I'm taking a Benylin Day today. I'm not actually taking Benylin (I have nothing against Benylin itself but after a really bad reaction to some RX medication last week, I'm swearing off meds. Yes, all meds. It feels a little like free-falling but I 'm going to try it for a while.) But I'm taking the day off. Grandma is over to entertain my five year old before school and instead of rushing across town with an angry three year old yelling about snow pants while dulling my cold symptoms with a fistful of OTC drugs (symptoms triggered after the bad meds crashed my immune system and allowed every germ in the city to wreak havoc with my sinuses), I took a long dead sea salt-filled bath. I drank pear juice with liberal doses of ginger and cinnamon (after my strict cleanse, juice tastes like a triple layer chocolate cake with hot fudge sauce with a chaser of poutine). I gargled with salt water. I read Martha Beck's fantastic piece on battling the bête noire in the new O Magazine. And now I'm watching Barbie's A Christmas Carol with grandma and the kids for the 682nd time (my son now screams Chuzzlewit! at all of the white cats at the vet where the GD dog has been going for her ear troubles.)
Today marks day 21 of the 21 day Quantum Wellness cleanse. I've stuck quite closely to the diet, only once having some cheese on a potato when we were eating out and I needed protein and there wasn't a veggie burger or nut to be seen in the joint (well, maybe one nut!) I ate some non-gluten free pita bread at a restaurant and an simply choosing to ignore what might be in the veggie kung pao sauce at Jack Astors. And yesterday, I dipped into a box of Pamela's Ginger Cookies with Almonds (they contain molasses). But other than that, I was a purist. No animal products, no alcohol, no caffeine, no sugar and no gluten since 2008. I've been eating a lot of tofu, a lot of fake meat (Yves products are great), a lot of nuts, and protein powder (I've been trying to do rice or other vegan protein but may return to whey protein as I need a lot of protein and the rice does not always cut it on days I work out.) I thought I'd perish without loaves of artisan bread and cheeses but I've found lots of things to eat. I've even found some good prepared foods.
I've had to change my shopping habits, returning to my beloved Whole Foods. I can no longer walk there (well, not in the winter, at any rate) but they have free parking (note to Hazelton Lanes management: you need hybrid parking like they have at Ikea.) The Big L has some stuff but turnover is grim (I honestly thought gluten-free bread had a fish after-taste until I tried some from Whole Foods and realized that the aftertaste was from the equally freezerburned packages of organic fish fingers in the Big L's store freezer -- gross.) A vegan would go very hungry if they had to shop at Costco so I may let my membership lapse in the spring. I am still able to do Supperworks but it's no longer as compelling as when I was doing the organic sessions using Cumbrae meats. Food is not more expensive than what I was getting before but is harder to find. I tip my hat to vegans in small towns (the IGA at the cottage this summer may prove to be a challenge!) My life is label reading (who knew seitan was pure gluten? Had gossip girl not had a dig about it, I might never have known that. On GG - go Chuck! Go Lily!)
The physical changes have been marked. When I started the process, I was 137 lbs (I'm 5'5 and before kids and passing the 35yr mark was around 110 lbs with no diet or exercise). 21 days later, I'm 131 lbs. I've been doing 20-30 minutes of exercise a day. Walking or walk/running. Some weights. Stretching. A few minutes on the heavy bag (amazingly cathartic). In other words, nothing major. The most amazing thing is that I've lost 4 inches from my waist, 3 inches from my hips, an inch and a half from my thigh (I only measured one), and an inch from my neck (who knew?) I have more energy. I'm not hungry. And my digestive system works (I can finally tolerate the iron I need to take -- my doctor will be happy.) I will be keeping up this diet but will cut myself some more slack when eating out since that's been the hardest thing by far.
As part of the cleanse I also put myself on a media diet. I'm only doing Bliss Notes once a month. I'm Twittering instead of blogging (Twitter is so much more blackberry friendly). And I'm setting boundaries when I am online doing research. I also donated several car trunkloads full of books. Gone is my collection of what I call depression literature (save for the books signed by Elizabeth Wurtzel). Ditto for the undergrad books I'll never read again. I kept my Bliss reference books (two bookcases worth --when a new one comes in, one gets donated). I kept three shelves worth of "classic" fiction and plays I like to flip through now and again (every once in a while I have to skim through Chekov.)And I kept books written by people I know. I can only have one issue of a particular magazine. When a new Real Simple or Body + Soul comes in, an old one gets recycled (Victoria is an exception but it has to fit on the bookcase.) All of my read once chick lit books have been donated. This diet -- especially staying offline -- has been every bit as beneficial as the food-based one.
In 2008, I did a lot. We renovated, we moved, we decorated, we went south, we went north, my kids changed schools, I launched a business, I started some freelance work. And when I felt sick, or tired, or low, I simply pushed through. I took some more meds, I ate some sugar for energy, I bought a new sweater (a cure for just about anything). This year, I'm stripping away all of the crutches and will see how that goes. Instead of shooing it away with chocolate or cashmere, I'll be listening to see what my bete noir has to say.
In other words, I'll be taking a lot more Benylin days. Minus the Benylin.
