Fruit or Vegetable

Okay, so I promise not to bore you with too many cleanse details over the next few days.  Or too many I'm really hungry statements.  After all, I brought this on myself.  I knew what I was getting into.  And you'd think after going through it the first time, I might have learned to think more about what I eat.  To some extent I did, for awhile anyway.  But then life got busy, which isn't a real excuse.  Anyways...

I think I have developed a pack a day habit.  Pack of gum that is.  What can I say, it keeps my mouth happy.  Another day is almost at a close.  Goodbye fruits & veggies, hello lemon juice.  While I had an array of different fruits, my veggies were carrots.  And avocados - are avocados really considered a vegetable?  I'm claiming them as a vegetable, and a green one at that!  Oh snap.  They aren't a vegetable, they are a fruit.  So yeah, my only veggie has been carrots.  Probably should work on that for the end of the cleanse when I'm back on fruits & veggies. 

I'm having weird cravings (and dreams too but that is another story).  Popcorn sounded so good to me today.  And normally I am not a huge popcorn person.  I was also craving a big glass of cold milk.  And what would I need to have with my milk?  Why cookies of course.  I could go for a pumpkin cookie right about now.  I did spend a few minutes looking up recipes for when the week is over.  Oh my, there are some yummy recipes out there.  With pictures!!  Not much longer now.

Time to go eat another orange!   

Cleanse, Orange You Glad Day 1 is Over?

Oh, cleanse. How I have not missed you. Nope, not in the least. I was definitely more prepared this time and I made it through Day 1 relatively unscathed.  Hello quinoa & avocados. A little more filling that just plain old fruit & veggies. A little more exciting too. Thank you sugar free gum, which I have been chewing just about non-stop. The chocolates sitting out didn’t even phase me. Well.........there might have been a moment or two (or five) where I was seriously tempted. I even survived the day without coffee. I like to think I can do just fine without coffee, but the reality is I am *slightly* addicted.  And maybe a bit more than *slightly*.

Our grocery cart was very interesting with the array of fruits & veggies, lemon juice, pure maple syrup and distilled water.  The cashier remarked we must have been on a mission to which we responded we were trying a new health kick.  Hopefully the contents of our cart weren't the weirdest she had ever seen.

My Day 1 pills have been taken, fruits & veggies eaten, and now it is time to head for home and my bed where I can dream of food.  Only 6 more days to go!

Post Cleanse

Okay, so I lied!  One more cleanse post - I must have gotten in the habit. 

So today was the first official day off the cleanse and I think it was the hardest day yet.  Now that I don't have a plan to follow, can I continue to eat healthy without the structure? 

The morning started off fine with an all fruit smoothie from Jamba Juice.  Strawberries, grapes, & apples for mid morning snack.  Still not doing too bad.  And then lunch time rolled around.  Crunch!  Someone snacking on a chip.  Mm, chips.  I'm usually not a chip person, but right then they sounded so good!  Crunch!  Time to go to the grocery store to pick up more grapes, avocado, and yogurt!  Yes, we can eat dairy now!  Oh but all the sights and smells of the grocery store.  But we stuck with quinoa for lunch.  And then came afternoon snack time and the smell of popcorn wafting through the office.  Carrots, I like carrots.  And grapes.  Not popcorn, grapes.  So yeah, it was a tough day, but I made it through.  I don't know about all this healthy living stuff! :)  I know I'll slip up all over the place, but for now I'm trying to respect the fact I have "cleansed" my body and keep it somewhat clean for awhile longer.

So jumping topics, there are a lot of things I don't like about the new building we moved into, but number 1 on my list (at the moment) is the parking!  There is not enough parking and the spots are super tiny.  Normally I am someone who parks, if not in the same spot, in the same general vicinity every morning and now I can't do that.  Grr!!  And forget leaving during the day - most likely you will come back to no spots and have to park at another building (this is from personal experience).  Ah, change.  They say it is good for you...

Cleanse, Day 7

I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could!  The cleanse is officially over, and I made it.  Today was very similar to yesterday - except with a little more quinoa!  And pineapples.  I love pineapples.  I did a lot of searching for quinoa recipes to try after, so now that it is basically after, I am going to get to cooking.

Fruits & veggie days are a lot harder than liquid days.  I was running around all morning and didn't get to lunch until later.  As I was walking towards the lunchroom, someone walked out with a slice of pizza.  PIZZA!!!  You know what sounds good?  Margherita pizza in a cafe in Roma, sipping on Chianti, with a stop afterwards for gelato!  I am drooling as I write this, imagining the taste and the smell. 

