Day 1 – Clean(er) Eating Program

Blueberry Clementine Smoothy

Well, it’s that time again where my body needs a little recalibration.  Today is Boxing Day 2012 and although I ate pretty much how I normally eat during the holidays, I did consume a little more than I would normally eat.  Also, I enjoyed more legumes, wheat, grains, nuts and seeds than I normally eat so I’m feeling – well, a bit “puffy”!!  Bottom line, I’m just not feeling the usual “clarity” that comes with a cleaner diet.  So, it’s time to return to my “clean” self.

How will I do that?  I will follow my own Clean(er) Eating Program for the next 12 days.  Why 12 days?  No real reason, other than I’m off work so it seemed like the perfect time to return to clean(er) eating.  Although I have followed this same program for 5 days before.  It works well no matter how many days you have, so just choose whatever timeframe works for you.

The Clean(er) Eating Program:  It’s actually very simple.  For the first 5-7 days of the program I will enjoy a very clean diet, i.e. very high fruit and vegetables with minimal (if any) nuts, seeds, legumes or grains.  And for the remaining days, I will gradually reintroduce nuts, seeds, legumes and grains back into my meals. Yes, it really is that simple!!

Taking this approach works really well for me and over the years I have learned that it’s the quickest way for me to return to that clean-body feeling – yes, even quicker than following a Green Smoothy Cleanse.

Within about 3-5 days, I start to feel amazing again (don’t get me wrong, I feel really great after even 1 day, but AMAZING kicks in after a few days) where that clean, clarity-of-mind feeling returns together with increased energy levels.  You may ask – if I love that “clean” feeling so much then why do I eat things that take me away from that?  Well, truth be known, the answer is “life”.  I don’t aspire to be 100% raw, it’s just not practical for my life.  And I enjoy the flexibility of eating cooked foods as well as nuts, seeds, legumes and grains.  But the compromise is, for myself, when I consume legumes, grains and wheat I loose some of that “clarity/clean” feeling.  But that’s ok.  I prefer to have flexibility in my diet and that works for me.

The result, every now and then, like today,  I decide to follow a Clean(er) Eating Program to recalibrate to that cleaner feeling.  So here I am, about to embark on this 12-day Clean(er) Eating Program.

You may ask – why not follow a Green Smoothy Cleanse?  After all, isn’t that the purpose of a Green Smoothy Cleanse?  The short answer, yes absolutely most Green Smoothy Cleanses will also recalibrate your body.  And I do enjoy a Green Smoothy Cleanse every now and then.  But I also enjoy solid foods.  Green Smoothy Cleanses are great to give your digestive system a well deserved break as the liquids will minimize digestive actions as there are no real foods to breakdown, at least not in the same way as when you eat solid foods.  For my body I have found that my Clean(er) Eating Program works just as well, although the digestive system doesn’t get the same break.  In fact, for me, I find my program works better, than any Green Smoothy Cleanse that I have tried.  Although there is a time and place for Green Smoothy Cleanses so either one can achieve the same outcome.

For me the Clean(er) Eating Program is on the agenda – so for the next 5-7 days I will eat mostly fruits and vegetables and after a few days (or when my body says it’s time), I will reintroduce nuts, seeds, legumes and grains gradually back into my meals.

It’s really that simple!!  The fun part, it’s not that different from my normal eating, I’m simply adding some “fine tuning” to speed up the process of returning to clarity-of-mind.  And I must say, it’s amazing how quickly my body responds and returns to that clean/clarity feeling.

So with that, here’s a glimpse into my first day.

Broccoli & Tomato Green Salad

Day 1:  I started the day with about 1 litre of water.  Adding lemon is always great, although I didn’t today.  I worked out on the treadmill for 30 minutes (although it was a fast walk vs. run for today) and after that I wasn’t hungry until about 9am at which time I enjoyed a Blueberry Clementine Smoothy.  I enjoyed the full “batch” and drank 1.5 litres which kept me full until early afternoon.

Around 2pm I was hungry again and enjoyed a bowl of Broccoli & Tomato Green Salad.  In the afternoon I enjoyed another litre of water, I also have a cup of hot water which helped to warm me up as it’s very cold here today. I prefer plain hot water to any teas, but herbal teas are also good if you like them.

I was hungry again around 5:30pm so I enjoyed the rest of the Broccoli & Tomato Green Salad - 2 big bowls – no reason to make things complicated by making another dish ).  Easy Peasy is what it’s all about for me!!  I also had another litre of water and will have another hot water later in the evening.

That’s about all I needed for today.  It may not sound like much, but listening to my body it was definitely enough to satisfy my appetite, so all is good.

Don’t worry, Hubby was well looked after – he enjoyed some leftover Shepard’s Pie with Broccoli & Tomato Green Salad followed by my famous Apple Crumble.

And now, I’m thinking about what I will have tomorrow.  Hmmm… definitely another smoothy in the morning, I do love smoothies. I also love my green salads so I’ll certainly make a big salad.  And given how cold it is I think I nice vegetable soup would be another great option.  But, I do like to play it by ear, so I’ll decide tomorrow.

That’s it for today.  I’d love to hear from you….

More to come tomorrow….here’s a link to Day 2 - Clean(er) Eating Program!!