I put out a picture of our breakfast on Facebook yesterday morning and I got so many people asking me questions about it that I decided to talk about it here.
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Backstory: I love food. After we got married almost 4 years ago I realized I needed to change some of my habits which mostly consisted of eating poorly and never working out. So Matt & I decided to start going to the gym. While working out one day I started up a conversation with the people next to me who were talking about Body For Life. I was intrigued so we went home and looked it up. We decided to go for it and less than a year later I had lost 60 pounds. To be honest, I don’t really like talking about this. It’s pretty uncomfortable to realize where you’ve been, where you are and where you need to be. Then 2010 came. It was (and this is an understatement) a busy year. I loved almost everything about 2010 except for the fact that staying healthy got put on the back burner while I pulled myself in every direction I could imagine.
Today: After a year of neglecting my health I need a jump start. I wholeheartedly believe in Body For Life. It truly is the only plan I’ve found that is actually sustainable for a normal life and I plan to do it for the rest of my life. (More on that later).
So back to my breakfast. To jump start us back into living the way we had for 2 years, the Hogan household is doing a detox. I have heard about cleanses and detoxes and all sorts of things but a lot of them involved drinking things like only maple lemon water for 10 days. Um, no. So what we’re going for is basically a raw detox. We actually get to eat on this detox which is a bonus!
What does it look like? 7 days of no wheat (Lord, help me), no dairy, no meat, no caffeine, no processed sugar, no soy. Basically we’re drinking a bunch of fruit/vegetable smoothies and eating a bunch of salads with some beans, sweet potatoes, nuts and other fresh ingredients. If I’m being honest, after the first day (yesterday) I was hungry, craving lots of bread and a bit annoyed that I had committed to do this. BUT, I know I committed to it because my body needs a fresh start. After the 7 days we will slowly reintroduce foods and the plan is that we will fill more of our diet with fresh goodness and less with crap our body doesn’t want or need.
I like this detox because I think it is doable for the every day person and I’m committed to doing it well to show others the results and the importance of paying attention to what we are putting in our bodies. How food makes us feel and what it does to our health.
So throughout the next week I’ll be sharing recipes, feelings and hopefully no melt downs :) After the detox I will also be sharing about how we do Body for Life because it’s pretty amazing. So does anyone have any experience with something like this? Ideas? Recipes? Words of encouragement or “you’re absolutely crazy”? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Next up I think we’ll have a discussion on organic/hormone-free/grass-fed/yada/yada and all that goes into that. There is a lot of propaganda, cultural ideas and just plain craziness when you start researching this stuff and I’d love to hear what every one has to say.
Best of luck with it Kristyn! I share the same love for food and realize it’s time I start eating better as well, because my diet my whole life has been horrible. It’s definitely a struggle, but a worthwhile one.
Kudos to you two! I, too, eat a certain way that requires dedication & motivation & I know the benefits it can bring. Also kudos for having the courage to post about this for the world to see, you’re so right when you say its hard to see where you’ve been & where you need to be. So, kudos for the commitment & for the courage.
Kristyn! Thank you so much for sharing your story. You are inspiring me as we continue our healthy lifestyle. Detoxing is such an eye-opener and a rewarding path to your continued, healthy life. I will be cheerleading for you this week! SEVEN DAYS! That’s it! Just SEVEN. ;)
Soooooo….. one question…actually two. have you tried the garbage can smoothie yet? and has Matt made a video of it yet?
awesome! i detoxed and cleansed all during january. it was my first and i loved it! i did one very similar to yours. sounds like we need to chat sometime! :)