Do I feel better?  Eh, debatable.  Have I stopped craving things?  Not hardly (as evidenced by my daydream above).  And it has been a week since I have had coffee - we'll see how long I go, but I don't think that is a habit I have kicked.  Will I think about food differently?  Hopefully!  Would I do this again?  They recommend you do it 4 times a year, and while I don't think I'll do it that often, it wasn't as horrible as I thought it was going to be, so yes, I may do this again.

Cleanse, Day 6

Okay, there is light at the end of the tunnel!  After tomorrow daily updates on the cleanse will cease as I will have successfully made it through!  Today it was back to fruits & veggies and it was a lot harder than the liquid days.  I think in part because it takes thought about what to eat and work to wash and cut up the fruits and veggies!

• Breakfast - back to my smoothie (no milk this time), just a banana, frozen strawberries, blueberries, and water and blended together
• Lunch - carrots, nectarine, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and an apple (are we sure cool whip isn't a fruit or vegetable?  I love blueberries, strawberries & cool whip - it is my favorite 4th of July dish!!  Good thing cool whip will be allowed by the 4th.)
• Dinner - quinoa (a day early, so slightly cheating, but still not bad), avocado, and pico de gallo

We didn't have much of the quinoa, to test out how our tummies would handle food after 3 days of liquid.  So far, so good.  Nilufer decided to join the cleanse late, so she is on Day 1 of fruits & veggies.  I think she hates us right about now. 

Oh, and I'm playing around with a few new colors, backgrounds, etc.  So bear with me as I experiment!

Cleanse, Day 5

Day 5 is almost at a close.  I was running around a bit today, which I was a little nervous about - not having the lemon juice always at hand.  I survived the liquid portion and now its on to fruits tomorrow!  Yippee!!  (and maybe quinoa - but this time it was Jessica who suggested we cheat)

This morning started off with England v Germany (wow - gotta give it up to the Germans!).  Should I even bother to say my last two teams, since my top two are now out?  Germany & the Netherlands.  I'm sure another team will capture my attention - it usually happens (last time it was France).

Next up was the 5K.  I left in plenty of time to arrive early, but what do they say about the best laid plans?  The directions on the race website were horrible and my GPS had me going too far.  I should have looked it up prior to going, but I had an idea of where it was so I relied on the GPS & the directions.  All of this resulted in me arriving at the race just as it started.  Fortunately, it was a super low-key race.  I met my co-worker Teresa and her dog Hooper and we started out.  The trail was really nice - along the water.  Our pseudo goal was to keep our time around 15 minute miles, but that didn't quite work out.  It might have been close if you subtract out the bathroom stops (once for us, once for Hooper).  But it was still nice to get out.

And then it was off to church, with a pause to drink some lemon concoction and water.  From there it was time to get a massage!!  Ahh, so relaxing!

In between all the activity were sips of lemon mixture and water.  Do I feel better?  Eh, I'm not noticing a huge difference.  A cheeseburger still sounds so good.  I'm finishing up my lemon for today and then it might be time for bed.  Because when I'm asleep, I'm not thinking about food! :) 

Night, night!

Cleanse, Day 4

Wow, am I really 4 days into this thing?  Each day continues to get a little easier.  Day 2 of liquids is almost done, with only one more day to go!!  I continue to have a headache, but it has diminished.  Thank goodness! 

I slept in the morning, which doesn't normally happen on Saturdays as I usually go to an 8 a.m. kickboxing class.  But with the lack of food I decided to skip this weekend.  In fact I haven't done much of any exercising in the past few days.  I am signed up for a 5K tomorrow, which I am planning on doing, even if I need to walk the whole thing.

It's a good thing I slept in today (besides the fact it was a couple extra hours I didn't have to think about food) so I can get up and watch England v Germany tomorrow morning before the 5K.  This will be another game where I am conflicted in who to pull for.  In the end, I'm for England, but I won't cry if Germany wins.  And either way, I'll have a team in the quarterfinals!  Go Three Lions!! 

Yes, my World Cup fever has not diminished even though the US is out.  It was great fun while it lasted!  I forget how much I enjoy watching soccer (or football) until the World Cup rolls around. 

Anyone else really craving a cheeseburger?  I have done a better job at pacing my lemon mixture today.  I did make a colossal mistake today - I changed the brand of maple syrup, and my palate is not loving this one as much.  I should have stuck with what I knew worked.  But yes, even though today is easier, I would still really love a good cheeseburger right about now.  After this is over I will be very interested to see if my cravings really do subside. 

Cleanse, Day 3

I had been planning to write that today actually hadn't been that bad.  And then I finished the last of my allotted lemon juice concoction and my tummy started grumbling.  But really, I was surprised that today went as well as it did considering today was the first day without solid food.  Nope no real food - water and a lemon juice/maple syrup mixture only.  On the happier side, the headache was much diminished today. 

