Week 2 of the Clean Program has brought some very interesting and wonderful changes. Please see the previous posts on the first week. As mentioned before, I do take the supplements as indicated with the program and stick to mostly organic fruits, veggies, and animal proteins.
For the most part, I completely forgot to take pictures of my lunches because most of my blog pictures are of dinners. I do share a few, below, and hope to take them during week 3.
Day 8 - August 16th
Day 9 - August 17th
Snack - sliced cucumber with sea salt
Workout - 60 minute walk with intervals; 10 minute meditation prior
Breakfast - shake with protein/fiber powders, blueberries, almond milk, sunflower seed butter, ice
Here's a picture of what the shake looks like when made with raspberries:
Snack - Sliced cucumber with sea salt
Lunch - delicious delivered food from Stacey Weber, personal chef! Chicken curry with brown rice, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, and zucchini; green tea
Snack - almonds and a nectarine
Dinner - shake with protein/fiber powders, spinach (yes, spinach!), frozen raspberries, almond milk, cashew butter, ice
I still have some jaw tightness going on, and I'm thinking it's stress related. It's interesting what happens when you can't relax with a glass of wine or enjoy a warm dinner at night. Perhaps this is what I need to help truly tease out some lingering emotional eating from my "dieting" days.
Stacey Weber, a Scottsdale personal chef, started delivering our food for lunch today. (For the record, my boss and sister are doing this with me!) The food was so incredibly delicious, satisfying, and filling, and we loved having the convenience of someone else shopping and making it for us! She uses all organic meats and vegetables (especially for the "Dirty Dozen" foods), and she delivered it to us in individual portions that we could heat together or independently. YUM!
I can't believe I'm already on day 8. This has started to feel like my normal routine, and I really like having a break from cooking for a few weeks, though I'm sure I'll be glad to return to it.
Pre-workout - brown rice cake with almond butter
Workout - 1 hour interval walk
Breakfast - shake with protein/fiber powders, frozen blueberries, spinach, almond milk, sunflower seed butter, ice; green tea
Snack - sliced cucumber with sea salt
Lunch - quinoa pasta with gluten-free meatballs, broccoli, chickpeas, and dairy/pine nut free pesto; ginger tea
Snack - sliced cucumber with avocado and sea salt
Dinner - shake with protein/fiber powders, frozen raspberries, spinach, almond milk, cashew butter, ice; Yogi "Calm" tea
Today was hard. I had what the program calls "quantum detox," which means that some emotions bubble up to the surface as your internal chemistry changes. I was apathetic, unmotivated, and irritated, and I honestly never feel like this. I went home intending to do some yoga, but without any energy I just hung out on the couch with the pups, watched Weeds with Greg, and tried to breathe. About 2 hours later, it was as if a cloud lifted. I was happy, driven, and optimistic again, and I felt super energized and clear-headed. Phew! Obviously there was something that needed to get out!
Snack - sliced cucumber with avocado and sea salt
Dinner - shake with protein/fiber powders, frozen raspberries, spinach, almond milk, cashew butter, ice; Yogi "Calm" tea
Today was hard. I had what the program calls "quantum detox," which means that some emotions bubble up to the surface as your internal chemistry changes. I was apathetic, unmotivated, and irritated, and I honestly never feel like this. I went home intending to do some yoga, but without any energy I just hung out on the couch with the pups, watched Weeds with Greg, and tried to breathe. About 2 hours later, it was as if a cloud lifted. I was happy, driven, and optimistic again, and I felt super energized and clear-headed. Phew! Obviously there was something that needed to get out!
Day 10 - August 18th
Today was really hard because we had to put our Lucy down. Jess and I just wanted to have a glass of wine, but we stuck to the program and dealt with our sadness by leaning on our family, crying it out, and going to bed early.
Pre-workout snack - Brown rice cake with almond butter
Workout - 45 minutes interval walking; P90X Cardio
Breakfast - shake with protein/fiber powders, blueberries, sunflower seed butter, almond milk, ice
Lunch - grilled chicken atop homemade hummus (no canned chickpeas!), celery and cucumber salad, micro greens, a few bites of leftover brown rice; green tea
Snack - sliced cucumber with avocado and sea salt
Dinner - Shake with protein/fiber powders, frozen raspberries, cashew butter, almond milk, water, ice
We will all miss our Lucy girl. She was there when I graduated from high school, college, graduate school, and even when I got married. She saw some of the most exciting times in our lives, and she was a "mom" to Waldo and Wanda. It's amazing how emotional change can happen while on this cleanse, and I think I would not have been as open to dealing with Lucy's passing if I hadn't gone through this catharsis.
Day 11 - August 19th
Workout #1 - 1 hour walk
Breakfast - shake with vanilla protein powder/fiber, nectarine, almond milk, sunflower seed butter, cinnamon, ice (tasted like apple cinnamon ice cream! Yum!); green tea
Snack - sliced cucumber with sea salt
Lunch - salad with various greens, "breaded" chicken (almond flour), homemade olive oil vinaigrette, sliced figs and plums - Stacey Weber rocks!
