When I did the Conscious Cleanse, a food-based cleanse, for the first time in January 2013, I was overall eating well and exercising regularly. That is, I made fresh vegetables and fruits the bulk of my meals, shopped for fresh produce at the farmers' market weekly, tried to avoid processed foods as much as possible, didn't eat out very often and worked out at least four times per week.
Yet, I wasn't feeling as well as I could have, which became especially apparent AFTER the cleanse because I was feeling better than ever before by the end of the program. Some of the symptoms I had accepted as "normal" and didn't connect to what I was eating, such as joint pain that I was experiencing for years. Doing the Conscious Cleanse taught me what contributed to me not feeling my best (and what I continue to work on as it's easy to fall back into old habits):
- I have a pretty strong sensitivity to gluten, which manifests itself via digestive issues, joint pain and brain fog.
- Drinking too much coffee makes me feel jittery and eventually leads me to crash - caffeine has been an ongoing battle for me.
- I don't eat as clean as I think - I love condiments, and many of them have lots of sugar and not-so-great ingredients - this is also something I'm still working on.
- While I've always eaten a lot of produce, I could actually eat a lot more - it's easy to reach for convenient foods rather than produce, especially when life gets busy.
- While I'm fine eating a few eggs a week, I start having trouble digesting eggs when I eat too many.
Making the above changes (and some others), allowed me to feel really good by the end of my first cleanse. Doing additional cleanses over the years got me back to that state when little offenders crept back into my diet over time. I also learn something new about myself and how my body reacts to various foods every time I do the cleanse.
So while I didn't make radical changes because of the Conscious Cleanse, the changes I did make really made a difference in how I feel:
- I sleep better.
- I don't have stomach pain.
- I think clearer.
- My joints don't hurt.
- I feel calmer.
- I have a lot more energy throughout the day without crashing in the afternoon.
If you are curious about the Conscious Cleanse and want to know more about my experiences doing it, check out my Conscious Cleanse page or leave a comment on this post. You can also send me an email at andreaswellnessnotes[at]gmail.com. I'd be happy to answer your questions.
The next Conscious Cleanse starts on June 13. Visit the Conscious Cleanse website for more information about the different programs that are available.
Questions: Have you ever done a cleanse? How could you "clean up" your diet a bit?
Be well,
Andrea
