Confessional

Aliment, Copyright 2012

     When I started my clean eating plan, the idea was to abstain from certain foods that I felt were mucking up my system and causing inflammation. I vowed to cut out things like salt, sugar, and dairy for a period of six weeks, after which I planned to reintroduce these items, opting for smaller portions of each. I knew that I needed to reset my body and break the harmful habits and reliance on these flavor "enhancers" and dairy products that were keeping me from feeling the vitality that a woman in her prime should enjoy.

    Ten days into my clean eating plan I found myself in a funk. I had muscled through many a craving in the previous days, found alternatives to keep me satisfied...but it was the 4th of July (insert whiney voice here) and I missed coffee, and cookies and fuuuuunnnn.

     So my Fella and I decided to throw caution to the wind and allow ourselves this one day holiday. I had coffee (with cream and sugar) and a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast.
In the afternoon we took the kids to a movie and ate...candy. At dinner I put a little pad of butter on my rice and veggies. For dessert I had some blueberry frozen yogurt, and before bed I had two finger-fuls of my beloved Cookie Butter. Ok, confessional complete.

I call this one "Honey...don't", Aliment Copyright 2012

Next morning...well, it felt like a hangover. A bad hangover. However. It was amazing how much better I felt going back on my clean diet, and this was a fantastic lesson for me. I realized more fully that my old way of eating was truly destructive and I didn't want to go back...that is, until date night rolled around (two days later mind you.)

     My Fella and I don't get many date nights, and we were going to Providence for crying out loud, it's like pizza heaven there! (The whiney voice is back.) Pizza my favorite!! (Cue, salivation.)  Sooooo....yeah. Sicilian pizza got into my belly... I admit it, I put it there. Four. Whole. Slices.

Aliment, Copyright 2012

Followed, later that night, by my fave coffee...with a bit of raw sugar and more than a splash of cream. Although I also picked up the most delicious and VEGAN Cranberry Orange Granola Scone, which I saved for breakfast the next morning.

Aliment, Copyright 2012

Like Eric Carle's hungry caterpillar "the next day was Saturday.... [I] had a stomachache" boy oh boy did it hurt, the nausea was terrible. This time I knew, since dairy had been my main naughty indulgence the night before, dairy is not my friend.

     Luckily, I have a new friend. I haven't actually met her, but she is changing my life, adding sparkle to my day, lifting my spirits and ultimately showing me the way. Her name is Kris Carr, author of Crazy Sexy Diet ...the book that's holding my hand as I start to understand and appreciate this body I've been blessed with and how important it is that I treat it right. I'm still learning, but one thing I've been doing the last couple of days that is already making a huge difference is starting my day with green juice.

Look, even baby Violet loves it! Aliment, Copyright 2012

Yes, I've broken out my juicing machine and it's on my counter, fully accessible, and there it will stay. We're talking kale, people. We're talking chard from my garden. We're talking cucumbers and celery, and apples and carrots. Because like "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" I learned that eating through a nice green leaf can make me feel a whole lot better and ultimately turn me into the beautiful butterfly I was meant to be.

     I'm still at the beginning of my journey, stumbling along, but I can see a light on the path ahead now and that is in part thanks to the incredible Kris Carr (get to know her yourself, here) It is also thanks to my new BFF: Green Juice, and finally thanks to...me, for opening my eyes and heart to greater possibility and learning to love and value myself more than, say...Cookie Butter.

In health,

Tamar

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