Post Cleanse...

Well, my two weeks are up. The cleanse is done, and I'm feeling, well...GREAT!

The problem is that its hard to determine what is making me feel so good. Is it the cleanse? Is it the fact that I've lost 7lbs and 7.5 inches? (since January 3rd). Is it the fact I'm eating 10 times healthier than I used to? Is it that I'm getting in somewhat regular exercise? Well, really, I don't know if its any or all of those factors combined, but I do know that I'm feeling fairly spectacular.

As for the actual cleanse, I really don't feel that I have too much to report. I didn't get the usual "Don't be 10 feet away from your toilet" syndrome. I'd say it had very little effect on any of those aspects of my life. Really, I didn't feel much different until the last few days. At which point I really started feeling more energetic. Again, I can't say that's 100% cleanse, but whatever, I feel good.

So now I'm back to the original plan. Eat healthier. Limit portions. Don't eat after 7:00pm. Try to exercise as much as possible (which really is only working out to my two 30 minute jaunts around the malls on Tuesdays and Thursdays while Abbi is in preschool). I'm thinking that I'll start taking Rob's Greens+ Supplement. He says its really helping him with energy, and I figure I can always use more of that. Plus, its filled with so much green goodness, I don't think you can go wrong.

I want to try the Cleanse Smart next, but apparently you need to give your body a bit of time to recover, so I'll wait a few months until I attempt that little number. I think the cleanse I did was really the stage one of cleansing, so I'm wanting to do something a little more hardcore next time. I'm not becoming a cleansing addict, but it is kind of interesting to go into a health food store and see the gazillion things you can try.

I normally spend Thursday nights at a friend's house watching my fave show, Grey's Anatomy. The last couple of weeks I am always quite hungry while at their house. They questioned whether or not its good to be that hungry before you go to bed. So I was trying to 'research' this online (although I think any type of internet research must be taken with a grain of salt). I've seen conflicting reports. Some are saying you won't be able to sleep very well, others are saying don't eat 3 hours before bed. I guess the "eat something camp" is saying that when your body is telling you it needs something, and you don't give in, it thinks its starving and stores the fat rather than burns it. Whereas the "go to bed hungry camp" is saying that your digestive system rests while you sleep, and as a result, it doesn't digest the food as efficiently as it does when you are awake, so much of that goes to fat.

Who really knows? All I know is, I am still sleeping fine, and well, I think its working for me. I wake up feeling quite hungry, and I think it just really forces you to re-prioritze your eating schedule. Make sure that you are a healthy, large, well balanced breakfast, a big lunch, and at dinner eat less, but eat sensibly. Eat enough so that you won't be starving in 3 hours, but not so much that the majority of your caloric intake is taking place in the last 3 hours of you day. This has really been hit and miss for me. Initially I was starving by 8:30pm, but I'm starting to learn my body more and what it needs.

And that's the fascinating part. Learning oneself. I'm really trying to listen to my body. Which I know sounds super hokey, but I really am seeing a difference. Really understanding when I'm actually hungry and when I'm just plain bored. I find I'm snacking A LOT less. And if I do feel the need to snack (you know, that terrible mid-afternoon, pre-dinner, snacking hour), I grab a handful of nuts, or eat a rice cake, or drink more water. I can't say I don't give in every day, but I really am feeling more disciplined, and more in control of my body.

Not to mention, on the chocoalte front, I'm still holding strong. No chocolate since Janaury 3rd! Seriously, a record in my world. I don't even crave it anymore. Althuogh I did have a minor slip up last weekend, but really, it wasn't my fault! Rob and I were out for his celebratory "You are a Carpenter Dinner" and I ordered a Kaluha mudslide. Simple right? Kaluha, milk over ice. Apparently not.

This is what they served up...

Delicious right? Yup, it was. But I was about halfway through it when I realized that it had chocolate drizzle on it. So I think it was an inadvertent slip up. When I think of my normal mudslide, the chocolate doesn't exist, so I didn't even notice. So Rob agreed with me. It didn't count, because, well I didn't even notice the chocolate, and I didn't intentionally order the chocolate. Oh well...what can a girl do?