Whole Foods Cleanse

By the title, you may be wondering "What in the world does a Whole Foods Cleanse have to do with nursing, in any form?"  Well, that's a great question.  And directly, I guess the answer is nothing.  But indirectly, oh it has everything to do with nursing.

At the end of 2012, I was getting horrible headaches, feeling sluggish, and weighed a good 15 pounds more than my body likes to handle.  I was tired when I woke up, and exhausted when it was time for bed again.

I was blaming my schedule.  All that flip flopping from days to nights, and nights to days, can wreak havoc on the body.

But when I really thought about it, I also had to blame my food choices and the laziness that crept in and took the place of work-outs.  Because lets be honest, a flip-flopped schedule doesn't just do all that on its own.

As an APN I think that it is important to not only take care of others, but truly take care of yourself.  Which is something most nurses don't do well.  And health, along with weight and food issues are just some of those things that can get pushed to the wayside.

When you're trying to get through a 10, 12, or 16 hour shift in which you get to suck down water once, and shove whatever food is in your face while standing right outside the patient doorway, there's not much thought to, "hmm, should I go downstairs and prepare a nice healthy salad, or just shove a bunch of those mini-cupcakes that are right across the hall from me at the nurses station!?" Cupcakes win every time.

Until walking across the hallway to get those cupcakes becomes harder because the strain on your knees is more than before, and oh my, am I actually getting out of breath??? comes into the picture.

So while I had some time away at my parents over the New Years holiday, I researched different cleanses.  I knew that I wanted something drastic.  Something that would produce results, and give me the boost to continue leading a healthy lifestyle.

But I also knew that I wanted something that would be sustainable.  And the various fasts, juice cleanses and other gimmicks out there were not for me.  Not let me eat for more than 6 or 7 hours, and I turn into someone...something...not pretty!  So fasts were out!  And I knew that drinking 3 juices a day for 5-7 days would produce results, but I would be starving, and probably go way overboard with chocolate, coffee, and wine once it was over.  So that was out too.

And then I found it. A whole food cleanse that allows you to eat real, solid food, as many times a day as you want, all while cleansing and detoxifying the body.

For 14 days I cut out all gluten, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, animal products, refined sugar, and "sweet fruits."

What this left me with:
-any and every vegetable I ever wanted including sweet potatoes, yams, spaghetti squash, and butternut squash, but with an emphasis on eating as much greens as humanely possible!
-quinoa and brown rice
-apples, pears, and berries
-nut butters and nut milk (my preference was for almond butter and almond milk- the all natural, unsweetened kind)
-avacado (my saving grace of the 2 weeks!)

Our fridge has been overtaken with fruits and veggies...and this is towards the end of our shopping week!

So the cleanse is behind me, and the maintenance (and continued fat loss for me) is before me.  At least until we go on a warm, sunny vacation at the end of February!  Stay tuned for Cleanse Part 2 where I will tell ya just how the cleansing process went.