BLATANT BORROWER: Babies, Bread, and Blue Cheese Dressing

I find it very difficult to break a belief when it means that I will have to change and potentially give up something I enjoy or do something extra I would rather not. Humidifiers, for example, I swear are a myth that doctors and grandmothers came up with to make a new mom feel better about the fact that there is really nothing that you can do for a new baby with a cold except wait it out. My two year old developed a cough a week or two ago, so I found the humidifier and set it up in her room. Surprise, surprise, she coughed less. What is so difficult about setting up a humidifier you ask? First, it was 2am. Second, it had not been emptied from the last time it was used so I drenched myself in the dark hallway before getting it into her room. Third, I had set it up on the changing table which I needed to use the next morning and ended up having it fall and soak the carpet, when I had placed it perfectly balanced on the diaper genie! (so it may be my fault that it was difficult, but STILL)

Eating properly is another one of those myths that baffles me. I am in the camp that would rather work out more so you can eat what you want. Do you know that camp does not exist past 22? I didn't. Well I did, but have been living in denial for the past 8 years. With the birth of my second baby (now 4 months old), my love for bread, and all things sauce/dressing related, my body was in need of some cleansing!

My husband, Chad, and I decided to do a 28 day cleanse called The Clean Program. It basically removes anything from your diet that could potentially be an allergen or a toxin to your body and gives your digestive track a little break. No red meat, no wheat products, no peanut or soy products, no dairy, no sugar, no caffeine, no alcohol, etc. Chad did the cleanse about a year ago and lost ten pounds. Now he is a lean guy with a great metabolism and can pretty much eat what ever he wants. My body doesn't work like that. I was pretty sure my results from the cleanse would not be as significant. But oddly enough, like the humidifier, IT WORKED! Restricting your food intake does aid in losing weight! My final weigh in today was 14 pounds lighter than when I began 28 days ago.

Here is my confession, I never read the book and I only watched the video on the first page of the website. Chad had kept a file from the last time he did the cleanse and we just duplicated that. There are also several people at his work that are doing The Clean Program, as well, that I gleaned recipe ideas from.

Today we finished the cleanse! Our reward, FOOD (ironic I know). We had a gift certificate to The Beachcomber that has been burning a hole in my purse since Christmas. We treated ourselves to a really yummy breakfast on a really spectacular day.

That is actually two people out there, not one person with funky legs!

Two very happy and satisfied people

I have definitely walked away from this experience changed. Today at breakfast I enjoyed each bite instead of inhaling it with no appreciation. I ate about half and was satisfied (which if you know me, my old motto from college was "big girl gotta eat!" Every mans dream motto for his wife, I know!) I will enjoy more fresh foods and not as many processed. I will allow "cheat" days because I am not going to drive myself to a binge point with neglect of sweets forever! It was a great discipline for me, and I'm glad to have another one of my untrue beliefs banished!

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If you decide to go for it and dive into The Clean Program, below are a few of our meals and snack ideas that got us through, that I don't believe are included in the recipe section of print out. (but what do I know, I haven't read it all)

Meals:
-Turkey Burgers seasoned with Garlic, Salt, and Pepper with fresh guacamole on a bed of greens with homemade sweet potato fries (fry or bake with olive oil and sea salt).

-Brown Rice Pasta (You can find at Trader Joe's, Mother's Market, or Whole Foods) with grilled Chicken in Dairy Free Pesto.