I just had two massive slices of cake and my second cup of Irish Breakfast Tea for today and I’m totally buzzing and it’s not even midday AAARGH I LOVE SUGAR!!!
This was written two weeks ago, just as I came off my detox. That weekend was excessive, to say the least. Just as I suspected, I felt crap the following week. I realised that although I love having a few drinks, getting really drunk is a lot less interesting than I once thought it was. Eating heavy food and digesting it is hard work, so I’d rather leave that for just once or twice a week. The result is that I’ve stuck with many of my detox habits – overnight oats for breakfast, a limit on caffeine, etc. That said, I have been fairly liberal with my chocolate consumption. Anyway: back to my first post-detox day…
Since my last big moany entry 9 days in, I’ve now completed my four weeks. Oddly enough, it was on Day 10 that things took a turn for the better. I started to feel pretty great on a daily basis, and completely cut out caffeine and sugar for over 10 days. Staying off the chocolate was tough – especially working in a place like this – but actually the caffeine part was relatively easy.
Instead of smoothies and other breakfasts that would involve fructose, I started having various versions of Overnight Oats and Chia Pudding. I enjoyed it so much that even now that I’m off the detox I’m going to keep having them – you feel wonderfully light and airy with this kind of food. Lunches were things like spelt pasta or brown rice and curry, with the occasional gluten-free pie. By last weekend I had to have some kind of treat so I allowed myself a small bit of honey to sweeten these awesome 2 Minute Tahini-Lemon Nut Balls I made up from various recipes found online.
{image - 2 Minute Tahinis-Lemon Nut Balls}
The most interesting observations were this:
1. My sense of smell improved enormously and became extremely sensitive.
2. My mood was generally more balanced and positive.
3. Tough days at work are immensely more difficult without the tools of caffeine or sugar as an afternoon pick-me-up.
Overall, I generally felt on the better side of okay, occasionally very good or a bit bad. Compared to my regular diet of sugar, caffeine and alcohol, well…to be honest, I have to admit that I’m pretty happy to take to the dizzying highs of immense pleasure and pay the price of the horrible lows which come after!
Perhaps the most interesting thing I found out was the effect of alcohol on me. For years, I’ve (seemingly) sporadically gone through periods where I’ll wake up in the middle of the night, sometimes multiple times, drenched in sweat and really hot but without any other symptoms of illness. I could never come up with a reason, yet during this detox it stopped happening. In the interest of science (!), last Sunday I had a beer before dinner and a glass of red wine with it, to see how I reacted without any other stimulants in my system. That night I woke up sweating. Then on Tuesday night I had a glass of whiskey (again, in the interest of science. Ahem). I didn’t wake up a horrific sweaty mess, but the next day I had insane cravings for chocolate. Alcohol…my dear old friend, confidante, lover; how could you do this to me?
Overall, it feels awesome to have cleaned out my system. I rewarded myself and rounded off the detox by partaking of Orchard Street’s excellent 1-Day cleanse yesterday…really lush (pricey though).
{image -Wild Lemongrass Tea}
Lessons I’ll be taking with me are:
- I don’t always have to have a caffeinated tea – I’ll aim for three a day max, with Rooibos the rest of the time, and perhaps a coffee at the weekend or when I have a ton of work to do (hello busy freelance weekends!).
- Gluten-free bread and pizza are actually awesome and make you feel way better after.
- Raw desserts and snacks like bliss balls and the above 2 Minute Thingies are really satisfying, easy to make and you feel great after them. I’ll keep making these!
- A month is too long! Next time I’ll do an intense week of it with mad juice cleanses or something.
Happy detoxing!
