Day 7: Ugh, cheated...

   Oh geez...my first real(ish) cheat. I think my failure was due to not eating breakfast leaving lunch too late which resulted in me being starving! I had several (maybe like, 7-8?) Sour Patch Kids after my salad (left over snacks from a work meeting). I am thinking this shouldn't completely ruin my efforts thus far. Trying to remember that a small slip up doesn't mean I need to completely give up on everything. I find that's often the case when I have something bad to eat - I figure "Today is completely ruined, so I may as well just completely blow it." Definitely the wrong mentality. Another thing I've noticed: I am much more tempted when I am alone with bad food. At home, it's not a problem because I keep it out of the house. But when I'm in the office kitchen alone with left over candy, cookies or muffins...it's realllllly difficult to resist, since it's not even an option at home. However, I am thinking that if I wasn't on this detox, a few Sour Patch Kids as the only sugar I've had in a week would be pretty damn commendable.
    Went for another sluggish run last night. Even though I had taken two days of rest (which is a rarity) I was still super tired on my run. Typically after a day off I have tons of energy and feel really recharged on my run - not so much last night. The fact that it was still about 27 degrees and extremely humid probably contributed to my fatigue.
   As I mentioned yesterday, I am heading to Sauble Beach, probably first thing tomorrow morning. My plan as of now is to pack a bunch of detox-safe snacks so that I don't make my host feel awkward. Although I won't have internet access (I guess I could blog from my phone but...I just don't feel like downloading the app), I will try to write each night and post when I am back in the city. Hope everyone has a fantastic long weekend! Wish me luck!

The culprits....arrrrgggg!

Day 6: Half way to the finish line!

   Can't believe I'm half way through the cleanse! Definitely has not been as painful or difficult as initially anticipated, however I am planning to head up to Sauble Beach for the long weekend (I think) and will be bombarded with yummy food and drinks. Could prove to be very difficult, but perhaps the thought of being in a bikini the entire time will be some motivation not to get off track.
   Felt pretty normal today, all in all. Still feeling like I'm not losing weight at all, but feeling satiated and my skin has seen the most improvement. I have never had amazing skin, but I feel like I've noticed I have had no blemishes and more radiance since changing my diet. I think the skin benefits alone, purely from a vanity standpoint, would be worth trying to stick to this type of diet for. I wish I knew which foods I'm cutting out make my skin look worse. Dairy? Sugar? Flour? All three? Anyone have any ideas? Would love to isolate what I need to continue to exclude after the cleanse to keep my skin looking awesome.

Day 5: Weight loss? What weight loss?

   I had two bites of a pumpernickel bagel today. I couldn't resist! It was left over from a meeting and sitting in the office kitchen, all alone. I think that's a relatively small cheat though - I didn't go completely off the rails! Other than that, I am on track. A 4-5pm meeting today even had me sitting in front of a plate full of chocolate chip cookies, and I totally resisted. To be completely honest, I the no bread thing is not as hard as I imagined it would be. I crave them, but I am OK substituting with rice or oatmeal.
   This is the first day that the herbal supplements caused some seriously, um, urgency around getting to the bathroom, if you know what I mean. Still not planning on cutting down my dose, but I can see how some might want to go that route. Maybe station yourself close to a bathroom and don't book any meetings around your first coffee of the morning - just a suggestion!
   To be honest, I don't feel like I am losing weight. At all. But, like I mentioned earlier, I don't really feel like I am cutting my calories - I may even be eating more. However, I have to admit I feel much more satiated and 'balanced' on this Wild Rose diet than what I normally eat. I am not overly full or overly starving - it's actually really nice. I know a lot of people do cleanses for weight loss, and I don't think this is one of them, unless you have really poor eating habits ahead of time. I'm eating olive oil heavy salad dressing and almond butter ever day - normally I would avoid those foods because of the fat content (even though I know it's healthy fat, blah blah blah). I guess you could lose weight if you stuck to this diet but were restrictive - but I am trying not to let myself get super hungry so that I'm less likely to cheat. Even though I am not losing weight, I do enjoy not feeling like I am on a roller coaster between being starving and stuffed all day.
   A really simple, delicious dish I whipped up with some of the left over brown rice I had is just frying it up with an egg and adding rosemary, salt and pepper. So simple, but really good - and really quick to make when in a rush. One thing I am kind of using as a crutch so far as been salt - not good, I know! Definitely going to try to include more herbs and spices instead of salt moving forward.

One of my favourite indulgences: oatmeal with apples & cinnamon