Prep Work

Stephanie's Food Journal

Breakfast
Bowl of Cheerios with skim milk
An orange

Snack
Handful of M & M's
Two pickles so I can empty the jar and get it out of the fridge

Lunch
Two bites of macaroni and cheese
The kid's sandwich crusts
An apple
Cucumber Salad

Snack
Half a brownie
Four saltine crackers
Coke

Dinner
Arugula salad with lemon vinegarette
Grilled chicken

Snack
Nutella....off the spoon
Glass of milk
Handful of pistachios
Hard, stale licorice I found in the bottom of the pantry

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It ain't pretty. But 80% of the time, this is how I eat. I have my shining nutritional moments...I usually start things out with a decent breakfast and prepare a healthy dinner but it's all the in between grab and go that's making me feel fat and sluggish.  Plus, processed and fast foods have a negative environmental impact and my cravings for sugar and high fructose corn syrup are contributing to that. I have been reading a lot, and  I mean A LOT about the role that nutrition plays in our health. Good food, real food, can fix just about anything.

But try as I might, I just can't seem to convince my body and mind that it doesn't need the crap it's constantly begging me to ingest. I get cranky...I get flat out bitchy....if I can't get my sugar fix fast enough. I get a headache. I get nauseous. And I cave, digging for anything (hence the stale licorice) that will soothe the sugar monster lurking within. It's disappointing and disheartening and I'm setting a terrible example for my kids.

I was blog hopping and came across an article at Keeper of the Home about a real food cleanse. Cleanses have always appealed to me but I was turned off by the fact that many of them require expensive pills, powders and supplements to participate in them. But this was different. This was real food cleanse. For three days you eat nothing but fruits and vegetables. And in those three days of wholesome natural goodness, your body will detox and reset, and hopefully, allow you to slay the sugar monster and get back on the right track. It sounded perfect and just challenging enough to be effective. I downloaded the eBook and filled out my cleansing plan, provided in the last pages of the manuscript.

And that's where I stand. Prep work. My menu is planned and my grocery list is being made. I am shocked at the amount of produce that I will be consuming. I'm nervous too. The cravings for sweets and processed foods will be strong but I can do it. It's the caffeine withdrawal that makes me nervous. Caffeine headaches are the WORST. And I'm just jumping off, going cold turkey. It's terrifying.

I start on Friday. My hubby has been warned is ready for my oncoming crankiness and is expecting me to take lots of naps. I've booked myself a massage on Saturday to further encourage the toxic sludge that I created with bad food choices out of my body. Come Monday I'm hoping to feel lighter, stronger and more in control. Anyone want to join in?? Any helpful suggestions you might want to pass along?