Mama's 3-day cleanse.

Day 1: Morning Drink

I should start off by saying that I've never, EVER succeeded at a cleanse, but after months of feeling sluggish, tired, and eating all the wrong foods, accompanied by too much wine... it's time to try again. I've tried all kinds of juice cleanses, and whether or not it's mind over matter, juices cleanses just don't work for me. So, for the next three days, I will be doing Dr. Oz's 3-Day Detox Cleanse. It includes smoothies that you make at home, with ingredients you buy at the grocery store, including almond butter, avocado, and almond milk, so I hopefully will feel more full than when I'm on a juice cleanse. I have no issues sucking down these kinds of smoothies and freshly-squeezed juices. I actually enjoy them. It is a little bit of an investment. Dr. Oz says it costs about $16 a day, but I spent about $70 (at Cub Foods) at the grocery store yesterday on all the food, vitamins, and detox bath ingredients. I'm committing myself to succeed at this 3-day cleanse, and have to remind myself that it's JUST 3 DAYS! I hope that my energy will be able to keep up with our 17-month-old, and I plan to eat better for my body after this "detox". There's no reason I should fail, right?! Here we go...

The dreaded "lunch drink".

DAY 1: Well, it's 8 p.m. on day #1, and I just finished my "dinner drink". I have to say, I'm currently not hungry. However, there were multiple times today (one being when my husband came home and turned on the Food Network - Grrrr!) where I was craving a burger, fries, you name it... I wanted it. It was so tough feeding my daughter her Green Egg Cakes for lunch, and not sampling them for myself. They smelled so good! The "morning drink" is my favorite. I think it's because there's almond butter in it. Yummy! The "lunch drink" was really hard to suck down. It was very "cucumber-y", which isn't my favorite. The recipe also produces almost an entire nalgene water-bottle full of the drink/smoothie. I drank half for lunch and the other half for snack. The "dinner drink" isn't too bad either. It's very green, but I like the kick the cayenne pepper gives it. The best part of today's cleanse was the "detox bath". Hello lavender oil! I feel so incredibly relaxed, satisfied, and proud of myself for making it through day #1. That is, if I don't find myself sleep-walking toward a bag of potato chips or pizza tonight. It's just three days... it's just three days... it's just three days.

"Dinner Drink"

DAY 2: I have to say, day #2 was pretty much the same as day #1, although I did make it to the gym tonight! Afternoons are rough, but I think it's because I really dislike the "lunch drink" (which is also my afternoon "snack drink" because the recipe makes such a large quantity). This morning, I had so much energy, and I wasn't hungry at all. I love feeling like that... and without coffee! It's the little things that I do every day, that I have to remember to NOT do (i.e. lick my fingers when I get Linna's delicious yogurt on them, steal one of Linna's yummy Pirate's Booty puffs, and finishing the food she doesn't eat). These are things you don't think about, and just DO when you have a kid. I'm really looking forward to getting back to "normal" Thursday morning, but a new "healthier" normal. So happy that I've made it through the second day, and I only have one day left to go. Over half-way there!

DAY 3: Day #3 is almost over, and I finally completed this cleanse... with a little dinner on the side;) Ugh, I couldn't resist. I made it until 5:30 p.m., but once my husband came home from work, I smelled dinner cooking in the oven, and we all had the chance to sit down for a hot meal together... I caved. I ate a little bit of the DELICIOUS homemade pot pie I baked for dinner, and let me tell you, it was worth every mouth-watering bite! I feel very proud of myself for making it (almost) three days on this cleanse, and I honestly feel a little bit healthier and happier. I hated the afternoon smoothies, but I could see myself making the morning or evening smoothies on a regular basis. I'm just not a "smoothie for every meal" kind of gal. Let's face it... food is delicious! Food is everywhere, and I want to eat it. I just need to remember to enjoy food in moderation. I will do this cleanse again, especially after spending the money on the vitamins, etc., that we now have in the house. It's amazing how you can feel when you're not eating processed foods, starches, and sugar (not the sugar in fruit), but it's hard when these kinds of foods are everywhere. If anything, I will be incorporating healthier foods into my daily diet, and blaming yet another one of my cleanse "failures" on this little girl...

Linna playing "nice to meet you" at the dinner table with Mama and Papa tonight.

I'd rather share a home-cooked meal while playing games with my family at the dinner table, than choking down a cold green smoothie by myself, any day of the week:)