Day 8

Today is a BIG day... as this is the day I start the "Real" cleanse portion of this 28-Day Cleanse.  When I mean.. cleanse.... you know what I mean.   Today I incorporated another step... which includes mixing this 1 fl.oz bottle of FUN into my 32 oz of water.   This is the week I have been most worried about.. as I am not sure how this "Fun" bottle of stuff will affect me.  I have researched, interviewed several people who have been through this portion of the cleanse.. and most of them reported no horrific side effects. Some of the reports have been:  Alot of gurgling... rumbling, and need to go more than the average Joe.   This is for only 7 days.. that I will do this.. but it is recommended that I do it every other day for 7-10 days.  Keep in mind I am a full time commuter these days... my commute includes train stations, shuttles, alot of waking.. and no clean restrooms.    I have a feeling there will be alot of Hail Mary's this week. Here is a great illustration of what will be going on in my liver.. and lower GI...

So I know it takes 21 days to form a solid habit.. but I have my own routine down now that seems to be working with my schedule...it starts like this....

One Cup of detox tea in my "Nebraska" cup (Yes.. I might be one of those people who purchases stuff at the Omaha airport gift shop)  But I love the Nebraska coffee cups in the gift shop.. for real.   Breakfast has been hard lately as I usually love to have "Food" for breakfast... so this morning I had time to just sit and enjoy a breakfast.. so I had this:

 on my

It was heaven... tasted good!   Udi's and Rudis... both have done a marvelous job making gluten free bread taste really, really good.   Coconut oil has a high smoke point.. which makes it ideal for cooking.  You have also probably heard alot about it recently.  I attended a workshop last year and sat with a pediatrician from the Bay area.. and she reported they have been recommending coconut oil and creams to their patients.   There is approx 11g fat per Tablespoon.. and 100kcal's.. so keep that in mind.  If there is one take home message I can tell you today.. is throw away your margarine... start there. 

Stats:

Weight: down 2# (clothes feel slightly loose?  or maybe that is what we call a placebo affect)

Mind, Body and Soul:  No exhaustion...feel pretty good.  But definitely not infomercial ready yet.

Day 7

It's Saturday Evening....this makes one full week of cleansing!  Three more weeks... we can do this!  

I often think of my patients as I am taking part in this elimination diet.  For instance a diabetic with renal failure must intervene with a diet that is so restrictive it could drive a person mad!!  One must limit carbs, monitor their potassium, phosphorus, and eat copious amounts of protein in order to stay alive.  They are also usually limited as to how much fluid they can consume.   So this is a cake walk in comparison.

I want to talk about a few food items that I have fell in love with... after separating from my beloved peanut butter one week ago.  The first two are Almond Butter and Sunflower Seed Spread:

I have been adding "Sunbutter" to my shakes, it is Gluten free, 2 Tbsp = 200 calories, Total fat =16g fat, Trans fat = 0, Protein = 7g,  Almond Butter:  2 Tbsp = 180 calories, Total Fat = 15g, Trans Fat = 0, Protein = 6 g.   Believe it or not.. my pal "Peanut Butter".. the natural one has 200kcals, per 2 Tbsp, 16 grams of Total Fat, 8grams of protein and less sodium than both.  I am not writing off peanut butter...and I do not remember reading anyone medical chart saying they died from peanut butter consumption.. unless of course they had an allergy to it.   People just need to keep in mind it is still a fat.. so do not go eating it by the spoonful(s), it is enjoyable in the serving size allotted on the label.

So today I joined a girlfriend of mine for lunch (she is also on the cleanse).. and we had walked around for a while looking for a place to eat in downtown Pleasanton.  We finally settled on a Gastro Pub in downtown.. and it was awesome.. minus the flight of beers that came out to the table behind ours.  But we had the prawn salad.. (accidentally came with buttermilk dressing)  we cheated.. but it was oooohhh soooo goood!  After that... we went over to Sprouts.. where we walked around read every food label... and discovered they carried Goat Butter... may have to try this.  Ended up coming home with a few more things. 

During my day I usually check twitter as I follow alot of food companies, authors, USDA and food blogs.. but did anyone see this unveiling this past week?

This looks nasty...and I believe it will also keep me in business for a while as a dietitian.

Weight:  Same as yesterday...
Mind Body & Soul:  No significant change...

