Chew on This

*note...this may not make much sense to you until you read my Food for Thought post. It was my most shared post, created countless conversations and spurred many to join in the cleanse with me! It's also where you will find the exact cleanse I followed. 

We all know what healthy eating means. Sure, there are questions about chai seeds, sprinkle flax seed where and omega who??? But generally speaking we have an understanding for how to eat healthy. We're taught from weeee ages the main food groups by reference of a not.so.fancy triangle visual, emphasizing the importance of eating fruits and vegetables at an abundance. So, while knowledge is power in the realm of all things, healthy eating becomes successful more often by motivation and understanding our own bodies. Each of which is different for everyone. It is important to feel in control of our eating habits instead of feeling like our cravings control us. To conquer this, we must be motivated by something and we must have understanding and respect for how our bodies react to food.  I found motivation in the last bite of my second batch of cookies. I found motivation in the uneasy feeling in my favorite pair of jeans. Motivation comes from a desire to be better. A desire to reach a standard set by oneself. Be careful not to gain motivation solely after what others have, that my friends is pseudo. I thought I understood foods pretty well but I came out of this cleanse with a few ah-ha moments that helped me understand so much more.

The cleanse I chose worked wonders for me and my family. Considering how many have already asked, yes, we did loose weight. Lucas and I both lost 7 pounds. But again, we weren't in it for the weight loss. And I promise you, you will most likely gain back any weight lost as soon as you return starchy, white foods to your diet. At least I did. In just 4 days, I gained back half the weight lost. This cleanse eliminates all grains, bread, pasta, nuts, cheese, and shelf life snacks, pretty much anything starchy or loaded with carbs. When balancing your diet between all food groups, your body will find it's happy weight. I know my number is not less than 7 pounds. The next popular question involved applying this cleanse to a paleo diet. Yes, absolutely. Once you hit day 4, the paleo diet would require you to use soy based products. It's surprising how many appetizing products have been made for those to consume without taking from animals.

basically eat the rainbow and eat as much as you want. The night before wash and cut all purchased fruit.
Prep baggies and containers for the entire day so you can grab and go each of your snacks and meals. Think convenience. You will feel hungry as this is the first day of the cleanse and while fruit offers loads of nutrition and hydration, the calorie count is relatively low leaving you with constant reminders of an empty stomach. Get creative. Try spices and seasonings such as nutmeg and cinnamon to kick up the flavor in simple fruits like peaches. For dinner consider spaghetti squash. We found spaghetti squash to be rather satisfying. It's an easy meal, ready in an hour. Omit any and all sauces for this "spaghetti" instead use a dash of salt and pepper. If cooked just right (which is easy) spaghetti squash offers a sweet taste and nice change to the many little bites you've had all day. We used this recipe. Shoveling fork lifts fulls of spaghetti squash weighed us down enough to fall asleep without any nagging hunger pains. (banana's and tomatoes are not allowed this day, zucchini and squash are indeed fruits)

Pig out on celery, carrots, spicy cucumbers (we used this recipe), pickles, asparagus, bell peppers, and salads w/ the smallest amount of dressing. Again, prep for convenience. It's an understatement to simply say you'll be ready for dinner by 10am. Holy melon balls, I was hungry, almost felt delusional. We chose stir fry for dinner and the pan did not heat up fast enough. Munching on edamame while dinner simmered made life better. Once served, we practically grabbed fistfuls to fill up our seemingly empty stomachs. We do stir fry often but didn't miss the regular heaps of lo mein or rice. Overloading the stir fry with a huge head of sliced cabbage was an excellent substitution. The one allowed starch of the week was included in tonight's dinner. A potato. The best potato I've ever had. And it was served PLAIN. We noticed achy, crampy muscles from our workouts today. (obvious result of slashing food groups and calories)

You will enjoy the ease of this day. After two days of only having one type of food to pick from, this day feels much more "buffet like". You think I'm kidding? no way. We had salads for lunch, this time using a warmed avocado for the dressing.  Having the choice between fruits and veggies teaches you a valuable lesson. You will learn in this day what foods can replace your junk food cravings. For dinner we snacked on edamame (we love those things!) and repeated the spaghetti squash with a side of snap peas, green beans and mushrooms all sauteed with garlic//onion. Yum! It really is quite amusing that a dinner like this was so satisfying.  I would have never made this for the family but now we've enjoyed it twice in one week. Do I think we should go vegan or vegetarian?  Heck no, I went to sleep dreaming of day 5.

This was hell for me. I knew it would be. Hubs suffered hanger back on day 1 and today it hit me hard. Banana's hold 100 calories. Most greek yogurts boast servings of only 100 calories. Considering you have an entire day to share 8 of each, it feels as though you're running on fumes. After my crappy morning workout, I felt wiped out. My body simply did not have it's usual calories and fuel to keep me going. I literally performed at only half my typical level. An hour later, I kid you not, I still couldn't bend over without feeling dizzy//lightheaded. The frozen yogurt I had planned for dinner hour was immediately consumed. I wrestled with the idea of making a huge sandwich but instead threw two banana's in the freezer and stuck to the rules. Once the banana's were frozen I sliced them, dumping them into the blender with a cup of yogurt. I gulped that smoothie like a slurpee on a hot summer day. Then cursed the 8 banana rule, took a deep breath and reminded myself, it's only one day. We went to bed early on this day. Like really early. (you may swap the yogurt for skim milk)

