Cleanse. Day 13. Love Thy Veg.

Most of you probably already know about this cleanse that I and Anthony are doing right now. To quickly fill everyone else in, I'll just tell you that Scott Jurica is a Team Joe runner and is a Nutritionist, Chiropractor and all-around natropath doctor. He hosted a Happy Hour at his apartment (with a sweet back yard) a month ago. His wife, Lisa was telling me about how she had done this cleanse which had been amazing for resetting her digestion and for losing weight, getting out toxins, etc. I, who has never done any sort of cleanse in my life, was intrigued. I always thought cleanses involved only drinking water with cayenne pepper, lemon juice and maple, or just juices. However, Scott's recommendation was to do a special cleanse whereby one eats only fruit, veg, along with protein shakes and then cleanse supplements which help clean out the toxin-expelling liver, kidneys, skin, etc.

Now, I eat a lot of veg. Most of my diet is vegetables. Roasted, steamed, raw, I love 'em! This will be easy for me, right? Well, when you stop consuming alcohol, dairy, meats, nuts, seeds, sugar, beans and grains, you certainly get hungry more often.

For the first 7 days, I found it tough and began to obsess and stress about the 21 days of denial. I would snack all the time. Kind of nasty protein bars became a delicacy. Then, we were allowed to add a little fish, and that changed the game for me. Now, I am on Day 13 and really feel great.

What's been happening in our bodies?

Anthony: looks like he lost 10 pounds, skin in glowing, has more energy. Sexier(that could be just my interpretation though)

Me: look and feel like I've lost 5 pounds. Skin clearer, more energy. Need a stiff drink. Also, I do see the effects of toxins leaving my body. For instance, the bags under my eyes were darker than usual for a week, and now are subsiding. I felt hung over for also the first week.

Finale: I think this cleanse, while kind of extreme, is very healthy for someone who really wants to start over and reset. I think that even if you don't think losing a few pounds as being enough of a reward, there must be some reward that has more far-reaching results. For instance, just giving your liver a break from alcohol and sugar can probably reduce risk of liver problems. Eating all those anti-oxidants in fruits and veggies can help slow your body's aging because anti-oxidants stop the oxidization of the cells, which age the body and lead to cancers. Just a few little things.

We're not done yet, but have reached the last week, the final countdown. Next time I blog, I will add a couple recipes which have helped to get us through.