It's the final countdown...

Not really, I’m all done, but who doesn't love that earworm!

So – I survived!  And honestly … I feel amazing.

Results:

• *        More energy
• *        Brighter skin and eyes
• *        9lbs down
• *        More focused and calm
• *        Resting better
• *        Cleansed palette – food tastes better
• *        Weirder dreams!!

Coming off the juice but retaining a couple days officially in the cleanse really was a brilliant way of easing back into “regular” life. Having to still keep track has helped me manage what I’m eating on the other side of allowing my body to reset itself. I feel empowered to eat more consciously.

For me, I am planning to maintain a largely vegan and gluten free diet, however, I will not be 100% on either. I think it’s important to find what realistically works for each and every one of us, and I’m sorry but there’s nothing better to me than a pepperoni pizza and beer night!! 

Having said that, I have noticed that my days go smoother and I feel no bloatedness or sluggishness in the afternoons when I stick to the basic cleanse rules (i.e vegan, gluten free, no sugar, no caffeine, no alcohol and spacing food with at least 3 hrs between each snack or meal).

I've noticed my yoga asana practice has strengthened. I've taken a vigorous class every day and I’m finding not only additional strength in the postures, but also a greater awareness of myself, my breath and my body in each posture. Moving into postures I've taken hundreds of times before, I've found a new extension, depth or alignment, it has been rather profound. That is reason enough for me to keep working hard and being even more mindful of my body and health. It’s eye-opening, as someone who takes relatively good care of herself, how much else can be done to ensure a full and energized life.

Would I recommend the cleanse? Absolutely! It’s damn hard work but it’s really worth it, and 8 days later it seems like the blink of an eye. I’m actually keen to do another at the turn of summer into autumn.

The hardest part for me was the self-reflection. Taking the honest look at myself to see where my habits are, why they are there and where I tend to just be a little lazy with my own health.

If you’re willing to take a real look at what drives your habits, and to completely wipe the slate clean you have an amazing opportunity to lose weight, feel better, figure out your allergies (cleansing the system gives you a unique opportunity to slowly reintroduce food groups to see what impacts you) and, for nothing more, the great sense of accomplishment you get from saying “I did it”, “I have taken back control of my health”.

I'm tired of hearing about the next craze in dieting, the next pill that "... could be the magic ingredient that lets you lose weight without diet and exercise" (thank Dr Oz for that one). You know yourself better than anyone else - you don't need to be told what to do. What works for one doesn't work for all. Take responsibility for what you want out of life.

My golden rule is : If you're unhappy you have 2 choices - you can either make a change, or you can choose to be happy as you are. For as hard and as scary as change can seem, it is much more difficult to be happy when you're inherently not. Everything changes - take control of the change and steer it in the direction you want it to go.

Can you smeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllll what AL is cooking?

Day 6 and I’m into the final leg of the journey.

Sunday was my last day of just juice and it was incredibly easy. My energy levels were through the roof (Lauren explained that 80% of the body’s energy is used in food digestion, so the boosts are natural), and even the green juice started to taste great!

Think I might miss my liquid fridge

I was a little nervous moving back to solid foods today. I’ve noticed more and more my hunger habit – those times when I’m not really hungry but I feel I should eat so I persuade myself that I am. It’s helpful having an eating schedule (never sooner than 3 hrs after the last meal, and never after 7.30pm), but it also takes some courage to dive back into solids without risking all the good work so far. I opted for the half-way point: delicious, thick home-made soup.

Time to chew

And there’s the other benefit of the plan, I’ve actually started to cook. Never been bad at cooking, I’ve just never enjoyed it. Now that I have a reason to cook (vegan options are limited to a falafel salad and split pea soup in my immediate work vicinity) it’s way more enjoyable making my dishes for the week.

