Spring cleanse, day 4

The most challenging part is over! Two more days of a cleanse but food is involved now.

I want to try to express how I felt during the past few days of this cleanse.

Day 1 - lots of energy, excited about trying new green smoothies and an all vegetable smoothie/soup. Yoga bootcamp to cleanse the body (sweat) and spirit.

Day 2 - energy starting to fall, lots of emotions coming up, lots of thoughts creeping up, made a dinner of all vegetable smoothie/soup and could not eat much of it. Took a bath to cleanse the body, read a book instead of watching TV. Ran in the morning with the pup to cleanse the body and spirit.

Day 3 - emotionally drained, energy dropping, decided it was time to cleanse other areas of my life. Deleted old emails, removed the past that I was holding onto (the negative stuff) and began to shift my focus to the present and positiveness. Hot vinyasa yoga to cleanse the body and spirit from the inside out. Water and tea for dinner (no appetite) though I had to fight that.

I luckily had a friend to text because I was wanting to make a salad for dinner, but the cleanse was all about smoothies and water...I did not give into the urge, I managed to make it through the 3 days of intense cleansing.

This morning eating a bagel thin with almond butter was one of the most delicious things ever. Even though this was 3 days of intense cleanse, and I will do 2 days of vegan food (to transition back), I feel it is important to challenge our bodies and our minds like this. We can do so much if we just believe in ourselves. I wanted to give in, but a friend reminded me to stay strong.

We put so much emphasis on food, it ties in with our emotions, we celebrate with special food, we are concerned about what we are going to eat and when. Our bodies are made to go 40 days without any food, yet we are always so concerned with it.

Take a step back...yes, food is fuel that we need, but how many of us need that much fuel every single day of the year? Allowing myself to step away from that provided insight into me. It allowed me to let go of so much, so many things I didn't even know I was holding onto.

I feel lighter, more free, happier, ready to take on the next challenge.

We'll see how I feel after I get to clean the apartment :)

More thoughts on cleansing

I'm on day 3 of one of the more intense cleanses that I have ever done. I'm reminded that completing a cleanse is not just about the physical aspect, but the mental, emotional, and symbolic ones as well.

I have started to shed some of the old from my life and try to focus on the new. I am trying to learn how to love myself for who and what I am, and let go of the things I am not fond of.

I want to clean my entire apartment, to ensure that the cleansing is throughout my life, including my home.

I am running or doing yoga everyday this week so that I might cleanse my spirit and get some sweat out.

I went through and cleaned up old emails, and deleted old folders that no longer have a hold on me. I was holding onto old emails from people who are no longer a part of my life, there is no need to keep those negative reminders around.

The emotional toll on me is pretty big right now, but I am working through and letting go. I dropped a few tears last night, a form of cleansing in and of itself. I am working towards being more open so that I can let go and be more free.

Even with the life I have and I love, there is always ways to improve upon the life, the love, and the self...and that is what I am trying to do.

Spring time, new cleanse

I decided that 2011 is going to be the year of seasonal cleansing. In January, as you will recall, I completed a 30 day vegan challenge. That went really well, and I have so many wonderful recipes that I get to use whenever I like.

This cleanse is much shorter...3 days and day 1 is done. I'm doing a full green smoothie cleanse for 3 days. I'm opting for fruit & greens for breakfast and lunch, and vegetable & greens for dinner. So far, today went well. I feel like I have more energy, yoga bootcamp went really well today. Tomorrow morning will be a run so we'll see how I feel then.

Breakfast and lunch was the same smoothie from "The Green Smoothies Diet" book, created by Robyn Openshaw, the Green Smoothie Girl.
Kale Tangelo Tonic
2 1/2 cups water
1 bunch kale
bag of spinach
5 clementines
1 banana
3 cups frozen mixed berries
lemon/lemon juice
agave nectar
and I added some hemp seeds too

Dinner was from the Raw Family website, the Soup Gazpacho:
3 leaves kale, stems removed
1 bunch basil
3 large tomatoes
2 stalks celery
1 red bell pepper
1 large avocado
1 lime, juiced
1 cup water
and I added some flax seed oil

Only water to drink...though I did indulge in some sparkling water.

My plan for tomorrow is an Arugula & Pear smoothie, and making some Thai Soup or Cucumber Dillicious soup for dinner. Of course, lots depends on how I feel during and after my run.

My next cleanse will be in the summer, either a 30 day green smoothie detox (2 green smoothies and 1 green meal a day) or another vegan month leaning towards more raw vegan...and the fall cleanse, not sure yet :)

Stupid viruses!

Over the past few years I have been exposed to numerous germs. In 2008 I switched jobs, thus becoming exposed to new germs. I kept that job until the summer of 2010. In 2009/2010 I had an internship at a hospital...new germs again. By being at the job and the hospital the new germs were not cooperating with the old germs from the job, thus 2 years of getting sick.

I graduated this past summer from graduate school, so it was off to a new career. In the summer I started one job (it just wasn't for me) so this fall I got my dream job as at a College. The problem, thousands of students...lots of new germs.

So I've gotten sick about 2 or 3 times already.

I don't get sick...I don't like getting sick...and now for the 3rd year in a row, I'm getting sick! I need to stay at places longer and not introduce new viruses if at all possible because this stinks!

Double yoga

No, not a double rainbow...double yoga.

I have been consistently going to yoga at TruHarmony yoga for over 3 months now. I love that yoga is a part of my routine and I love that I am beginning to feel and observe the changes it is having on my body. I sit up straighter at work and have better posture overall. My running has improved with better posture and endurance as well as breathing. My attitude is very positive and fewer things bother me. I also have calmed down ever so slightly (which is huge in my world).

