Thank you for reading along with me, blogging each day kept me honest. I did it! I made it 21 days with no caffeine, dairy, meat, processed foods, gluten and alcohol. This experience was like Lent on steroids. I've given up some of these things for Lent but not all at once. I feel good, I've been sleeping well and my energy lasts all day. I didn't notice any particular food allergies but will continue to be mindful of changes in my body as I add foods back in. My final weigh in results are - 9 lbs. in three weeks. It was not easy but worth it and I hope my liver enjoyed the chance to clean itself out. (I'm not always very nice to my liver).
I ate more avocados, kale, chard and beets in the past three weeks than I've probably had my whole life. The detox helped me learn more about nutrition (which I've always been interested in) and especially about green smoothies which led me to invest in a Vitamix blender. Now I have no excuse for not getting my 5 a day of fruits and veggies.
I subscribe to emeals.com for meal planning and I'm happy to report they now offer clean eating menu plans. Today I downloaded their brand new iPhone app, selected the meals I'm using for the next week and it generated my shopping list. I added a few things to the list, went to the store and checked things off on my phone as I went. Emeals takes the hassle out of meal planning. I've been using it since September and love it. They offer all kinds of menu plans, check it out.
Here's what I had for the final day:
Breakfast - Banana-oat pancakes
Lunch - Cherry date oat bar, strawberry smoothie and two cooked eggs
Kind of a goofy lunch, I know.
Dinner - Black bean, corn and spinach burritos (from emeals.com menu plan)
So what I am going to do tomorrow, you ask? I will ease back into a "normal" eating routine, I don't want to go overboard the first day. However, I am planning to have a glass of red wine tomorrow night and a little bit of dark chocolate. I've missed chocolate the most.
Going forward, I will certainly be more aware of what I'm choosing for my meals and try to make better choices. Everything in moderation has always been my motto but is often easier said than done. I'm planning to keep desserts and sugar to a minimum but I will start drinking coffee again and eating meat.
I feel like I'm looking through the food world with a different lens. I know that I can say no and not eat or drink something and stick to it. I can make good choices and the world won't crumble down around me. If I can go to the school auction and eat a plate of green beans for dinner and drink water all night, I can manage.
Thanks again for reading and joining me on this journey.