Day 6

It's Friday..thank God.  I already had in my mind what I was going to eat this evening.. and it just so happen to be Lent.. (No Meat)...so it looks like this worked out just well.  Actually this is probably one of my favorite foods and this particular sushi bar (located out of Santa Monica/Pismo Beach) is new to the area.. and I love it.

Salmon Sashimi... it is a staple in my diet.  Look at the cool flower they put in your container? I also eat Daikon Radishes like a salad. And I am so excited that I am in love with my soy sauce alternative by BRAGG

In the background you can see my supplements I take (outside of the cleanse) I plan to blog about that as well in this 28 days... because I swear by one particular supplement.. and will get on my soapbox later.   So part of this cleanse includes audio/visual classes you can listen to.  I listen to them at night laying in bed...or during my commute.  I love to listen to podcasts about health... I also listened to running podcasts during my half marathon training last year.  I found them useful and I gained so much knowledge on nutrition before, during and after a work-out.   Last night I listened to Tosca Reno discuss "Clean Eating".  Tosca is the gal you will see featured in Oxygen Magazine.. and she also has her own cookbook.  I really like her.. as I agreed with alot of her message.  

Okay.. here are the stats!
Weight:  Down 1 # today
Mind, Body, Spirit:  Today I felt pretty good... no real feeling of exhaustion, still craving coffee. 
Spirituality:  Going to Mass this weekend :)  

Day 5

A few things I may have failed to mention, is that there is a team of us actually taking part in this 28-Day Cleanse.  The group is made up of successful/educated women ... oh wait.. and a few behind the scenes men who are not attending the meetings.. but are eating clean on the side.  The group is unique in the fact that we all have different backgrounds, our leader/mentor is a Stanford graduate in Engineering who left the field a few years ago... and now is successful with her business, we also have 3 Registered Dietitians, one of whom has her own successful practice here in the Bay area,  a Software Sales Rep, a Personal Trainer with a Ph.D, and a few others.   We have all been emailing each other almost daily.. and then meet together as a group on the weekends.  We send each other pictures of our food, descriptions of how to prepare it... and where to buy it.  Like this...

So I think for me the hardest thing to give up has been Soda... I rarely drink the real thing... but I am a fan of Fresca.  I have since gave that up as well.. but have recently discovered this particular product.. which was featured in "Today's Dietitian" and can also be found in most health food stores these days.  This product has grown on me..and I am excited that I can include it now into my cleanse (sort of)... as it is made with no artificial sweeteners, is GMO-FREE, Gluten Free.. but does have approximately 45mg of Caffeine per 12oz. (keep in mind how much is in coffee!)  
So here is what I am talking about...........

It is Zevia... it is made with Stevia...which is a natural sweetener.. and should not play mind games on your blood sugar. It is also not one carbon atom away from windshield wiper fluid like another known sweetener out there on the market :)    The great thing about Zevia.. is that is comes in all kinds of flavors... and my local Sprouts carries most of the flavors (Thank You Sprouts)!   Zevia has a cool website and literature to support their claims.  

Stats for Day 5
Weight:   No change.. WTH???
Mind, Body, Soul:  No real change in mood, still thinking about coffee alot.
One positive change.. is that my skin is slightly better.. but that has to be related to the 70+ oz of water I am drinking.  

Tomorrow is Friday....and I will be probably eating raw fish and drinking green tea while the rest of you are downing beer and fried food at Happy Hour.  Whatever....

Day 4

I promise to keep this blog as positive as possible... but seriously... today might have been the hardest day yet.  The account in San Francisco that I have been working at decided to have a company wide BBQ today out in their Pavilion.  The building I work at is mostly windows...and they decided to grill hamburgers all day long for the BBQ.. so I was able to smell it... watch it... and drool just thinking about it every time I walked by the guys outside preparing it.   How depressing...

Weirdly as this may seem.. but I am craving really bizarre foods now... such as "Chicken Fried Steak"?? I probably have not had this since 2002??  I have also been thinking alot about Coffee, Soda and Whole Wheat Bread.   But I will have to say.. I am really enjoying "Rudis" Gluten free bread... seriously.. I might keep eating this stuff...as I am loving it!!  Here is another item I am loving...

