DONE!!!

I am done with this cleanse, thank God! There are some definite positives from this experience and some negatives.
First the positives,
1) It showed me that my diet was not as clean as I thought it was and now I can change it for the better.
2) My appetite has shrunk which is good since I was eating too often.
3) It broke two BAD habits, wine and snacks every night.  The best thing you can do for your body to help it keep clean is to not eat or drink anything but water after dinner. It needs 8 hours to digest you last meal and another 4 for your liver to remove whatever toxins were in the food you ate.
4) I learned  it's ok to be hungry sometimes and how to deal with it
5) I lost 13 pounds, 3 inches around my waist, and I have 6 pack abs even though I haven't done a sit up in years.
6) My hair and skin look great

Now for the negetives,
1)  I am not sure this did anything to improve my food allergy situation which is the whole reason I started this cleanse. During the cleanse I more often than not I had allergy symptoms like I had eaten the foods I am allergic too.  It might have given me new allergies and I don't know if any of the old ones got better.
2) The first week is SOOO hard
3)  It is very limiting
4) The soups SUCK
5) You feel awful, like you have the flu, quite a bit
6) It is 28 days of hell as far as I'm concerned

I guess the positives out way the negatives but I am really thankful this is over.  I am going to eat Clean 5 days a week from now on and do a 14 day cleanse every 6 months to make sure my old habits don't return and hopefully with the help of my Natural Path Dr. I will overcome some of these food allergies.
NOW WHERE ARE THE NACHOS!!!

I can't believe this one

So Sunday was Elimination day and of course that was an experience.  Don't take too much Castor oil, not good!  Anyway, Monday was great, I got up and went to my Nia class, ran errands, did some cleaning, and that night I went to my first and only Chi Kung class, the class isn't going to run because there were only two people signed up, then I came home and did some reflexology watched tv and went to bed. When I woke up Tuesday morning I felt like I had the flu!  Massive headache (and I don't get headaches), lethargic, and cold.  I couldn't bring myself to do much of anything except lay around.  So it seems like every other day I feel awful because once again today I feel fine.
I was searching online yesterday about why I might be feeling so bad on day 25 when I came across a page called My Clean which is a support network for people doing this cleanse.  I emailed support and explained how I was feeling and asked if I should be feeling differently by day 25 and after some back and forth exchange she told be I wasn't eating enough!! No shit, really? She said the book is a guide and I can eat anything as long as it is not on the NO list.  WHAT?  That opens up so many more choices and it would have been nice have read this in the book.  She also sent me 21 new recipes!! I don't know whether to be thankful or pissed.  I thought I was following it to the letter and to find out that is is the starting place and then you need to customize it for you would have been nice to know earlier.
Oh well, only 3 more days and now I will be snacking on on veggies between meals.

Elimination Day, YUCK.

For the last couple days  I have been blogging about how I could tell toxins were being released from my tissue because I was feeling crappy.  Yesterday my headache was so bad I went back to Dr. Junger's book to see what it was all about, I didn't remember a section on feeling really lousy.  And what I found out is that when toxins and mucus are released in your body they must be eliminated via bowel movements or else they will remain in you colon until your body can reabsorb them.  For me the whole point of this cleanse is to get rid of some allergic reactions and clean out my body so when I read this I realized why I was feeling so bad, apparently by now I should be having a BM several times a day and taking lots of Psyllium Fiber to absorb the toxins.  I had only taken Psyillium twice and I was not "Eliminating" often enough. So last night I took more Psyllium powder along with 3 Senokot tablets and lots of water and went to bed.
When I woke up  no "elimination" so I chugged a large glass of salt water to give my stomach a salt water bath which was gross but still no "elimination"  so I went to CVS this morning at 8:30am in my PJ's and bought Castor Oil. I had never taken Castor Oil before but now I can tell you, it is disgusting.  I took a half a shot glass of Castor Oil followed by a glass of water and waited 45 minutes as instructed, nothing. Another half a shot glass of Castor Oil followed by a glass of water and waited 45 minutes, nothing.  So I decided that if blueberries make my 5 year old go to the bathroom I should eat half of a bag of frozen blueberries and I did.  30 minutes later still nothing.  I was about to give up when "Oh Lord did the Castor Oil start working"  It has been a ROUGH day.  Lots of  "Elimination" today, I haven't been able to leave the house. BUT, even though I can't keep anything in my stomach I feel A LOT better. Hopefully now I can take the Psyllium powder twice a day and my Senokot at night for the next five days and I will flush out the toxins.

