Wow! I absolutely cannot believe that I am already done. The first week was definitely the hardest, but pushing through has made all of the difference.
I honestly think I could go for a few more weeks and that my body could probably do with so more cleansing, but I will take it a piece at a time.
Now to be clear, when I say DONE, this is done with Phase 1. Phase 2 is the process of slowly re-introducing foods back one at a time, and seeing if/how my body reacts upon re-introduction. Also, this is also when the daily supplements should end. I say SHOULD, because typically, you go the full 21 days taking the daily sets of supplements, which I did not do. Around day 15, a weird thing happened after taking my morning supplements. I started having frequent pulsating in the back, right lower side of my abdomen/side, seemingly where I believe my liver is at.
I obviously did my DuckDuckGo anatomy and symptom check *chuckle*. And I honestly think it boils down to the fact that I do not take ANY medications, no pills or anything, like that ever. And then jumping into taking 15 capsules a day with the cleanse just had my liver working extra hard. Needless to say, I took zero chances and stopped taking the supplements immediately. The next day the pulsing stopped and has not returned since. I took only 6 of the supplements two more days afterwards and it has not returned. I am considering that during this next 7-14 days of me re-introducing foods, I will do only 7 supplements daily to keep up the vitamins and probiotics (which is what they are). Plus, I hate to waste such good resources that also cost me quite a few dollars.
Another beautiful thing, is that there were some very tasty recipes that are super healthy and easy on the digestion that I will indeed be adding to my cooking order. I am putting together my own recipe book of things I have invented, plus things I found and love, and others I found and have made my own over the years. I absolutely love the idea of being able to pass down a recipe book to my children and hopefully grandchildren someday.
In other news, like the fatty I am, I have already planned out which delectable foods I will re-introduce over these weeks:
- Potatoes (more like fries, there are some loaded fries I have been craving!)
- Wheat (I will be making our pizza dough and pizzas this week! Will also try some cream of wheat)
- Sugar (We will most likely go and grab some ice-cream this weekend
- Cabbage family veggies (some roasted cauliflower and cabbage).
- Fruits (I have only been able to eat berries for 3 weeks, so I will start with an extreme one; pineapple, then honeydew, then more basic oranges and apples)
- Other grains (not really in a huge rush to get back to rice, but quinoa and farrow will be firsts)
I do not do dairy, coffee, meat, candy, soda already – so those will not be re-introduced. Considering possibly seeing how a swig or two of beer will effect me, but I was never a big drinker, so I am in no rush to try that out.
What I am excited to get back to, is a more consistent work out schedule. I never jumped back on when I stopped earlier in the process, and have only gone running a few times in the past 2 weeks. I know I need to get back to being more physical because I honestly do not like how and where I lost weight. I am already very slim and knew I would lose some weight, but my body tends to go overboard. This is not a humble brag – I am thin enough to where losing too much weight I begin looking sickly and that is never the goal nor a look I aspire to. I like my weight more on the healthier side and feel my best when I have a bit more in the glutes and thighs regions. So, these last 3 months of the year, I am looking to build back up more muscle since I have slimmed down pretty much to bare bones jones. I am also going to keep a similar schedules for most of the week, trying to keep to a salad in the evenings, heaviest meal mid-day, and doing much more shakes. I will flop back and forth between morning teas and the daily lemon water as well.
So, will I do this cleanse again? Absolutely! I will be much more prepared and know which recipes pair best with what and how long they take if I am in a hurry and just need to eat. But, I think my next thing will be a fast – I am thinking one in November and one in December. It was a great journey, I pushed myself to just get through it, and I am glad to be emerging from the other side. I am still waking up much more rested, my body is still pushing out toxins in the form of skin blemishes, which I welcome! I would rather them be on my skin leaving the body, then unknown causing havoc inside the body.
So, here is to another awesome week ahead and honestly a bit of celebratory goodies, while maintaining a lot of the same regimen moving forward.
~Mai