confessions of a detox deviant

Was it just last Friday that I was patting myself on the back for having done so well on this detox?

Friday was the first day that I cheated (aside from NYE) and it sent me into a spiral of deviant acts.

It went something like this...

Friday night - wine, vodka, gambling

Saturday - detox maven

Sunday - good day, added parm to my pesto....much needed and delicious

Monday - sweet potato cake - "mashita" as they say in korean. Delicious.

Tuesday - good

Wednesday - wine and cheese

I am now officially off the detox as Mike's parents have arrived in Busan and there is NO WAY I'm going to miss out on all the good food and drink to be had. But I am going to eat in a maintenance style. There are a few things that I found way too limiting over the last couple of weeks and I'll say that my pineapple this morning tasted mighty good.

Things that I'm going to take away from this.

Warm lemon water with honey to start off the day. This is said to aid in your digestion and help put you on the 'right track' for the day. What I loved about this was it pushed me to get out of bed a bit earlier than usual as it's suggested that you drink your tea at room temp and that it should be the first thing that you injest. So, a lot of mornings I would get my tea ready and than sit on my mat and do a light stretch or...come back into bed and steal some extra cuddle time with Mike.

Cutting out wheat and gluten - I'm not sure how easy this is going to be to totally cut out. But I am definitely going to cut it back. A LOT. I think this is one of those things in my diet that I didn't even realise had an effect on my body, but it did. And the effect was that of a slug.

Cutting out dairy - Again, not completely but quite a bit. I found my saviour throughout the detox were these soya milk with black bean drinks that were like a "b rated" chocolate milk. Like if Robert Redford were chocolate milk these were Jack Black - still delicious, just a little underrated.

Sugar. I will do my best to stay away from refined sugar!

Cheese, chocolate and wine are going to be the biggies here. None of these are things that I want to give up. Ever. Nor are they things that I plan to give up. Ever. But, I think I can cut back, just a wee bit.

On a whole, I am going to try to avoid processed foods and go for whole, natural foods. This is a change that I have been talking about making for a while and there is no time like the present!

We'll see how it all goes!

word :)

beans, beans, they're good for your heart...

Day 12 folks. It's been 12 days (not counting NYE) since I have allowed myself to really indulge.

I have a few things to say about this.

1) My body is loving this!!!! I have more energy throughout the day. I'm able to get out of bed in the morning without 15 snooze hits. I feel lighter. And, dare I say - I have a bit more patience with my little kiddies at school.

2) Dr. Joshi says that by sticking to this detox for three weeks your palate will change. Well, I will say this - I have had very few cravings (aside from the odd chocolate and wine crave) since starting this. But I don't really have many cravings on the daily anyways. And if by "palate changing" he means "you will lose all interest in food". Then yes, my palate has changed.

This, is not a welcome change. I love food! I love everything about the process of eating. Thinking about what I'm going to eat, going to the grocer to pick up what's needed, coming home to prep, stealing little tastes here and there during the making and then sitting down to enjoy. ~Notice how there was no mention of dishes...those I can do without.

3) I'm finding this detox quite limiting and a bit bland with what little resources we have here. The other day I made a bean salad, enough for both Mike and I to bring to school for lunch for a few days. Day 1, salad was tasting pretty good. Day 2, couldn't even bring myself to open the container come lunch time - so went out for fish soup instead. Day 3, had a hard time getting through it but I found that by going slowly - one bean at a time - I could finish it off and have enough energy to last me until the next meal. Where's the enjoyment there?

I feel robbed, robbed of my hunger. Did I mention that I LOVE food. Larry David put it best when, upon finding out he couldn't eat Tuna sandwiches because of it's mercury content he said "lunch is now the hardest part of my day". Preachin' to the choir LD. Preachin'. to. the. choir.

So, all bitching aside, I really am finding that my body is totally diggin' the natural foods. I'm also finding that I'm taking more time to really learn about what I'm eating. And I have to admit that all of the time in the kitchen experimenting with different things is pretty fun...despite my kitchen being the size of an easy bake oven. We even gave homemade mayo a try. Round 1 = a miss, but will try again.

This detox takes some patience and creativity. When I think about how to keep things varied for the next week I have to use every ounce of restraint from going into my speed dial for PIZZA. Yes, we have pizza in our phone. But, I find if I just look at it as one day, one meal, one bean at a time I know I can stick with it.

I'm actually quite looking forward to incorporating a lot of these changes into the daily. I'm also quite looking forward to my post-detox glass of wine and plate au cheese! Oh ya.

And...who's kidding who - or is it whom? Anyways, I'm following Dr. Joshi's advice and allowing some leniancy as I go.
~She says as she picks the chocolate covered acai berries from her teeth.~

~peace :)

happy theme year!

And in this corner.....the year...2011!!!!!!

I've talked in the past about Mondays being my big day for change. Fresh week, fresh start. Well, let me tell you how I feel about the start of a new year. Talk about a clean slate!!!

It's been a few years since I've actually sat down on January 1st, pen in hand to hash out my goals for the year. In part, because I am constantly setting new goals for myself throughout the year. In part, because I never finish the goals I set out for myself throughout the year. And in part, because in the past the goals always looked like this; workout more, eat healthier, lose weight, stop smoking, drink less, save money.

I call these the "I'm not very happy with my current self" goals. Classic, timeless, universal, whatever. These are standard goals that really don't make you feel very good about yourself as you go over all the food, smokes and drinks you consumed the night before. I even did a little "googling" and 9 times out of 10 these were among the top 10 resolutions.

And they are all great goals, but being set year after year tends to pick away at the soul a bit. So I stopped. I stopped the cycle of starting off each year by creating a running total of all of my flaws.

But this year, this year I am making a resolution!!!! And one that I hope to keep because, well, that's what the resolution is....follow through! I resolve to follow through on my goals. I'm not going to make any specific goals for myself because I have no idea where I'm going to be in 2011 or what the year will to bring.

So I'm going to set a couple of themes instead.

Theme # 1 - as mentioned above is follow through. As things come up and goals are set, I AM GOING TO FINISH THEM!!!!!
Theme # 2 - give more. Give more of my time and energy to the people who need it.
Theme # 3 - take less. Regardless of where I am in the world or what I'm doing I am going to start living a greener life.
Theme # 4 - open up. Let go of my expectations and open up to the "rhythm of the universe".

I'm so excited for 2011! My time in Korea is almost finished and then I'm free. Freeer than I've ever been - freeer than I probably ever will be again. No commitments, no job, no set plan. Just an open road of endless possibility.

Breathe. Open up. Give. Love. Live.

Go!