We’re at the end of week 1 of the Whole Living 28-Day Challenge detox program and all I can say is that I’m striving for improvement not perfection ;).  The week started out great. Went the whole day Monday without any foods or drinks on the “no-listâ€Â (dairy, wheat/gluten, peanuts, soy, alcohol, corn, all added sugars, and processed foods and beverages) and I got in a 3 mile run. So my initial thoughts were I’m going to rock this challenge hands down.
Then Tuesday came along  – I woke up to a husband that needed a trip to the ER, a toddler that wasn’t feeling well and a headache that made me want to cringe at any small sound.   The morning went ok as far as sticking to the detox – I focused on eating fruits. I wasn’t much of a breakfast person prior to the detox so actually eating breakfast was a change for me.  I was also thankful that I had prepped all my food for the week over the weekend since the ER trip was unexpected. I just threw in a few bags of veggies and was able to manage a day long trip to the hospital on that.  So now just when you’re thinking I’m not struggling at all… night rolls in and we’re still at the hospital. My husband had been admitted, had surgery, and is now starving. So what do we do? We order-in that celebratory and delicious PIZZA. And I’m not going to lie, after 2 days of nothing but fruits and veggies it was fabulous!  Oh and you’ll notice there was no meditating or exercise that day.
Wednesday I think things started to normalize again both with my personal life and my detox. I did find that I got really bored drinking water. I started spiking my water with Cranberry or Pomegranate juice just to give it some flavor.  I ate baked chicken for dinner because the thought of only vegetables again made me want to cry. I found though that by eating more at dinner it gave me the energy I needed to actually exercise later that night.  I tried out a Yoga DVD that I had gotten as a Christmas present which I was a little skeptical about but actually ended up really liking.  I had tried yoga previously at my local gym and just couldn’t get into it. But I found this DVD to be pretty tough and I actually enjoyed it.
Thursday and Friday was back to the hospital for me – this time it was an expected visit (my son was due for his next round of chemo). So I had packed my bag with the foods I wanted to eat. And if I’m being really honest, being stuck in the hospital probably makes my food choices easier – I either have to eat what I brought or venture out. The only exercise I got was walking a few laps around the children’s ward with my son and a few other patients and their parents. So no real effort put forth there.  I did however practice using a mantra when I found myself losing my patience – I would just tell myself over and over in my mind “they are doing the best they canâ€.  While I don’t know that it immediately destressed me – I will say that it made me laugh at myself, which in turn probably helped me to deal with the situation better.
All in all I think I learned a few things about myself this week; That I don’t mind apples as long as they aren’t Granny Smith (I know how un-American of me), that I really don’t think pomegranates are worth the effort they require to eat them, and that even though I’m clearly not sticking to the plan the way it’s meant to be – I am making better choices.
For those of you who are doing the detox with us or thinking about doing it – my only words of advice would be is that life is challenging, unexpected things happened, all we can do is try to do the best we can.  I figure every small change is a change in the right direction no matter how small.
