Detox

I am starting a mini detox today. I am aiming for 4 days, but to be honest I would be happy to get through just today. :) It is not a harsh one, here are the rules:

- No caffeine or alcohol allowed. Substitute herbal teas, dandelion root coffee and fresh juices.

- No dairy foods are permitted on the 7-day detox. Milk and cheese increase mucus production and are difficult to digest. Lactose is a common food intolerance. You can replace milk with almond milk, rice milk, oat milk or soya milk. Sheep's and goat's products are easier to digest if you really cannot do without dairy.

- No wheat or gluten-containing grains, such as rye, which have an acid effect on the digestion. This means no bread, pasta or white rice. Choose oats, brown rice, millet and quinoa instead.

- No meat or poultry, because of the antibiotics and food additives they contain. For protein, choose plant sources, organic eggs, tofu or oily fish from organic (non-farmed) sources.

- No processed or ready-made foods whatsoever. Everything should be fresh and cooked without salt, sugar or sweeteners. Use fresh herbs for seasoning.

- Eat three meals and two snacks every day, making sure that you have something to eat every three hours. Most of your food will be vegetables and fruit, whole grains and plant proteins. Within the [What To Eat And Drink] category there are sample menu choices for a 7-day detox.

- Do make sure you get at least 20 minutes of exercise every day.

- Drink 2 litres (3 ½ pints) of water a day and have cups of herbal (non-caffeine-containing) teas whenever you feel like them.

- Dry-brush your skin before a shower or bath at least once a day and, if you can bear it, follow your bathing routine with a cold shower.

(http://www.detoxaustralia.com.au/7_day_detox.htm)

I will let you know how I go...

Dinner with Mel

Last night Ross & I were lucky enough to have dinner with the amazing Mel from Tri Hard to Triathlete.  We went to Montezumas.  Vego options for me and Ross and meat for Mel.  :o)  It was such a fun evening.  It was so amazing to hear Mel talk about her HIM training and events, as well as her preparation for the full IM next year.  If you think she's inspiring to read, you should talk to her!

I did get a minor butt kicking.  She was very gentle about it, but the butt kicking was there, nonetheless.  I have a lot to think about.  I know that everything she said was spot on, but I need to absorb and integrate it.  Mel, I will take a lot of it on board, I just need to do it in my time.  :o)

Tonight I am off for my 2nd run.  I promised the coach of the Start Running Group that I would do 2 runs between each Thursday session.  I have my new sneakers here - look, I have 'pinked' them up.

And I will head off from here before going home.  The plan is - walk to my 2km start point, shuffle-run the first km, turn around and alternate proper running with walking on the way back.  I'll report in tomorrow.

This weekend the plan is to do the detox I was talking about last month.  It is a 7-day detox and is based on eating whole unprocessed foods for a week.  It's dairy-free (no cheese :o( ), caffeine-free, alcohol-free, meat-free, gluten-free, processed-foods-free.  I will sit down over the next couple of days and plan what I will eat, then start either Thursday or Friday.

xox

Book Club

I think I may have found a book club to join.  I have wanted to join one for the longest time, but the only ones I have found in the past are run by 80 years olds and they meet at 10am on a weekday - not conducive to a full time worker.  Anyway, this is a fairly new club that I found online.  The book they are reading this month is one I have wanted to read for ages - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson - so I thought I would go along when they meet in a couple of weeks and see what it is like.  I bought the book on Monday and am already about 1/5th of the way through.  It is nothing like what I expected, but it is really good so far.  They meet every 4 or 5 weeks and try to read a different type of book each month.  I am really looking forward to it and I hope it goes well.

I did a 2km run last night to set my starting point for that part of my winter challenge.  It took my 20 minutes (or thereabouts - I did not have my stopwatch so went off the time on my phone).  So that gives me 10.5 weeks to shave off 5 minutes.  I don't know if that is possible, but I will try my hardest!

I have also decided I want to do a Detox.  Not one of those fruit only or juice only ones where you have to buy hundreds of dollars worth of supplements.  Just a 7 day clean eating detox.  I got the info from Detox Australia.  These are the rules of the detox, I would love to know what you think.

Rules Of The 7-day Detox

- No caffeine or alcohol allowed. Substitute herbal teas, dandelion root coffee and fresh juices.
- No dairy foods are permitted on the 7-day detox. Milk and cheese increase mucus production and are difficult to digest. Lactose is a common food intolerance. You can replace milk with almond milk, rice milk, oat milk or soya milk. Sheep's and goat's products are easier to digest if you really cannot do without dairy.
- No wheat or gluten-containing grains, such as rye, which have an acid effect on the digestion. This means no bread, pasta or white rice. Choose oats, brown rice, millet and quinoa instead.
- No meat or poultry, because of the antibiotics and food additives they contain. For protein, choose plant sources, organic eggs, tofu or oily fish from organic (non-farmed) sources.
- No processed or ready-made foods whatsoever. Everything should be fresh and cooked without salt, sugar or sweeteners. Use fresh herbs for seasoning.
- Eat three meals and two snacks every day, making sure that you have something to eat every three hours. Most of your food will be vegetables and fruit, whole grains and plant proteins. Within the [What To Eat And Drink] category there are sample menu choices for a 7-day detox.
- Do make sure you get at least 20 minutes of exercise every day.
- Drink 2 litres (3 ½ pints) of water a day and have cups of herbal (non-caffeine-containing) teas whenever you feel like them.

Basically it is just 7 days of no dairy, no wheat or gluten, and nothing processed.  I would still be eating good whole foods.  I am thinking of doing it in a couple of weeks.  I need some time to get some recipes together so I am not just having steamed veg and brown rice every day.  But I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
 
xox