CLEAN: Week One

Okay. I was really planning on doing this daily, but the days this week have gotten away from me. A good thing when you are doing a "detox". Here are some things I have experienced this week.

1. Sleep. I will admit I love early bed times. And the reason I love them so much is because I wake up every day usually before six. So if I am going to get 8 hours of sleep, I have be in bed by 10 p.m. if not earlier. Well, when I started this, I had just returned from a trip to California (which really messes with your sleep patterns) and I had two late night events planned on Day 1 and Day 2. One of the things about doing this and really reaping the benefits is to focus on all things related to wellness - a solid eight hours of sleep being one of them. Remarkably, I have been sleeping a lot. And it has been easy. Saturday, Sunday and Monday (kids were off school) I slept in until 8 a.m. each day. That is unheard of for me. And each day since, I have been waking at 6:30 or 7:00 only because the alarm went off. I am loving this.

2. Funny thing. On Sunday morning after getting up, Dave asked me if I felt deprived. I said no. Thinking well, maybe, a little. Saturday night we attended a wedding reception - wedding cake is my favorite food! But when I really felt deprived is when I came home from swimming and Dave (trying to help me out by making breakfast for the kids) had biscuits baking in oven, bacon on the cooktop, and waffles and eggs! I love breakfast...almost as much as wedding cake. I felt deprived.

3. Day 5 - Very Hard. At least it was for me. My body was not-so-silently protesting all the fun new things it was consuming, and not consuming. I spent a lot of time in the bathroom and battled some stomach cramps. But it only lasted a few hours.

4. Green Smoothies. Yum! Spinach, Almond Milk, Frozen Organic Peaches and Honey Crisp Apples are so good blended into a smoothie. And my daughters, especially Eden, who won't eat a piece of lettuce to save her life, loves them. Wants one everyday after school. I told her I would make her one, wouldn't you?

5. My skin. "Skin Elimination. Skin rashes or breakouts during the first few days of Clean are not uncommon; they are a sign that accelerated detoxification is happening." Okay. I will wait it out. Because I am not prone to breakouts, I will just see what happens. It is not bad, but not something I am used to. Things I love about this program that are new to me. I bought a nice skin brush and have been "brushing" my skin every other day followed by a "hot-cold" plunge. I just do this in the shower, by alternating between water as hot as I can tolerate for one minute followed by as cold as I can go for a minute for 4 minutes. This feels great, especially after a workout.

6. My mind. Yes, quieter. My thoughts are not so scattered and I feel a lot less frazzled about life. Dave has noticed a calm around our house, even with the kids. I have not noticed it, but I am in the middle of this and have to take his word for it.

7. Piriformis. Day 7. I did a hard treadmill workout that usually I am grimacing through the whole time. This workout is always followed by a day of limping and pain. No pain today, not on the treadmill or during the day.

8. Weight. I am down about 4 pounds and that really is the lowest I want to go without sacrificing muscle mass. So, I will increase the smoothie portion sizes this week and really watch it. I have a scale that measures body fat and it had not shown a significant decline, but I do notice I am cold all the time and that for me is usually a sign that my body fat is going down. So, I am just watching.

So, in general, a good week. Trust me, I would love to go out and eat a piece of pizza or a hamburger and fries, but the food, smoothies and snacks I am eating are good! And I look forward to them everyday. Today for lunch I had grilled chicken, squash, and zuchini with quinoa and brown rice, cranberries and pine nuts! It was really good. For snacks, I am eating fresh vegetables, raw cashews, almonds and lots of blueberries and raspberries. And, though, I only have had one day with headaches from caffeine, etc. (Day 3) I wouldn't mind warming up with a latte and sitting in a coffee shop reading a book. But that can wait, and maybe, by the end of this I won't even want to do that.