Herbal Detox

There was a time when I did a herbal cleanse twice a year, like a spring clean for my guts. Twelve days, twice a year that I both loved and loathed. And it occurred to me recently, when I was feeling like a bag of smashed assholes that I hadn't done one since I could even remember when.

Thinking back it's got to be at least two years. Yikes. A year ago January I did my first ever juice cleanse and of course being on Tracy's Dynamic Eating Plan had me doing a "food detox" every other week for over three months. I think I'd had it with the cleaning. 

Getting off the sugar last summer went a long way in helping me feel... less than forty years old, but the yo-yo-ing of the past few months had taken their toll.

My eyes were cloudy and red, my skin was spotty, I was bloated and tired all the time. Still, I'd convinced myself that I was okay. Just working too hard. Had my daily glowing green smoothie, gave my digestive system its mandatory twelve hour rest each night, I was exercising (doing dance cardio even) and getting plenty of water and fresh air. Why was I dragging my ass?

Last weekend, I decided some sleep was in order. I got an early night and slept in. I logged a solid eleven hours and still I was feeling crappy. Enough was enough, I was going back to a tried and trusted method, my good old herbal detox.

I agree with Kimberly Snyder when she says we've got to detox daily to look and feel our best. Just as we've got to do the dishes in the sink on a regular basis. But sometimes the house needs more than just the dishes done. On occasion we've got to get in the corners, clear out the cobwebs and do the windows. That's my two cents anyway.

With 8 days sugar-free, I should have been feeling better than I was. So yesterday I started the cleanse.

Wild Rose offers a wonderful cleanse that includes a variety of supplements to aid in digestion and work like a chimney sweep on your innards. It also includes a list of foods that you may consume and those you need to avoid. 

It's a very simple diet that is for the most part vegetarian, but if you're a carnie you can have fish or chicken. What's interesting are the foods to avoid. Things that you might not think would be toxic, like mushrooms, tropical fruit or seafood, and it's pretty much gluten free because you are not allowed any breads, pastas or pastries.

It seems really soon, perhaps it's just psychological, but my head feels clearer. The patchy skin on my face feels smoother and I just feel calmer and more relaxed. I didn't get much sleep last night - I was detoxing a lot. That usually only lasts for two or three days, then I hope to get some serious zzzzz's.

I'm nearing the end of Continuity 2.4.2 so I'll have a review for you soon. I'm up to my eyeballs in a rewrite that's proving to be my biggest writing challenge yet, so while I haven't been writing to you, that doesn't mean I've not been with you in spirit!

Cheers.
Shan

Outta Nowhere.

Hey ladies (and guys).

Hadn't planned on writing a post today because I am on a rather tight deadline, but a sudden urge came outta nowhere so here it is. 

This is really for all of us who at one point or another might feel like we keep fucking up. I include myself here because... well because of a million different things but mostly because of my struggle with how and what I eat and my utter disdain for dance cardio. 

Don't panic, I'm not here to beat the same old drum of how hard it all is. I'm actually here to share some recent insights. And yeah, I'll be the first to admit that I may have had these insights previously, may have even written about them, but I guess I'd forgotten. So I figured that if I needed reminding, maybe a few of you out there could use a gentle reminder too.

The other reason I wanted to write today was because of a recent post by Tracy about some new supplements and things that she's developed. I'm not here to speak to that one way or the other, but if it's something you're interested in, you can certainly check it out here.

I think when we have a desire to make changes in our lives and we find ourselves either unable to start or constantly starting and never finishing or making changes and then slipping back into old habits, there is always a reason for our perceived failures and it's rarely the reason we think it is. 

Why do you think so many people, in an effort to effect change in their health (read weight) jump from one program to the next to the next? Why do you think the diet industry is a billion dollar plus industry? If a diet book works, why does the author come out with three new and improved versions? Why is it that we'll try anything under the sun, like eating pureed sweet potato or drinking nothing but powdered shakes or juices for days or weeks at a time? Is it really to fit into those skinnies or get into that bikini this summer? Really?

We might tell ourselves that's what it is, but deep down inside we think we'll all just feel so much better if we were skinny or in shape or dropped a few pounds or ate healthier or whatever. But shouldn't the real question be, why aren't we happy with ourselves in the first place? Ah, but that takes work and we don't necessarily want to look at that stuff. We'd rather a quick fix.

