Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Full Disclosure


As I sit here this morning, sipping away at my piping hot cleanse bev of water, cayenne pepper and lemon, I'm compelled to be completely and utterly honest with you all.

First off, I come to you with this update via Alex's computer since, le sigh, mine is staying a couple nights in that dreaded hospital known as the Apple Genius Bar once again. Which means I won't be able to bring you news of my run-in with Burmese cuisine or favorite new pastry place until my computer and the photos on it are returned safe and sound.

Secondly, I want to talk cleanse.

This Crazy, Sexy Diet Adventure Cleanse is admittedly my first foray into detox territory. While I've heard many a good friend, celebrity and random on the street talk about the "cleanse I'm on won't allow..." or "how great" their detox feels, I'd never officially tried one for myself.

Until 11 days ago when Alex agreed to step up to the plate and serve as a Clyde to my Bonnie in this hijacking of our bodily systems. (Ok, maybe hijacking's a little harsh ;)

I went into this thing straight off a high in life- our show had just opened, I was feeling great about all the things going on, I couldn't wait to get to blogging and make strides in my acting career. Hence, I went into the cleanse a little reluctantly, with countless other things occupying my mind. I just assumed the positive feelings about this period of deprivation would fall into place, especially having a dedicated partner by my side.

Wrong.

Here we are 11 days in and all I feel is deprived.

I keep asking myself, "How could this be?! Kris Carr essentially cured herself of cancer this way- why am I finding it so difficult to enjoy a heightened mood while living this lifestyle?"

A few possible answers include:
  1. Lack of gym going and exercise. Granted my schedule has not been the most flexible, but that is the worst excuse in the book. Since I'm more of a morning exerciser, this whole "liquids 'til noon" thing has been the culprit. I can barely muster the inspiration, let alone the appropriate caloric intake, to hop on a spin bike and get those endorphins flowin'
  2. Not residing in the proper head space. Lately my mind has been almost completely focused on getting my acting career off the ground. For this reason, I haven't devoted the time necessary to meditation, reflection and all the lovely feel good, spiritual components prescribed in this cleanse. My bad.
  3. Lack of variety. I'm the sort of person who gets bored pret-ty easily. If you remember before this cleanse, I'd be posting a recipe for carob-dipped pretzels one day and vegan alfredo the next. We've all heard variety's the spice of life... well, on this cleanse, the sparse options, along with my spotty schedule basically allow me gigante salads at lunch, smoothies in the morning and brown rice veggie bowls for dinner. There's only so much repeat a girl (and all you lovely readers out there) can take.
In a nutshell, this is not how I invisioned the cleanse going. I thought all my problems, low energy levels and less than favorable tummy growlings would fly straight out the window, leaving behind a perfectly energized vessel for my invigorated soul to thrive in.

Now I realize it's not just the food choices that cleanse your body, but also the mind. When I think about it, my normal diet is pretty damn healthy. It's the mindset one takes on during a detox that's key. This cleanse has shown me that you can munch on organic produce, beans and legumes all day long but if you're head's not in it, there's [almost] no point.

Don't get me wrong: things haven't been all bad.

Alex and I have had a great time figuring it all out together! My skin is looking great, I can't remember the last time I was bloated or uncomfortably full, I've learned tons about gluten free living and going without alcohol has been an eye-opening experience in every sense of the word.

Not to worry, I don't plan to abandon the cleanse altogether. Instead, I'll be making a slight adjustment by allowing myself small solid food breakfasts to get daily exercise back into my life.

I'll also be devoting more time to meal-planning in order to add more flavors to our palates and nutrients to our organs.

With that in mind, I'm off to whip up some cleanse-worthy breakfast... Ah, the possibilities!

Catcha later :)

Question: Have you ever done a cleanse and made adjustments after seeing it wasn't doing great things for your body/psyche? It's a tough tough thing if you don't know what you're in for!!

3 comments:

  1. I did a cleanse years ago, which, after a few weeks of juicing culminated in a complete 2 day fast. Great results. Did it to battle a depressive episode and it cleared my head out good. What's your goal? That should dictate your attitude more than your comfort. I took time off of major exercise during the cleanse, so as to not give my body more stress to repair. Let the cleanse do its thing.
    -James

    ReplyDelete
  2. I did a raw food cleanse for 5 days last year and loved it! I had so much energy and felt so much lighter! BUT my boyfriend experienced the complete opposite. He was weak, dizzy, and sick for the 5 days. I really want to do another one though!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's so interesting that you and your bf had completely different experiences on the cleanse. Gotta be a mental thing! And you're right, James, a goal (and FOCUS) is key.

    ReplyDelete