14 Day Cleanse -Day 13 & 14, plus Friday & Saturday

Believe it or not, I finished the cleanse even though I was vacationing with a friend. The 13th and 14th were all fruit days (except for a tiny bit of dressing I dipped some cucumbers in on Thursday night). It wasn't hard at all. My friend was really supportive of my eating whole fruits instead of going out or eating something 'fancy' at home. I ate plain fruits next to them while they ate bread, cooked veggies and salads. It was fine. 

Wednesday [day 13]

1.5 liters of water

Bananas

Apples

Mangos

Oranges

Tomatoes & cucumbers

Thursday [day 14]

1.5 liters of water

16oz of fresh mixed vegetable juice

Mixed melon salad

Papaya & mango

Strawberries & banana

Tomato & cucumbers with a little dressing

Then on Friday and Saturday I took the day off (of low-fat raw vegan) and ate whatever I wanted. 

Friday [regular day]

2.5 liters of water

Mangos

Salad bar at Life Thyme (veggie salad w/lots of dressing!)

Cherry tomatoes 

Organic food bars

Saturday [regular day] <--I went all out Crazy!

3 liters of water

Orange juice

Salad bar at Life Thyme (veggie salad w/lots of dressing)

Vegan dessert at Life Thyme (vanilla cake)

Coffee with soymilk at Think Coffee

Veggie soup at Think Coffee

OK, so the scoop is, after I ate whatever I wanted (like processed raw foods, cooked veggies or dressings on salads) I felt horrible. I had a headache that night and felt tired all day. In the morning on Sunday I woke up with swollen hands and I was a little 'out of it'. Puffy eyes, needing more sleep, dragging my feet as I walked. I had a bad taste in my mouth and felt like my whole system was running slow. After that I was dying to go back to only fruits! I know that it's bad to jump from one extreme to the other. To be disciplined for two weeks and then spoil it all by eating whatever you want. Maybe it does more harm on my system than good. BUT the good news is, each time I do something like this I gain new insights or habits that stay with me for life. I remember how many times I said, "Eat raw for three days, just for three days, after that you can eat whatever you want". I gradually learned the benefits of raw foods first hand and through time I ended up craving it. Now it's pretty easy to eat raw foods everyday. I feel the same way about eliminating processed raw foods and unnecessary fats. I've tried it for a period of time and I know how good it feels. The challenge is I have to break old habits like salads with dressing (that are salty & fatty). I'm just going to keep playing this 'food challenge' game with myself until it's so fun & feels so good I forgot I was playing. I'm going to continue eating mostly fruits everyday for the rest of the year. Why? Because it feels amazing.

14 Day Cleanse -Day 12

2 liters of water

16oz of fresh mixed vegetable juice

Cantaloupe and more cantaloupe

Organic cherry tomatoes

Carrot soup & chopped beets (<-cooked!)

= total calories ? (I'm not sure since I ate out on that last meal. But since I didn't eat lots of fruit, I may be under my normal caloric intake.)

[Argh. Falling off the cleanse a bit today. Not major, but it's there. Still a bit tired of fruit for dinner. I know that this is totally the rebellious side of me coming out. If I was to tell myself, 'don't eat fruit', it's all I would want! The interesting thing is, the few days were I was low fat and eating TONS of fruit and getting plenty of calories, I lost weight. My skin got softer, my clothes fit better, I was happier. All of these results were immediate. Like after 2 days things in my life on all levels improved. So I am clear that I'm heading in the right direction with my desire for a cleaner simpler diet. Tomorrow I will be visiting with a fiend for a few days (and staying in their home). I will probably go to a raw restaurant with them or make a big salad together for dinner. That means this fruity cleanse might end a little early. The good news is I'm fired up to try it again. Saturday I will post how it went while I was at their place, and I will also post what the new plan will be. See you then.... Xo..]

14 Day Cleanse -Day 11

1 liter of water

16oz of fresh vegetable juice

Cantaloupe & more cantaloupe

Cucumber noodles & sprouts

w/chopped tomato & tomato sauce

=1210 total calories for the day

(Today I really wanted something besides fruit for dinner. It ended up being a non-sweet fruit combo with sprouts. Cucumbers & tomatoes are so good. I liked the tomato sauce on the broccoli sprouts. I'm a little low on calories today, but I'm full. I think I waited to late in the day to eat. I had a busy afternoon and now it's almost 7pm. ) 

So far so good on the cleanse. I'm still thinking of extending it or tweaking it and starting a new one. I am craving more 'savory salad' type meals for dinner. But I have a feeling I'm wanting it because it's not on the list, not because my body needs or really wants it. It's my mind wanting what's familiar and I totally understand that. :) On the next cleanse I may add low-fat raw gazpacho veggie soups. Like a raw celery-tomato soup. That way it (my mind) won't feel like it's missing out on salty tasting dishes.

14 Day Cleanse -Day 10

1.5 liters of water

Watermelon

Hot maca drink (maca, cinnamon & hot water)

Cantaloupe, cantaloupe and more cantaloupe..

Spirulina-cinnamon-banana smoothie

= 2100 total calories for the day

[Today I did make an effort to drink water before eating anything. It really set my day up nicely. The weather today was much 'chillier' than I expected. I had planned on doing a mostly watermelon day. I did eat watermelon for breakfast, but then I felt a little cold, like I wanted something 'cozier'. After that I made a hot maca drink and felt better. Later there was some really tempting Thai food smells wafting around my building. Ohhh wow.. it smelled so good. I wanted to eat something warm after smelling it! I decided to make a spirulina-cinnamon smoothie. It hit the spot. I'm glad I didn't run out t0 a Thai restaurant. -Phew.]

