Detox day 8: Debrief

I did it!!!!
I did it!!!

I. AM. DONE!

Afterthoughts:

• Day 2 was by far the hardest-- especially emotionally and mentally
• Day 4 was the easiest-- I think adding smoothies in the night before helped
• Total weight lost:  4.2 lbs
• Total inches lost from waist: 3.75"
• "Rock in the gut" feeling in stomach mostly gone
• I do not feel a change in energy levels 
• Not too much change in poop
• Lots and lots more peeing, more than ever
• Feel like my body is ready to get back to more substantial food-- day 7 I started to feel it was holding on to everything-- peeing less, etc.
• I need to start exercising again  I kind of stopped  exercising this entire detox because of low energy.
• I feel like I was holding my breath the last 7 days-- had to remember to breathe!
• I do think 7.5 hours is my ideal amount of sleep
• I think dairy probably isn't the best and I should try to keep it as a special treat
• My sugar cravings are gone physically but mentally I still love the idea of having a cookie or treat so I still kind of want them, just not physically

So here are pictures from Day 1 and this morning on Day 8-- no filters on any of these but taken different times of day, I think in general the puffiness is what mainly changed and some redness in the face gone:

And now I am going to have a small cappuccino... yeah, baby!!!

Today for lunch:  salad with pumpkin seeds and almonds and ... BALSAMIC homemade dressing!

For Dinner:  Stuffed peppers with beans, rice, corn, and salsa

Tomorrow's lunch-- salad and lentil soup

I AM SO READY TO EAT!

Detox day 7

Day 7, whoo hoo!!!!!
Last day!!!!

Back to being down 4 pounds now.  I'm confused why I gained 1.5 yesterday morning, but I am back down the same amount today-- so 4 lbs down. Was really hoping to lose 6 on this detox to be down to my pre pregnancy weight (46 lbs down total, 2 to go!)-- but that'd be 2 lbs in one day so unlikely.  Going to stay off potatoes again today and stick to smoothies and guac.



So, far, day 2 was by far the hardest and day 4 was the easiest.

Feeling hungry.  But-- not craving stuff too badly-- just used to the sense of feeling unsatisfied.  (Sad, huh?)

Detox day 6

Holy moly, I made it to day 6.

I have to be honest I thought I'd have cheated by now.

My stomach still feels bloated, honestly.

And the worst thing today is that I gained 1.5 lbs this morning!!!!! How did that happen?

I did salt my guac and potatoes yesterday but are we talking 1.5 lbs Bc of salt?!

Well, today I decided no potatoes. So, I have had two smoothies and 2 avocadoes with tomato and jalapeño (and salt).

Todays full menu:
Apple
2 smoothies (2 smoothies= 32 oz of berries with 4 cups water and 3 bananas)
2 avocados with tomato and jalepeno
A few slices pineapple

And just that piddly amount of food adds up to 1275 calories
The smoothies are oddly filling-- so I don't feel hungry-- but who the hell wants to eat like this every day?

I won't lie... Sunday morning my plan is to have a cafe au lait and a cookie.  Oh yeah.  Sunday I also add beans and nuts back in and thank goodness. I'll be making stuffed peppers wth rice, corn, and beans.

I'm surprised but I must say the berry smoothies really get me through for some reason. They are very filling and refreshing and give me a tiny bit of energy.

One bag frozen Organic 365 Berry Blend or Strawberries, or Blueberries, 2-3 bananas and 2 cups water.  (I do frozen because it's nice icy and also --fresh organic berries-- way too steep in price!)

By the way-- here is the tongue scraper I use morning and night, and the dry brush I use before shower time.

Detox day 5

Started off feeling positive.

Also, I noticed I've woken up at exactly the same time every morning.

7:00am

6:59am

Or 7:01am

Kind of cool... No matter when I go to bed.  I think my body needs exactly 7.5 hours of sleep... That seems to be the sweet spot.

I got angry and down again this afternoon... I don't want to keep this up after day 7 but then I found out with Repairvite you're really limited. I'm going to take it one day at a time, but ultimately... If I need a cookie as a treat to mark my progress, I'm going to do it. Because the alternative is giving up completely in anger.  So... One day at a time.

From day 1 til this morning I lost 4 pounds.  Stomach still feeling a bit bloated at nighttime but not during the day.

Sticking to potatoes, smoothies, and guac wraps.

2 days left, baby.

The only thing pushing me is I'm 2 lbs from my prepregnancy weight 9 years ago.  I lost a lot of this (45 lbs) on my own but I'm coming the final stretch here.-- I was originally hoping to lose 50 lbs.

