T’was the Night Before Cleansing…

And all through the house, not a creature was stirring…not even …..not even my typical Thursday night snack which usually consists of cheese, crackers, and a celebratory glass of red wine for surviving yet another week. Uh. Why am I so tense?
The prep email I received Tuesday morning from my BP (Blue Print) friends I think fluttered me a bit. In a sudden rush of fear that my gut wasn’t in check, I decided that all intake of obvious junk food would be ceased immediately (although really...I don’t consume much junk food anyway). As for the caffeine, I went down to one large cup on Wednesday and one small cup (8oz) this morning. Yes, rather than completely going cold turkey I decided to slowly decrease the fluid ounces instead. Around 3pm when I usually hit up my favorite vegan spot on
west 23rd street for my second cup of coffee for the day; I instead these last 2 days opted for tea. My vegan, “raw food/nature/fans of "chill music"” type friends who work at the café suggested the lemon lavender mint tea. All I could think was “am I really doing this? Am I really capable of subbing out my second cup of coffee today for something that sounds like it should be made into a potpourri bowl?” But lemon- lavender- petals- galore tea I had. Actually, it wasn’t half bad. I may sound odd here, but it tasted clean. That is the exact word I thought by the time I reached the bottom of my cup. Yes, it had a clean fresh feeling to it. It was nothing like the coffee breath with a dash of milk and table sugar on the tongue that I am left with typically.
My final “prep” decision was that today, Thursday, I would eat completely vegan. I think 24 hours dairy free is definitely a step in the right direction before drinking juiced parsley. To clarify: Vegans are different from vegetarians, because vegans consume absolutely no animal products. While a vegetarian avoids meats, poultry, and fish…a vegan wouldn’t have cow’s milk in their cereal, or scrambled eggs. So today I went vegan. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stick to the sample menu BP gave me of vegetable broth and cucumber slices. I was feeling more anxious as the day went on, so I decided that eat I was going to…and that giving up my cheese and yogurt for the day was enough of a sacrifice “pre cleanse”. I mean c’mon…I’m giving up solid foods. Now you want my stomach to make funny noises the night before I even begin? Below is what I ate today, a diet high in fruits and vegetables, and low on sugars, dairy, & meats (well, not even low..basically eliminated).
Breakfast: Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal with Soy Milk with an 8oz organic coffee (added soy milk and agave nectar). Mid Morning Snack: Smoothie (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, soy milk, banana, agave). Lunch: ½ cup of Organic split pea soup, & a salad wrap. Salad wrap included: spinach leaves, chickpeas, apples, almonds, and craisins, rolled up in a whole wheat flat wrap with white balsamic dressing. Small herbal tea (my flower pot). Dinner: 4 “chicken” nuggets with steamed string beans. I quote “chicken” because they are vegetarian nuggets. I know some of you are re reading this and feeling confused as ever. I love my fake little nuggets, and these are actually soy free as well as meat free (obviously) which makes me feel even better since I try to not overdose on all the soy that tends to replace meat in so many vegetarian products. They are made from a mushroom protein, and breaded just like any other nugget, except no chickens were harmed in the making. I also consumed two water bottles today, and am wrapping up with a final treat: One Kashi Cookie. They are oatmeal raisin cookies that are baked with flaxseed and supplemented with omega-3. If you are going to have dessert, one of these certainly shouldn’t keep you up at night with guilt. And I find having one a day really keeps me from barging into the famous Serendipity’s in east midtown, and going nuts on a Broadway blackout sundae and a frozen hot chocolate.
My juices were delivered at 3:45pm today to my office. It was at that moment, I actually felt my first real moment of pressure and a teeny bit of anxiety. The box was heavy as I carried it into our company kitchen. I opened the lid, and there they were. Everything (and the only thing) I would be consuming for the next 3 days. I felt nervous, but kind of excited. Maybe the question of whether or not I would fail at this seemed to thrill me. Nevertheless, they are there waiting for me for when I get to my office at 8:30am tomorrow and have my first one for breakfast. My main fear is that I am going to feel sick on this. I don’t want to find myself hungry, and therefore suffering from all my normal symptoms that occur when I am hungry: headache, weakness, & irritability. I have chosen not to stick to my normal workout routine on this cleanse, despite many people swearing that you can. As a first timer, I am staying out of the gym (a great chance to catch up on all my nutrition homework) and have decided on day 3, depending how I feel, the furthest I will go is to my 10am yoga class. I wonder if I will be able to yoga on day 3 of no solids?
I feel as if I am being such a ridiculous American right now. People all over the world go days without food, whether it’s for fasting, cleansing, or simply not having enough food accessible to them to remain full. I only need to get through 3 days, (and my nutrients have been carefully calculated and juiced for me). I do hope that thought registers with me should my stomach start to growl and I should start to feel cranky. Besides, while I can’t site where I may have heard this, I am pretty sure there are some hardcore yogis out there who are practicing yoga for 11 hours a day with nothing by cumin, lemons, and cayenne pepper in their system. And some of them take vows of silence on top of this behavior (something I won’t even kid myself with by entertaining the thought).
I am such a rookie in this spiritual, cleansing world.