Snack - coconut Lara Bar
Workout #2 - Karve
Dinner - shake with protein/fiber powders, frozen raspberries, cashew butter, almond milk, water, ice; Yogi "Calm" herbal tea
Today was much better, emotionally and physically. Jaw pain is gone, and I'm really not that hungry. I don't worry about what I'm going to eat (or not eat), and I've found that I almost have to remind myself to eat (which never has happened before). I just have to be careful that I don't slow my metabolism, since I've definitely lost a lot of weight (8 pounds) in 11 days. I'm very concerned about honoring my metabolism and not undoing some of the great muscle work I've done through Karve and P90X!
Day 12 - August 20th
Workout - 1 hour walk
Breakfast - shake with protein/fiber powders, nectarine, cinnamon, almond milk, almond butter, ice (this is seriously delicious)
Snack - 1 fresh, wonderful pear (fruit tastes so much better to me now!)
Lunch - Picasso Pizza: gluten-free crust (rice/tapioca flours and xantham gum), olive oil/garlic, spinach, chicken, broccolini, mushrooms (hold the cheese!) plus microgreen salad with Bragg's Healthy Vinaigrette, which is olive oil based; green tea
Dinner - shake with protein/fiber powder, fresh raspberries, cashew butter, almond milk, ice; green/hibiscus tea
Starting to feel really good! I'm noticing that fruit tastes so much better than it ever has, and it's super satisfying to have raw fruit or vegetables for snacks. I'm really liking how my tastes are changing, and I'm surprisingly satisfied and full most of the day.
Day 13 - August 21st
Pre-workout snack - 1/2 brown rice cake with almond butter
Workout #1 - Walk for 40 minutes (too hot!)
Breakfast - shake with protein/fiber powders, mix of frozen blueberries and frozen raspberries, almond milk, cashew butter, ice
Workout #2 - Karve class
Snack - brown rice cake with raw tahini-free hummus (from Dr. Hummus at the North Scottsdale Farmers' Market)
Lunch - Chipotle salad with lettuce, beans, chicken, and guacamole (pretty good actually!)
Afternoon/evening snack (we were at a BBQ and didn't leave until 9:30!): cantaloupe, watermelon, and vegetable crudites (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower) with guacamole (avoiding the tomatoes)
Dinner (at almost 10 p.m. - so starving!) - small shake with protein/fiber powders, chia seeds, almond milk
Today's schedule was a little unusual because we went to a BBQ in the afternoon that lasted well into the evening. I had a blast, even though I could not eat anything but fruits/veggies or drink anything but water. Even though those around me felt bad for me or worried I wouldn't have a good time, I had an absolute blast! It became a little difficult at around 8:30 because I started to get really, really hungry and was almost shaky. I hope to never do that again in week 3!
I think a really hard part of this process is that despite what your own experience is, those around you might not approve of or like what you're doing. Their reasons vary, but it could be from a lack of bonding over food or drinks, or perhaps because they don't understand why you're doing it. For the most part, my friends and family have been pretty supportive (and my husband has been awesome), but there are a few naysayers who really don't like that this is my lifestyle for 3 weeks. I personally am so glad I have done this, and I feel so great now. I'm sleeping like a rock, my eyes are bright, my allergies are pretty much gone, and my clothes fit much better. I'm saving a lot of money, finding many ways to have fun, truly enjoying (and fully remembering) moments with my friends, and really enjoying my life right now. I've completely changed my relationship with food and crave fruits and vegetables more than ever before. In my opinion, it's one of the best things I have done in quite a long time.
Day 14 - Sunday, August 22nd
Workout #1 - 1 hour run/walk (knees are feeling so great for the first time in a while, so I can run!)
Breakfast - shake with protein/fiber powders, nectarine, cinnamon, almond milk, cashew butter, ice
Workout #2 - Karve (super hard today too - I was sweating buckets!)
Snack - 1/2 brown rice cake with raw hummus; green tea
Lunch - True Foods! Drink made with freshly pressed honeydew, mint, and lime (could only drink about half); veggie crudites like fennel, radish, and Persian cucumber with vinaigrette hummus; quinoa, arugula, beet, pomegranate seed salad with chicken added (this was seriously delicious - thanks for the recommendation, Claire!)
Dinner - I'm writing this before I have dinner, but it will likely be a shake with chia seeds, raspberries, sunflower seed butter, almond milk, and ice
Feeling really good today! It was great to wake up completely rested without an ounce of alcohol from the night before in my system. I felt centered, balanced, and happy. I'm really motivated to get to week 3 and see what other great changes I will experience. To be honest, I'm a bit nervous about Day 22, when I'm "off" the Clean Program, because I've experienced so many great things already. As for now, I plan to slowly introduce foods back into my diet to see how I react to them, if at all. I really want to continue eating like this for the most part, though I know a warm dinner at night would be a welcome change. I hope that my love for more unusual fruits and vegetables and my lack of craving for sugar or processed foods does not go away!
*M*
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