So, we finished! Hooray!
After all was said and done, I can't believe how fast it went by. The first week dragged, but then that way of eating became our "normal", so days started cruising by way faster. Since many of you have asked, I'll summarize the pros and cons of the cleanse.PROS:
- We slept better. Without a doubt, some of the restful sleep we've had since before we became parents. I guess when your body isn't working extra hard to expel or process all the crap you've put in it, it can do it's intended job & concentrate on actual repair and restoration.
- We woke up easier. Even without coffee, yes, it's true. The alarm would go off, and I found myself not needing to hit "snooze" seventeen times before getting out of bed. I guess getting super good sleep will make it easier to pop up in the morning.
- There were no afternoon dumpy lulls. That infamous time of day, between 3:00pm - 5:00pm, when everyone dips down mentally and wishes they could curl up for a nap became a thing of the past. I used to have to fight to keep my eyes open during that time of day, EVERY SINGLE DAY. But, I noticed once we changed our diet, and helped ourselves become more balanced, that feeling vanished.
- Skin cleared up. I used to get these red, dry patches of skin on my arms and my legs, constantly. No amount of Aveeno Intense Relief cream would make them go away, so I had started to wonder if maybe I didn't have a slight case of psoriasis & I was about a week away from going to see a dermatologist. Glad I didn't, because within a week of changing what we ate, all of the patches disappeared. Amazing. Clearly, I was having some kind of reaction to what I ate, but since I eliminated everything from my diet at once, it is hard to say what caused them in the first place. I'll keep an eye on it as we phase things back into our diet.
CONS:
- Eating healthy is expensive. It's just a fact. I understand the logic of spending the extra money, because it'll save you trips to the doctor and expensive prescriptions later on in life, but there's no denying how painful of a hit it is to your wallet. We made adjustments to our budget, and cut back in other places, but it's difficult.
- Taking on a diet like this is not easily accessible outside of your home. Granted, I live in a very hippy, vegan-friendly, nature-loving city, and though there are more restaurants here that cater to that lifestyle, we still had to really research to find them. And, once we found them, eating out as a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free vegan came with a big price tag. If I was a bazillionaire, I would open up a chain of restaurants across the country that catered to a vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free diet, so people would be more apt to giving the lifestyle a try. But, until people start demanding a better standard for what they put in their mouths, and stop shoveling in crap from The Olive Garden, Chili's, & Cheesecake Factory into their bodies, things won't change.
- Eating healthy can be, well, boring. Most people - me included! - get excited going out to eat, knowing they'll get fare they don't usually cook at home, and that fare is usually greasy, sodium-laden, unbelievably delicious nonsense. Veggies, tofu, tempeh, and brown rice don't hold the same appeal or flash, by any stretch of the imagination. Things weren't ever bland, but they weren't blow-your-socks-off scrumptious, either. I love the social aspect of eating naughty things, because it's fun, you're usually committing these culinary crimes with a friend or two, and food memories are something you never forget. Those kind of food memories were never made over a salad, I'm pretty sure. So, I did miss some of the excitement that came with the old way of eating.
So, as you can see, we noticed some really good pay-offs, as well as some put-offs. We totally understand if this way of eating is not for everyone, because we were "everyone" as recently as one month ago. Overall, though, we're really glad we threw ourselves into this and have no regrets. In case I didn't explain it enough during the cleanse, the whole point behind changing what you eat is to help balance your body's pH. Your body will always perform better and feel better when you are more alkaline than acidic. The book we followed went into great detail about this, and it also listed foods and their alkalinity or acidity. Cells need oxygen, they love it. Eating alkaline rich foods gives them that oxygen they crave. On the flip side, cancer cells hate oxygen. They can't do their nasty little thang they do when in an oxygen-rich environment. Acidic foods deprive your cells of oxygen, helping give cancer cells the perfect environment to grow. When you eat crappy, greasy, salty, fat-filled foods, your white blood cells spike - the same thing they do when disease or infection occurs in your body. This way of eating & living has proven to be key in the author's life, as she began this change in diet because she was diagnosed with stage IV, inoperable, untreatable cancer. Her cancer was so rare, they didn't know much about it, except that no chemo or radiation would help. Doctors found her an amazing case-study, but could offer her no real options. She was given a grim diagnosis, and an expiration date not far off from her diagnosis date. Now, 8 years later and having changed her diet to include alkaline rich foods, her cancer is dormant, and her tumors have not grown. Her grim diagnosis has morphed into an exceptional outcome, and she has earned herself the precious gift of time. It's truly something to think about.
After eating that way for three solid weeks, it was hard to transition back into foods of the past. We did NOT go crazy or binge, but instead we tiptoed back into meat & dairy. (We are still avoiding sugar.) Meat went ok, though we've only had it twice so far since the cleanse ended, and dairy was different for both of us. It hasn't seemed to bother Aaron when he's had some milk or cheese, whereas it has torn me up both times I've tried. Instead of forcing my body to digest something it clearly feels better without, I'm going to skip dairy from here on out. I was never a huge dairy eater/drinker in the first place, so this isn't a big sacrifice for me. I'd rather skip the cheese than feel nauseated after eating it. I know, I bet you never thought you'd hear me say that.
My proudest achievement in all this? I'm still soda sober. I have been able to stiff-arm my biggest vice, even post-cleanse. It has been 31 days since I have had a soda, and I'm stunned. I never thought I'd be able to do that. In days of old, I usually only had one a day, but I looked forward to that one-a-day like a kid looking forward to Christmas. We have eased back into drinking coffee, but only one cup on weekends. It gives us something to look forward to - a nice treat for getting through the week. Otherwise, we're still drinking our lemon water with cayenne pepper each morning, and green juices afterward. Feels good.
I'm so happy to say that I have two friends who have decided to buy the book and start the cleanse for themselves. Yay! One of them is doing great on it, the other is struggling a bit more. Either way, I'm glad to know our healthy attitude was contagious. It is very hard to make changes when you've been doing things a certain way for decades, & I'm so proud of them for even trying.
Thanks again to all of the people who were so supportive along our journey. I had a friend tell me years ago that it takes 21 consecutive work-outs to change and WANT to work-out, but only 3 missed workouts to send you back to square one. I wonder if that's why this was a 21-day cleanse? It does seem to be true for us - we did 21 consecutive days of changed eating habits, and now we WANT to eat this way on our own free will. Change can be scary, but it can also be beautiful. Here's to health, happiness, and feeling pHabulous!
Love, peace, & veggies.
I will say that since we know we're almost done, the cravings are coming on stronger than they ever have. I've been daydreaming about things like sandwiches, barbecue chicken, garlic breadsticks, fettucine alfredo, cheeseburgers, grilled cheese, PIE, parmesan Goldfish, yogurt pretzels, Frosted Flakes, Einstein's Asiago bagel with a plain shmear ... ahhhhh. All the food of the good ol' days. I promise though, I'm not going to pig out on day 22 or gorge myself on the things we've eliminated so far. And not just because I think it will make me incredibly ill, but because it's too hard to deny how good we've been feeling. Being off all that junk has felt pretty darn amazing. My sister's birthday marks the end of our cleanse, so it'll be interesting to see how my tummy tolerates her birthday dinner & a tiny piece of cake.
It's a vegan, gluten-free dream. Tofu cooked all different ways, vegetable proteins, veggies, rice noodles, brown rice - you name it, they've got it. Added bonus? They are within walking distance of Aaron's work. Thankyouverymuch!