I feel like living this way is a bit joyless.  I feel like I'm in the outside of life in some ways. It is amazing how not drinking coffee suddenly puts you on the outside.  Or not taking a pretzel your 3 year old offers you when you've been trying to get him to share.

So, it is teaching me about recognizing the percentage of whole foods I'm truly putting in ... as opposed to having some at every meal- like, what is accompanying those whole foods? Processed boullion? Processed crackers? Processed almond milk? Even if it's fresh bread-- the flour was processed, on and on.  But ultimately, I think we have to find our own way, and I don't think eliminating all kinds of processed foods (this includes Whole Foods brand unsweetened almond milk and everything) will work for my family, and frankly, I don't want to eliminate all of them.

But I definitely want to be more mindful.  I thought we were eating so healthy, but we can be doing even more to add whole foods-- truly whole, not just what we think is a whole food.  I used to think "processed" meant anything in a box or bag-- but I get it-- I mean truly anything that has been processed in any way needs consideration-- is it worth it.  (Sometimes,for me, it will be!)  But less is more.

Detox day 4

I feel better today... Normal.

I had a busy day so I didn't eat much til the day slowed around 2pm.

I feel a bit of energy back... peeing a lot, not as angry, but still impatient.

Sore muscles, but haven't exercised.

Started the Repairvite.

Smoothies are really helping, I am surprised.  Bag of Whole Foods organic berries, 3 bananas, 2 cups water.

I ate like 600 calories just in avocado today, too.

Detox day 3

Headache kept me up half the night... Just enough to be slightly awake because of the pain of it.

Woke up at 7am having gotten 7.5 hrs of sleep, and like yesterday it feels like I cried myself to sleep.  Eyes are super puffy and head is heavy.... Not feeling energetic.  Headache mostly gone, though.

Down a pound but it doesn't look like it to me, I still look puffy.  Also down 3 inches in my waist, but also still looks pretty puffy to me.

Today I meet with the doctor at 1:40pm and I cannot wait. I want to ask ... "WHY!?!?!!"

**********
Okay... the appointment was good because it made me want to stay on track.

I shared everything I was feeling including that THIS FUCKING SUCKS.

I was told:

• Anger/short fuse is super normal on a detox
• "I can't do this" is super normal on a detox
• Remind yourself to think with your heart and not your head-- it's just 7 days, you can do this for yourself
• Headache is from the detox and the demand put on kidneys, etc to flush out all this waste, usually it isn't this much in such a short time
• The reason why nuts and seeds and beans aren't allowed is because they are harder for the body to digest/process and the idea behind the detox is to flush everything out and fruits and vegetables are the best way to do that

I went to the grocery store a bit after the appointment and I decided, "Okay, fuck this detox... I'm going to rally and make it to Saturday."  I bought a ton of bags of frozen organic berries, and I'm going to just smoothie this bitch out.

I also thought how badly I want guacamole... and realized I can have it!  So, I got some crispy romaine... then I smashed up an avocado, added tomato, lime juice, salt, and jalepeno... spooned onto a romaine leaf... it was actually my favorite thing I've had this whole detox... it was the only thing I'd eat again next week.  Then I made a smoothie out of a berry medley, water, and 3 bananas and shared it with my family.  I thought it would be shit with no almond milk-- but it was much better than I thought.  And then I felt okay.  I felt like-- okay-- I am doing this-- I can do it... I am almost halfway!

Peeing a LOT.  Thirsty A LOT.  Tomorrow I start the Repairvite for 30 days for my leaky gut.

My pic of the guac isn't a good shot I can see... I had lots of jalepeno and tomato in there... but I scarfed down a bunch and only on my last one did I remember to take a pic.

Food diary:

Apple

Potatoes roasted in coconut oil and rosemary and garlic (leftovers from last night)

5 lettuce/guac wraps

1 smoothie

a TON of pineapple

more potatoes roasted in all that jazz above as a 10:30pm snack

1,154 calories

It should be noted I wasn't especially hungry-- I didn't try not to eat...the joy of it was just sapped for me until I had those guac wraps at 5:30pm.

Fun fact: I actually sat with my kids on the Whole Foods patio and watched them eat an almond croissant before we shopped... it was excruciating.

Detox day 2

No one should have to live this way.

It's like with every bite I take, a morsel of joy is stripped from my soul.

Do I sound like I'm exaggerating? I wish I was...but something about this stripped down diet feels like my humanity is gone.  I'm not even wishing for cheese or ice cream, I just want a fucking almond or a chickpea.  This shit ain't right.  I feel sad, I have a huge headache despite lots of water, and I have zero energy... Like zero.  My stomach is still bloated.  My husband, who is doing this with me, says, "This diet makes me feel like a prisoner.  All I'm doing is waiting to get out."

