Why wait until the New Year for a New You

So, my body has been feeling pretty crummy and run down for the past 2 months or so.  I know I can attribute it to the wealth of poor food choices I have made pretty much over the last year.  I am smarter than this….I have been here before and I did get myself out of it, but for some reason, I just needed something to boost my discipline.  So, while flipping through stations, I came across Dr.Oz as he was discussing his 3 Day Detox.  Thanks to the quick internet search, I came across 3 day cleanse and decided that I would try it out the last 3 days of 2013 in preparation for some new things coming my way in 2014.

I started off on a scavenger hunt of sorts to 4 different stores since I wanted to get the best deal on produce and the supplements.  While all of it is to cost $48 for all three days, I spent about $70 since I didn’t have almond butter or the probiotic supplement on hand.  I tweaked things a bit and was able to find Epsom Salt infused with Lavender for $3.50 at Walmart (lavender drops were going to run $11 at Sprouts).

What I anticipated was that I would be grumpy and suffer from a headache all 3 days (for lack of my morning coffee); however, I must admit that the green tea in the morning along with the breakfast smoothie about an hour later gave me energy.  I never suffered from the headache I thought I would have.  The breakfast smoothie turned out to be my favorite. The lunch meal turned me off the first day (my blender didn’t really puree the celery well), so the second day, I added an extra half cup of pineapple and blended it a little longer.  It was nearly perfect.

What came as a surprise was the dinner smoothie that contains cayenne pepper.  WOW!! While the recipe calls for 1/4 tsp, I only used 1/8 tsp which proved to be enough to have my nose running for 30 minutes after I drank it.  Interestingly enough, I went on a search for information about cayenne pepper and found out so many benefits our bodies gain from it.  Check some out here.

Day 3 proved to be a challenge when my family decided to take a trip to the Reagan Library.  I knew this would mean that I would have to find a way to prepare the lunch smoothie and take it with me.  In anticipation of a long morning, I prepared the breakfast smoothie early, placed it in the freezer for about an hour and drank it on the drive to Simi Valley (around 9:30am).  The lunch smoothie was made the night before and placed in the freezer.  I took it with me, thinking that it would defrost by 2pm when we eventually ate lunch – To no avail. So, I did end up eating a salad with a 12 calorie dressing at THE HABIT restaurant.  Since it was New Year’s Eve, I did eat dinner with the family which ended up being just as many calories as the smoothie – whole wheat pasta with sauce that had lots of spinach and some ground turkey.  (Couldn’t finish it all…and I passed on the bread in exchange for green beans).  Celebrated with a square of dark chocolate and some hot tea.  Twas marvelous.

After day 3, I feel better and resigned to start off the year with better choices.  My body just feels better and I am not spending an hour after I eat feeling sick.  I’d say I was successful, despite not finishing exactly as the plan planned.

But isn’t that important about the food we decide to eat – we need to be flexible and not go overboard.  Be able to enjoy without constant indulgence and treat food as fuel and not as a 24/7 party.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR