Fell asleep before I could post last night (#bloggerfail) but to make it up to you, I’m blogging from my phone while on an early train back into the city (why not wait until the afternoon, you might ask? If only you knew what I was doing at 10 a.m. today … ) But thanks to my cousin, I have downloaded and set up the WordPress iPhone app (#bloggerfail for not knowing about this until yesterday), so hopefully this post will be a bit less all-over-the-place. (Though judging by the start of it, probs not.) (Also, I’m loving my parentheses, huh?) (#parenthetic)
Beyond oh my gahhh I’m so cranky and I feel great! I haven’t talked too much about how I’ve actually been feeling while on this 7-day detox. After the first two days, I’ve felt mentally clearer, if that makes any sense. It’s hard to describe, but I can focus much better, I feel a bit sharper (though obvi not at 7 a.m. on a Sunday) and my brain just seems to be working more efficiently. The headaches have completely gone away, and I feel calmer and just more “zen” in a way.
Part of this might be that I’ve made a concerted effort to get at least 7 hours of sleep every day of this detox, but I generally get that much during the week, so that’s not a huge change. I do think that staying away from sugar and processed food has helped, though I’ll leave the why’s and how’s to the nutrition scientists and brain people to figure out. All I know is, I feel a sense of clarity that I didn’t even know I was missing out on, and now that I have it, I kinda don’t want to let it go.*
Physically, I feel more energized and lighter on my feet. (Whether or not I’m actually lighter remains to be seen.) I did get a bit light-headed and tired yesterday afternoon after not eating for a few hours, but an apple and banana changed that quickly. Learning moment: definitely do not go too long between eating on this detox. Snacks every few hours are a must.
Yesterday was the first day this week that I didn’t work out, and I think the exercise actually boosts my energy levels. I’m not sure if I’ll have time to squeeze in a workout today, but my morning should be exciting enough to carry me through the day.
Food-wise, for breakfast yesterday I had a big bowl of fruit (don’t worry, I didn’t eat all of the fruit in the above photo) with yogurt, plus an egg. Lunch was an amazing “detox” take on shrimp fried rice: broccoli sautéed with corn and shrimp, then tossed with brown rice. Somehow without soy sauce or much oil or anything, my aunt managed to make it taste amazing, though I was too busy tearing through my new book to watch. For dinner we had turkey kebabs with spinach and a red bean-rice pilaf, and I again finished right at my allotted calories for the day. It was perhaps a bit rice-heavy on the whole, but given how delicious the food was, my fault for eating as much rice as I did.
Today, after my big surprise activity, I’ve got brunch — hopefully I can find an egg+vegetables dish that will work out, or a salad. I’ll be finishing my detox before dinner, since I made plans weeks ago to go to a “homemade pasta” night at Helen’s and can’t turn down fresh pasta. #sorryimnotsorry
*I’ve been thinking a lot about if/how I want to continue this detox beyond Sunday night. Obviously I can’t do it in its entirety, as foregoing sugar, coffee, gluten and booze forever is just not going to happen. But there are elements of the plan I’d like to hold on to, I just need to figure out how. Blog post to come on this topic!
Also in the 7-Day Detox:
7-Day Detox: Kickoff
7-Day Detox: Day 1 + Quinoa with Green Beans and Shallots
7-Day Detox: Day 2
7-Day Detox: Day 3
7-Day Detox: Day 4 + Alice Water’s Ratatouille
7-Day Detox: Day 5
7-Day Detox: Day 7
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