The reason I decided to start blogging again, was to track my progress (and keep me honest) over the next 30 days while I attempt to "cleanse."
It's funny to type that as I am one of the last people you might expect to try a cleanse, but over the last two months I've been waking up feeling terrible, bloated and not like myself. I'm not cleansing for any crazy reason other than wanting to give my digestive system a break. I have self diagnosed IBS which has always been a problem. People who tell me they go to the bathroom once a day (or more!) make me very angry. Maybe I can get there.
Lately I have been reading the blog ohdeardrea where she focuses on living naturally, and two days ago it hit me - cleansing my body of all the crappy things I've been putting into it is the first place to start. Her Mise En Place: Thirty Day Cleanse is what I'll be using as my guide. It focuses on simple, unprocessed plant-based foods.
I'm not a terrible eater to begin with, I haven't had KFC or anything similar since I was in highschool and tend to stay away from fried, frozen and packaged food naturally. What I do eat a lot of are white pastas, cereals, rice and breads (I consider myself a bit of a croissant connoisseur) and do not eat near enough fruit and vegetables. Without exaggerating I would assume white starches make up 70% of my diet. I know it's not the healthiest way to eat but it hadn't concerned me until now.
So, as I'm on day zero, here are some of my thoughts before beginning...
Concrete rules:
- No meat
- No dairy
- No sugar
Maybe rules:
- I might introduce fish if I feel like I need to. I don't believe fish is very difficult for our bodies to digest.
- I get that I need to cut out coffee for a cleanse, I do, but I can't right away. If my body is going into withdrawals from other food I cut out I'm terrified to cut out coffee. One a day to start and I'll slowly try to wean myself off. The guide recommends switching to black tea, then green tea, then herbal tea.
Hardest foods:
- Bread! Currently I eat a baguette 6 out of 7 nights a week with my dinner
- Kale. I really hate it but feel like I'm going to need to start loving it
- I WILL not eat mushrooms, but I know they make up the heartiest vegan meals.
- Cheese.
- White starch. I'm very nervous about not feeling full. I eat an inhuman amount of pasta and think my stomach is probably stretched because of that.
- Alcohol. This will be very tough, but easier if Nick commits with me.
You'll notice meat isn't listed under my hardest foods. I used to eat meat twice a day everyday, but after starting with meatless mondays I eventually went through a few vegetarian spouts in the past few years so I at least know that I won't have a tough time there.
Nick has agreed to eat along with me, though I've only asked for his support during dinner. I've told him to cheat during his lunch all he wants but who knows, he might put in 100% too.
To be clear, this didn't exactly come out of nowhere. The past few months I've started getting passionate about simple living. It all began with the tiny house movement and my dream to one day build my dream home. Living in a huge city and working long stressful hours (I know, who doesn't) is starting to effect me and lately my thoughts have been about simplifying my life. There are tons of blogs that have very interesting things to say about the topic, but for me it comes down to the fact that it's a healthier way to live and minimizes stress. This week I packed up 8 bags of clothes I don't need, and the emotional weight lifted of even doing something that simple was pretty amazing. I'm thinking of going through my closet again!
One day I hope to live in a small town, in a tiny house with a huge fenced backyard for Beaufort, with no mortgage, living off free organic food grown in my own backyard. Hopefully I'll have a less stressful job and more importantly time to enjoy the smaller things in life - but for now, I'll start by recording my thoughts (and meals) throughout the next30 days 26 days.
Who knows, going through this blogging experience might have me back at it full time.
It's funny to type that as I am one of the last people you might expect to try a cleanse, but over the last two months I've been waking up feeling terrible, bloated and not like myself. I'm not cleansing for any crazy reason other than wanting to give my digestive system a break. I have self diagnosed IBS which has always been a problem. People who tell me they go to the bathroom once a day (or more!) make me very angry. Maybe I can get there.
Lately I have been reading the blog ohdeardrea where she focuses on living naturally, and two days ago it hit me - cleansing my body of all the crappy things I've been putting into it is the first place to start. Her Mise En Place: Thirty Day Cleanse is what I'll be using as my guide. It focuses on simple, unprocessed plant-based foods.
I'm not a terrible eater to begin with, I haven't had KFC or anything similar since I was in highschool and tend to stay away from fried, frozen and packaged food naturally. What I do eat a lot of are white pastas, cereals, rice and breads (I consider myself a bit of a croissant connoisseur) and do not eat near enough fruit and vegetables. Without exaggerating I would assume white starches make up 70% of my diet. I know it's not the healthiest way to eat but it hadn't concerned me until now.
So, as I'm on day zero, here are some of my thoughts before beginning...
Concrete rules:
- No meat
- No dairy
- No sugar
Maybe rules:
- I might introduce fish if I feel like I need to. I don't believe fish is very difficult for our bodies to digest.
- I get that I need to cut out coffee for a cleanse, I do, but I can't right away. If my body is going into withdrawals from other food I cut out I'm terrified to cut out coffee. One a day to start and I'll slowly try to wean myself off. The guide recommends switching to black tea, then green tea, then herbal tea.
Hardest foods:
- Bread! Currently I eat a baguette 6 out of 7 nights a week with my dinner
- Kale. I really hate it but feel like I'm going to need to start loving it
- I WILL not eat mushrooms, but I know they make up the heartiest vegan meals.
- Cheese.
- White starch. I'm very nervous about not feeling full. I eat an inhuman amount of pasta and think my stomach is probably stretched because of that.
- Alcohol. This will be very tough, but easier if Nick commits with me.
You'll notice meat isn't listed under my hardest foods. I used to eat meat twice a day everyday, but after starting with meatless mondays I eventually went through a few vegetarian spouts in the past few years so I at least know that I won't have a tough time there.
Nick has agreed to eat along with me, though I've only asked for his support during dinner. I've told him to cheat during his lunch all he wants but who knows, he might put in 100% too.
To be clear, this didn't exactly come out of nowhere. The past few months I've started getting passionate about simple living. It all began with the tiny house movement and my dream to one day build my dream home. Living in a huge city and working long stressful hours (I know, who doesn't) is starting to effect me and lately my thoughts have been about simplifying my life. There are tons of blogs that have very interesting things to say about the topic, but for me it comes down to the fact that it's a healthier way to live and minimizes stress. This week I packed up 8 bags of clothes I don't need, and the emotional weight lifted of even doing something that simple was pretty amazing. I'm thinking of going through my closet again!
One day I hope to live in a small town, in a tiny house with a huge fenced backyard for Beaufort, with no mortgage, living off free organic food grown in my own backyard. Hopefully I'll have a less stressful job and more importantly time to enjoy the smaller things in life - but for now, I'll start by recording my thoughts (and meals) throughout the next
Who knows, going through this blogging experience might have me back at it full time.
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