14 Day Cleanse -Day 7

Today I am going to write a few words about what is working well and what is not.

First I want to say that I am LOVING this cleanse and I think it's going really well. I am looking forward to the next 7 days. But, I will list a few things that I can do better with next week....

Preparation is so important.  I let a few things slide. I didn't consistently buy fruit. In the beginning I was really good about keeping the kitchen fully stocked with various fruits. Then I slowly stopped replacing them. This includes non-sweet fruits. I never replaced the tomatoes that I ate early on, then today, I started to crave complicated recipes that had tomatoes in them. If I would have keep tomatoes in the house, I wouldn't be 'craving' them. I would be eating them!

I began to slip into higher fat raw again without thinking. I bought a little box of young coconuts because I was going to start another Bikram yoga challenge and I wanted to have the coconut water to drink after class if I felt dehydrated. Well, I didn't begin that Bikram challenge, I decided to cleanse (for now) instead. I forgot the coconuts were not on my original 14 day cleanse list and I started eating them. The very interesting thing that I noticed was, my bowel movements changed. Before in the young coconuts my BMs were amazing! I was so happy.  After 3 days of just fruit & greens (on this cleanse) my digestion improved and my BMs got much fuller and longer. Before the cleanse I was having inconsistent BMs. Some days they were fully formed, some days they looked small and inadequate. After 3 days of just fruit & greens I was going as soon as I woke up and not long after my main meals. Things were running smoothly. As soon as higher fats came in, they slowed down and thinned out. Also, my energy dropped a bit and I needed a little more rest than the days with no overt fats.

Another thing I noticed is that I feel much better when I drink water first thing in the morning. The last few days I have been playing catch-up, by drinking my water later in the day or in the evening. It doesn't work as well then. Better than nothing of course, but when I try to drink at least 1 liter of water earlier in the day I feel better (and I choose better). Then I get around to another liter later on. Lately I've been skipping that morning liter. I can definitely see and feel the difference. It doesn't feel so good. I didn't notice it in the beginning, but now that a week has passed, I can really notice the side effects.

Softer leafy greens vs. tougher leafy greens. I noticed that I bought way too many tough leafy greens (like dinosaur kale) for this cleanse. My fridge is still loaded with it. I haven't liked it much with fruit. I think celery, fresh herbs, dandelions (if you like bitter), baby lettuces and spinach are much better for fruit combos. 

Tomorrow I will have lots of veg juice & mono veggie meals to catch up on green produce (-that will soon go brown!). I will also try a week without coconut. That was the original plan, but I some how got young coconuts in. (-Opps, take 2!)

I think exercise has really helped. I started an exercise support link on '30Bananas-a-day'. It's a fun site for low-fat vegans (..or wanna be low-fat vegans, ...or low-fat vegan lovers, etc..) ..and just plain ol' fruit lovers of course! You can sign on to be part of my exercise thread. I would love to have your support and to support you in your fitness goals!

14 Day Cleanse -Day 6

1 liter of water

8oz of aloe vera juice (with probiotics mixed in)

The juice of 4 Ruby Red grapefruits (with their seeds, blended in Vitamix)

Mango-banana-kale smoothies

Banana-young coconut puree

= 1870 total calories for the day (I haven't eaten all of this yet, it's in the fridge.  A green smoothie and a yummy puree in glass jars waiting for me, ready to go!)

[Today has been fabulous. This morning I did a little detox soak for my feet while watching inspirational videos on Youtube. I totally recommend this foot soak recipe. You feel a tingle all the way up your calves! It's a little wacky, but feels great and has lots of anti-fungal & anti-bacterial properties. I put all sorts of things that inspire me together. They are all warriors for super health .]

*Aimee's Foot Soak Recipe*

Epsom Salt

Sea Salt

Ground Grapefruit Seeds

Pau D'Arco

Ginger

Baking Soda

...and very warm filtered water of course :)

14 Day Cleanse -Day 5

1 liter of water

16oz fresh mixed vegetable juice

Young coconut water

Ruby Red grapefruit

Lots of Tommy Atkins mangos

Mango-spinach-young coco smoothie

Organic bananas

= 2140 total calories for the day

[I'm feeling really good today. I'm already thinking of making this cleanse more than 14 days. It's going so well, and I'm feeling happier & lighter everyday. The days are flying by...]

14 Day Cleanse -Day 4

1.5 liter of water

16oz of fresh mixed vegetable juice

Young coconut water

Francine mangos

Banana & beet-top (greens only) smoothie

Banana & young coconut meat puree

= 1695 total calories for the day

[Today the first day were craved something salty or savory for dinner. But after I made my self a really good treat out of young coconut & bananas. I was happy. I was no longer craving anything else, felt perfect.  Also, I'm seeing lots of changes in my skin. Things are clearing up and looking brighter. The whites of my eyes are getting whiter. This is good news.]

14 Day Cleanse -Day 3

1.5 liters of water

Pineapple

Francine mangos

Kent mangos

Bananas

Banana-spirulina-sunflower sprout smoothie (<--Wow. I was so happy to eat my own produce today! I grew sunflower greens! They are all over my bedroom. I'm going to eat most of the sprouts and let some grow up to be sunflowers. I'm very excited about it all.)

= 2115 total calories for the day