Standard Process Cleanse Day 15

Chicken and fish, hooray, hoorah!

That pretty much sums up the past few days.  Still craving some bread, but less so than before.  I really wish I could say that I could say I'm totally zen about veggies, but I am starting to loathe squash. I mean loooooathe. 

 Weight loss:  9.4 chicken and fish added a bit back.  Eeeeek.

Any Cheating:  I had gum today. Onions +  sour tummy.= desperation. I just couldn't take any more. Gum is magical. Just in case you were taking it for granted. 
Mood: Normal. PMS this severe can't be fixed in 15 days.
Favorite food: Avocado and pineapple. Fresh, fresh pineapple.
Physical symptoms: Better sleep, running faster, no longer a total caffeine addict.
Emotional symptoms:  Excited for football food. But only in very very small quantities, lest I have horrible ... umm... bodily reactions.

Standard Process Cleanse Day 11

Guess what?  Today is the day we get to start eating chicken and fish. Hooray, hooray!

Not much more to stay, so here is just a quick check-in.

Weight loss:  10.6. HOLY crap.
Any Cheating:  We ate chicken last night instead of waiting for today. Yeah—we are rebels.
Mood: Normalized.  Maybe even a tad better than normal. :)
Favorite food: Mushrooms and avocado.  And hummus.
Physical symptoms: Better sleep, and no more pain in my kidneys, clear skin and—ahem—weight loss.
Emotional symptoms:  Excited!  But mostly for the weight loss. Other times I just want a cupcake. Or pizza.

Have a great Friday.

Standard Process Cleanse Day 3-7

Phew! I feel pretty much back to normal today.

Days 3 and 4 were mentally the toughest for me.  But I also got to see some really awesome effects of the cleanse during those days, too. 

Most notably, I am sleeping like a CHAMP!  I fall asleep easily, I don't wake up in the middle of the night for no reason, and I'm completely rested when I wake up.  Oh man.  It feels awesome!

Last week came with some issssssh-ues.  I was not happy about being on the cleanse.  I was mad that I was doing it, and not sure why I was doing it.  My favorite story of the week came from my seemingly benevolent giving of blood.  My iron level was higher than average, and my blood pressure was phenomenal.  Too bad that didn't do much for my... um... passing outage.  And what do they give you when you pass out?  Soda.  That's a bit of a problem.

This week will not be without its challenges.  Tomorrow, we are having a food day on my team at work.  This normally means all day eating. Muffins, pizza, chicken, chips & dip, etc.  It was rough when I was just trying to loose weight without the cleanse.  Oh, and the best part?  The "food cube" is right outside mine. Smells... wafting... Buh.

Friday we get to add meat, which is something Husband and I are looking forward to.  A lot of people who have done the cleanse before me have said they don't really feel like adding the meat when the time comes.  That's not me.  Not at all.   

Besides the great sleeping, my favorite part of the cleanse is that I am also losing weight. Here's to more of both! 


Weight loss:  6.6 pounds, and the husband has lost 11!
Any Cheating:  None today. Woot!
Mood: Normalized.  Still craving a stinking sandwich, though. 
Favorite food: Brussel sprouts and mushrooms
Physical symptoms: Better sleep, and no more pains in my kidneys.
Emotional symptoms:  Excited!

Standard Process Cleanse Day 2

So what is this cleanse thing, you ask?

Allow me to break it down for you in ways the shiny pamphlet won't.  

For the first ten days of the cleanse you eat nothing but fruits and vegetables.  No cheese, no coffee, no sugar, no artificial anything.  You can also add in a 1/2 cup of brown rice or lentils to your diet if you would like.  Pretty sweet consolation prize, right?  I didn't think so either. 

For days 11-21, you can add chicken or fish.  All organic, mind you.

In addition to the food, each day, you should be drinking 2-3 protein shakes, which are provided for you in the kit, and some vitamins, which are also provided. There are quite a few vitamins and they don't taste awesome, but who cares-- all you're eating is ruffage, whats a few pills down the gullet?

As a general rule for the full 21 days, you should eat twice as many vegetables as you should fruit, and the majority of the vegetables should be raw.  Too bad, since my body HATES raw veggies.

Any other questions about how the cleanse works? Email me or leave a comment!

Day 2

Today was muuuuch better mood-wise.  I was on an even kiel more so than I was on day one.  That is not to say it was all sunshine and kittens.  There were times when I wanted to kick people in the head for no good reason, but that can happen with or without a cleanse. The only difference is while on the cleanse, even the thought of raising my leg to head height is exhausting. 

After work, I came home and tried a smoothie with banana. SUCCESS!  The constancy was no longer grainy, and it tasted more like a fruit smoothie than the hippie concoction it really is.

