Recently I did a cleanse because it had been a while and someone suggested it…. During the cleanse, I realized a few things …
It’s not THAT hard
At first, looking at all the instructions and the food lists and reciepes, it seemed like so much. I could eat some foods on some days and other foods on other days but keeping it all straight seems to be like a lot.
I don’t NEED coffee
I enjoy a good cup of coffee almost every day at some point. Well during this cleanse, coffee was a no no. I started a week before I actually started the cleanse to cut back on my coffee so that I wouldn’t have withdraw symptoms. When it was time to cleanse, I was totally fine without my daily coffee. After the cleanse, I have learned that I really like the taste of coffee but I don’t have to have it to make it through the day.
Planning the RIGHT way makes it easy
The first week, I made all kinds of things then I realized I didn’t acutually like them and I wasn’t eating all the things I preped. That’s when I made note of my day to see when the hardest time for me to get or have food was. For me, it was the car ride home and right after work. I’m always super hungry when I leave work so it was hard to not walk into the house and be able to just eat whatever I felt like. I started packing a snack for the car ride home and a large water bottle full of water for the ride. By the time I made it home from work, I was full enough to make a meal that fit all the guidelines of my cleanse and not cheat.
I’m NOT perfect
I’m pretty close though… at lease that’s what I tell myself! For this particular cleanse, on the hardest days, I was to drink a shake 4 times. I am great with smoothies or shakes however I like some fruit in them. I was limited to apples and pears, they don’t blend up well or taste that great to me. So I cheated! I added frozen berries and it was a game changer! Of course I asked my health care provider if that was okay before I did it but I’m so glad I modified it.
The buddy system works
I had a good friend who was also doing a cleanse at the same time! It was a great way to check in and talk about how hard the hard days were and how much we just wanted a burger. It was also great to be able to remind each other of all the things we could actually eat and how good we made them taste instead of dwelling on all the do not eat list items.
Bonus - I felt so much better
The first few days seemed pretty easy and okay with the exception of no sugar and caffine. Then I had a few pretty tough days in there and it wasn’t easy or fun anymore. However, after that, I started to feel amazing! Tons of energy, clear thoughts, clear skin, and even a bit lighter.
At the end of the day, I felt great after the cleanse, lost some weight and jump started some great habbits that have been easily able to continue. Would I did it again right now? NO … but am I glad I did it? YES! I learned a lot from it about myself.