From This Valley- Day 2 Continued

Day 2 is Over!

Honestly today SUCKED. I peed constantly, and had that constant hunger pain the top of my stomach/ lower throat. BUT with that being said I have a ton more energy than I have had in weeks, I am not bloated at all, and I am gaining a lot of perspective on mindfullness and food.

I had this thought today when someone brought pizza into my office and sat down and ate it all in front of me (aside from "what a bitch!!") when I wanted to give up after 1.5 days and just eat something covered in cheese, deep fried, with bacon... I have done WAY worse things to my body over a period of years, now I am doing something good for my body and can barely handle it after 36 hours. SUCK IT UP EMMA. It will be worth it when it's over.

Yummy fresh veggies, mixed greens, and 4 oz of grilled chicken! 

Today for lunch, to keep with the whole point of this which is to improve upon health both physical, mental, and spiritual, I rode my bicycle home and took the hour to make my second shake of the day, read, make dinner (grilled chicken and salad) and just relax.

This was big for me because usually I a) go out to eat or b) work through lunch. In addition to the physical cleanse I am trying to start incorporating more self care activities into my everyday. Self care is a term we use in counseling a lot and it refers to activities that meet our needs for relaxing, unwinding, stress reduction, creative expression, etc. These usually include things like sports, hobbies, time with friends, time for leisure activities, and so on and so forth. Self care is a hot topic for counselors as we must incorporate this time into our ever day to stay balanced and fulfilled.

I have been reading about cleanses a lot and apparently there are some common side effects for the first few days (some cleanses last up to 60 days or more!!! dear god.) which can include crankiness, headaches, and inability to concentrate. Some cleanses are designed to be extremely calorie restrictive (mixing water, lemon juice, cayan pepper, and maple syrup into a jar and then drinking that alone for a week while wielding a sharp knife at everyone around you and developing self-mutilation tendencies), but today when I started feeling extreme versions of these side effects I ate some extra fruit or made some green tea, and luckily for me this is allowed. Today's fruit was plums.

There are obviously some negative side effects as mentioned above like bathroom trips every 10-25 minutes, hunger, mild crankiness, a strong desire to escape to the nearest food court never to be seen again, and a disassociation with reality cause by a re-aquantance with all the pictures of food people post on pinterest.

So some of the really positive things after days 1 and 2 are as follows
1) Energy!! I don't feel nearly as tired as I have lately
2) No bloating
3) No stomach issues
4) I am really hydrated and can tell!
5) Mental clarity... By being regimented and strict on this cleanse I am able to refocus my physical needs aside from mental and this is BIG when we talk food
6) Discipline and a sense of accomplishment- I am going to finish this thing!!

I feel like these 6 things will be a big boost going into Weight Watchers on Thursday, and to start off my first weigh in with clear mind, body, and spirit.

Oh and I already have breakfast planned on Thursday... I may or may not have spent most of my day thinking about it

Night!
Emma