Over the past few months I have noticed that some people stay at the studio for a double. I had initially thought months ago that staying for a double was insanity. I was so exhausted after one class, why in the world would I stay for a double? I am still not the strongest yogi in class, nor do I expect to be anytime in the near future. Yoga is about the individual practice, and I am the strongest yogi that I have ever been.

On Wednesday I asked my instructor Megan if she felt I was ready to handle a double. She smiled and encouraged me that I could (her words were something like, "girl, you can run a marathon, you can do anything!") I made the decision that I was going to try it for sure on Saturday...but maybe I'd try it on Thursday too.

Yesterday I talked myself up all day and said it was time to try a double. A 75 minute vinyasa flow class followed by a 60 minute yoga sculpt and bootcamp class. I'm becoming friendly with a number of the people at the studio and I was warned that I was going to be starving at the end of this adventure and to make sure to take a break when I needed it since I would hit a wall in the second class. They were right...but the wall was not a big wall, and the hunger was typical hunger...for over 2 hours of intense exercise...pretty much as hungry as I am after a half marathon when it's warm out.

I went home, and my arms did not want to work. I laughed at it as I don't know the last time something like that happened. I inhaled my dinner last night (Tandoor Chef's Palak Paneer) which was delicious and I need to go buy a lot more of those. I then followed that with fresh cherries and some pistachios.

This morning when I woke up to shower, that was fun...arms were sore as anything and I loved it. I had a bagel sammich for breakfast because I could feel that I was still hungry...and then I just felt great. I feel very energized and centered today. Today actually feels like the best day in 2011 (which may have to do with a number of other factors, including awesomeness at work, payday Friday, finding cadbury creme eggs and reece's peanut butter eggs at the store, getting tickets to the Crosstown Classic...and oh Egypt becoming free). The soreness is becoming less as the day goes on, which excites me for my originally planned double tomorrow!

I do not recommend going for a double too soon, but when you're looking for a new challenge, every once and a while I'd suggest going for a double. Of course on Sunday, I'll be attending a new workout entirely (kickass cardio at Flirty Girl Fitness) so that should create some new muscle soreness.

Happy Friday!

Dibs!

Back to blogging about some observations for a bit.

Last week (February 1) Chicago was hit with a blizzard and 20 inches of snow were dropped down upon the city in less than 24 hours. It was quite incredible. On Wednesday (February 2) the digging out process began. The bf and I dug out my car pretty early in the day, before lunch, deciding it would be best to play in the snow as soon as possible to get the car out. The road had not yet been plowed, so there was only the snow that fell surrounding my car. It took the two of us a little over an hour to dig out the car.

In Chicago, once you dig out your spot you are permitted to claim "dibs" on your spot by putting out whatever you can find to "hold dibs" on your spot. Most neighborhoods respect the dibs, and after this storm there were very interesting items to claim dibs.

A sampling of what I observed around my hood & commute:
- Ironing boards
- Buckets
- The newly distributed phone books still in the yellow plastic
- Cardboard boxes

We didn't have anything to hold dibs on my spot, so when I returned to work on Friday, I lost my spot...which was fine since there were additional spots in my neighborhood that others did not claim dibs on.

Here comes the interesting thing. I had found a spot nearby, and I kept getting that spot over the weekend when I would go to yoga and come back. There was nothing holding the spot (unless the coke can that was rolling around really was meant as dibs). I started parking in that specific spot on Friday evening...last night when I came home from work, there was a bucket hold that spot for dibs. That was the first time there was anything there holding that spot.

In my opinion, you can't claim dibs on a spot a week after the storm hit. I just don't think it's fair. Would I love my prime spot that I dug out last week? Absolutely! But I did not think of a creative way to hold dibs on my spot, and I'm not there during the day, so someone else can use the spot. I am having a hard time believing that someone would claim dibs a week later. There is no way of knowing if the person claiming dibs is the person who actually dug the spot out at this point, though I'm sure if it's not that person, the individual will move the dibs holding item (I might consider it if it were my spot).

I just found it amusing and decided an observation blog should be written regarding this. I know that out on the east coast in Boston dibs are very common, and much more dangerous than it is in Chicago...however, I still don't know if a week after a storm if someone would claim dibs then.

Vegan experiment conclusion

I made it all 30 days of my vegan experiment/challenge. How do I feel? What did I learn?

I feel great. I find I have been sleeping more soundly and a bit longer, but that could also be due to working out 5-7 days a week.

I ended up losing about 6 pounds during this month with only calorie counting during the last week of the experiment to see what I was at.

I learned that going vegan is not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I also found that roasting vegetables is easy and delicious. Making seitan is easy and tastes good and is much less expensive them buying it at the store! I found that some recipes are awesome and some not so much. I learned how not all sugar is vegan, not all wine is vegan, most beer is vegan, most bagels are vegan, clif builder bars are amazing energy food for a run, kale is tasty, vegan peanut butter cookies rock. That's just some of the great things that I learned.

I have made the decision to stay vegetarian and continue experimenting with vegan recipes for a while. I may go back to eating other things, but I feel really good right now and I'd like to stick with being vegetarian for a bit longer. I'm excited about experimenting with different foods more and continuing to enjoy many of the benefits of a vegan lifestyle, but by being a vegetarian, I'm thinking I'll have an easier time getting protein than I have been...plus the bf said he has no problem cooking vegetarian for me, but he has worries about vegan cooking...so I wouldn't mind him cooking for me again :)

I'm very glad I did this experiment, and I'll post any new finds in the future, but thank you for reading!