After the smoothie, A and I went for a run.  As soon as we stepped out the front door it started to rain. At .6 miles it was coming down in sheets.  We ended with only a mile run, but considering the thought of kicking people made me tired, a one mile run was plenty.

Dinner was much of the same from the night before.  I will need to find the energy to find different recipes, but....... 

Here's hoping I have more energy tomorrow!


Weight loss:  Too early to tell
Any Cheating:  I had some extra hummus today.  Again--lay off.
Mood: Pretty steady between sleepy and 'just gotta get through this'
Favorite food: Avocado and sweet potato. Not sure these are going to change the whole 21 days.
Physical symptoms: Headache, dizziness, nausea and sleepiness. I've heard these goes away soon.  
Emotional symptoms:  Lack of concentration.  

Standard Process Cleanse Day 1

My husband, our friend, (who I shall call) A, and I have started a 21 day cleanse.  Check back to see how we are doing!

Day one.  

Today I went through a whole gamut of emotions.  I was really excited this morning, and super unexcited the rest of the day. 

Too broad, you say?  Alright...

I got up at 5:30am to run with Lauren and her boyfriend (who is to blame for this whole thing).  The run was just ok.  Whats new? 

After the run, I was excited to go home and drink my smoothie. What I didn't take into account, was the fact that this smoothie was not going to be vanilla flavored. 

I put pineapple and peach into the smoothie on the recommendation of some highly trained cleanse professionals.  It turned out just fine, but the sadness of loosing my artificial vanilla flavored smoothie really took its toll.

Come 9 am I was ready for more food.  An entire green pepper and some cucumbers would have to do the trick.

Lunch time was pretty good! Some rice, salad and more veggies. So many veggies that at one point during the day I was pretty dagum close to vomiting.  It was as if my cube was somehow cold and extremely humid at the same time. 

As a general rule, my body hates raw veggies.  On this cleanse you are supposed to eat 2:1 raw to cooked veggies. No good for me, especially on day one.  I am hoping my body starts to accept the raw stuff a little better.  

After work, my sister met A and me at Whole Foods to get some groceries.  It was a train wreck. The two of us who just started today looked like someone had just stolen our puppies... or maybe just our red meat and carbohydrates.  I got especially moody upon passing the prepared foods section and catching a whiff of the spicy tofu and the bread.  

When I got home from grocery shopping I made dinner of assorted veggies and half a sweet potato.  Thank goodness for sweet potatoes!

My husband eventually made it home, and he was even worse off than I was.  He confessed that he had eaten carrots most of the day and had even gotten so hungry he ate a green pepper like an apple.  I wanted to cry and kiss him.  Mostly kiss him. 

I'm cleansing, not dead.

I have been told that tomorrow should either be exactly as hard or easier. I pray it is not harder.  I will run again tomorrow morning (like a fool), and hope it goes better than today. 

I'm off to bed. Its only 9:30.  What am I doing this for, again?




Cleanse Info to date:
Weight loss: too early to tell
Any Cheating: Only when I chewed some gum without thinking. Lay off!
Mood: Anywhere between angry and annoyed.  But hopeful. :)
Favorite food: Avocado and sweet potato.
Physical symptoms: Headache, and exhaustion. Did I mention there is no coffee on this plan?
Emotional symptoms: Anger, lack of concentration, feeling of dread upon seeing any more vegetables.

Jules and her Babies #2

I am excited to say that Jules and her beautiful babies are back for another round of photos!  Check out how little these three were just a year ago!

The twins have grown up so much and have their own individual personalities. tw  Their big brother is still the same adventurous spirited little boy he was last year, but with a much larger vocabulary.

My favorite thing from this shoot was the way the twins say their brother's name. I wish I had recoreded it!  They kept yelling for him-- "Nooooo-ah!"

I considered stealing one of them, but I figured this thievery would not go unnoticed. Maybe next year. 

Government sanctioned lollipop break.  

That Time Again

Oh, man. It is that time again.  I've signed up for the Richmond Half Marathon.  

With the signage upage, came the beginning of pre-training.  Training for me does not officially begin for another week, so pre-training involves getting my legs used to running again.  

And of course, since I am running again (ouch) why not make it even more fun by doing it at 6 am (double ouch)?  

Buuuuuh.

Good thing my sister and her boyfriend allow me to tag along for their morning runs.  It is always easier to get up when you know you are meeting people.  Even if my sister's boyfriend does lap me.   

Running blogs to come:
1) My Gear
2) Motivational Posters
3) My Training Plan--WARNING--My Contain Too Many Double Chin References
3) How To Jump Over Snakes While Threatening Them With Pepper Spray


...OK so the last one won't be a full blog post.  But it happened--so it only felt right to include it on the list. 

Off to bed.  Pre-training again tomorrow morning.  Which is two hours earlier than 'morning' should ever be.