Prioritizing my Health: The Experience of Cleansing

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Cleansing Post3

To read the first two installments in this series, click here.

First things first, it’s 3 weeks later and I survived!  I did not starve, nor did I become a withered away, angry version of my former carb eating self.  Now, obviously with any new venture or journey in life there are positives and there are negatives.  Everyone seems to differ on what they like to hear first, so because I’m the writer (and I just completely changed my diet for three weeks so that earns me some sort of clout), I will give you the standard “good-bad-good” technique of sharing feedback.

The truth is, I was really surprised how my body naturally fell into place with eating this way.  I had prepared myself to really struggle the first week, I had heard stories of people becoming “moody” or having withdrawal type symptoms, but this was not the case for me.  (I will state, this was the case for my co-cleanser, who did become a tad bit grouchy.)   I actually felt a sense of control and excitement about my new eating habits.  I felt like I was being conscientious about what foods I was putting in my body, and I read every label. Truly every label.  I felt empowered by taking on this challenge and succeeding.  By far the biggest surprise was that I was able to give up caffeine, 100% cold turkey.  For a night-shift worker who flips my schedule every week, this is HUGE.

Now I truly thought, gluten was going to be my downfall.  I love all things bread and pretty much in any form.  Being a picky, preschoolish eater, as I mentioned in the first post of this series, most of my life I have survived on carbohydrates.  Turns out this was actually not too big of a deal for me, as in this time in age there are so many gluten-free choices.  What was tricky for me was diary.  I craved diary towards the end of the second week.  All I wanted was a tall glass of milk, or a milk shake, or ice cream, or cheese, or… you get the idea.  I was so angry by the end of week two that I wanted to quit, chalk it up to 2 weeks of success and have a Carmel Apple Shake from Steak N’ Shake.  This is why you do not cleanse alone.  My grumpy co-cleanser from week 1 actually gave me the motivation and encouragement to push through this and carry on.  Instead I had some homemade apple cider at a local pumpkin patch and refocused myself to finish.

In the end the sense of accomplishment was truly worth it.  I felt like I had crossed a huge bridge of prioritizing health in my life.  Now, my original goal was to better my sleep habits and though this really did not change a drastic amount (mind you I have been doing other things besides the cleanse to help my sleep), I was and continue to be able to flip my sleep and wake up without the need for caffeine.  I also learned that there are actually a lot of foods that I like.  I am amazed at how many healthy food options there are.  Black bean chips have become a favorite of mine.  Yes, there are some items that are a bit pricier and yes, buying fresh food means you have to cook; but Kroger’s simple truth items are truly very reasonable and if you are able to take the time and prepare (from my second post in the series) a menu, my cooking time did not increase that much.

Will I continue to eat this way (gluten free, soy free, diary free, corn free, egg free, sugar free) from here on out?  No, it’s just not realistic for me on a 24/7 basis.  But that was not really the goal.  I think what I have learned is that I can alter my eating habits, I can prioritize my health, and I will continue to add in new nutritious and nurturing meals into my life.

To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” ~ Buddha

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Amy
I am a born and raised Cincinnatian and love all that this “big-little” city has to offer. Gardening, organization, maintaining life-long friendships and finding new places around town with my daughter; I always like to be busy but am also quite the homebody. Learning to truly find balance in life and being more “wholely” healthy are things I am leaning more into these days… well at least making the effort to.

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