Mindstream Yoga Blog

Boy was I happy to have some quinoa this morning! If you've never tried quinoa with cinnamon (and normally some raw honey...which I had to skip this morning) for breakfast you should...nutty and filling, its a perfect alternative to oatmeal! I added half a banana and some strawberries in...yum!

Today's new development...hunger! I'm like crazy hungry. Totally surprising to me too cause for the first several days of this I wasn't very hungry at all, but then all of sudden now it has hit me and I just don't feel satiated at all. The protein powder is still a great solution and I've been utilizing it, which actually kinda illuminates that my hunger is probably more mental than anything come to think of it. Knowing I'm getting close to the end of the detox, and that I can now add back in more substantial things like quinoa and rice is definitely changing my mindset away from detox brain and back to old habits brain, so I'm having to work extra hard at finishing out the last few days here strong.

As a side note, I've been absolutely loving how much I'm juicing these days. Tonight I made a nice concoction to take with me to work tomorrow - spinach, celery, romaine, chard, cucumber, broccoli, lemon, orange, apple, and ginger...so refreshing!

Need some detoxifying sleep now...more tomorrow!

I made it through the weekend, phew! I was much more hungry this weekend than I'd been all week, which was inconvenient considering I have a lot more temptations and not as much to distract me at home (except the previously mentioned yard work...yuck). Anyway, I had to up my intake of the protein supplement to combat the hunger, which worked pretty well. Luckily though, we get to add a few easy to digest grains back into the menu starting tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to some quinoa and wild rice!

Aside from the hunger, this weekend is where I really started to feel the positive effects of the detox from a mind/body standpoint. I'm definitely sleeping more soundly, waking up more easily, and feeling generally more stable from an energy standpoint during the day. I would like to tell you I feel stronger, and I imagine that I do, but right now its covered up with major soreness brought on by an entire day of mulch spreading. I'll get back to you on the improvement in physical strength once that settles back down :)

So friends, things are good! Energy is up, cravings are minimal and manageable, and I swear my body already feels tighter thanks to the absence of bloat and inflammation-inducing gluten and dairy.

As we move towards our last day on Wednesday I'm starting to really think about making some permanent changes in my diet. I'm thinking minimal gluten for sure, and definitely avoiding refined sugar. I don't think I can stay away from meat, all dairy, eggs, or coffee though...but I am committed to being mindful about it.

Dr. Barker recommends a "90%" rule, where we eat well 90% of the time, and then the other 10% is reserved for things like cheese, beer, and fancy $5 coffee drinks . When you really think about it, that is pretty doable I think.

So, between now and Wednesday I'm going to identify what exactly my on-going commitment to myself is going to be, and will record it here. Seems like a waste of a really good detox to go and add back in all the things that don't make me feel my best!

More tomorrow...time to dream of quinoa now ;)

So I missed my Day 4 wrap up because I literally fell asleep with my laptop last night...woopsy! That pretty much sums it up though...I was exhausted!

Today I woke up with good energy, and feel like I'm on a role now with this. My appetite is pretty stable and I'm liking the feeling of the right level of fulness that I experience on this program. The protein powder supplement we're taking really does do a good job of modulating hunger on days where physical exertion is minimal.

I threw a wrench in the plan today though, in the form of some heavy duty yard work that I scheduled a day off of work for and then kinda forgot about. Fast forward to noon today when I was almost done unloading the first of two 1 ton loans of mulch into my yard (by myself I should mention). I was weak and starving and just about ready to cave and grab something carby and quick, but then I took some deep breaths, sat down, and made up the lunch serving of protein supplement.

Now, I swear I'm not exaggerating...I felt GREAT and full and energetic within about 15 minutes. Seriously, when you're properly nourished and you're in the right frame of mind, your body responds!

After finishing up unloading the second truckful of mulch, I headed off to the yoga studio for tonight's mid-way check-in for the Reset program. We started with a great twisting detox sequence in the heat with Cara, and then talked with her about the spectrum between hunger and being satiated. Many of us wait until we're way too hungry to eat, and then eat way past when we're actually satiated. Its definitely something to be more mindful of...no one likes that crampy bloaty feeling of overeating right?

Then we listened to Dr. Barker talk about smart supplementation and how to build a balanced diet inspired by the "paleo" diet. His recommendation is to stick with whole foods that are derived from the Earth and served in their most "natural" form. This means animal and plant products, but nothing highly processed and minimal grains. I gotta say...all the talk of buffalo meat and nuts and quinoa was making me excited to cook something other than veggies for dinner!

So friends...5 days down, 5 to go. It sounded like everyone was doing well tonight, and other than a minor headache and some hunger here and there, we're all settling into the groove of things.

