The Cleanse

I am on the second day of a possible 21 day cleanse. I meant to post this yesterday, but when I passed out from fatigue at 2 pm, well, I didn't get around to it.

This cleanse is the Quantum Wellness Cleanse that both Oprah and Dooce have done. And in all honesty, I didn't know Oprah had done until Dooce started talking about starting it herself.

It is not a fast, or at least what I would think of a fast in a typical sense. Instead, it is supposed to be a "cleanse" to rid the body of toxins. You abstain from sugar, alcohol, gluten (i.e., wheat), animal products (i.e., vegan), and caffeine. The theory is that by not eating these foods, you give your body a break and your body gets to heal a bit.

I'm not sure about the science of that, but I do know, as a psychologist, that a ritualistic event marking the passage from one place to another (maybe unhealthy to healthy eating?) is a useful thing. So in that way, a cleanse is a good thing, a nice marker to start being a healthy eater.

The weird thing is that I have lots of perspectives and ideas about this cleanse, but I'm too freakin' tired and unfocused to do so! I'm not as bad as I was yesterday, but I'm definitely a bit "off" (more than usual!). And it's not because I'm not eating enough or I'm not eating enough protein. We're eating a substantial amount of food, although with a 6'4" beanpole in the house, we're having to double the recipes. I'm also eating a sufficient portion of protein through tofu, beans, nuts, etc.

However, I definitely feel different. That sort of freaks me out. What is it in the (sometimes) minimal caffeine, minimal sugar, wheat, cheese/eggs/dairy that I eat or the alcohol that drink that causes such changes in my body that my body is tweaked when it's gone? That is weird and it bothers me.

Dooce and one of her friends stopped the Cleanse after 8 days because they both got so sick with sinus problems. I have subsequently seen that if you're really not eating well (i.e., eating the regular American diet), you should only eliminate one item for the cleanse--like just the sugar or the alcohol or the non-vegan parts. Otherwise, it could shock your body into a "health crisis" as your body tries to shed all your toxins at one time. After learning that, I have decided I will now eat vegeterian meats that are not vegan (they have some animal product in them, usually a milk byproduct). And you'd be stunned how much food that opens up!

So, there we are. I'm taking this one day at a time. I'm not sure I will go the whole 21 days and if I don't, I think I still will have done enough to pass the "ritual" of moving from bad to good eating. It's just so weird to be eating the same amount of calories and a relatively similar proportion of proteins and carbs and having my body freak out so much. That, to me, feels like it's says something.

Still I think that if eating healthy makes you really sick, you should eat healthy more often

How Not to Look Like a Used Up Old Hag

In my quest to be more "shit giving" I bought a book, How Not to Look Like a Used Up Old Hag. Actually, the name of the book is How Not to Look Old, and it is about as vain as it sounds. Or worse.

The author is on the cover and although she is attractive, she sort of scares me, too. She's a bit too pink pastel for this feminist. (Yes, I am aware of the irony of a feminist buying a book to look pretty. Let's just say I'm a post-feminist)

However.

I've been trying to new face cream and seriously, there are less wrinkles. (Oil of Olay Regenerist, if you must know) And I've been trying with the clothes and the mani/pedis. And I'm going back to my highlighted hair because it did look a lot better. (her hint: the older, the lighter)

And I have to be honest: folks are noticing.

Of course, it's a pretty big distance from dressing "to not be naked" to actually wanting to look like I give a shit much less to "not look old". And that alone could be accounting for the compliments. But it's rewarding. And maybe it will inspire me to drop these 10 lbs that I really don't need.

In the meantime, check out The Fashionable Academic. It's clearly not me, but it's fun.

The Winter of Our Ill Content

At lunch, a friend of mine turned to me and said "When did you get all that gray?"

"Ummmm, I just dyed my hair for the wedding we went to! It was a lot worse before, I was looking like the Bride of Frankenstein and no one was denying it. I thought it looked much better now!"

Apparently, it doesn't. I do wonder what my friend would have said in my mother-of-the-bride red jacket/black lace outfit that I wore to the wedding. (I'm noticing a "Bridal" theme here, which I had not intended) Our relatives at the wedding all claimed to think that I was being facetious until I pointed out the 55 year old woman wearing pretty much the same outfit I was. She was looking like a hottie. I was looking like a nottie.

Whatever. It's just really hard to get all excited about shopping at this weight. I feel like I should be able to wear something that doesn't make me look like a walrus, but I have not been able to find such a thing. Plus with the gray and the wrinkles, well, it's just hard to look in the mirror sometimes.

Speaking of things past their prime, I think the fall garden had gone kaput. We had one cold snap earlier this fall, but everything survived. This time, with three days of 30 degree or below temperature*, everything is dying. We did get our one and only broccoli harvest last night and I would like to say IT WAS DELICIOUS! So I shall say it: it was quite tasty. I harvested it about 30 minutes before I cooked it, and even Dave noticed that it tasted completely different from store bought broccoli (and in a good way. Sometimes I have to clarify such things). The garden catalogues just arrived, so we'll start planning for spring. And planting broc a lot earlier next year.

*Dude, it is like Rockford cold around here. It has been COLD!