Baby, It's Cold Outside

HOLY BALLS.  We must have brought the arctic weather back with us after Christmas.  It's been in the mid-20s during the day and in the single digits at night.  Thankfully we'll be back into the high-40s by the end of the week.  And I sure hope this is our "cold snap" we always get in December/January in CO... I'm done with this cold!

Day 1 of the cleanse started out pretty much the same as usual: I couldn't get out of bed.  I don't know if it's because of the wackadoo holiday schedule, or because I was up late last night, or what.  But the hardest part was getting up without a hot cup of coffee.  I really need to switch to hot tea in the morning, but I can't have caffeine, so the whole point may be moot anyway.  I had a glass of water instead - not really a smart move, considering how cold it was - then got ready for work.  It immediately made me happy knowing I was starting the cleanse today.  For the first time since last year I put on my work pants and they felt tight... and not "these just came out of the dryer" tight, more like "dangit, I've gained 10 pounds in 6 months."  Ick.  Definitely time for a change!

Since I wasn't much of a breakfast eater to begin with (typically a hard boiled egg and/or an English muffin, if I had time, which I usually didn't) I decided to start using the Cleanse breakfast shake recipes right away.  I chose one for this week (since it's a short week for me, I start the "full" cleanse on Sunday), an Almond Butter and Cardamom shake.  It was good - a little different, as the texture was more like a slushy than a smoothie, and since it had fresh-made almond butter (thank you, Sunflower Market!) I actually found myself chewing it instead of drinking it.  But it did its job!  I still wasn't hungry come lunchtime.

Our offices were frigidly cold today (I was in my peacoat all day long) so instead of drinking cold water I was drinking plain, hot water and tea.  My lunch was a kale and spinach salad with some oil + balsamic, rainbow quinoa, and some chopped walnuts.  It was actually DELICIOUS.  I am a little worried about dinner, because it's just a simple chicken breast with some spices and some roasted veggies.  I'm looking more forward to the full-on cleanse recipes I get to make - as my friend Angela always points out, I'm a recipe-cooker.  I work better with a recipe than I do wingin' it on my own.

I wasn't hungry for most of the day... I'm just now starting to feel a little peckish.  I'm sure that'll change as I continue on (I mean, let's face it, I was a pig these last few weeks, between graduation and the two holidays), but I am doing pretty good so far.  There are no changes felt yet - I wasn't expecting any - but I'm looking forward to feeling better/different.  The few realizations I've come to so far are:

1.  It's EXPENSIVE.  I typically spend about a third of my grocery budget at Sunflower Market, which is kind of like a cheaper Whole Foods.  Yesterday, I spent almost half my monthly budget on the foods I needed... for this week.  Yikes.  I bought a lot of bulk grains and nuts, like quinoa and almonds, so hopefully those will last me through the end of the cleanse.  But damn, that checkout yesterday hurt my soul.

2.  It requires a lot of prep and time.  I have read the book (my first book finished post-graduation, whoo!) and have read-through the website, but just planning out the meals takes a lot of time too.  I spent a good chunk of my day yesterday going through the plan, figuring out what I wanted to have for this week.  On top of that, the actual cooking/making takes a lot longer too.  And it's stuff I used to do, it was chopping veggies and packing a lunch and making a smoothie for breakfast.  I guess I just need to get back into the swing of it.

Other than that, nothing too exciting... it's going to take a while to get used to having nights free again!  Maybe the hubby and I will need to find a hobby or something... if anyone has any ideas, pass 'em along!