CRAP! <--Get rid of it! :)
One of my favorite new sites belongs to a hilarious, upbeat duo known as The Sweaty Betties (http://thesweatybetties.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/TheSweatyBetties). And while I only just discovered them last week, I have found their posts to be perfectly in line with my goals - no gimmicks, no fads; just clean eating, fitness the proper way, and interesting factoids about health in general.
According to a recent appearance they made on a local TV broadcast, The Sweaty Betties encourage that we do a spring cleaning... of our bodies! :) On the video, they describe the moniker they live by as being to avoid "CRAP":
C - Caffeine
R - Refined Sugars
A - Alcohol
P - Processed Foods
I just found this to be entirely too clever. And it also provided me with motivation that I'm on the right track! Source video: http://www.cw30.com/content/news/dailydish/story/Spring-Cleaning-For-Your-Body/1cRGtqjfTECH1xqeL2joUw.cspx
My process of elimminating CRAP
In Week Two I gave up the refined sugars, snack foods, and other nutritional black holes. It was hard for the first 7-10 days as my body adjusted to the lack of "easy" faux energy it was used to being provided during slumps in the day. But those cravings fully subsided by the end of Week Four.
In Week Five, I gave up caffeine (diet soda and coffee... kept black tea and decaf coffee around), artifical sweeteners, and processed foods as much as I could. I hate wasting food but I also hate having junk I'm not going to eat lying around, so there are still a few things I need to polish off - that jar of bottled BBQ sauce, for instance, which I used in the slow cooker in Week Six. But I'm certainly not buying anything new to replace it!
In Week Six, I made the difficult decision to give up alcohol. I know this can be a toughy for some people - it takes a specific degree of motivation and dedication that is greater than the temptation you feel to give in (did I mention that St. Patrick's Day landed in Week Six? FAIL.) I've tried doing drastic detoxes in the past but wasn't ready, and I felt so socially deprived because I knew that if I went out I wouldn't be able to control myself, that I ended up quitting the detox altogether. So my advice is, make a goal to progressively phase alcohol out, but at a pace you can endure. This current program I'm on has given me NO problems elimminating alcohol; I have my eyes on the prize :)
For Week Seven coming up, after being inspired by my accomplishments already, by the noticeable changes I am seeing in my body (both inside and out!), and by the advice given by the Sweaty Betties whom I am learning to trust as a valid source of information, my goal is to cut out decaf coffee and black tea, and stick only to herbal. And on THAT note...
Tea
I personally love a quality cup of tea. Last year I learned how to drink it without cream or sweetener, for the most part. But I love strong black teas that are usually too bitter without a little somethin' somethin'. As for green teas, I find most of them to taste like dirt. And I don't care for the floral variety (although I HIGHLY recommend the Rose and Jasmin tea varieties at The Bird Pick Tea & Herb (http://www.birdpick.com/)). The one tea I've always loved that is, for the most part, fully herbal (and comes in a caffeine free variety), is Good Earth's Sweet n' Spicy tea. So good, and no milk or sugar is required. And it tastes AMAZING iced!
One funny thing I've noticed this week is how grocery shopping in my life is evolving. I am so used to buying heavily preserved things that are boxed and frozen or left on a shelf, that I've had to start learning a whole new technique to approach to art of buying produce. Because.... it goes bad! I have a fridge full of fresh produce that I may nt intend to cook for another 5 days now. And it's left no room in the fridge. I think I may actually have to start shopping twice a week to ensure freshness (and room!) O_o
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