Now if I could only do something about this darn sunburn (apparently SPF 30 wasn't sufficient)...

Goodnight!

So Day 3. Supposedly the worst day, and after checking in with some of my fellow detoxers it sounds like it was. Between the migraines, nausea, and some other unpleasant bathroom related activities that I won't go into...we're all a little down today. But, by this evening it sounded like everyone was on the mend and starting to get into the groove of taking the supplements and working through their cravings.

Dr. Barker reassured us all that the symptoms we're experiencing are the classic signs of a successful detox in the works. As we start to process out all of the bad stuff in our bodies with the help of the supplements we're on, our bodies work harder and react in ways that don't feel so hot. Fear not though weary readers, none of this stuff was enough to sabotage any of us! In fact, almost everyone said that once they fought through their symptom they actually felt better than they had yet! And who doesn't want to feel better right?

In related news, I feel like the emotional/mental side of the detox is kicking in today too. With the awareness that the physical symptoms bring to my eating habits, I'm seeing how much I reach for something quick and easy (read: carbs) when I'm stressed, bored, or between activities and not giving myself enough time to think a food decision through. My regular diet isn't terrible, but it was definitely evident to me today how much I rely on the carb fix to combat hunger quickly or to occupy my mind. Even as I sit here writing this, I'm keenly aware of the crackers in my cabinet, even though I'm really not hungry.

Here's the emotion gut check...normally I'd go for the crackers and maybe beat myself up a little bit for eating when I wasn't hungry...tonight I'm not going to. Ugh. Harder than it sounds.

Instead, I'm choosing some herbal tea and our gentle yoga sequence from the Reset Detox manual. Things that I can have and are good for me.

So folks, today's lesson: It's empowering to make a mindful choice, stick to it, and continue to feel good afterwards. I'm realizing that I don't do this often enough in any part of my life...interesting.

Goodnight!

PS...those crackers still sound good ;)

Really unexpected development of the day: broccoli cravings. And who doesn't love broccoli right? Steam it and then add a little Himalayan salt and black pepper...yum!

But, broccoli is only the second best thing that I ate today. Hands down, lunch at Chipotle wins. Yes friends, you can eat out and detox at the same time! Since we're allowed to have legumes, I had the nice (but somewhat skeptical) folks at Chipotle make me up a burrito bowl with black and pinto beans, lots of pico de gallo and green salsa, a big scoop of guacamole and some handfuls of lettuce. I didn't even miss the meat or sour cream that I normally would have added to this. Incredible!

And just like that I had lunch at one of my favorite places, with friends, without sabotaging my commitment to my detox. Take that toxins.

Love the idea of cleanses...not so much the action of participating in one. I tend to procrastinate things like this actually...typically with the ole "I'll start it next Monday" mantra. But when something as great as the Reset Detox program came along and it worked out perfectly in my schedule (no travel for a whole month...that never happens!) I had to do it. Plus, I wanted to be able to chronicle it here for all you Streamers out there who might be thinking about doing our detox at some point.

So here goes...we kicked things off on Saturday with a couple hours of discussion with the always knowledgeable and inspiring Dr. Jason Barker. His Naturopathic medical education and passion for wellness come through clearly in the way the program is designed as well as in his candor as he speaks, so right from the start I felt set up to succeed. This isn't a starvation fast, nor is it gimmicky whatsoever. There is science behind Dr. Barker's program and the supplements used to support it. He's the real deal folks!

Next was private group yoga class with Cara Maiolo, incredibly talented yoga instructor and counselor. We twisted and toned our digestive and circulatory systems to prep our bodies to cleanse, and then talked a lot about positive "right action" versus reaction when faced with cravings, and some healthy coping mechanisms to utilize when we're nearing the point of self-sabotage on the cleanse.

After Saturday's session we had all day yesterday to prep, both mentally and logistically (buy groceries and the like) and then began the program officially today. At this point tonight I've eaten more fruit and veggies than I probably normally would in several days, and am missing my friend the grande americano dearly. I have to admit that I do have a headache, but it doesn't really hurt if you can believe it...probably the result of replacing large doses of caffeine with tons of real nutrients! I feel the exact right amount of satiated without feeling too full, and despite feeling a little tired, I have enough energy to do PowerStream tonight!

Ok, so not enough to do Wheel Pose, but I seriously do feel good!

Here are my main take-aways so far:

1) Nothing bad is going to happen. Seriously, giving up coffee and carbs for 10 days is not going to kill me.

2) Focusing on what I can have instead of what I can't is really powerful. Now imagine if I can start to apply that to my whole life and not just food for the next 10 days! (Note to self: do this).

3) Peeling grapefruit is surprising hard. Stick to cutting them up :)

Time for bed now (more sleep is mandatory during cleansing). More tomorrow!