Tuesday, March 17, 2009
March Madness
PS, I can talk about other things that what I'm eating and how it makes me feel. Like, what is the most hilarious name of the year? Roh's bro showed this to me and it has kept me occupied for longer than is appropriate. You must look at it. I vote Muffin Lord.
Days 4,5 and 6
Working at a bar while detoxing is really hard. REALLY hard. Abstaining from alcohol isn't usually that difficult for me, once I get some momentum going. But that stretch from 9:30-10:30 when the dinner rush has subsided and the after-dinner rush hasn't kicked in is when we all usually start drinking out of boredom and curiosity and that hour or so is the hardest part to get through when there's nothing to do with your hands. Or mouth. Or liver.
But I did it. And not only did I make it through a Friday and Saturday night behind the bar without drinking any alcohol, I also worked my Sunday shift while fasting. Yeah! I am proud of myself. So proud in fact that I decided it was ok to eat some bread yesterday. Oops! It was super crunchy and high fiber, but it was bread none the less. I've decided not to beat myself up over it though. I remember reading this person's philosophy on some raw-foodist website about how it is better to think of yourself as going 99% raw than 100%. That way if you make a mistake or slip up, you don't beat yourself up for not being 100% and get all depressed about it, since the whole point of it in the first place is to feel good. So I am 99% detoxing. I ate some bread, I drank some wine that one night. But for the most part, I've been really good to myself the past week, and I'm looking forward to the next one.
That's not to say I don't fantasize about Pizza and beer. I do. Look I even capitalized Pizza like it's a proper noun. But those first few days I was like, "Oh my god, if I don't eat a pizza now I'll die." Now I'm just like, "oh it will be nice to have pizza as an option again." Yeah, the next time I feel like waking up with bags under my eyes and a stomach ache.
But I did it. And not only did I make it through a Friday and Saturday night behind the bar without drinking any alcohol, I also worked my Sunday shift while fasting. Yeah! I am proud of myself. So proud in fact that I decided it was ok to eat some bread yesterday. Oops! It was super crunchy and high fiber, but it was bread none the less. I've decided not to beat myself up over it though. I remember reading this person's philosophy on some raw-foodist website about how it is better to think of yourself as going 99% raw than 100%. That way if you make a mistake or slip up, you don't beat yourself up for not being 100% and get all depressed about it, since the whole point of it in the first place is to feel good. So I am 99% detoxing. I ate some bread, I drank some wine that one night. But for the most part, I've been really good to myself the past week, and I'm looking forward to the next one.
That's not to say I don't fantasize about Pizza and beer. I do. Look I even capitalized Pizza like it's a proper noun. But those first few days I was like, "Oh my god, if I don't eat a pizza now I'll die." Now I'm just like, "oh it will be nice to have pizza as an option again." Yeah, the next time I feel like waking up with bags under my eyes and a stomach ache.
Friday, March 13, 2009
DETOX day 3: super easy
You guys, the third day was so easy! I didn't want to eat or drink anything bad. Well ok, I had like 2 sips of wine with dinner, but as soon as I felt the alcohol go to my head I stopped. Also I eat a vegan cookie. It had no dairy or eggs or wheat or refined sugar but it was in a package which I was going to try and avoid. So . . . technically there were a few impurities, but I feel pretty great. Also I went to a killer yoga class at the Shala House. Before she moved back to New Mexico, Emily Hicks introduced me to this teacher Kelly Morris who is totally rad and a total goddess. If you're looking for a good class, check it out.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
detox day 2: success!
I made it through! It was actually much easier on the second day than on the first. I didn't even want to drink or eat ice cream, and the fact that it is starting to get nice out and actually feel like spring makes me want to be healthy. Awesome. I also rearranged some furniture and finally got a boxspring thanks to Roh and his Bro. Success all the way around.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
detox day 1: utter failure
So I did really well all day. I did yoga, I ate healthy foods, I drank some water with lemon and I made a delicious dinner for R and I. But when the idea of a bottle of wine came up, I just couldn't turn it down. My delicious mediterranean meal cried out for the De Forville Barber D'Alba in my fridge. Plus, red wine has antioxidants and it's good for preventing heart disease right? Ah! Minus ten points for drinking alcohol.
Then it got worse. We went to R's house to play Settlers of Catan, and it was totally impossible for me to play the board game without some of the delicious beer everyone was drinking. I had very little, but I had some none the less. And then to top it all off, since I'd already made some unforgivable mistakes, I pulled the week old chocolate birthday cake out of the fridge and had a few bites.
