Day 5, 6, and 7....the Cleanse is over!

Yes...the cleanse is over. Yesterday was my last day and I couldn't be any happier. In fact, as soon as I finish typing this post I am making me a big delicious bowl of oatmeal with blueberries. I never thought  I would miss oatmeal this much. So a couple of things have happened since I started the cleanse. I have eliminated a fair amount of internal debris and I know this because the cleanse did everything it was supposed to do on a daily basis (wink, wink). I have flatter abdominals, I feel lighter, and I weight less. As for having more energy, that's a negative. I think when you have an infant the energy thing is futile. I honestly don't think my energy stores will replenish until all three of my sons are in college. During this cleanse I had to contest with another sort of monkey wrench which is a lack of energy to work out. The last day I officially worked out was on Saturday, day 3 of the cleanse. This week, I have gone 4 days without doing much more than a little weight lifting. on Day 5 and 6 I was really zapped for energy because of the constant running around trying to get things done around my house as I catered to Jonathan while trying to avoid the kitchen. All and all the cleanse did work out well. My main meals over days 5, 6 and 7 were grapefruits for breakfast, a  mid morning snack of walnuts and almonds (always one ounce), and salad greens for lunch and dinner. I did throw in a bit of grilled chicken on day 5 but not on day 6 or 7. My body really needed the protein as that was the day I did some weight lifting.

So where do I go from here? Now the diet plan comes back into the mix. I don't want to use the word diet as a negative here because it's rather positive. The word diet often implies restriction but that is not the case, nothing  for me is restricted, I mean no one is holding me hostage here. Some things I am choosing not eat, well a lot of things...and that is what a diet should be, a choice to refrain not restrict. With that being said, I have been keeping artificial and granulated  sugars at bay for the last seven days and I don't necessarily want to go back to them by having diet sodas, candy, or even things like pop tarts. It's important to choose carbohydrates that are without artificial sweeteners and/or granulated sugars (refined sugar) which are things like whole grains. So what would be best are things like brown rice, whole wheat pasta, a slice or two of whole bread maybe once a week. Proteins for me will be things like egg whites, grilled chicken, fish about three times a week and occasionally some turkey products like lunch meat (lunch meat is processed and heavy on the sodium so use sparingly). Fats should be unsaturated to low saturation so that means olive oil or safflower oil based dressings and maybe an ounce or two of cheese every so often. This means things like pizza can be consumed in small portions maybe once every two weeks. Oh yeah and the fruits and vegetables carbs are a must have. I should return back to 4-5 days of exercise with a menu plan like this. Now if everything goes well I should make my weight goal or come close to it by mid to late April!  Coming up I have a couple of special events that I have to watch out for. My niece and nephew (Ish family) and my son Elias all have birthday parties coming soon so there will be cake. I will give myself permission to have a piece at each event and to let that be my one dessert all week as I exercise my way towards that day. That's the only way to avoid guilt while you are on a diet...plan ahead and give yourself permission to indulge or eat what you like, but again it must be measured as to not over indulge. Well with thoughts of cake fresh in my mind, that oatmeal is now calling my name. I'm going to go tear it down. Be well to whomever is reading....