Housecleaning

That is what I'm doing today. Both literally and figuratively. I spent the morning organizing the papers and documents that had been lying around the apartment into a filing system of sorts, picking up the clutter that had collected over the past couple weeks, and vacuuming up all the cat hair and the bits of carpet that my furbabies scratch off of their huge cat tree. I even used that little vacuum attachment that gets in all the corners and cracks. Then I cleaned the bathroom and even scrubbed out the litterboxes. My apartment is neat and tidy and I just feel so good!

My body is also doing a bit of "housecleaning" in the past 2 days. My skin had gone back to being clear and smooth but now I've got some redness and a pimple. I also had a not-period thing going on yesterday and today...I won't go into detail but something is being cleaned out of my body!

Detoxing is kind of like doing a big housecleaning in lots of ways. For many people, we let years and years of improper eating pile up inside of us, like the dust and clutter in our houses. Cleaning up becomes more and more daunting, and it's hard to even figure out where to start! And the actual cleaning is never fun, but once one part looks nice and neat you're motivated to keep going. The feeling afterwards, when you've got a clean slate to work with, is so worth the effort. But hopefully detoxing, unlike cleaning the house, won't have to be repeated every couple weeks or months ;-) All we have to do is choose to keep eating fresh, living foods and we won't have a bunch of accumulated garbage to get rid of on a regular basis!

I have noticed a few exciting changes after my first week back to 100% raw foods:

I was watching a game show called "Chain Reaction" last night w/ my sister. Contestants are given the first and last word to the chain and have to solve the words in the middle that complete the chain. For example, they are given "Big, ____, _____, _____, Freak" and then they are given the first letter to the words that complete the chain as they go (on the show the chains are longer). Each word forms a phrase or saying with the word under it. So the solution to this chain might be, Big, Shot, Gun, Control, Freak. Anyway I watched the show last Thursday night, too, and couldn't solve any of them. I was in awe of the contestants for figuring out the puzzles. Last night, however, I was on fire! I solved every single one way before the contestants, and solved some entire chains before I even had the first letters to the mystery words! My sister commented on how I'd gotten "more brain power" and I told her the only thing that was different was that this week I'd been 100% raw for 7 days! Maybe it's a coincidence but I always tend to see the big picture more and have mental clarity when I'm eating raw. No more brain fog clouding my mental power!

Another thing is the energy I have. I am never tired anymore, and just 2 weeks ago I was tired ALL THE TIME even eating a healthy, whole food-based vegan diet. I used to pass out in bed by 9 PM and go to bed at or before 10 every night. Now I go to bed later, and I'm not even tired when I turn out the lights. I have a sense of energy buzzing through my body. I am also in such a good mood even when I'm doing stuff I don't enjoy. I feel more diligent at work and more capable of getting through whatever task I'm faced with.

All after just a week! I'm so excited to see what this brings me, especially now that I'm eating more greens and getting all the crucial minerals and power that they have to offer!

I'm going out with work friends tonight but decided not to drink. I just don't feel like it, and even though the drinks would be free (it's a late holiday party type of thing) that's no reason to do something my body's telling me not to do. I am grateful to work with people who understand why I'm doing this- many are vegetarians and a couple are vegans themselves, and have expressed nothing but positive interest in my raw foods diet. I know they won't pressure me to drink or even notice what I'm drinking or not drinking! This definitely makes it less stressful. I had much more of a nightlife in Los Angeles and my friends thought I was crazy for eating raw, so I didn't listen to my body as much as I should have when I went out. I did have fun though ;-)

Food today:

-5 bananas, 2 clementines
-Lara Bar (need to buy less of these!), apple, banana
-green smoothie w/ 2 bananas, frozen mango/strawberries/blueberries, kale. Possibly another banana before I leave, too
-lemon water at the bar
-big salad w/ all of last night's veggies that I'll make before I leave so I can eat right when I get home. I'm only going to stay for an hour or so since I'm working early tomorrow morning, so I'll be home by 8:45-9:00

Exercise today: I did some yoga this morning and will run 4 miles, maybe w/ intervals, in an hour or so.

Oh, the painting is something that came up when I googled "housecleaning." It's called "House Cleaning" and it's from the Mo Gallery but I can't find the name of the artist! I thought it was pretty cool :-)