I Think It's Working!

I think the cleanse is working! Two days ago I woke up feeling awful, yesterday I woke feeling a little less awful, and today I woke up fine. My hair is soft and shinier, skin is clear and smooth, I have lost 11 pounds, and "I think" my body is releasing the toxins and pollutants is has been holding onto. I say "think" because I have yet to have the really gross need-to-stay-by-the-bathroom day that so many people describe in way to much detail sometimes with accompanying photos. Dr. Junger describes this as internal mucus being released from all over the body and ending up in the colon causing a gross body flush.
The odd thing is that I usually feel fine all day until after dinner and then from 7pm until I go to bed I get all the allergy symptoms that I would get if I ate a soy cheese pizza topped with sunflower seed and corn chips. I hope this last week I really start to flush this allergy mucus build up so I will know it's done what I had hoped it would.

The Final week

A few days ago I wasn't sure this cleanse was doing what I had hoped, which is remove the toxins from my body, but the very next morning Dan and I both woke up feeling like we had been out all night drinking.  After 40oz of water I felt much better. This morning I woke up feeling not-so-great once again but not as bad as yesterday so I am hopeful that the toxins are clearing out. 
Feeling awful yesterday morning and a little less awful this morning has given me a renewed interest to see it through.

I'm so done with this stupid cleanse

I am so done with this cleanse already!! I guess I was stupid not to realize that while cleansing I would feel like crap while the toxins are leaving my body.  My head hearts and my eyes are so itchy and red. 
Also, I want to chew something for a long time.  The fish, vegetable, and green tea lunch was fine for a while but now I want a big ol'plate of Nachos and a margarita. I am so bored with it already. I'm starting to think "is this really doing anything for me other than improving my appearance."
I guess I'll just keep plugging along, I only have 8 more days to go.

Cleanse Day 17

Day 17 of this cleanse and it's getting boring!! The soups are awful, did I mention that?  I want something greasy and tasty and a glass of wine like crazy.  I guess I am detoxing because yesterday and today I had a head ache, I was cold and today I had an upset stomach.  The good news is that I have lost 10 pounds in the last 17 days, my hair is soft and getting shinier, my skin feels soft and my complexion is clear.  My poor husband has been doing this cleanse with me and hasn't lost a pound and usually all he has to do is not drink beer for one day and he loses 5 pounds.
I called the National Institute of Whole Health today and am going to enroll in their Nutrition and Wellness Coaching 10 month course with the hopes that while I am taking this course and volunteering at the local YMCA I will find my new career path.

half way through

Ok, so Today marks the half-way mark on my cleanse.  I have done the cleanse for two weeks and had two slip-ups.  Both occurred this past week which by the way was a very stressful week;  two feet of snow, extended house guests, Olivia home from school, and my schedule all out of wack.  Breakfast and lunch are no problem but the soup for dinner is a problem because cold veggie soup is awful. After my pizza slip-up on Thursday I  decided I will to  fix the soups so I can continue. Friday I made Carrot Ginger soup and instead of 4 cups of room temperature water I used 4 cups of Organic no sodium chicken broth.  I also boiled the chicken broth then put it in the blender  with the vegetables so the soup was at least warm when I ate it.   I will do that from now on and even heat it a little more after it's blended.  Better a loss of nutrients than not working the cleanse.  Anyway, my natural path doctor has me on a ton of vitamins right now.
Even with these slip-ups I feel great. The cleanse has done several things for me; I have dropped 7 pounds (5 of which I added during the holidays) and I am MUCH slimmer because I am eating very little sodium, my skin is starting to look brighter and younger, my hair is starting to feel softer, I have learned to like fish, (other than shellfish which I already liked), my appetite has decreased so I am now eating correct portions, and the best part is I have learned a clean way to eat and I no longer have cravings for sugar, cheese, and processed foods. 
One note, I originally started this cleanse to try and rid my body of things that cause my allergies to flair up with the hope that my immune system would stop over-reacting to everything and I would no longer be allergic to the 40 foods I am currently.  I don't know if this will happen in one month.  I may have to eat clean for much longer to see that happen. As long as I can eat a real dinner I am fine with that, I guess.

