Cleanse Day 4
Well, it’s that time of year! Cleanse time. I just finished some heavy-duty coursework (Microbiology and Biochemistry) and the finals were so stressful that my mind and body could really use the rejuvenation. Many people view cleanses as torture because they can be very restrictive and often entail eating or drinking foods that are not tasty at all. I guess, technically, I wouldn’t really even call what I do each spring a “cleanse” because it certainly isn’t like the traditional ones you hear about that require things like cayenne or other gimmicky ingredients.
On this cleanse, I am never hungry and the list of “allowed” foods is plentiful. Granted, they are not foods I eat on a regular basis while I am not cleansing. I began cleansing four days ago and already I am feeling pretty great. The rough part of the sugar withdrawal was over in a couple of days and the thought of anything sugary actually makes my stomach do a bit of a flip (in a bad way). Giving up alcohol was easy but the caffeine and dairy (especially cheese) were a bit more difficult. Thankfully, green tea is allowed! I will try to go herbal next week. The great thing about eating relatively healthy year-round is that the initial bad effects of this cleanse are now minimal for me. This year, I didn’t feel irritable at all or have any headaches….my husband was especially happy about this! I did experience a low-grade fever at night for a couple of nights. Not really sure what that was, exactly, but it felt oddly good. I have some really awesome new recipes to share over the next few weeks that fit the cleanse so stay posted and check the recipe page!
I never set a timeframe goal for my cleanse. I just let how I feel dictate when I stop. The first year I did this it was three months, but usually it ends up being about three weeks to a month. Unfortunately, I won’t able to go for too long because my weight is pretty much right where it needs to be due to marathon training last fall, so I don’t have much wiggle room. This first four days, I managed to keep the weight loss to a minimum so that is good! Stay tuned!
