Healthier Living

My husband and I and our room (my sister) all recently went through a 5 week journey in and out of a detox. It was pretty tough the first week, but once we got past the withdrawals of sugar and caffeine, things were great! We had more energy, started dropping weight, learned all kinds of tasty new recipes, and began to regain control of our diet and habits connected with what we put into our bodies. We decided to do this because for too long we have been discussing how we need to get healthy and drop some weight, but just haven't and needed to kick our butts into over drive and make a drastic change in order for it to stick. as we were looking through books and asking around what other people recommended, my good friend lent us this book.

This book, though the cover is quite cheesy, it is a very educational and user friendly way to learn about how what you put into your body effects the way your body works and how it makes you feel.  We decided to jump in, feet first and not look back and we don't regret it at all.

The first week we eliminated cane sugar, caffeine, dairy, and wheat. the first two days were the worst for me. I work as a barista and in so doing take in a LOT of caffeine throughout the day. And so I took a lot of naps to get through the withdrawal headaches. Phil and Trina's tough days last a little longer than mine because of their sugar withdrawals. I am more of a salty and savory person, whereas Phil drank a lot of soda and Trina loves desserts and baking.  But once we got through our withdrawals and the bit of cranky/sleepiness that came with it, things moved along quite nicely. 

Homemade Sushi rolls

We did feel like we were constantly eating or preparing food to eat. Which was good and bad. It was nice that we always had food to eat, but it felt like we had little time to live the rest of our lives. However, now that we have finished and have decided to stick with the meal and snack rhythms laid out for us, it's not so bad. We plan everything two weeks at a time, put the food calendar on the fridge and do all the grocery shopping all at once. That way we can look at the next few days and prepare for the next day and sometimes the next few days at a time. That is really what it all comes down to, having healthy food in the house and knowing what we are going to eat and having it with us when the time comes to chow down. 

The second week, we cut out flour of any kind and any sugars besides natural sugars. We learned a lot about whole grains and found a new love of quinoa (for those of you who don't know how to pronounce it, it's keen-wah). We have a lemon water drink every morning and instead of honey, we started adding stevia, a plant based sweetener. Had a lot of granny smith apples, which at the end of the week, actually started tasting really sweet. :) 

The following week was our fasting week. For two days we ate only fruit and vegetables. We then fasted for two days. Trina did a mono food fast and Phil and I did the Master Cleanse. Trina ate rice for two days and Phil and I drank a lemon/maple syrup/cayenne pepper concoction. I was nervous I was going to feel super hungry and tired the whole time, but the cayenne pepper warms your digestive tract and helps to fight off the hunger pains. I did pretty much spend the two days sitting on the couch knitting and sleeping with the occasional break to walk the dog around the park. 

Next, we started to work our way back towards the beginning. Basically following the above backwards. With the hardest part behind us, we began discussing what our lives were going to look like once we were done with prescribed 5 weeks. As we reintroduced foods back into our diets, we paid close attention to how we reacted to it. We are considering getting tested for food allergies so that we can properly take care of our bodies. 

Homemade Gluten Free Pizza
with goat cheese

We have decided to stay sugar, dairy, and gluten free in our house and then making healthy choices when we are out and about. However, Phil and I go out on a weekly date and that will be our "eat whatever the hell we want to" meal. You've got to give yourself a vice, a guided way to "cheat" so that you can satisfy the cravings in a healthy way. The nice thing is, when we were fasting, I was super craving a gooey cheesy pizza, but now the idea of it hurts my belly. I still want pizza, but I'm craving a healthy version now. 

We made a drastic change and are closer to living the life we want to live, which is an active healthy and happy one. And it has been more than worth it!

(Updated pictures of us coming soon)