The 14-Day Cleanse

I love the idea of a cleanse.  Don't you?

Get rid of all the "toxins" & gunk built up in your body & start with a fresh, rejuvenated body.

Let's be clear though, while cleanses can be helpful in getting some distance from addictive or unhealthy foods, among other benefits, I do draw the line there.

In certain circles, talk of cleansing can get a bit too ethereal for my taste.  Promises of visions, being transcended, glowing hair, wrinkles being erased.  These are some of the more extreme claims made by advocates of cleansing.

(My thoughts on cleansing here.)

Don't misunderstand me, I think there's a time & a place for "cleansing," it just ought not be given powers that it doesn't have (like curing brain cancer, for example).

Let's talk about what it means to "cleanse."  First off, it's important to note there are lots of variations on a cleanse.

Strict dietary protocol is usually approach for a cleanse & often involves juicing, green foods, many times supplements or herbs.

My definition of a cleanse is any dietary regimen that gives your body a break from the normal routine of having to digest & process your standard fare.   For many people, this includes fast food, heavily processed food, as well as some potential intolerant foods (like dairy, wheat or gluten) that tax your body & make it work harder than it needs to.

Cleanse have become sexy in recent years.  It's like going to get botox.  "I'm cleansing right now," or, "I'm on a cleanse" have become a hot thing to drop in passing conversation.

I bring all of this up because I decided it's time for me to do a cleanse.  It's been about 2 years, or since right before my last pregnancy, that I did one.

I'm not doing a cleanse because I think it's "sexy."

I'm doing a cleanse because I feel like I need to.  I can't explain it, but I just feel like my body needs a break.  Maybe it's the change in seasons, the warmer weather.  I also feel like I need to "reset" my taste buds & get back to cleaner eating.

Yes, even on a vegan diet, even muah, can consume too much processed or junk food and be a little too dependent on certain foods (like chewing gum!  I'm addicted.  Seriously, ask Joseph, you can hide nothing from your spouse).

I probably won't be eating things like this or this for every meal (although I will definitely get around to making it once or twice!).

Most of my meals, will be simple & quick things, like this,

Easy Breakfast Slaw 

Or this (sans the coconut milk):  

"Kale Me Up" Banana Berry Smoothie

I'm not doing it to lose weight. (I'm not even going to step on the scale the next two weeks.)

My main goal is to give my body a break & become more intuitive & in tune with what my body needs.  Other than just eating raw foods (sorry potatoes, brown rice, tortillas, I'll see ya in a few weeks!), I have no rules other than to eat whenever I feel like my body needs food & try to give it what it needs.

The best "cleanse," in my opinion, would be a medically supervised water fast.  Not realistic for me, even if I wasn't constantly breastfeeding and/or pregnant because it requires you totally rest during the fast & take at least a week off from work.  Not happening anytime soon.

Next best would be a shorter water fast of a few days (again, not feasible for someone like me who is extremely active & nursing).  After that, the next best thing, in my opinion, is a raw foods cleanse.

This last option is the one I'm going to be doing for the next 14 days.

I feel like I need to state my position on raw foods here.  I am not a raw foodist.

Nor do I have any intentions to become one.  Nor do I think eating only raw food for the rest of your life, for most people, is realistic, necessary, or practical.  If you are a 100% raw foodist & it works for you, great!

From my perspective & based on the research I've done, as well as a brief stint with it almost 6 years ago (when I first switched to a vegan diet), a  purely raw diet, I have concluded, is not for me.

That said, raw foods are extremely nutritious, cleansing foods & should be a large portion of everyone's diet.

For that reason, a cleanse based (mostly*) on raw foods will give me the nutrients & calories I need each day while allowing my body to have a break from my normal diet without taking any supplements, herbs, or doing anything radical that might affect the quality or amount of my breastmilk (remember, I'm still nursing).

{*I plan to eat dried fruit & things like Lara bars & roasted seaweed, which aren't technically raw}

Along with my regular posting of other topics, I am going to share with you my experience with the cleanse.  I'm not just going to give you a food log every day (that would be uber boring).

Some days may be short posts, other days I may share pictures & get into the nitty gritty details of it all.  Hopefully you'll learn something from it, maybe you'll decide to join me!

Ready?

Here's a recap of today, day 1.

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