Preparing for the January Cleanse

Well the holidays are over, the cold is setting in, the days are getting darker, and I want to curl up on the couch in a snuggie with a bowl of salty snacks. BUT instead once again this year I am going to do a 21day cleanse. If you read my blog last year you know that I did a 28 day cleanse consisting of smoothies and cold raw vegetable soups. It was awful, I still shudder at the thought of some of those soups! This year I am doing and running a group 21 day purification program at my new office in Rhode Island.  More info here http://www.rihealthandwellness.com/january-2012.html.
This cleanse seems much more doable with three rice protein shakes a day and all the vegetables and fruit I want.  I'm actually looking forward to it because it's not only going to be physically healthy for me but also emotionally healthy for me. There is a lot of new research showing what happens in our brain when we eat carbohydrates, remember carbohydrates are sweets, sodas, alcohol, grains, fruit, fruit juice. One article I really liked was in Details Magazine http://www.details.com/style-advice/the-body/201103/carbs-caffeine-food-cocaine-addiction.  Refined carbohydrates provide a rush of Serotonin from the brain into the body and if feels good.  We then come down and want to feel good again so we eat more carbohydrates. 
I am very in-tune with my body and it's reactions to food and for the last two weeks of December I ate and drank whatever I wanted and by the time I went back to work on January 2nd I was agitated, angry, heavier, and my skin was broken out. I have let myself fall back into an addictive cycle with sugar again and I hate it.
In the morning my oatmeal is calling for brown sugar, by 2pm the miniature Hershey candy bars in the office are screaming my name, and by evening the can of left over whipped cream in the refrigerator is ordering me to do a mouth whip cream shot.
So this  is why I'm actually looking forward the detox program.  I learned last year how to think about food in a new way and it was very enlightening and liberating to be free of cravings at the end of the month.  I'm not even mentioning the 14 pound weight loss, the great skin, the shinier hair. I'm really looking forward to February 1st when I can feel well adjusted, focused, powerful, and happy. So this week I am starting to prep for the detox, cutting back my caffeine, incorporating more vegetables back into my diet, and planning what I will do with myself when I am antsy during the cleanse.  The detox starts January 11th.  If you want to do the detox with me give me a call and I can set you up with the supplements you will need and talk you through how it will go.
I will be blogging about my experience, what I feel, what results are happening, and how I am coping so more to come