21 Days: Prep & Day One.

In case you missed it: I mentioned here that for the next 21 days I'll be participating in Kris Carr's Adventure Cleanse.

One day in and I'm feeling...pretty good! 

As far as prep work goes, the Adventure Cleanse does require quite a bit. I started planning my little journey out about a week beforehand and began gathering things I'd need (a neti pot, pH testing strips, etc.). I bought a disposable paper calendar so I can write down the menu and what needs to be done each day. Up front: I was lucky because I already owned most of the tools since I'm in love with Ms. Carr. If you decide to cleanse too and are in need of testing strips, supplements, or the like I suggest hitting up Drugstore.com (not an affiliate link or paid endorsement...I actually shop there in real life). 

I started today by taking my pH balance (more about that here). It was 5.5 which is acidic (thank you, last night's wine and spicy pasta!). The goal is to find a more alkaline to acid balance (I'm going for about 80/20 in my diet). I plan to test my pH once a week while on the cleanse, and will probably keep it up after because I'm a science nerd and counted the seconds until the strips arrived on my doorstep because I was SO excited to use them.

After the pH read, I had my first ever experience with a neti pot. It was weird but once I get the hang of it I think I'll love it. I never realized that it was the same as snorting water when you're sick (which is hillbilly but I totally do it). So, basically, I invented the neti pot when I started sucking in bath water when I was a child. Moving on...

Supplements are my best friend. I have always been pretty good about taking vitamins every day. Currently I take a multi-vitamin (just a generic women's version found at Trader Joe's), Folic Acid, B12, Omega-3 oils, and Kombucha caplets. I had my doctor review my vitamins over summer to ensure they were all safe and yadda, yadda. I suggest doing the same if you start taking a new vitamin.

Today's menu:

Breakfast: A big green juice (spinach, carrots, an apple, a cucumber) topped with black chia seeds

Lunch: TONS of romaine and spinach with carrots, topped with unfiltered apple cider vinegar

Snack: Another big, fat green juice and a Larabar 

Dinner: Quinoa with steamed garlic, broccoli, red onion, and a tiny bit of olive oil

I had planned ALL day to have a whole, delicious, wonderful avocado with dinner. They are my favorite things in the world but DAMN IF THEY AIN'T A BITCH. My avocados weren't ripe and, despite trying some trick I found on YouTube, I wasn't able to chow on one. I subbed in oil for a bit of healthy fats.

Since it's been less than 24 hours I can't speak much for the actual results of the cleanse yet but I will say I think this is best for those who want to begin living intentionally. Huh? What? Living with intention. Putting thought into the smallest of details in life. Carr urges you to meditate and chew your food thoroughly and get sleep and just care for yourself...like, a lot. I think that's what drew me to the cleanse. It wasn't about "drop 80 pounds in four days!" (have you seen some of those ridiculous things on Pinterest?). It's about changing how you treat yourself and being kind to yourself. I realized that by making time to meditate for 15 minutes and jump around on our rebounder, I had less time to watch television and sit on the couch. Since I knew I had to chew my food mindfully, I pushed the laptop away and really focused on my meals. I'm hoping this will create a habit of paying attention to the moment instead of multi-tasking every second I'm awake.

I'm looking forward to the next 20 days!