Cleaning up

Today is DAY ONE of my anti-inflammatory cleanse. I’ve done a cleanse once before, a little over a year ago, and I have to say, the results were pretty staggering, and in that good way–I had ridiculous amounts of energy and felt generally awesome. Unfortunately, the holidays and the massive lifestyle changes of 2011 beat my good habits into submission, so it’s given way to way too many grab-and-go meals and too many pastries. But, NO LONGER! I’m ready to stop making excuses, and stop feeling like crap.

I kind of hate using the word, “cleanse,” because that makes people assume that I’ll to be living on cayenne pepper and lemon juice for two weeks, and that’s not what it’s about. Spending two weeks starving is the direct opposite of what I’d consider Healthy or Fun. That said, it won’t be easy, either–these are the things that I need to avoid for the next two weeks:

• Soy
• Gluten
• Dairy
• Sugar
• Processed Foods
• Citrus Fruits (except lemon)
• Caffeine
• Alcohol
• Peanuts
• Corn
• Hydrogenated Oils

…yeah, that’s not a short list. And, in all honesty, I don’t really have sensitivity to a lot of foods--sugar definitely makes me wonky, and I’m considering continuing gluten-free for the rest of the month--so a lot of these things will probably come back into my life post-cleanse. I mean, I like cheese. It doesn’t make me feel crappy. I’m going to keep eating it. But, if I can rein it in with a few of these things, I know I’ll be a lot better off.

Anyhoo, yeah, it’s Day 1, and I kind of feel like crap. I miss my coffee. But, that’s normal, and if my previous cleanse experience was any indication, I’ll feel like kicking the ass of everything in a few days.

Kind of wish I could just fast-forward to that, really.

And on the plus side? I ran THREE WHOLE MILES yesterday. That's the first time I've done that since well before spraining my ankle. My legs work! Woohoo!