2015 Detox Final Report

Well, I made it!  On February 18^th I completed my little six week detox and boy do I feel better for having done it!  It never ceases to amaze me just how much what I eat can affect my physical, mental, and emotional well being.  While I’m still not quite down to racing body composition (nor should I be at this time of year), I certainly made progress in the right direction!  My head feels clearer without the spikes and subsequent crashes of refined sugar.  While this can be partially attributed to simply gaining back some of my lost fitness, I feel as though I am bethter able to train hard and recover quickly.  Also, I feel more in control of what I’m consuming, as opposed to it being in control of me which is a great feeling.  When on a strict diet regiment, I find it significantly easier to just cook for myself; eating out becomes a headache of hunting down ingredients and requesting specialized orders.  That said, I lead a very busy life and don’t necessarily have time to prep/cook quality meals and snacks every day.  Over the past six weeks, I have become a wizard of advanced preparation though!  I shared several of my recipes/experiments in my halfway update post (which a friend endearingly refers to as the “unidentifiable mush” I eat); here are a few more!

Tuna, pears, avocado, mustard, and vinegar - also great on top of kale and/or with sweet potato

Greek yogurt with a boatload of cinnamon 

Cabbage, jalapeno, red onion, vinegar, stevia, and cilantro - my Superbowl side

Seafood stew: shrimp, salmon, tilapia, squah, onion, and tomato

Almost chocolate cake: egg whites, mashed avocado, cocoa powder, and stevia

Hammer Nutrition always keeping me fueled!

Pineapple "Cake": Pineapple chunks, Hammer vegan protein powder, and an egg white.  Yum!

Despite the success of my sugar detox, however, I continue to struggle with aspects of my diet.  I frequently experience sudden insatiable hunger, get headaches, or have energy crashes; I also would still like to shed a bit of excess body fat.  Last week, I began working with MP Multisport's nutritionist (and good friend) Tess Mattern.  Tess has me doing a few things that I know are for the best but are still a little scary: eating more (healthy) fats and worrying less about my caloric intake.  As someone who was once rather overweight and who has obsessively tracked her diet for years, this is more than a little nerve wracking!  I am now working to boost my Omega-3s through the deliciousness that is olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, and avocados: yum!  Additionally, Tess has me cutting down a bit on my fruit intake (fruit is awesome, of course, but I have actually been eating way more than is beneficial) while adding in a few healthy grains (quinoa, steel cut oats, brown rice, etc).  Finally, we are cutting down (not out) on my overwhelming coffee habit in favor of green tea.  On Friday, the first day I followed some of my new rules, I was pleasantly shocked at how long I was able to last without becoming ravenously hungry – it was great!  While I’m, of course, trepidatious about some of these changes (especially the coffee thing), I’m excited to see what positive changes are in store for me!