Why am I doing this?

I originally intended to post everyday and I hope to get better about posting but this past week has been kind of crazy.  I can recap how my cleanse, slash, life change is going in two words, NOT good. The first week was a prep week where I severely limited my calories and ate mostly fruits with no salt or sugar and after 3 days I felt good but by day 6 and 7 I felt lousy.  The day after my prep week  and the day before I started my cleanse was my 6 year old daughters birthday.  At the birthday party I was very good. I ate almost nothing but fruit and vegetables and avoided the cake.  However, at the end of a long day with no sleep the night before we went out to eat with the in-laws.  I ate OK, grilled shrimp and scallops and a baked potato but needed the 2 glasses of wine I consumed.  No worries Sunday started my real cleanse anyway.
During the cleanse I can have a smoothie in the morning (for which there are 7 recipes) a big lunch which includes 4-5 ounces of low fat protein like fish or chicken and a whole bunch of raw veggies.  Dinner is anyone of 7 recipes for a chilled vegetable pureed soup. The smoothies are great, I make them with homemade almond milk and berries or homemade coconut milk and berries and veggies. Lunch is fine, it's a real meal.  The dinner is TERRIBLE!  I have tried 4 different soups and they range from not good to disgusting.
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday the cleanse was moving along fine, except for the dinners which I just gagged down as much as I could and then went to bed hungry. However, Wednesday was the big blizzard and I was stuck at home all day with Dan, Olivia, and Mother-in-law and brother-in-law.  Needless to say I really wanted to snack but I didn't until the power went out, it got cold,  and there was no way I could puree a nasty tasting soup. Then instead of just eating some raw veggies, I had a Turkey and Cheese sandwich and 3/4 of a bottle of red wine.  Today I thought OK, yesterday was an annomoly it will just be one day out of 21 that I slipped up.  I had my smoothie this morning (good), lunch was Lamb Chops and salad (great), but tonight I made Spinach and Dulse soup that was so disgusting I gagged every bite. The Dulse seaweed tasted bad and the  consistency (yuck). I had half of a bowl then threw the whole blender full down the drain and scarfed down the other half of my daughters frozen cheese pizza.  Then of course came all the self hatred, guilt, stomach ache and bloating.
So now I'm at a crossroads; two days in a row I have cheated, should I just throw in the towel and eat better or should I continue on with the official cleanse for the next 16 days.  I have got to figure something out for dinner.  I just can't eat the soup.  Will I still be giving my digestive system a break if I have a liquid breakfast , a real lunch, and a plain salad for dinner?  Maybe I should eat dry salad for breakfast, a real lunch, and a smoothie for dinner?

End of Week 1

Today marks the end of the first week of my 4 week cleanse and I have to say, "today I feel lousy." Yesterday went by just fine, I felt like this cleanse was going to be not so bad. I even bought a book on reflexology and started applying pressure to select spots on my hands and feet that correspond to liver and stomach healing.  Maybe I applied too much pressure for too long I don't know. However, when I went to bed last night I felt kind of crummy, I didn't sleep well and today I feel sluggish.  I'm not sure why I feel sluggish but perhaps it is because the toxins are starting to release from my body. Anyway, I don't feel like writing, still lots to do for my daughters birthday party tomorrow. I'll update on Sunday after my first full day of juice fasting.

Days 4 and 5

Day 5
My cleanse is going alright, I don't even feel like I'm cleansing anymore. I have learned to do without salt and sugar and I have learned to deal with hunger. I actually kind of welcome the hunger feeling sometimes since I won't actually starve-to-death.  Don't get me wrong, yesterday at the mall I could smell the pizza wafting out of Papa Ginos and my stomach did tighten and last night while I was botching the rolling of my vegetable sushi rolls I really really wanted a glass of red wine.  However, I did not indulge and the feelings passed.
Today because I wasn't overly concerned about what I was or was not eating I decided to take a look other ways to transform myself.  The Recreation Center and the Adult Community Education classes in my town are very good.  I signed up for a meditation class, a one day seminar "How To Produce A Healthy Body" and a Chi King Class. (Chi Kung is an ancient Chinese system of self healing based on the Taoist principle of yin and yang. It improves circulation to relieve stress and promote internal cleansing and healing throughout the entire body. You will learn a short series of breathing techniques coordinated with body movements and pressure point massages.)
I feel ready to get on with the 3 week juice fast but I have to wait as my daughters 6th birthday is Saturday and of course there is a party, family, cake, and a whole host of other food I won't be eating, ah well.

