My husband and I are what we like to call “foodies”. We love to eat, and although we try not to revolve date nights and occasions around food, it is really one of our favorite things to do together. When the Coronavirus hit and the stay at home order happened, I went on a baking spree because I thought it would in some way provide my family comfort during a strange time.
Well guess what? Comfort found us! We got VERY comfortable and lazy with our nutrition. When that happens to us every now and then, we find old habits creep in we start to let go of healthier nutrition habits:
-we begin making poorer choices
-we lose sense of portion control
-we eat when we don’t need to
Then we start to feel bad and it creates a vicious cycle over and over again.
However, since going through a nutrition course after having my daughter that helped me understand my mindset when it came to food, we were lucky able to recognize this pattern and take control of the situation.
So we decided to do a 3 Day Mini Cleanse.
This is NOT a juice cleanse, or a starvation diet. I can live a single day of my life that way. This was about removing all processed foods, dairy, meats and replacing it with nutrient rich shakes as well as fruits and vegetables. Along with a TON of water! Here is a breakdown of our daily experience and what it helped teach the both of us:
First of all we had to decide when to start it. The week we were looking at ran into Cinco de Mayo, Mya’s second birthday and Mother’s Day. Let’s face it when you are starting anything new there will NEVER be a good time. So we made the decision to start it the next day which was a Sunday.
Day 1: No big deal overall except for no morning coffee which I don’t need but I cherish. I opted for green tea instead which was allowed. But boy did Day 1 totally increase my awareness! I cannot tell you how many times I went to the pantry to grab a handful of pretzels or popcorn and don’t even think about it. It was pure HABIT. Luckily I was able to stop myself every time. I didn’t love that it was a lazy Sunday though and I couldn’t eat as much as I normally would. So I was feeling meh. My husband though- totally on point. He doesn’t mess around, goes all in and is slightly competitive even though I am not (opposites attract haha). So you go honey, I’m gonna sulk.
Day 2: Woke up feeling better and more motivated since I made it through Day 1. But by Noon I was wishing I had caffeine and all the things! I still hadn’t felt really hungry at any point, but also realized I don’t like strict meal plans which is why I love the nutrition program I’m typically following! It’s also crazy how much I unconsciously grab food from my daughter’s plate…eating her crust, sharing her goldfish crackers, or eating the last few bites of her macaroni and cheese at lunch. Again this all adds up!
And to be totally real with you I was bloated and constipated. Hubby was once again on point with everything!
Day 3: Wishing we weren’t doing this on Cinco-de-Mayo but let’s face it…. THERE’S NEVER A GOOD TIME, which I think is part of the experience. Although I felt the hungriest on this day, it was also the easiest because I knew we were on the homestretch.
Hubby was much hungrier than I today. Oh and no more bloat or constipation yay!
AND WE MADE IT!
But here is the best part- DAY 4:
My body woke up naturally at 4:47 AM, (normally my alarm is set for 5am to get up and work for 2 hours before Mya gets up). I slept amazing because my body wasn’t trying to process crap all night long. I missed my HOT coffee with the most amazing mug ever that you can control the temp of with your phone, but opted to go lighter on the creamer. Gone are the extra 200 calories I have every morning just on sugary, chemically creamer!
Since we didn’t do this for weight loss, I almost didn’t weigh in. But I only decided to because I know people will ask! I lost 3lbs in 3 days. My husband lost 5lbs (ugh typical) We both feel lighter and leaner! But more than anything else, it was an experience that helped remind us:
-That we are confident and powerful in our ability to make good decisions.
-We are in control of our choices and habits
-The difference between NEEDING to eat vs WANTING to eat
-Small decisions add up to big results
And most of all we are MOTIVATED to keep making small decisions every day that will have a huge impact on our health and fitness! The awareness has been worth the experience alone. We are so glad we did this and have decided that we are going to do it every 3-6 months.
If you are interested in more information on exactly what we ate/drank during this mini-cleanse or trying it yourself, click HERE.