Finally, some meat! And you know what we chose? Rotisserie. yes, rotisserie chicken. Considering we had been eating our hearts out on all things fruit and veggie, the chicken seemed like a gift from above but it actually made us both feel the way you feel after Thanksgiving dinner, full and bursting at the seams. Perhaps this cleanse gave us a bit of insight on better portion control. opps! Your body can easily tolerate fruit and veggies in abundance but meat is another story. Your body will also tell you when it's hungry, something we don't often get the notion of due to senseless snacking and munching. Eating 8 tomatoes in one day is a hard rule to follow. It's recommended that you drink a glass of water with each tomato to reduce reactions with their high acid content. The chicken may be exchanged for turkey. Obvi, lunch meat is not recommended. (P.S. I hate tomatoes, aside from seasonings, this is all in all a boring food day)

At this point, the newness has worn off, old habits//new habits are in place. Those who "juice" can easily start any veggie day with a tall glass. We don't, so we ate on chicken. I'm sorry, do you know a way to eat chicken or cook veggies for breakfast minus the hollandaise sauce? I sure don't, nothing appetizing about starting a day this way. By now you've had enough time to remind yourself that healthy eating is yummy, however the challenge is for 7 days. We had promised ourselves to stick it out til the end. I went on my morning run, dog and kid in tow, and came back full blown "rangry". I scurried to the kitchen, locking tot in highchair, and got to cooking. Veggie and chicken stir fry was ready in 15 minutes flat. Kale chips made for a nice afternoon snack. Later that evening, we found plenty of vegetables and chicken at our friends housewarming party. I'm still impressed with hubs commitment to the cleanse, it does not allow alcohol and that man loves a cold beer, especially on nights out. Speaking of, water only for these 7 days!

This soup consists of....nothing. It's runny and smelly and I believe that's what it intends to make of you. Before agreeing to this cleanse I scoured the reviews and read that if you dislike the Miracle soup, repeating day 6 was recommended. After the first spoonful of soup, which even the dog turned a nose to, we chose to drain most the liquid from the soup and eat it as a side to chicken left over from day 6. I also allowed myself fruit. Now, if you're in this to drop some LB's then yes, you should do the soup. I'm pretty certain you would find yourself reading magazines and draining your cell phone battery in the smallest room of the house, all day long. If you are dedicated to this cleanse for the pure reasoning of gaining back a healthier lifestyle then I see no wrong in combining all the days into this one.

Best advice for this cleanse? 

plan ahead, shop ahead, make it convenient and plentiful.
Success is in preparing snacks//meals the night before and making sure you have plenty to pick from.
Be ready to chop and cook. Use seasonings, think outside of the box.
Do see food as a reward during this cleanse and journal your cravings, if you want.
Focus on your goals, your reasons for doing this.

Are you hungry during a cleanse? 

yes. is it bearable? absolutely.
could guzzling water take away hunger? yes.
Validating the idea that sometimes we confuse hunger with thirst.

Tips from me to you when cleansing....

-do not I repeat, do not go into a grocery sore. It is a brutal experience.
cans, loafs, and cartons will be talking evil smack to you.
-do not open your cabinets//pantry unless you know exactly what you are going in there for.
cans of tuna will look very appetizing. animal crackers will suddenly entice you.
-do not enter a Walmart or a Walmart parking lot.
rage will enter your bones like never before. you're guaranteed to cross paths with every living idiot.
-do not expect the same level of "can do" in your fitness routines.
it just isn't so. due to low amount of fuel you will need to adjust your routine to your bodies reaction.
-do not praise the heavens if your scale shows you a number you haven't seen in months//years.
weight loss can be temporary. only permanent decisions towards healthy living will deliver permanent weight loss. as some of you commented in this post, a cleanse is only a quick fix to unwanted pounds.


Want to try it? Within these 7 days, I promise you will appreciate food in a different way. You will appreciate the ability to eat as much as you'd like without any guilt or heavy gut. You will appreciate the benefits of eating foods that come box free, bag free. Choosing raw and fresh and cooking with, is a challenge to incorporate into your daily living but it's a rewarding one. Eliminating the idea that everything must be dipped, everything must be wrapped in bread or that bread must be drenched in condiments is a healthier way of being and not as hard as once thought. If you're in a rut, considering a healthier lifestyle,  then yes this cleanse//diet//fast//detox (whatever you call it) is a healthy option for breaking free.


Trying a cleanse for the first time, at a 7 day span was the change I needed. I focused on the good, I focused on my reasons for doing this and not all the "can't haves". I made it through the 7 days and was successful. Success is measured differently for each person. There isn't always some universal spectrum of "you did it and you failed". Each one of us sets our own standards which sets our own spectrum of success. You may not want to reset all of your eating habits. You may just want to loose weight the quick, healthy way.
This cleanse will help you achieve either goal in mind.

Woot! Woot! You made it to the end!!!
:) Thank you for all your support & interest!





Because it's Annie's birthday this month she and a few of us are giving away $80 Target shopping spree!  Get over there and get in on the chances of winning that sucker and wish her a happy birthday too :)
Linking with Just Because, Tell Me Tuesday, Tea on Tuesday,