All the foods we normally love- Apple, avocado, potato, etc... We are starting to hate them.  Today we said fasting almost seems better than this hell.  I do better on my own restrictive diet and can still have a cookie.  I feel full... I had a lot of potatoes and this vegan paella that sucked because I couldn't add any good flavoring or oil, but whatever.... I do not feel satisfied.  Also, I feel angry.  Angry and sad.  Like... Life can be perked up with a cup of coffee.  But take away all these tiny pleasures and give me a headache and sap my energy and I hate you.

Again.., I'm going to bed early so I can stop thinking about it.

Daily calories= 1,082

Detox Day 1

Here we go...

Breakfast.., lemon water and 4 slices of watermelon.

Snacks

Lunch was sautéed Brussels sprouts and yellow potatoes with salt and shallots.

I was really missing regular oil here... I sautéed with water and it just tasted... Not fun.  Felt full afterward but not satisfied at all.  I usually love this lunch when I sauté with olive oil.

Snack- avocado with pink Himalayan salt and apple... This was my favorite thing I are all day and yet, I still felt sad while eating it

Dinner- roasted butternut squash and sweet potato

Filling... But, again... Just kind of sad.

That was the overall theme of the day... I wasn't hungry, but I was never satisfied. I badly wanted some coffee with steamed milk or cheese and crackers.  I thought about those foods a lot today, wishing for them.

I was kind of in a cranky mood, too,

My stomach felt a little twisty around 7pm and finally at 8pm I pooped for the first time all day, but not much. (I know this is gross, but I feel like many woukd want to know the detox effects!)

I am really hoping day 1 was the hardest. I am definitely having rice tomorrow.  Still feeling and looking very bloated.

Not pictured- I ate another banana and some more carrots.  My Fitness Pal clocks today's calories at 968. Yikes!  Again... I'm not hungry, I do feel full, but I feel like I ate a mountain of "not what I wanted".

Going to bed early so I can stop thinking about food.

7 Day Detox

In 3 days, I am starting a 7 day detox as prescribed by my holistic doctor.

I am nervous-- I want to do this- but I love food!  I figured if I blog about it each day my chances of success are greater.  So, follow along if you'd like.

I'll share with you a brief recap of how I got here--but please keep in mind I am a layperson and might not be explaining it all as articulately or accurately as my doc did.

After looking at bloodwork, saliva, urine, heart monitoring, body composition, visual exam, and talking for about 30 minutes, Dr. R took all that information, compiled a report and we met back a week later.  The results were this:  I have nutrients in my urine (which means I am not absorbing them), my adrenal glands are burned out, and this is affecting everything from my thyroid, to my cholesterol (281 on a  vegetarian diet) to my energy, libido, leaky gut, and ability to lose weight.

The solution?  Well, I avoided a traditional doctor's advice on this one, because they seem to treat all the symptoms.  I want to treat the actual cause.  And I really do not want to go on medications at 36 yrs old.  In that sense-- what does anyone have to lose by trying a natural way first?  For me-- nothing to lose and everything to gain-- so here we go.

The plan is to go on a 7 day detox challenge--- 

• Only fruits and vegetables for 7 days-- no nuts, no beans, no coffee-- nothing but fruits and vegetables-- no limit, eat as much as you want
• Dry skin brushing daily (I hadn't heard of this but apparently it is really a great aid in release of toxins)- I bought this, but there are much nicer ones
• Tongue scraping (also aids in detoxing instead of swallowing much of it back down)- I bought this one

The goal of the detox is to eliminate all animal products and processed foods for 7 days.  Dr. R. also gives a few other things to do to detox spiritually (breath work/yoga/unplugging technology/meditating, etc)-- and asks that you pick 1-2 of these to do each day as well.  He said the average person also loses 5-7 lbs and a lot of it is toxins that were stored in fat.

So... we shall begin Monday!

I'll post this weekend with all of my preparations if you'd like to follow along.

EDIT: Won't be starting yet... you have to go into the doc on day 3 and couldn't get a soon enough appt, so will be starting May 22. Stay tuned!  Two appointments come after this so you can see what comes next/at the end.

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Boy and Girls= People

My son, MINE-- gender stereotype-conscious ME--- MY son said to his father today, "Boys don't like pink, they like blue" and argued the point for over a minute. So... you know messaging is deeply ingrained in our society when this gender crap we actively reject with our family is somehow getting messaged to my son who is home with me full-time and has two big sisters he dresses up with all the time. I can't even. The other one he's said a few times: "Boys can't do that/ girls can't do that". These things aren't cute. Kids didn't used to "segregate" until at least 1st grade and now research shows it starts at 3 yrs old. Boys and girls need to be friends to grow up and have a healthy respect for each other and all the choices available.

