I was doing pretty well with this, but decided to take things up a notch. Over the past few months, I had been contemplating doing a health cleanse. Two family weddings in early July, however, provided me with an obtainable goal - June would be a month of cleansing.
Cleanse Routine and Diet:
I obtained a cleanse formula from my acupuncturist, although I made some modifications to their prescribed plan. This was the routine I followed:
- I started with 2 days of "pre-cleanse," where I had an 8 oz protein shake in rice milk with essential fatty acids for breakfast, a 16 oz protein shake in water for lunch, and a modest serving of garlic steamed veggies and curry couscous for dinner. I also consciously increased my water intake on those days, especially if I felt hungry throughout the day. I allowed myself 1/2 Tbsp of unsalted pumpkin seeds and chopped almonds for a snack once per day, if needed.
- Then, I had 2 days of "cleanse," where I drank 1/2 cup of the prescribed cleanse formula (comprised of herbs and fruit juice; 40 calories per serving) 4 times throughout the day. I also allowed myself 1/2 Tbsp of unsalted pumpkin seeds and chopped almonds for a snack 1-2 times per day to help with hunger. My water intake was about 8-10 16 oz glasses of water. Whenever I felt hungry, I drank a big glass of water before deciding whether to have my snack. I also allowed myself 1-2 cups of my favorite hot tea: Guayaki Orange Blossom Mate. And, I took 1-2 B-complex tablets throughout the day to help with diminished energy. One of the reasons for diminished energy is that the multi-vitamin and multi-mineral that I normally take is highly bio-available. In fact, it dissolves and absorbs so quickly that it will make me nauseous on an empty/near empty stomach, so I decided to fore go it on the days where my calories were significantly restricted. (Our vitamin/mineral brand is USANA, which we have been taking since 1998, with very good results.)
- I followed this with a week of basically all "pre-cleanse" days, though I did allow myself a 1 or 2 "cheat" days where I had breakfast and then 1 larger meal later in the day, such as Indian or Chinese. But, I followed this principle - at least one 16 oz glass of water before the meal and another halfway through the meal. I ate significantly less than I would have otherwise eaten, just because of drinking more water.
- Over the remaining 3 weeks of the month, I basically followed the "pre-cleanse" routine, with the exception of 2 other non-consecutive "cleanse" days. Our friends Alison and Eric also introduced us to Dr. Schulze's Superfood Plus formula, and I started to drink a 1/2 serving dissolved in water every morning before my protein shake. This formula tastes like grass, but it is loaded with B vitamins and really helped to jump start my day in an even way, which especially helped with the morning workouts.
- To address hunger in the evenings after dinner, I drank more water, and also just went to bed early.
These modifications to my diet addressed my overeating and dehydration. I also changed my workout routine. First, I moved my workouts to the morning, before going to work. I seem to need some "piddling" time in the morning right after I wake up. Rather than disrupting that need, I got up just a little earlier than usual, drank the Superfood, did some joint exercises, then did 15 minutes of KBs. I really streamlined my workouts to either be (a) heavy deadlifts followed by 10 sets of 10 high/full swings, (b) military press and squats followed by a set of 100+ fluid swings, or (c) 1-2 sets totaling 200+ swings. I did this at least 5 mornings/week. This worked well for me because I have a flexible work schedule - in fact, changing my work schedule to 9:30 AM - 7 PM gave me a much more desirable commute!
Switching workouts to mornings also helped me have more consistent workouts - when I was doing weekday workouts in the evenings, I frequently came home so late that it was time to have dinner, maybe go for a walk, then get ready for bed. Or, if I did come home at a more reasonable time, either my mind was still too wrapped around work to be able to lift safely, or I wanted to spend my time with Gregg. So, the morning workouts were definitely doing it for me!
The final adjustment regarding workouts was to go for walks with Gregg most evenings. Our nightly walk took about 20 minutes, and was also a great time to connect with each other :)
Sweets, Alcohol, Chips/Bread, etc
I purposely timed this "cleanse" to schedule around important events like the Novato Greek Festival, because I just have to have the baklava :)
Prior to the cleanse, I had fallen into a pretty regular habit of indulging frequently in chocolate chip cookies, but it was surprisingly easy during my purge month to not indulge in any sweets except on a few limited occasions. Same for alcohol - there were just a few times during June where I had a glass of wine while we were out with friends. And, I don't normally eat many chips or bread products, so it was easy to cut these out completely for the month. The interesting thing was that I didn't even want to have sweets, alcohol, chips or bread. I think this was in part due to drinking more water, but I also think in part to just the cleansing process.
More Energy!
What was most surprising to me was how much more energy I had, especially the day after a cleanse. Makes sense - my body was spending less energy on digestion, and, I started to realize how much chronic overeating, even just a little, was sucking away my energy.
16-pound plan
The cleanse booklet suggested taking measurements and recording weight before starting the cleanse. I didn't bother, as my body has not changed much in the past 14 years. My weight has pretty much stayed the same, even as my body composition has changed (I got a little smaller and stronger over time - all most evident in my shoulders and back).
But, I wish that I had taken measurements. I weighed myself, almost by accident, sometime before Memorial Day. I don't even own a scale, but had weighed myself at my acupuncturist's office. Out of curiosity, I weighed myself again on July 12. I was stunned - 16 pounds lighter! Maybe it wasn't so stunning, considering how small my upper body now looked and that I could comfortably fit back into clothes that I have not worn for 2 years. And, I still have my strength, and, in fact, feel even stronger. During this month of cleansing, my military press improved from 1 rep on my left (3 on the right) with the 16 kg KB, to 3-4 reps per set on both sides. Windmilling the 24 kg KB feels just as easy as always.
My New Habits
I think that the following are the most important things that I learned and positive habits that I established during my cleanse month:
- Fewer calories (now averaging about 1500-1600 per day as opposed to 1800-2200 per day)
- A higher proportion of calories from protein - 50% or more of my breakfast and lunch calories are from protein; my new snack of choice is raw pumpkin seeds or almonds
- Minimal amounts of fruit, even fresh fruit - I learned that animals stock up on fruit in late summer and fall to put on extra fat for winter; if I'm craving something sweet, it is okay to have a small portion of fruit
- Water, water, water - my goal is 6-8 16 oz glasses/day (I spend a lot of time on the computer, and that is a major dehydrator)
- Just because I feel hungry, doesn't mean that I need to eat, or even that I am hungry - drink water first, consider whether my body thinks I'm hungry because this is the time I normally eat, or go to bed, if that is an option
- It is easier for me to plan to do a little bit of workout everyday then to try to do bigger workouts 3 times/week - if something comes up to disrupt my workout, or, I just don't feel up to it that day; even if I miss 1-2, I will still get in 4-6 workouts for the week. And, scheduling a little workout in the morning and the evening is a nice way to bookend my day - a nice routine to go with my morning "piddling" and a nice routine for closing out the day.
One of the things that was really striking to me about this was the effect of keeping this routine for a month, especially with the extra cleanse days on the 3rd and 4th weeks. I started to notice a difference in the first 2 weeks of the cleanse (and, originally, was only going to do the first 2 weeks). But, I felt so good, that I decided to continue for the rest of the month. And the result was astonishing - the effect multiplied during the 3rd week and again during the 4th week. I was not expecting that.
And, the other thing that I had not been expecting was just how good I felt throughout the cleanse and how much energy that I had. It was not hard to minimize sweets, alcohol, breads, etc., because they just didn't appeal to me. I felt that they would suck away some energy and I just felt that I wanted to keep my diet streamlined, because it just felt so good. This is going to make it easy for me to maintain these good habits!!!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment