Friday Night Vertical 2021

Friday Night Vertical 2021

Monday, April 24, 2017

3-Day Detox Diet

Yep. I'm actually posting this #lookatme photo. 
This week ended up kind of being a restart. After recharging the week before, I felt like I was starting over with a new phase of training and goals. The week off was great, but I'd be lying if I said I was all healed up. A week off is obviously not going to heal an injury. The hamstring issue felt slightly relieved, but it's still there. I decided to run again anyway like any stubborn obsessed runner would do. It's like an addict falling off the wagon. Haha. But that being said, I did feel so much better in every aspect. February's mental turmoil is in the past, and I feel so much calmer. The warmer weather and Spring will do that to you. You'd think this injury would have me totally bummed out, but I'm just not. Readjusting my goals for the next month has really helped me be at ease knowing I'm not 100%. I ran mostly smart. Stayed off the road. Ran slow when I had to. Took a day off when I pushed too hard the day before. Kept the weekly mileage low. The BIGGEST thing I did, though, over the week was follow a 3-day Detox Diet Monday-Wednesday.



On the way to Doyle's the week before, I started thinking about how pudgy, bloated and gross I felt. Every April, I usually do some sort of diet change to get rid of that yearly March weight gain, but I'd never actually done a detox before. This time my goal wasn't about losing weight; I just needed a jump start. Three days isn't that long, but I can tell you I felt so much more clear-headed and healthy. You'd think only 3 days wouldn't do much, but I was amazed at how quickly I felt better. When I searched for detox ideas, I looked for a "detox for runners". I can't do the starving myself diet of water, lemon and maple syrup. I needed a detox that actually had FOOD in it. Looking back, it seems obvious what I needed to do, but I kind of needed a guide to follow so that I would complete the three days. So in my search I found Teresa Marie's 3-Day Detox. After perusing the website, I realized this was exactly what I was looking for. It wasn't free, but I decided to bite the bullet and spend the $19 for the program. It was worth every penny. While it comes with coaching, and you've read my blog and know how I feel about being coached, I obviously didn't use that feature. Haha. I also didn't see a need to ease into the detox a few days beforehand as suggested (see my previous blog post that involved beer and Cadbury Mini Eggs as my prep). I knew I could do it without that. When I gave up sugar in my coffee 10 years ago this month, it was decided the night before when I told myself, "Tomorrow, I'm going to stop drinking sugar in my coffee forever, and while I'm at it, I'm giving up all sugar for the next week." I woke up and coffee with just the usual half&half and marveled at how I could actually taste the coffee (thus beginning my fall into coffee snobbery). I ate absolutely no other kinds of sugar for the week. I lost 5 lbs. I never drank sugar in my coffee again.

I was living in Gloucester, MA temporarily at that time with just John and my dogs while Bryan was in Iraq. When I left there to move back to NH for the rest of the Spring, Summer and Fall, I felt like a healthy person again who carried John solo all over the Whites that summer and then ran my first race in 6 years that Fall. I felt like this detox diet was a mini version of that. And funny. Exact same time of year. Spring "cleaning" is a real thing!



So on Sunday night, I made the soup for the next day and got my juicer, blender and all of my fruits and vegetables together to take to work. I had two HUGE bags of stuff. I was about to be on a liquid diet for the next three days. No solid food. But, fortunately for me, it allowed one 8oz coffee in one of the smoothies a day. Not having coffee for a full 3 days could have been my downfall, since I drink about 32oz of coffee a day, but this ended up being all I needed. This really was quite a bit of work, and a lot of food that I had to make fresh 6 times a day. At work, I didn't have a lot of space, but I made due and followed through on the whole diet for Day 1. I was never hungry. The diet keeps you so full that you never get hungry, even though the caloric intake isn't quite what's sustainable in the long run. It's still around 1000 calories a day, though. This was perfect for me since I work my two 24-hour shifts on Monday and Wednesday when I'm most inactive. I was nervous about Tuesday, but found it very easy to stick with it. The only thing I deviated from the entire 3-days was one shot of espresso at Frontside Grind Tuesday afternoon. I took John after our walk and didn't want to sit there with nothing. The rest I followed to a T. I ended up learning that my lifelong sensitivity to bananas no longer exists. All of my life, I'd be doubled over in stomach pain after eating a raw banana. I'd keep trying every now and then, though, just to check since I actually like the taste of bananas, but always the same result of feeling SO sick to my stomach. I decided to give them a whirl again for this detox. I couldn't believe it! Not a single issue. No stomach pain. Nothing. Finally! After 41 years, I can now eat bananas!! Yay!



The breakdown of the program is basically juicing three times a day, making whey protein smoothies three times a day (although one could easily go with a different protein powder for a vegan diet), one vegetable soup and tea. And water, of course. I was completely hydrated throughout the 3 days, a first for me in a long time. I kept track of times and recipes as I went along. Even though, I wasn't in it to lose weight, the program had a box to keep track. I did NOT lose weight on this program.

Monday- 122.5lbs. 4.5lbs over my goal race weight. Not bad, though, considering I have gained some muscle from my upper body workouts. So much so that my bras, sports bras and CMS singlet are now too tight in the chest...and we know that's not from the boobage area. Haha. I was excited to be eating super healthy today. I didn't feel much difference, but it was only day 1.

Tueday- 124.5lbs. I woke up feeling very refreshed. I was 2lbs heavier, but who knows why. Water weight probably. Didn't matter. I just wrote it down. My bloated stomach was gone, though. I hadn't seen that in about a month or so except on occasion when I was dehydrated. Seriously! Today was the first day I didn't have that afternoon extreme fatigue in I don't know how long. My energy level was crazy high all day. I had no problem forgoing my usual beer, but I often take 3-day breaks from drinking beer without an issue. I made a new soup today of basically carrots and butternut squash. It was SO good. Absolutely no problems falling asleep and staying asleep all night.

Wednesday- 123.5lbs. I had no trouble waking up at 4:30am. I felt SO good. My mind felt so clear. Almost all of my belly fat was gone. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I'm not fat, but I did have some love handles going on. It's weird how good I felt after only 2 days. I felt like the sludge was gone. I felt thinner, even though I hadn't lost weight. I seriously think the clear mind was the most significant change.

Thursday- 122.5lbs. Back to where I started. No weight change, but a huge change in how my body felt. I didn't want to stop the diet! But who says I had to? Just because the strict 3-day diet was over didn't mean I couldn't incorporate this into my regular diet. I continued my breakfast with a juice and smoothie, but I also had a whole wheat tortilla and a cup of coffee. I have to say the coffee tasted funny with the first few sips, but after that, I was like, "Mmmmmm." I love coffee. :)

Even though I ate out a few times and drank beer the rest of the week, I also continued with the juicing and smoothies multiple times a day. I've also decided to follow the full diet on Mondays and Wednesdays at work, with a few extra snacks thrown in to keep my caloric intake at the minimum by body needs. I haven't felt this great in awhile, and I'd like it to continue.

I took this one to prove that I do in fact have a huge boot-eh!
So, yeah, I posted these photos of my posing with my messy clothes strewn about behind me. Oops. Haha. I took these for myself to see my progress with getting fitter and healthier. I debated putting these in my blog since it really isn't me to show off in an Instagram-ish way, but I figured I would just do it. It's more covered than my bathing suit photos, but it's the posing that I feel silly about. Anyway, whatever. I felt it fit in with the post and was a good way to share my progress at almost age 41. I still have a ways to go, though. I will never look like a track star or a fitness model, but I can definitely still improve.


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