Monday Meltdown

Week 1 - Cleanse Week (2019)

Cleanse week is done and the results were great! This week is always a struggle for me but it’s well worth it in the end. We all need to give our bodies a rest and let it heal itself through the power of food from time to time. And after a few months of not eating right and being on vacation I certainly need a cleanse.

RESULTS

Weight: Down 8.2 lbs
Body Fat: Stayed the same
Hydration: Stayed the same
Inches: Down 6.75 with 2 inches specifically from the waist.

NUTRITION

This week I ate only fruits and vegetables and only drank water. Now I know you might think that sounds horrible, and trust me, half way through the week I couldn’t look at another salad and want to shove it in my mouth. But the benefits from fruits and veggies alone do so much for your body, you can make it through just one week. And when I get sick of salad, that’s where I switched it up by eating soup or cooked veggie combinations. If you experiment with different veggies you’ll find what you like and can actually really come enjoy eating only vegetables.

EXERCISE

Because there is no protein this week there is no exercise. This is something I will adjust next time I decide to do a cleanse because my office is on the third floor and it takes a bit of energy to walk up and down those stairs all day long. Making several trips to and from my office got me winded when I sat down at my desk. I need to add just enough protein to maintain my muscle mass on the days I work in the office. The rest of the time (when I’m just hanging around the house) no protein isn’t that difficult. 

SLEEP

Over the past few months it’s been a struggle getting good quality sleep. This is mostly because of what I’ve been eating. But this week I had no problem falling asleep. In fact, most nights I was ready for bed and fell right asleep when I laid down. Cleansing my body of the junk that’s been lurking in there has definitely improved my quality of sleep. 

HYDRATION

When you increase the amount of water you drink, you increase the number of trips to the bathroom. And boy was that true this week. Sometime I was worried I expelled more than I drank. But in the end, getting enough water in each day was easy when I broke it up into segments. I figured out how much I should be drinking before each meal and just focused on drinking that before it was time to eat again. And if I didn’t finish it all I just drank it between my next meal. 

LESSONS FROM THE WEEK

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned this week is I need to plan ahead. The days when I didn’t bring something for a snack, or have a backup if the cafeteria didn’t have the right options available, I was left scrambling to find something. Simply packing a banana and apple along with a bag of cut veggies makes a huge difference between going hungry and being satisfied. 

The other big lesson I learned is I need to stop overthinking and keep it simple. This is supposed to be a lifestyle. The purpose it having the knowledge to make the right choice and make this second nature. When I stopped thinking I needed to have my whole day planned out is when I could finally relax and only focus on what I’m about to eat when I was getting hungry.