Preparation.

January 1st. Seems like the perfect time to change your lifestyle, right? I mean, isn't that what New Years Resolutions are all about? Well, my fiance and I have decided we are going to begin this year with a journey of self-purification by ridding our bodies of all the "not good for you" stuff we have been gorging ourselves on over the holidays. Tomorrow our entire lifestyles are going to be changing, beginning with a completely raw food, 5-day cleanse.

 Although part of me is dreading having to do without so many things that I absolutely love, like cereal and coffee, I am also excited about doing something good for my body for a change. Since my son was born six months ago, I have relied on food of convenience to fuel my body in order to stay alert for that little bundle of adorable chaos. I have been eating sugary cereal for multiple meals a day and only cooking meals that take less than 20 minutes to make - preparation included. Now I've decided it is time... time to do something for myself. I still have 20 lbs to lose in order to get back to my pre-baby weight and, so far, I haven't really been doing anything to make that happen. My fiance is going to be joining me on this journey because, since Elijah was born, he too has started to gain weight because he wasn't able to go to the gym like he used to and grabbing a bite to eat here and there has been about all we could do. Both of us work and we work our schedules so that we never need a babysitter so he and I are both constantly going, non-stop. It's hard to lose weight under those circumstances. In fact, it's even more difficult not to GAIN weight under those circumstances. So, our journey begins...

Joshua's found this cleanse on Dr. Ben Kim's website: Full Body Cleanse: Diet. Josh is extremely logical and will need 100% reputable information before taking on such a challenge. Basically, the rules for this cleanse are this:

1. Only fruits and vegetables
2. No meat
3. No grains, legumes, nuts, or seeds
4. No caffeine, alcohol, salt, sugar (sweeteners)
5. No animal products (dairy, eggs, fish, etc...)
6. Lots and lots of water

Dr. Kim is sure to make the reader aware that this cleanse is not a task to take on without properly weaning oneself from the foods and drinks you will not be allowed to have. He states that grains, legumes, nuts and seeds can be consumed up to the day before you begin the cleanse, but the rest should be completely tapered off.

I have spent the past  few days focusing on weaning myself from caffeine, as I know that will be my biggest challenge. After Elijah was born I decided to make up for the fact that I had barely consumed any caffeine at all over the past 9 months by increasing my coffee intake to 5-6 cups a day. I knew to just drop this habit cold-turkey would be devastating for all involved so I have finally gotten down to 1 cup a day. I am going to go ahead and start the cleanse, but I may supplement my caffeine intake with a cup of green tea since the amount of caffeine will be minimal and then I can adjust from there to no caffeine at all.

Today I went to the grocery store to purchase all of the necessary supplies for the next week. My cart was stacked with fruits and veggies and I'm sure people thought I was nuts. lol But here is what my shopping cart looked like:

•  Kale
• Spinach
• Zuchinni
• Squash
• Onions
• Carrots
• Celery
• Avocados (lots of them)
• Sweet potatoes
• Cucumbers
• Oranges
• Cantaloupe
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Lemons
• Apples

I steamed 5 sweet potatoes for the week because I know they will be more filling than most of the fruits and veggies we will be eating. I also cut up cucumber slices to use both as snacks and to put into my water along with lemon wedges. Lemons will be very important to use as dressing for my salads and for my avocados. I plan to eat "green" smoothies (fruit with avocados and spinach blended up) for breakfast in the morning, salad for lunch, hand held raw veggies for snacks, and some sort of potato-avocado dish for dinner. I'm also going to start with green tea (for the caffeine) and transition to caffeine-free chamomile tea on day 3. The next 5 days will definitely be a challenge, but I am determined to do something good for my body for a change! Here's to 2014!