Posts tagged ‘food’
Reintegrating After the Cleanse
Try a new variety of winter squash this season.
Three days after the end of my cleanse, I have slowly integrated some of the food items I gave up for two weeks. I started with cow’s dairy and measured my body’s response to it. As I suspected, no change in energy levels or digestion. Then, just a teeny amount of sugar in the form of one Hershey’s Kiss on Monday and another on Tuesday, plus about 1/4 oz of chocolate chips after dinner both days. Last night was wine, which was nice to reincorporate. This morning it was my black tea, which tasted great.
I also just found out that it’s Celiac Awareness Month from Rudi’s Breads. They make a few gluten-free breads and are celebrating this month with the “31 days of Glorious Gluten-free Giveaways” on their Facebook page. There are Celiac awareness games as well as free loaves of bread, t-shirts and even GF toasters! Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/rudisglutenfreebakery. Their breads are lighter than most whole-grain breads that have wheat as a base, but tasty!
I’m not planning to go back to eating any wheat products until the end of the month, and probably sparingly at that point, but we’ll see. In addition to Rudi’s, both Udi’s and the Canyon Bakehouse make pretty good GF breads, so removing gluten from my diet turned out to be much easier than I thought, even though I’ve done it before.
I will also stay away from most sugary snacks and processed foods for a good long time, maybe until Thanksgiving. The afternoon sugar crash that occurs is just not worth it and I’d rather have really high-quality desserts, like fondue at a restaurant in Vancouver for which we bought a Groupon, rather than donuts and grocery-store cookies every day.
The best part is the season. I have been making soups for the past week out of yams, winter squash, potatoes, garlic, onion, leeks and all of the fall and winter produce. I’ve also been eating a salad almost every day, which is so satisfying and a nice foil for the warmth of the soups.
The End of the Cleanse
My body feels lighter, and is actually 2-3 pounds lighter, after two weeks of being very mindful of what I am giving it. Don’t get me wrong, I ate plenty and it was tasty! I just did away with those “foods” that don’t really serve me personally like sugar, and also took a break from other foods that are known to give a body pause, such as wheat and gluten.
It’s not that I had a terrible diet to begin with. It’s just that I was surrounded by and succumbing to temptation on a very regular basis. In my profession, I’m constantly meeting people for a “drink” (coffee, wine, whatever) and surrounded by people bringing in sugary snacks as a thank you. When I get tired, which usually happens at the end of the summer, the emotional deliciousness of having a restaurant do the cooking and cleaning is stronger than I want to fight against. So, the cleanse really helps me reset.
By the end of two weeks, sugary treats lose their appeal. My garden-fresh veggies and fruits (around four hundred pounds this season and still harvesting!) taste sweeter and more satisfying than before. Whole grains, with their chewy, nutty, creamy goodness fill me in a way that a “white bread” pizza never did.
What it also does is put me on a path to continue to eat this way. It’s a great path to follow right before the holiday season when you will literally be surrounded by unhealthy choices. Your body will thank you and hopefully you can really have fun with the foods you do choose to eat.
While I’m probably going to continue much of what I started through the end of the month, I’m really looking forward to getting back to my morning black tea, cheese, and eventually a nice glass of wine. Cheers!
Cultivate Health LLC 