Why lemon juice & pure maple syrup?  According to my book, the lemon juice is a good cleansing agent and the pure maple syrup contains many minerals and vitamins and is a balanced natural sweetener. 

I wasn't sure how this first day of liquids was going to go, but I continued drinking water and tried to spread my lemon juice mixture throughout the day.  And one thing that probably did help is the fact my new cube is not anywhere near the kitchen so I wasn't bombarded with smells.  Oh, and that no one brought in donuts to celebrate Friday.  Also I think I knew I was on liquid today, while the previous days I knew I could eat food, I was just limited.  Whatever the reason I am thankful to be through the first all liquid day.  Only 2 more days and then I can eat fruit again!  Woohoo!!

Cleanse, Day 2

Dear Cleanse,
I think I hate your guts!
Love, Emily

Okay, you might infer from my note above that the cleanse is not going so well and you would be right.  While the hunger is somewhat manageable, the headache is not.  And per the literature this is normal, and we are advised to not use any over the counter pills to aid the headache, but instead let the body detoxify.  We'll see.  I may have to break down and cheat with some ibuprofen (not shocking - I've already cheated a few times today). 

Today was better food-wise.  We had a meeting at work today and I had a little bit of the salad (with a tinge of dressing) because sometimes it is easier to eat with the group, rather than answer the questions of why aren't you eating.  And then came the end of the meeting and cupcakes.  Cupcakes are pretty much my personal kryptonite.  Actually there are several things - m&ms, gelato, cupcakes.  Sensing a sugar theme?  Why yes, I do heart sugar!!  Oh and bread.  I heart bread too.  Walking by a bakery is heaven.  Especially walking by a bakery somewhere in Europe.  I wish I was in Paris, walking by a bakery.  Doesn't that sound nice?  I'm thinking another side effect of the cleanse is daydreaming - especially about food.  You know what else sounds good?  Mickey ice cream!!  Ooh, I wish I was in Paris, walking by a bakery, on my way to take the train to Paris Disney to see Mickey & eat ice cream!

So where were we?  Oh yes, end of the meeting and cupcakes.  And I'm sure not a huge surprise - I cheated and had a baby cupcake.  Jessica was strong and did not cheat.  We also had quinoa later to throw some whole grains into the mix.  Quinoa, avocado & pico de gallo (which is also probably cheating a bit).  Oh and yummy fruit salad that Jessica made. 

No wonder today was better food-wise!  I cheated all over the place. 

Yum, tomorrow on to the lemon juice mixture.  Oh joy of joys.

Cleanse, Day 1

Jessica somehow convinced me to join her in a cleanse (not sure what moment of weakness led to this...I believe it has something to do with the scale creeping north, rather than south).  It seemed so far into the future that I was able to put it out of my mind - yes I'm doing a cleanse, but not for awhile.  And Jessica had the box of herbal supplements so it wasn't staring me in the face reminding me.  And yet the days kept moving until today - Day 1.  Dun, dun, dun.

The benefits of a cleanse?  I'm not seeing any right now as my stomach is grumbly and all I can eat today are fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.  But according to the literature, the benefits will be an increase in energy (yay!  more energy is a great thing!), digestive tract can rid itself of accumulated waste (sounds messy, but probably another good thing), dependency on things such as refined sugar are greatly reduced (wow!  that would be amazing considering my sweet tooth, but again a good thing), and bad eating habits are broken (and yet another good thing).  So here I am.  

A brief outline of my eating habits for the next few days:

Day 1 - Fruits, veggies & whole grains

Day 2 - Fruits, veggies & whole grains

Day 3 - Detox mixture (water, maple syrup, & lemon juice) 

Day 4 - Detox mixture (water, maple syrup, & lemon juice)

Day 5 - Detox mixture (water, maple syrup, & lemon juice)

Day 6 - Fruits & veggies

Day 7 - Fruits, veggies & whole grains

So far today I have eaten my normal fruit smoothie for breakfast (although it includes milk - shh, don't tell Jessica), 2 bananas, 4 oranges, 4 strawberries, a plateful of carrots, and a bowlful of raspberries & blueberries.  Let me tell you I would have killed for some Cool Whip to go on my raspberries & blueberries.  But Day 1 is mercifully coming to an end.
 
Stay turned for Day 2. 
 

Oh and did you see the USA today???   Holy Cow I didn't think we were going to pull it out!!!!!  I was having a dilemma of who to watch in the morning - USA or England - I watched England score & then flipped to the USA and watched/listened until we scored.  Best outcome for me!!!  And I'm proud to say I now know an equal number of USA & England players (when the World Cup started I could name way more England players than USA - sad, I know).

 

And in celebration of the World Cup - a picture of a few members of the German World Cup team from 2006.  I was in Germany at the time and ran across the players doing a photo shoot outside of Cologne Cathedral!