Happy Holidays!

Well, this is my last day at work until next Wednesday! Woo hoo! I am leaving promptly at 3 (thank you, flex time) and doing my grocery shopping for the Christmas dinner and for next week.

If you look at the newly re-installed weight chart, you’ll notice I lost 4.5 pounds this week. “Lucy, you got some splaining to do!” (Can you name the tv show?) So here goes: I was feeling really crappy. Big, run down, tired, and just not good. After doing some research and giving it some thought, I opted to do a 3 day detox diet – essentially a juice diet. I did this for 3 reasons. So, in order of importance: 1) my food choices weren’t good and I felt the need to get the sludge out. I feel so much better after doing it! 2) I wanted to clean up my diet and prove to myself that I could do it and 3) to jump start my weight loss. I have to say I feel like I accomplished all these goals.

I consumed 40 ounces of juice per day – 20 of fruit which contained spurilia (green algae) and 20 of carrot. These were organic, whole juices. I brought 2 clementines with me to work and at the end of the day I had a small bowl of rice. This is not a long term diet, and I didn’t do it mainly for weight loss. I believe it gave my whole body a healthy boost. I can definitely tell that my workouts – both cardio and weights – have been negatively impacted by this. I have less stamina and energy, that’s for sure!

Today I am moving back to food – starting with soup! I had a protein shake for breakfast, I have my clementines and juice, but I also plan to have soup and salad for lunch & dinner. The next couple of days will be re-introducing foods, up to Christmas day. I have a really good meal planned, but then after that I’m onto the Fat Flush plan until New Year. In the vein of the detox, the purpose is to eat a diet of whole, unprocessed foods.

This experience has been interesting. I have never done anything this close to a fast before. I was less hungry than I thought I’d be (for which I am grateful). I need to stop the emotional eating, and this was a very forceful & dramatic way of disconnecting food & emotions. The last days food had served the purpose of fuel. I’ve made the point of “eating” mindfully – enjoying the taste and textures, but not eating to feel better emotionally or for entertainment. I know 3 days doesn’t unbreak years of habit, but I hope it’s the beginning of moving in the right direction.