Lisa, I am with you.

Yes, Lisa, it is a slippery slope going back to the so called “normal” way of eating.  I am 63 years old and have done this jo-jo dieting for most of my life.  I have tried fasting, the high cholesterol diet, weight watchers, calorie counting, and all of those diets did not work.  Once, when I was 32, I did the calorie counting and lost 60 pounds and then went right back to eating my “normal” foods and it took about a year and I gained it all back.  I need the structure and this paradyme shift in the way I think about foods. I want to know where the foods that I consume are coming from and how they are processed.  I have made a commitment to continue to eat the way I have been eating over the past three weeks because I just   feel better and I want to save animals from a life of disrespect.   On the other hand, I have continually complained about the aches and pains in my legs and that was because I was overweight and ate the wrong types of foods.  I have virtually no pain in my knees anymore.  I still have a bit of stiffness in my legs when I am inactive for a while and then get up to walk. The deep aches in the ankles, etc.  are gone.  I just do not want to go back to eating all of those foods that were making me sick.   So, I am with you Lisa, and will stick to our program and then share our experiences as we go forward.

Tonight for supper I will have my beans and rice with a side salad.

Looking back on the 3 week cleanse

Well, we did it!  NO meat, dairy, wheat, sugar or coffee for three weeks.  Walking every day.  Several people have asked “what’s the first thing you ate after the 3 weeks were up?”  The answer is…my morning smoothie.  I feel so good and enjoy the food I’ve been making so much, that I have no desire to eat any of those “banned” foods.  Part of me also knows what a slippery slope it is to allow yourself to partake “occasionally” in the foods that aren’t good for you in the first place.  We had a big family email debate about omitting certain foods from your diet vs eating everything in moderation.  After going a failed “moderation” route following a previous cleanse, I now fall on the “omitting” side.

The first supper after the cleanse, husband bought himself a big steak to bbq and a nice bottle of red wine.  It didn’t phase me.  All that crossed my mind was, “I already know what both those things taste like so I’m not missing out on anything.”  I didn’t have that compulsive/starving person mentality of “got to eat it while there is still a chance.”  I think hubby was a bit underwhelmed as he ate his meal.  He was also in a bad mood the next day and spent a good part of the afternoon napping.  VERY different from the previous weekends where he was go-go-go.

I started putting flaxseed oil in my smoothies, and am taking a B12 and Vit D supplement.  My energy is back 100% (minus the sleepless baby nights).  I too will start to eat 2 to 3 eggs a week, probably raw in my smoothie, like Dr. Kim suggests.  I need to find someone nearby in the country who has eggs to sell.  I don’t want to buy grocery eggs anymore.  Even if they are organic and “free-range,” the birds are not having a good existence and probably never see the light of day.  Interesting how I never really thought about animal rights/processing until this journey.

Anyway, I’ll continue to take it one day at a time.  I do think it is important to be clear on what you are definitely going to omit so that when it appears in front of you you won’t be tempted.  Yesterday, I watched husband sharing the kids pizza, and cookies at the farmer’s market.  Just a bite here and there, but I know where that can lead – for me at least.  For me, for now, I will not eat wheat, processed sugar, or dairy.  I reserve the right to reevaluate down the road.

So, yes, I LOVED the 21 day cleanse.  I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who wants to take the time and effort to do it right.  You won’t regret it.

Day 1 of the fourth week

I just finished my first day of the fourth week.  I had my two egg omelette with vegetables and a rice tortilla.  It was a light meal and very good.  I whipped the two eggs with a 1/4 cup almond milk and put them in a 12 inch metal frying pan.  Then I sautéed the mushrooms, spinach and zucchini,  and added them on top of the eggs.  I put the omelette into the 350 degree oven for 20 min.  It was very good.      This evening I will have my dates and a few almonds which I have had every night over the past three weeks accompanied with a cup of herbal tea.

I do not have any more cravings for the foods that I ate before I began this journey.  I find that incredible.  I saw my daughter eating a chocolate bar and did not even want any.  It lay on the table for quite a few days.  Usually, I would have snuck a piece, but not this time.   It was a good day.