Adventure Sneaker

So, my two weeks of super healthy clean livin’ (well, eating) has come to an end.  I must say, when this started I thought I would be absolutely drooooooling for this day.  I pictured myself ravenously diving into all of the things I “couldn’t” have over the past two weeks (lying comatose under a pile of pizza boxes, snickers wrappers, beer bottles, coffee grounds…. and so on).  Come to find out…. not so much.  I followed the detox diet fairly religiously over the past two weeks (a couple of cups of decaf at work, and two cake pops for Valentine’s day… other than that, I was all in!).  Now that it’s over, I’m processing what I have learned over the past two weeks, about my eating habits and my relationship with food. 

Here are some things that I have noticed/realized during the detox period:

• Waking up in the morning was much easier for me.  I am NOT (repeat, NOT) a morning person.  After a few days, I found myself waking up earlier, and feeling well rested.  (granted, I often spent that time still in bed snuggling with the dogs, but still. I was awake.  Baby steps. I’ll work on actually getting up earlier next.

• The cravings I was so sure would be my undoing?  They never really happened.  I had some moments where I really wanted to dive into the community pizza or donuts at work, but it was much easier than I thought to just say “no thank you” or avoid the piles of junk food.  I realized much of what I was eating (the junk, anyway) wasn’t because I actually wanted the stuff or because I was hungry, but because it was just there.

• Overall, I felt much better.  My running felt good, my energy level at work was good, I wasn’t having the dips in energy or sluggishness that often comes during a 12 hour shift.  Everything seemed much more stable.

• Meal planning really, really works.  I spent a lot of time prepping meals, and it was worth every second.  Having a refrigerator full of fruit, cut up veggies, hard boiled eggs, grilled chicken, fresh chili in portioned bowls, etc, etc. makes it much easier to grab something wholesome and healthy, rather than some prepackaged, processed junk.  Other than the occasional granola bar on the go (and, obviously, Trader Joe’s cookie butter.  Must. never. give. up. cookie butter.) I am done with packaged foods.

•  I have also changed the way I eat my meals throughout the day.   I am packing most of my calories in during breakfast/lunch, and tapering off my intake during the rest of the day.  I think this has helped my energy levels, and my sleeping/waking as well.  The two days I did eat something late at night (because I didn’t eat enough earlier and was STARVING), I woke up feeling terrible!  

•  “Everything in Moderation” is definitely true.  My definition of moderation, however, has most definitely changed.  I will be sticking to the basic premise of the detox diet, adding back in some bread, peanuts/peanut butter, and occasional pasta, cheese, and yogurt.  I certainly won’t completely give up junk food (a girl needs the occasional ice cream, beer, and chocolate!), but these things will be a much smaller presence in my diet.  I have been feeling too good to let the junk take back over. 

•  The Vitamix?  is an amazing, amazing machine.  Worth every penny.  It has changed the way we eat (drink?).  I am getting so many more fruits and veggies into my diet by making smoothies with this thing.  LOVE it.

So how did I fare overall?  I lost a couple of pounds, and gained a whole lotta sense and control over the way that I eat.  Eating poorly makes me feel…. bad.  Heavy, gross, and just bad.  My energy, my mood, my running all suffer from it.  So, it’s out!  In with the goodness 🙂

Seriously.  I’m indigested just looking at this mess.

Nothing drives this home more than my dinner tonight.  I decided to “treat” myself after surviving the detox by trying a new restaurant, “Hash House a Go Go”.  Little did I know, “Twisted Farm Food” actually means completely, utterly, ridiculously unhealthy food in outrageous portions (1 pound burgers!  I mean, come on!  An entire package of hamburger on one bun??  ludicrous!).  I went all crazy and ordered the chicken and waffles.  Mistake.  I picked at a biscuit (the size of my head) dripping in honey and butter (delicious, mind you.) followed by a heaping plate of waffles with bacon and fried chicken on top.  Oy.  I ate half a waffle, hacked away at some chicken, and washed it down with an IPA (best part of the meal).  Things that I used to see as “treat” meals, I don’t even want anymore.  I’m sitting here typing away, feeling like a ton of bricks.  So, I’m going to go freeze some bananas, make some almond butter, and get my ass back on the program.  There are races coming!! 

Big thank you to Al Lyman and Dr. Kurt Strecker at Pursuit Athletic Performance for helping to lead us through this process.  It was a big success, and I highly recommend trying it out!!  Check out their facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pursuitathleticperformance) and give them a “like”, to stay up to date on all things running, cycling, tri, and overall healthy goodness.  There is another detox session coming up for any brave soul who wants to give it a go… It’s worth it! 🙂