the cleanse: wrap-up

So we finished the CLEAN cleanse last week. After twenty-one days, we lost a collective twenty pounds and juiced and smoothie’d our way to feeling younger and healthier.

Frankly, the hardest part of the cleanse was actually coming off it and figuring out how to eat normally again. It was almost as if we had to define a new “normal” for us.

I’m fairly positive we won’t go back to eating as much red meat (sorry boys!) and will have juice or smoothie meals a few times a week. We’ll also keep eating “super foods” like organic wild blueberries, Goji berries, Hemp seeds, Maca powder and chia seeds. They give you so many nutritional benefits and they’re small, easy to eat and surprisingly tasty.

I must say it’s difficult to go back to a traditional breakfast when you can load up a smoothie with the equivalent of 5 to 9 servings of vegetables plus omegas equal to a slice of salmon. Energy-wise, we felt very even-keeled and positive; I got more done the first two weeks of the cleanse (work-wise and on the home front) than any other time in recent memory. It may have been the new year’s burst of energy, but you never know… all the extra vitamins, minerals and nutritional supplements shouldn’t be discounted.

I think, overall, the CLEAN cleanse is a very good thing to do, at least once per year. And it’s especially wise to eliminate as much sugar, alcohol, caffeine and red meat from our diets as possible year round.

On the plus side, I feel incredibly lean, healthy and fit. My skin is softer than imaginable; the texture is very satiny and I love that. If you’ve ever experienced aging, dry or winter skin, you will appreciate the effects of the cleanse plus the nightly body brushing and coconut oil.

But, there is a downside. You will be hungry on the CLEAN program… frequently.

We went to bed many nights feeling the kind of hunger that makes you a bit nauseated. We never cheated (ate something past 7pm) but it was very hard and in hindsight the most difficult aspect of the cleanse to manage. I didn’t sleep as well as the book advertised either; too many nights I had to get up to go to the bathroom because of all the water I’d been drinking. My brain would race around afterwards and it was hard to get back to sleep.

Lastly, we had three weeks of diminished family dinners because we kept the boys on a normal eating regimen. It was incredibly hard, too, to make delicious-smelling meals and not be able to eat them! The boys are not as leftover-concious as we are and we didn’t adjust our recipes to make smaller amounts to avoid too many days of the same thing. Note to self: fix that next time.

And, yes, there will be a next time. I like the fact that annual cleanses spur a mental, physical and emotional refresh. I have become addicted to eating in such a “clean” manner and will make wholesale changes from here on out.

Bottom line: the CLEAN cleanse is a keeper!