Mid year resolutions
After watching a short documentary on the ABC that looked at the value (or not) of detox diets, I decided that the answer I am looking for at the moment is to get fit and healthy. I have yet another cold and it’s getting me down. We all seem to be getting something every other week and then handing it around generously. So with good intentions I went to bed early last night but then after sleeping solidly I woke up feeling ok and then drank two cups of coffee before 9am followed by baking a huge batch of Princess Meg’s cookies. I did (coincidentally) go for a huge walk today, but then it wasn’t until after my evening vodka and tonic that I remembered my promise to get healthy. So I start that as soon as those cookies are all eaten, and I have helped out with the two pizzas that are on the way.
I don’t really know about these detox diets though. I guess that it would suit some people to get incredibly healthy for 10 days and then go back to life as normal, seeing the detox as a kind of way of going back to empty so they can start filling up with junk again. I would rather skip the bit where you have to feel incredibly bad for four days as the toxins leave your body and just kind of gently cut down and start building up better habits. But then, I guess I have never been a hard drinking, hard partying kind of person. I would miss my coffees and I would miss my evening weak vodka, so why not leave those in and just ensure that I don’t accompany the vodka with half a box of chicken crimpies (as did happen the other night by accident)? Perhaps I could also avoid eating huge mountains of roast beef covered with incredibly good but evil gravy, and add a few more pieces of fruit every day and so on. I could handle that.
I am also thinking about joining a gym. This is really a totally foreign concept to me and quite a scary idea, but I haven’t been doing yoga for the last four or five months and I really miss it. The timing and the travel to get to the class was all getting a bit too hard. But now I feel slower and stiffer in the mornings and my back seizes up after knitting or sitting at the computer browsing blythe sites until late. I figure if I join a gym that has a creche and yoga classes it might be easy and I might even try out some of that intimidating equipment or maybe even try another class of some kind… it’s just an idea but I need to do something – and soon.
Salt free, gm free, colouring, flavouring, msg free chickpea chip anyone?
You’re right about decaf–it’s horribly acidic and very bad for you. I had to give coffee up due to stomach problems and am now a happy tea drinker. As another commenter said, peppermint tea can be invigorating.
Have you thought about doing Pilates. I have done it for just on a year now and it is great for stretching you out and strengthening all the core muscles that keep everything strong and straight. Good for posture too.
I’ll have some boiled rice with my air vapour please Claire.
Good luck loobylu with your health plan! Remember the hardest part is actually getting started -you will be fine after that once you start to look and feel better!
You may want to think about slowly adding some decaf to your coffee and gradually working your way up to all decaf, or at least partial. You may find a big difference.
I’ve seen that happen to a lot of people. once they have that much caffiene out of their system, the feel totally different –better different.
that’s a great idea Sarah. I really love my morning coffees but I am beginning to crave more and more all the time. I always suspected that decaf coffee may be worse for you than real (good) coffee (not instant). I have heard awful things about how the caffeine is actually stripped out of the coffee. It could be all a lie of course!
I have this book:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0600610500/qid=1089988001/sr=8-2ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/103-715509-6854213v=glance&s=books&n=507846
(Detox Solutions by Helen Foster)
And the plans in it seem really pretty reasonable. I’ve been trying to incorporate some of the aspects here and there – but, um, I haven’t quite been able to commit to doing a whole plan yet. Good luck!
Best, corinne
Those detox diets sound awful. I turned my health around just by starting to walk daily and making gradual changes in my diet. Just by thinking about your meals ahead and deciding to go for the better-for-you stuff will make a huge difference.
Mmmmm… yoga. That’s next on my list to incorporate. Good luck!
Claire, start that exercise routine now. I have been pretty good all my life staying in shape. Then, last May, I had a hysterectomy and stopped exercising while I recovered. I have gained about 15 pounds since then and I can see how out of shape I have gotten. It is going to be so much effort just to get back to zero. You’re younger than I am and so it will be easier for you. My advice, do it now.
Good luck with your diet plan! I am sure you will do great!
Anywho, just poppin’ in to see what ya were up to! Been a while since I have been by to read you! Man oh man is your baby growing UP!!!!!
Join the gym, you won’t regret it. I fought doing it for awhile because of cost and my own head argument of, “if I were only disciplined about excercise I could walk or run at home to stay fit- what do I need a facility for?”. The biggest difference, as a mother, was the nursery (creche). Without distractions, I workout better. In fact, I look forward to a little quiet adult time where I can read while I do the machines. The classes also provide encouragement because of their social atmosphere. My husband finally joined, too, and we go together occasionally and it feels like a date!
This may sound a crazy suggestion for a caffiene addict like yourself claire, but i’ve cut out all coffee and now drink peppermint tea – it’s just as energising, i swear! and since i don’t drink enough water it is something i actually feel good about drinking. It’s also meant to be very soothing for an upset tummy.
I realized one day that it made no sense to be feeding my 1.5-year-old organic homemade food, and for me and my hubby to be eating Hot Pockets standing up in front of the fridge. We now all eat much better (less processed foods overall) and lug Sophie and the twins all around the park for exercise. It’s a start! Wishing you lots of luck and decaf tea – herbals come in so many more interesting flavors anyway!
i just found this blog, and it’s completly bizarre… i watched the catalyst doco on detoxing and i’m now on a detox ‘menu’ for two weeks too. i do it once or twice a year, just cut down on fatty foods and coffee and cigarettes, and eat lots of brown rice. also, milk thistle is actually really good stuff: it cleans out yr liver. just drink lots of water.
by the way, the word is, you can’t really get around the three or fours days of feeling crap. it seems dramatic, but that’s when all the crap actually leaves your body. if you do it slowly, i guess you run the risk of feeling sort of crap for ages.
Oh, come on. Chicken Crimpies don’t count. How could something so INCREDIBLY delicious be bad for you?
For some reason, drinking lots of water with lemon in it makes me feel ridiculously healthy.
Your site, by the way, is totally, completely inspirational! I lurk here constantly!