These cookies are not bad...they are dairy, gluten, and preservative free.... and come from a company located out of Ukiah, CA.  
Everyday or so.. the small group of us participating in this cleanse email each other back and forth about how we feel... what new foods we have found.  I am actually enjoying this part.. as I have never learned so much in all my years as an RD... how much crap is really in food after paying attention to each and every ingredient I put in my mouth.   Michael Pollan says..."If your Grandmother would not recognize the ingredients... then it is probably not good for you".  I live by this...(well now i do). Love this book

Daily Stats:
Weight: No change
Mind, Body, Spirit:  No real change as well.. hmmmm???
Also discovering that there is real link between food and  your mood.  I felt I was in such a better mood with coffee in my life :(
Moving on to Day 5....

Day 3

Today was bad...

First off.. my smoothie I had ever so delicately prepared and took with me to work.. turned to cement during my commute.  I am not sure which was more hilarious to watch... me trying to drink it on the train with my head completely cocked back into the next seat.. or the lady next to me trying to sleep while I would shake it really loud. (I kind of felt like that girl on Sixteen candles trying to drink from the water fountain with her headgear)  We then proceeded to lunch.. and I usually sit with the other RD's and they decided to eat fried chicken in front of me today with sweet potatoes.  How DARE they!!  I almost... caved.

I have been eating almonds mixed with this



Can you believe it... and they actually taste pretty darn good....I love sweet and salty together.
This saved my life today... as I was ravenous by 5pm.   For dinner I was so tired.. I could barely keep my head up... so I had Gluten Free Bread/Almond Butter with scraps of stuff (Clean food) I could find in my refrig.. very random dinner.. but soooooo don't care tonight... as I just put in a 12 hour work day.. and I am off to bed.
Oh... wait.. this is the Gluten Free Bread that I really like.. It's by Rudis... it's about $6.00/loaf.(gasp).. but not bad!!!!

Here are the stats
I will confirm that I drank over 70 fl.oz of Water and Tea today... No lie!! 
Weight: Down 1 pound from yesterday.. (woop woop)
Mind, Body & Soul:  My mental clarity is crap.. and all I could think about today was the coffee bar upstairs at work that has killer pastries..and fun coffee's and teas.  

Day 2

Well... so far so good.  I am now up to drinking 70+fl oz of water (or tea), it is recommended we drink about half our body weight... so give or take.  I was only drinking about 32oz of water a day before this cleanse... this could explain why I always felt like crap, and my running was oh.. soooooo.... slow!  
I will have to say.. that if there is one thing out of this experiment I will gain... it is the incredible knowledge of the various foods in Trader Joes, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Whole Foods.  I have been spending copious amounts of time in these markets, studying, asking questions, price comparing.. and getting to know the peeps in the store.   I especially love checking out... and the lady at Sprouts saw this particular product in my cart... and she seriously stopped and asked me OMG what is this... YUCK.

Yes.. I have never even heard of BRAGG up until this week... the founders of BRAGG are a married couple out of Southern California (both with Ph.D).  One of the food items I love and miss is soy sauce.. and evidently BRAGG liquid Amino's will be the replacement for that.. I have yet to try it.  The Vinaigrette is made with Apple Cider Vinegar and it's Gluten/Dairy/Soy /Sodium/Preservative free... so I have been using this on my salads... it's not bad.
Today my focus was drinking loads of water... and not thinking about food.   For dinner I had a hamburger patty(100% grass fed beef), with a tomato, avocado and mushrooms on top.  (no ketchup) and then a side of green beans.. that was pretty much it.  Must of been the Almonds I had at 5pm, or the nauseating run I went on this evening after work, I swear you could all hear me breathing in the neighboring state!   Running seriously curbs my appetite for a good 3-4 hours... weird?
One of the other habits that I have to focus on as well is not eating after 7pm.  So I immediately brush my teeth after dinner and take ALL my supplements.  I was already taking loads of Vitamins before this.. but now I had to add 4 more vitamins on top of all the other I take.  (We will expand on those later).  
The whole entire month of February I was sick.. no kidding.. with a cold, then sinus infection.. I swear.. I was ready to check myself into a nursing home.  I came across a very interesting article last night on one of the 100 million health blogs I follow, regarding sinus infections and caffeine.. it's a no brainer.. but I seriously wonder if by backing away on caffeine, dairy..  my sinuses will improve.  We will see.  
Okay here are the stats....
Weight loss:  0
Mind/Clarity: No difference
Wellbeing:  Seriously almost lost it in Trader Joes when I was in the cheese aisle... and then the free coffee sampler area!  OH... it's a killer.  But when I saw the little gal who was running the free food demo sneeze all over everything... I was out of there!   Alright... we are moving on...