Sunday, January 27, 2013

January cleanse: week 3 recap

Oh my! Week 3 of my Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse is already done! It has officially been 21 days today that I have been following the cleanse. I have to say it went by really fast! Overall, I'm feeling pretty great physically and emotionally, even with some leftover cold symptoms and a bit of emotional drama in my life. This has become my goal, something to be proud of, something to achieve and to explore. I'm so thankful to have found this!

This week was a little different, staying home with a cold for most of it. I watched alot of movies and tv since I had no internet at home. But, that also means I had time to make a few yummy dishes! I made a great mexican-style rice pilaf consisting of; brown rice, diced tomatoes, corn, black beans, assorted beans, onions, mushrooms, chili powder and other spices. I had served this on a plate topped with sautéed collard greens and garlic, yum! Now my weekend consists of catching up on homework and studying because of missing so much class. Horray....

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

January cleanse: week 2 recap

Hi everyone! Sorry about the delay for my post, I haven't had a WiFi connection at home for a few days. I have also caught a darn cold so I haven't been outside of my place either, since it's probably not a good idea to go outside in -35 degree weather. Yup, I said -35 degrees, Celcius. Anyway, here's a recap of my week 2 on the Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse.

I'm getting into more of a routine by going to the gym on scheduled times every week, and I'm doing great so far! Here's what HAS changed in my routine; music. Before, I would just focus on my workout because there is no background music at the university gym. But now, TedTalks videos have been my go-to gym "music" lately, I can't get enough of them! Pull them They are all about 20 minutes, so that's perfect for timing. I've been really impressed with the speeches of Kathy Freston (Leaning into your life), Jonathan Foley (The other inconvenient truth), Douglas Lisle (The pleasure trap), Brendan Brazier (Find your athletic edge) and Dr. Campbell (Resolving the health care crisis). Check them out! ....After you read the rest of my post! :)

Monday, January 14, 2013

Cleanse Day 7: fasting

Yesterday was day 7 of the Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse, and also my first fasting day. The book suggests that you fast once a week, to give your body a break from digesting solids. Drinking lots of water, tea and green juices are on the menu for the day. In theory, your body absorbs nutrients faster and gives you more energy to do other things instead of digesting food. Yesterday, my food diary consisted of lots of water, 3 teas and 3-4 glasses of green juice. I have to admit I was dreading it, but it was actually not bad. I kept busy and kept sipping, so there was no hunger in sight. It felt good to not have to worry about food, not wondering about ingredients or putting time into making food.

Over the past week, I noticed that I feel full. Weird... I thought I was just going crazy, but it feels like my stomach has shrinked. I have always been the kind of person who eats just because I feel like eating, whether I'm hungry or not. I eat when I know I'm supposed to have a meal (that's the virgo in me) and that's just how I do it. It seems like this cleanse has helped me become more in tune with my body and now I actually pay attention to what it's trying to tell me. It's not about the cravings or the time of day anymore, it's about how I feel and what my body needs. Loving it!

Saturday, January 12, 2013

January cleanse: week 1 recap

Hello again! I'm a few days into my Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse and I'm feeling great! After a few fibs, I'm still quite proud of where I am so far. Now it's day 6 and tomorrow is my first fasting day, so here's a recap of the week:

I have always been a huge breakfast person, so It's actually a bit of a shock (but also a time-saver!) to not be eating solid foods in the morning. Lemon-cayenne water, tea and green juice has become my morning routine and so far I'm loving it. Just a bit of advice: be VERY careful shaking cayenne into your water, mine came out way too fast and it became a glass of spicy with a bit of water... The book suggests to make green juice yourself but I did buy a bottle of Bolthouse green juice for the days I didn't have time to do it. My Ninja blender was all I had to make juice, so I had to strain the pulp out of my "smoothie" with my metal mesh strainer, which is not fun at all. A juicer would come in VERY handy for this kind of lifestyle, but I have a million kitchen gadgets so I will put up with the pulp for now. My spinach-celery-apple-banana juice still turned out great, but I was left over with a big portion of pulp and I didn't want to waste it. Again, +Eco-Vegan Gal came to my rescue with her suggestion to make flax crackers with leftover pulp. I added ground flax seeds and sesame seeds to the pulp until it was firm enough to hold its shape, formed little cracker shapes and baked them! Horray for not wasting!


Sunday, January 6, 2013

New year, new resolution!

Hello again! I'm back after a very busy holiday season, and of course after a hangover on January 1st I've made a few resolutions that I'l like to acheive this year. Living with my sister, we influence eachother in ways we don't even notice, including our diets and groceries we buy. She had been telling me about her "detox" plan (from her personal trainer) coming up in the new year, so I thought it would be great to try something like that myself. Since I start classes again on monday, I've decided January 7th would be my start date, as I phase out the forbidden foods out of my fridge (eating them!) and look up recipes until then.

One of my favourite vegan resources is +Eco-Vegan Gal. I love everything she does and I find her channel so inspiring. I had seen Whitney's videos  about her last year's January cleanse using the Crazy Sexy Diet book by Kris Carr and decided to give it a shot. I didn't have the book, so I did some research. After reading this review, I could understand the basic rules and decided to go out and buy the book. The book has a great daily checklist to keep you on track and is also great for documenting your journey during the cleanse. Kris includes some great recipes to get you started, including various green juice recipes to keep it exciting.