As many of you know, I just finished a 21 day cleanse with a friend. For this first 10 days, we could only eat fruits and veggies. On day 11, we could add chicken and deep sea fish, and pseudo grains. It was probably one of the hardest things I've done, health wise... But it was a SUPER awesome experience (and I never would have been able to push through it without the support of my beautiful and amazing friend, Annie! Josh helped too). I wanted to do the cleanse for many reasons, a few of them being to cleanse my body of toxins that I have fed it, to lose weight, and to get a jump start on eating healthy.
The great news is that I have been able to accomplish all of those things, and I really feel much better than I did before. During the cleanse, I lost about 8 lbs, and I lost three prior to that, putting my total so far at 11 lbs down. I am super excited about this, because I have struggled for so long to really lose weight. The best part, though, is the physical changes I can see in my body.
On day 11, I also added a workout routine into the mix -- You've probably seen my hashtags about it-- the BBG (Bikini Body Guide)* workouts by Kayla Itsines. I have been taking progress photos** in the beginning of each week, and in just three short weeks, my body is so different! It really motivates me to keep going and to keep pushing myself.
Annie and I decided to do the cleanse so that we were done by Easter and could eat the delicious ham that she made for our Easter feast. And we did! It is amazing to me, however, the way my body reacts to the things I put into it now. On Saturday, the day before Easter, I decided to eat a McChicken sandwich from McDonald's. (Eating fast food just 2 days after a cleanse = bad idea). It was literally like poison to my body. Early Easter morning, around 5am, I woke up and ran to the bathroom. My body was trying to get rid of the poison any way possible. I was in so much pain, doubled over from what felt like a fire in my belly. (I would rate the pain I was feeling as similar to the pain I felt giving birth to Aurelia. Koen's labor a little worse, only because I had hip issues in labor. So, all you Mama's out there understand a little of what I was feeling while I was sitting doubled over on the toilet.) I actually ended up passing out on the toilet.... That's nuts! My body was in such a state of shock and it was fighting so hard, that it shut down completely!
I am still recovering from that little episode I had Easter morning, and my stomach is very sensitive and cautious. I have to eat slowly and mild right now, or else it gets angry with me... I was completely surprised that my body reacted the way it did... I mean, I read that we needed to slowly add things back into our diets, but I guess I didn't really take it seriously. I definitely learned my lesson!
The great news, is that I am actually on my way to a healthier me. For the first time in a quite a while, I am seeing progress in not only my physical state, but my mental state as well. It has been really encouraging.
*Though a lot of girls dream to look nice in a bikini, I just want to feel good in my own skin!
**I would post the progress photos, but I am not really ready to do that yet, and I don't usually make a habit of showing my skin on the internet.
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