Complete and utter failure on day 1.
But I get another chance today. And I made some headway on cleaning my apartment to make it more of a sanctuary: I took all my CDs from high school out of the rotting cardboard box in the corner and put them on my computer. Now I have a full square foot more room in my studio!
Then it got worse. We went to R's house to play Settlers of Catan, and it was totally impossible for me to play the board game without some of the delicious beer everyone was drinking. I had very little, but I had some none the less. And then to top it all off, since I'd already made some unforgivable mistakes, I pulled the week old chocolate birthday cake out of the fridge and had a few bites.
Complete and utter failure on day 1.
But I get another chance today. And I made some headway on cleaning my apartment to make it more of a sanctuary: I took all my CDs from high school out of the rotting cardboard box in the corner and put them on my computer. Now I have a full square foot more room in my studio!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Spring Cleaning
So it's almost spring. In addition to the traditional 'spring cleaning' I'm giving my apartment, it's also time for some seasonal internal cleansing.
I have two major goals: to make my apartment into a more comfortable and welcoming sanctuary for myself, and to abstain from alcohol, dairy, wheat, caffeine, refined sugar and processed foods for 14 days. We'll see which one proves more difficult.
For the past several years, I've tried to do a 14-day detoxification around the time when the seasons change. Every 4 months or so, I seem to find myself drinking every night and eating cheese and ice cream for dinner several times a week. I feel sluggish and depressed and when I start sleeping for 10 hours a night and still feel groggy in the morning, I know it's time to remind myself that fruits and vegetables are delicious, and that while baguette with olive oil is a delightful european indulgence, it doesn't count as dinner.
However, most often when the seasons change, I don't actually do a proper cleanse. I just think really hard about how I should be doing it, have lunch at Angelica's Kitchen, call myself pure and then celebrate with a bottle of wine. Much of my life centers around eating and drinking (working in a bar as I do, also just really liking food as I do), so it's a real challenge for me to not participate in any part of food-and-wine culture for 2 weeks. So I'm trying to keep myself honest about how well (or poorly) it's going by writing everything down and exposing my challenges and failures to the public so that you all can hold me accountable. If we hang out in the next couple of weeks, don't let me drink that beer or eat that croquette. At least not without admitting to it online.
As far as cleaning my apartment goes, well that's just hard because I'm lazy and have a high tolerance for dust and stacks of paper. This is the first time I've had my own apartment, so I have no one to blame the dirtiness on but me. I also have no one to have a cleaning party with, maybe share a bottle of wine as we mop all the floors and switch wardrobes over from winter to spring. Of course I couldn't even have a cleaning party by myself because I can't have wine at all. Looks like I'll be washing my ceiling fan on my own and celebrating with a cup of peppermint tea.
I have two major goals: to make my apartment into a more comfortable and welcoming sanctuary for myself, and to abstain from alcohol, dairy, wheat, caffeine, refined sugar and processed foods for 14 days. We'll see which one proves more difficult.
For the past several years, I've tried to do a 14-day detoxification around the time when the seasons change. Every 4 months or so, I seem to find myself drinking every night and eating cheese and ice cream for dinner several times a week. I feel sluggish and depressed and when I start sleeping for 10 hours a night and still feel groggy in the morning, I know it's time to remind myself that fruits and vegetables are delicious, and that while baguette with olive oil is a delightful european indulgence, it doesn't count as dinner.
However, most often when the seasons change, I don't actually do a proper cleanse. I just think really hard about how I should be doing it, have lunch at Angelica's Kitchen, call myself pure and then celebrate with a bottle of wine. Much of my life centers around eating and drinking (working in a bar as I do, also just really liking food as I do), so it's a real challenge for me to not participate in any part of food-and-wine culture for 2 weeks. So I'm trying to keep myself honest about how well (or poorly) it's going by writing everything down and exposing my challenges and failures to the public so that you all can hold me accountable. If we hang out in the next couple of weeks, don't let me drink that beer or eat that croquette. At least not without admitting to it online.
As far as cleaning my apartment goes, well that's just hard because I'm lazy and have a high tolerance for dust and stacks of paper. This is the first time I've had my own apartment, so I have no one to blame the dirtiness on but me. I also have no one to have a cleaning party with, maybe share a bottle of wine as we mop all the floors and switch wardrobes over from winter to spring. Of course I couldn't even have a cleaning party by myself because I can't have wine at all. Looks like I'll be washing my ceiling fan on my own and celebrating with a cup of peppermint tea.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
