1/4 Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper - ice and water. It's pretty tasty. I'm usually done sipping my way through 2 bottles worth by....about now (it's 2pm).

(I should probably note somewhere (like here) that I do NOT do the actual "Master Cleanse". That involves NO food and a warm saltwater concoction and laxative tea. Not my thing. I just use the lemonade because I like it, I believe in lemon juice and cayenne pepper for their cleansing and restorative qualities and it does curb hunger.)

Unlimited fruits and vegetables whenever I'm hungry. So far today I've had a bunch of carrots, snap peas, and I'm currently noshing my way through my favorite - a bowl of lightly sauteed brussel sprouts! I'll have an apple for desert. The fruits and vegetables should be organic. Some of mine are, some are not. I couldn't find any organic brussel sprouts (I'll be heading back to the farmer's market to stock up this Saturday and should have a better variety of organic produce). The fruits and vegetables should be eaten raw, preferably, but lightly cooked is ok too.

Dinner: A lean organic/natural protein (fish or chicken), with an organic whole grain (i.e. brown rice, quinoa, etc.) and, yep, more vegetables. Now some people poo poo the protein (animal variety) all together, and during my normal eating plan, I eat vegetarian about 3-4 times a week. But for me (and this is just my preference), I feel that if it's local and/or natural/organic, a little bit of lean animal protein is perfectly healthy and will prevent me from craving protein from a less healthy source - like cheese, in the form of a puff. Trust me on this.

Yoga nightly with an emphasis on cleansing breaths and meditation with an emphasis on compassion and gratitude.

Wish me luck!

Happy New Year! It's a Revelation Resolution Revolution! (say that three times fast)

You know those two pounds I lost? Good news, I found them again!

As I sit here typing, on January 2nd, eating 3 pieces of bacon for breakfast, I have to ask myself; what is really important to me? What am I doing? What are my goals? Why can't I achieve the simplest one of all - just lose 10 pounds? And being the fairly clever person I am - I've figured it out in the 4 seconds it took me to type this first paragraph.

1) First of all, I AM ready. Now. I've always been ready. I just didn't have the right amount of focus or determination. But now I do. I'm going to kick off my quest tomorrow when I return to work (I would do it today, but my husband just brought me some bacon, I didn't want to be rude or ungrateful). Also - notice I reduced the amount of weight I wanted to lose from 15, 20, or 25 pounds to 10. Let's be real.

2) One of my "go to" goals for the New Year has always included some incarnation of "practicing Dharma", "becoming" a better Buddhist, etc. Well, I think I have some new and exciting insight into this one as well. Sometimes I'm annoyed by those cheesy self-help Yahoo! articles or Facebook "posters" that tell you the 10, 6, 12, or whatever number of simple steps/ways of thinking that you need to practice in order to be the happiest person EVER. Most of them are too obvious, old news, or I'm "already working on it". But every once in a while, I'll see a new one, one that I hadn't heard or thought of before, or have forgotten. Here is one such tip: Don't measure or compare yourself against other people, measure or compare yourself with where and what you were five years ago. Brilliant. I see some improvement and I see some old habits returning. I'm on it!

But the greatest revelation I've had, that will assist with this particular resolution, is that I have realized a new and exciting way to combine my passion for horses and my desire to deepen my spiritual practice. Have you ever trained or cared for a horse? I have my whole life, except for the past 8 years or so. Now I'm back in it and the more I read and study training techniques, the more amazed I become with the connection between horses and Buddhism. There are volumes of books, studies, forums, etc. that explore this connection. There is even a book called: Zen Mind, Horse Mind; the Science and Spirituality of Working with Horses, by Dr. Allan Hamilton.

"Mindful work with horses, says neurosurgeon Allan J. Hamilton, can enlighten the human handler as much as it benefits the horse. Evolving over 30 million years to become the quintessential prey animal, equines have developed acute right-brain survival skills, such as leadership, awareness, empathy, and cooperation. In particular the horse has finely honed abilities to lead, communicate, and connect not with words, but with the vital emotional energy described in the Buddhist tradition as chi. When we learn the language of chi, we become more effective as leaders, more attuned to others, and more joyful as human beings."

And according to Linda Kohanov, Author, The Tao of Equus, horses are "natural mindfulness teachers".

It makes me wonder. Was my old mare my very first mindfulness teacher? Was that relationship responsible for the spiritual path I chose? It would explain, to some degree, the amount of meditative-like calm, pure joy, and intense awareness of each moment I experience when I'm with my new horse. It would also explain that "bolt of lightning" feeling I had when I looked into the eyes of my new horse for the first time and recognized the soul of my old one. My teacher has returned!

Super Quick!

Two pounds in two weeks! I think it's working!!!

Here's what I do every day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krEhGok_qpY&feature=youtu.be

So much fun. It's gotta burn some calories too, right?

I Did It!

Not really. Not yet. But I'm practicing my "victory blog entry" for when I DO, because I know I will.

And when I post that blog entry, you will probably want to know how I did it, right? I decided to revert back to what helped me lose the first 12 pounds almost two years ago (wow, has it been that long?). Basic math. With the help of this calculator:

http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_nutrition_guide.htm

My target range is roughly between 1500 - 2000 calories per day. I don't sweat it if I go over that a few times a week because this range is without exercise and sometimes, I actually do exercise.

It's only been 4 days and I'm down 1.5 pounds, even though my goal is only .5 to 1 pound a week.

I'm eating mostly whole foods again (aka "clean").

Salads like this:

And soups like this:

I keep a bag of frozen uncooked, EZ Peel shrimp in the freezer and when I want a nice salad, I just cook some up with whatever seasoning I feel like. Right now, my mouth is burning off as I type this because I felt like chili! I also do the same with chicken breast.

The soup is a great lentil soup recipe that my friend Liz gave me.

So anyway...that's how I did it! (or will do it) Whatever. Details.

On Track!

Nothing too exciting to report. Today is my official weigh in day and I'm up .5 pound from last week. However, last week I weighed in on Thursday before our Thanksgiving weekend. I'm pretty sure I gained a pound or so over the weekend, so in all actuality, I'm probably down a pound. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I'm still on track to lose 16 pounds in 4 months (I did give myself 4 months, didn't I?). That would be a pound a week going forward.

I got this!

No pictures this week, but we had warm salmon nicoise salad (my new favorite salad!), and a wonderful lentil soup for a few nights. I also ate a lot of fresh pineapple, just because.

Ok, today starts week two!