Husband and I embarked on our 21-day nutritional cleanse yesterday. Don’t worry; It’s not one of those freaky things where we will only swill spicy vinegar for days on end. It’s a really healthy program developed by a well-known cardiologist and endorsed by Gwenyth Paltrow. If it’s good enough for GP, it’s good enough for me. For what it’s worth, I plan to be her doppelganger in three weeks’ time. (Ha.)
Husband and I have both done this very cleanse before. Husband has had more success with it. It’s my opinion that men are more literal and less emotional and better at following rules and not whining. Anyway, he lost a bunch of weight when he did it in the past and had a lot of energy to boot and felt great. I also loved the cleanse when I did it, but got a bit pissy and proceeded to cheat with bits of coffee and wine. The results, for me, weren’t as golden.
This time. This time, I plan to do it right. After a year of abstaining from alcohol, three weeks seems pretty doable. No, I won’t be able to eat gluten or dairy or drink my beloved coffee or sip white wine from time to time, but so be it. I know I will feel great.
We like to do the cleanse this time of year because, as you all know, the holidays can be a bit of a mess nutritionally-speaking. Chasing the little girls has thankfully kept extra pounds at bay (calorie-burning is a true perk of domestic mayhem), but we are both feel a bit eh energy-wise. We are ready to reset, get back on track, clean it up.
Before signing off, I want to say that I know this is such a privileged thing, this spending time and energy and money and focus on a nutritional betterment. I know that many of us have much bigger things to worry about at the moment than whether we are consuming a maximally nutritious/allergen-free diet. That said, I am realizing more and more how much I care about health – mine, his, our girls’. I know that so much of life is not within our control, but some of it is. This is about the some of it.
So. Here goes. I don’t plan to live-journal this 21-day escapade. That would be super boring and annoying, I imagine. But I do want to warn you that I might be a bit on edge without my Starbucks IV and my weekend donuts. We shall see.
Wish me luck! Or tell me that I am crazy!
♣
Do you eat a healthy diet? Have you ever tried a cleanse? Would you have any interest in hearing about mine?
There is nothing crazy about working toward a better you. Personally, I believe that self-care gets put on the back burner in a lot of people’s lives, especially parents. I say, grab the incentive, whatever IT is, and GO!!! Good luck!!!!
I’m dying to see how this cleanse go. It’s been on my to do list but I just got pregnant (yay!) so am not cleansing for (
at least) another 10 months! Good luck Aidan!
I think it is great–my husband and I tried to do Dr. Oz’s 3 day cleanse and only made it a 11/2 days! Ha! But it did inspire me to change my diet and pay closer attention to what I am eating and drinking so in essence it did its job.
My sister tried a cleanse, but ended up quitting after a few days because she had so much intestinal distress that she was awoken in the middle of the night!
I checked out the webpage. This seems bananas to me, but probably because my diet is that of a 5 year old. But I can’t wait to hear all about it — the results (energy, etc.) seem incredible! Good luck to you and Husband!!!
So… Just wanted to check in. Am on Day 2 and the hardest part, predictably, is the no caffeine. I had a mild headache on and off yesterday but already today has been much better. I am becoming quite the fan of mint tea. Anyway, I am excited about the next three weeks. I’ve decided that I really like projects. I like tweaking. I like feeling good, and clear, and full of energy. I figure these aren’t bad things, right? I don’t want to become the person who is constantly mid-project and abstaining from something and writing about it (oh how that could get old), but kind of cool to notice things about oneself.
Husband and I were joking that we will be cleansing on Valentine’s Day. Our V Day typically consists of 2 kinds of cheese fondue and pounds of gummy candy. I think we will have to tap a date in March to have a faux V Day and do it right
I would love to hear about it on a day to day basis. I’ve thought about doing something similar but just don’t know if I could. I’m not overweight but I do love my food.
Sounds great! I have never done a “formal” cleanse (but I did go on a gluten and dairy-free diet once)… but I am doing my own little February “get healthy” cleanse — low(er) crab, less dessert, more Pilates and hot yoga and running. I feel better already! xox
That should have been lower “carb.” Lower crab is a different proposition altogether
So so funny because I read your initial comment and I was like “oh no! what is wrong with crab? I love crab!!”
ha ha. Yeah, crab is probably fine on most diets. Unless it’s slathered in mayo.
I’ve seen a couple different cleanses of varying lengths and degrees, but the cost to do them kills me. I look at the dollar signs and think, two weeks of groceries or half a year at the gym or 10 days of daycare. There’s no way I could justify the cost and so I sit outside the window, looking in, wishing I could be a part of the club. That said, I think it’s awesome you have the resources to do one and even better that you can tag team with the mister.
I’m glad you wrote this, Nilsa. I acknowledge that it is crazy how much something like this costs and I hesitated writing about it here for that very reason. Ultimately, I decided that this is a really positive thing we are doing for ourselves and our health and I wanted to write a little about it. I also think that similar goals can be reached without purchasing a trendy cleanse program.
Can’t wait to hear how it goes. A few years ago I did no sugar for 21 days (but still had everything else). Just the no sugar made the after dinner hours feel not worth living. Don’t think I could do the full enchilada! But you’re right–after no wine for a year, YOU can do this! I’ll be cheering you on.