Clean day 3

So I'm working Dr. Junger's 4 week Clean Program and have finished the first three days and thought I'd give an update. (see my first post for what the program entails)
Day 1 was awful!!! I was hungover and all I wanted was greasy salty food and instead all I could eat quinoa, steel cut oats, fruit and veggies.  That sounds like plenty right? Wrong. I was hungry all day. 
Day 2 we went to a friends house for the Patriot's Game, they had cheese, crackers ,and ordered a pizza, urrgh.  I brought a veggie tray and ate raw vegetables and drank green tea.  How hard is that?  Really hard, beer and pizza are food groups to me.
Day 3 went very well actually until I hit the grocery store for the family.  There are over 17,000 items at the store and most of them are processed so I just spent an hour walking around drooling, sniffing the cheese, and chips.
I see now how important this first week of preparation is for someone like me who is "in love" with food and wine.  By eating three meals, no snacking, all whole food, unprocessed, salt free, sugar free, I am learning to adjust my relationship with food.  No more more handful of crackers every time I pass the pantry, wine just because it's Tuesday, cheese on my cereal (just kidding but I could).  I am learning to look at food as a tool to fuel my body and to deal with being hungry.
After 3 days of no salt and sugar my intense cravings are gone and I feel like I might actually be able to do a 3 week juice fast at the end of the first 7 days.
PS-While I am getting clean I have already lost 5 pounds!

A little about me

I am a 41 year old wife and mother who has always been a high strung type-A personality. I often eat too much, drink too much and sleep too little. In the last 5 years I have become allergic to almost every food except meat and veggies and now I am taking a holistic look at my lifestyle to figure out what the problem is and how to heal it. I am allergic to wheat, corn, soy, citrus, all seeds, all legumes, and possibly dairy and onions.  When my allergist suggested I stay away from these foods for a year to see if my allergies improve I decided to see advice from a holistic doctor. You can NEVER eat out if you have to avoid all these foods or go to a back yard BBQ.  What I am allergic to is a big part of the American diet. Seed Oil and or Soybean Oil is used in everything from salad dressings, sauces, snack food items, even wheat free snacks used seed oils.
In the fall of 2009 I went to a nutritionist in a holistic wellness center trying to gain insight into why I have all theses food allergies. What I found is that my body is on toxic overload and my hormones are way out of whack.  So for the last 4 months I have been taking all natural whole food supplements, as directed by my nutritionist, with the goal of balancing my hormones and now will start detoxing and balancing vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Now that my hormones are in a more balanced state I feel less anxious all the time, more grounded, less like I'm holding onto my sanity by a thread.  With this new feeling of grounding I have a desire to create internal peace, tranquility, health and happiness.
 So yesterday January 1st I started a 28 day cleanse.   I am working the cleanse program by Dr. Alejandro Junger as written about in his book CLEAN.  Week 1 is limited whole foods, i.e. fruit, vegetables, fish, nuts, seed, Quinoa, Brown rice, water and green tea.  Weeks 2-4 are two liquid meals and one fish or chicken and salad meal.  Other than the fish and poultry all food should be raw for maximum nutrients.
 So I started yesterday, January 1st, and day one was tough because I was hungover from all the Champagne on Friday night and yes I have been binging for the last 3 weeks on food and wine knowing that this day was coming.  The power that sugar has over us is crazy strong.  One day of no salt and sugar and by last night I wanted to eat the giant bag of Tootsie rolls left over from Halloween. Luckily I did not eat the bag and so I successfully completed day 1.   Every day I will document my withdrawl struggles and share the feelings of elation I will supposedly experience as I am getting cleaner.  Here goes nothing