"I don't know".

This is very important. The most educated people are able to say "I don't know" or "I didn't know that".  

People who are afraid they won't look smart tend to have an answer for everything.

"The man would commit fewer mistakes if he knew exactly what he did not know"- P. Syrus

Whole Foods in $30- Trip 5

Taco night! Again, I had the staples so just needed a few items.

Also making a huge pitcher of ginger, mint, cucumber, and lemon water.

Total= $15.80

Whole Foods in about $30- Trip 3

I'm making vegetarian matzo ball soup, and a big salad to last for lunches Monday- Friday.

My salad base is usually a bag of romaine hearts, one bunch kale, one head purple cabbage, sliced almonds and pumpkin seeds.  If I have room in my budget, I'll add: organic peppers, avocado, grape tomatoes, chickpeas, purple onion.  I always go for the rainbow.

I also bought 5 lbs potatoes for loaded potato night and rosemary roasted potatoes one night along with the salad.  I love to put pumpkin seeds and sliced almonds in my salads,my hey are so nutritious and add a nice crunch.  Hummus was on sale so I got these two huge tubs for $2.50 each.  The carrots are organic and the entire bunch was 80 cents.

Whole Foods Teip #3 totaled $36.30

Whole Foods in about $30- Staples to keep on hand

If you read my first post about keeping my Whole Foods shopping trips all around $30, this is the post to show you all the items I keep around as staples.  I try to buy these when they are on sale and stock up.  We built a little pantry in a nook of our kitchen just to be "The Staple Pantry"-- see pic below.  By keeping these things stocked (3-4 of each item) you save money by getting the lowest price (wait til it is on sale-- sales usually run every 2 months', so get 2 months' worth if you have the space) and you also don't ever have to do a full shop.  You shouldn't have to shop for staples more than 6-8 times a year maximum.

Baking shelf:
Flour
Yeast
Organic Cane Sugar (non-organic contains animal product)
Waffle mix
Organic Brown sugar (non-organic contains animal product)
Chocolate chips

Dry goods shelf:
Chickpeas- dried
Brown rice (poured into mason jar for better storage)
Kasha
Refried Black Beans
Black beans
Lentils- dried
Boullion cubes (Rapunzel brand, no salt)

Other:
Pasta
Oats
Jam/Preserves
Peanut butter
Taco shells

Whole Foods in about $30- Trip 2

This trip was for a few more snack items for lunches and to make Vegan Stuffed Peppers (which came out amazing).  We also baked pumpkin muffins.

Again, I had my staples already in hand (beans, corn, flour, cane sugar)...but did need to buy most of the ingredients.

Whole Foods Trip # 2 totaled $33.15

Whole Foods in about $30- Trip 1

So... I shop at Whole Foods almost daily. Why? Because I can walk there from home, I love the friendly faces, and I like my ingredients super fresh. I like to think of my local Whole Foods as my nearby European outdoor market and I shop for my fresh ingredients for dinner each day.  Is this more time consuming than one big shop every week? I don't know, but I certainly enjoy it more and find I waste MUCH less food.

I have found a lot of my shopping trips come to about $30.  Some days I may spend only $7!

I decided to start documenting my shops, because I feel I get a good deal for the price of organic, fresh, natural items. (I include toiletries in these shops).  It is important to me to "pay the farmer, not the doctor" so cheaper isn't usually better in my opinion.

I will also mention what I plan to do with the groceries, but because I keep a lot of staples around, I usually never have to shop for every ingredient.

Here is my blog post about staples to keep on hand-- buy them when Whole Foods have sales.  Disclaimer- I'm in Florida, but my best friends live in Brooklyn and Los Angeles and the prices seem to be the same for the most part.  Other disclaimer- our family is vegetarian... I have no idea about shopping for meat or fish. (And that saves a lot!)

So... First shop... This was kind of a lunch shop.  I send 3 people off with packed lunches (one day a week it is 4 people).  They all love and ask for Luna bars for treats (they are very filling, too) but I don't like to spend more than $1 per bar. These were all on sale.  I also will make that pizza for my toddler,s lunch and then might send a cold piece with the kids the next day in tin foil.  That pizza was $3.99.  I send the 365 (Whole foods brand) burritos with my husband for lunch. They are $1.69.

Tonight I'm making a huge crock of Mexican Dip for dinner.  Refried black beans, Greek yogurt, avocado, tomatoes, purple onion... And we eat it with tortilla chips.  We are always stuffed by the time dinner is over! Sounds like an appetizer but it makes a great easy Friday night meal.  Also... I needed deodorant.  ;) I like natural deodorant, and WF usually has the best bargains.

Whole Foods Trip #1 totaled $35.87