I had a total cooking fest last night – kale chips, spaghetti squash and tomato sauce, vege soup and kitcheree. I wish I’d had the thought to take a photo, it’s like hurricane Anna Louise hit the kitchen J

In just 5 days of cleansing I’m noticing an obvious weight loss (for those interested 5lbs so far), boost in energy, brighter skin and eyes, lighter mood and most dramatically for me a new taste palette. Natural food smells and tastes amazing. Without the processing, salts, fats and sugars that are slammed into most of our food these days, my taste buds have come alive, everything tastes so much better and as such I’m more inclined to take my time, to enjoy my meal and to process it properly. So much better than bolting down that dry crummy sandwich or over indulging in late night snacks.

My goal now is to ease back into solid food naturally with a good rhythm, one that allows me to eat well but the right things at the right times and maintain the clarity and energy.

Spring, scratch that, Winter Clean

I started a cleanse today, and so, for your interest … perhaps entertainment … I thought I’d blog a little about my progress along the way.

What am I doing?

The Kali Ayurvedic Yoga Detox lead by Lauren

What does it involve?

What doesn’t it involve?!

The full program will include:

*        Vegan diet (including 3 days of juicing)

*        dry-brushing and abhyanga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhyanga)

*        liver, colon and kidney cleanses

*        yoga, meditation and breath-work

*        self-reflection

How does it work?

Ayurveda is the sister-science to yoga, honed in over 5000 yrs and specifically tailored to your distinct dosha (you can find any number of dosha tests online – here’s a good example: http://www.yogajournal.com/health/2630 )

I fall in a split category, physically I’m Kapha, emotionally more of a Pitta.

It really doesn’t matter where you fall, and you will change over time / according to stresses etc, what’s important is trying to balance them.

Just as with yoga, the sister science works on balancing you out so that you feel more centred and relaxed, which in turn promotes well-being in all aspects of your life.

Ayurveda is not a quick fix, it is largely a preventative treatment (although an Ayurvedic specialist can work with you to treat and heal specific illnesses) that aims to promote a thoughtful approach to your nutrition and body care.  It focuses both on what’s going into your body and what you are putting on and doing with your body.

Why am I doing it?

Simply put – it’s time to clean.

I had a big move, lots of travel, holidays and sickness. It’s time to blow the cobwebs away and reset my body in preparation for the depths of winter.

And why follow this cleanse? A few reasons, initially I took interest in it because it was at my neighbourhood studio and I figured it would be a great way to meet some new people in the area. Having spent time with Lauren I’m so glad I signed up with her – she makes it so easy. We were all provided with a book of recipes, talked through every stage of the cleanse and given a bag of goodies to get us kicked off. For me the idea of “just eat vegan” is too hard, but if you give me a handful of recipes to work from I’m off, Lauren did all that and more and it’s super easy for me follow along and stay on track.

So … how are you doing?

Well, it’s only day 1 of an 8 day cleanse, but so far so good. Started the day at 6.30 (okay I lie, I snoozed and got up at 6.40 … but heck, it’s much better than the usual rushing out the door for work!). The early morning was actually lovely, and it gave me a chance to spend just a few minutes on breath-work and meditation, something I’ve long wanted to start but kept getting side-tracked by the comfort of my bed! It also feels good actually spending time on myself – not the usual rush – time to properly treat my skin, my body, and my morning.

The kidney cleanse is not enjoyable, not going to lie about that, but then I’m really not a fan of turmeric, so a blend of water, lemon, turmeric and cayenne pepper just doesn’t do it for me… but I got it down me (with some moral support) and I can manage that for 8 days …. I think!

Although I am constantly smelling turmeric today, literally everywhere, I think maybe I got some up my nose.

Worst part of the day for me was the hunger in the morning. I’m always hungry in the mornings, ALWAYS, and the cleanse requires that you always leave at least 3 hrs between meals. That for me is killer in the morning. I usually start with a protein shake, shortly followed by fruit, and then sometimes even a second piece of fruit or some nuts before lunch. Not unhealthy stuff, but constant snacking and this cleanse is designed to allow your system time to breathe and refresh itself.

I won't lie, I was pretty moany until lunch today.

Having said that it’s already close to 8 in the evening and I’m not feeling any real tiredness from the early start, if anything I feel fuller and more alert than usual. I’m actually eager to get myself home to do some yoga and take the pups out … which is a good a sign as any to sign off J See you tomorrow!