I mean come on, who of us out there wouldn't pop that magical quick-fix pill if it could instantly manifest us into our ideal selves? 

Okay maybe the odd one of us who are suckers for punishment who loves the sweaty paces that TAM puts us through, but most would rather take the pill.

I learned last summer that there was no middle ground for me with sugar. I was then and am now, an all or nothing girl. Since my trip to the UK in February. I have been literally caught in a hell-bound spiral of binging and jonezing for sugar over and over and over. Where are we now? Middle of May? I have let nearly four months go by, where for a few days I'd struggle to be good, really suffering in those first few days of a sugar detox, only to turn around and binge for three or four days. A miserable cycle that has seem me gain weight (I was up 9 pounds from my fucking holiday weight! WTF?!) and more recently, my skin's been freaking out. Spots, red and patchy, wrinkles - I am not a pretty sight at the mo. Thankfully some of that weight has been coming off again now that I've taken hold of my senses once again!

It's all because I let my mind take control. Do any of you remember me telling you that with any changes that you want to implement, with any new healthy habits you want to create or bad habits you want to break - you must make the choice to do so and not allow your mind to convince you otherwise? 

I'll say it again in bold --

YOU MUST MAKE THE CHOICE TO CHANGE AND NOT ALLOW YOUR MIND TO CONVINCE YOU OTHERWISE!!!

Because it will friends. It will tell you that you deserve Ben and Jerry's for dinner, (don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every spoonful but the end results sucked) that you've had a long day so maybe just today you don't need to do that workout, or that you'll start that new program on Monday because who wants to be counting calories on the weekend?

Isn't listening to that voice in your head the thing that got you to where you are in the first place? That voice in your head does not have your best interests at heart. Only you do and you have to make the decision to take back control. And it is possible. But you have to do the work.

I am not going to lie to you, it really is that first month (or more) of anything new that is the hardest. Why do you think that Tracy's first ever program was called The 30-Day Method? Because it takes some time for these changes to take hold.

But we cannot look at these changes as temporary or for just a week or a month or three months. So many programs fail us because we believe they are temporary. We lull ourselves into a false sense of security by believing that if we can just get through this "temporary time frame" we can go back to life as we knew it, but people listen, life as we knew it was what made us miserable in the first place! 

I have become a Method Junkie, I do it every week at least five times a week without fail. It's become part of my make-up like brushing my teeth or taking a shower. Sure you might be able to skip that shower for a day, or maybe even a weekend if you've gone camping, but come Monday you are ripe and you need that shower. That's what it is like with exercise if you give it half a chance and I am re-learning that that is what it is like with diet too. If you eat poorly for long enough you can forget what it feels like to feel good. To have energy. To be properly fueled and functioning. If you have always had bad habits and you've never felt that way, do not be discouraged, you can learn to feed yourself. But there are no tricks or quick fixes. Whole healthy food choices are the only way to go. Period. At the end of the day, good clean eating and portion control are going to be the tools with which you can actually live by, permanently.

I thought that doing cardio was going to be the thing that was going to give me perfection. (You believe that? That desire for perfect still lingers on even when I know there is no perfect.) I am no closer to loving DC than I was two and a half years ago when I started all of this, but I am doing it. I am taking my own advice and I am giving it a month to get somewhat ingrained. And once again I am sugar-free. It's only been a week, but I've got my mind under control again. I know what needs to be done and what is right for me.

I just wanted to come out and remind you, that where ever you happen to find yourself today, either just at the start, struggling through the middle or maybe a tiny bit bored with the same old same old, you can be strong, you can make changes and you are capable. 

You just have to decide that you are. Do not let fear or doubt or excuses of any kind stand in your way. You deserve to be happy and if you're not, maybe it's time you took a closer look at why. It might run deeper than your jean size. But remember, if you decide to take a look within, don't beat yourself up for those perceived failures, instead remember this awesome quote by Thomas Edison:

“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Love you.
Shan

(PS -- I got a new Manager. Miracles do happen, people! Eeeeeeeeeeeee!!!)

TAM all over the world.

I think it's fantastic that Tracy has created her at-home workout program that's accessible everywhere. Wonderful readers from around the world congregate and share their experiences of victory, frustration or just plain curiosity about the workout. We all seem to have so much in common and we've become our very own little global village.

But have you ever stopped to consider how different our immediate worlds might be? The majority of you here are American, I think, but I've seen comments from Australia, Africa, Europe and South America, but even within North America our environments vary incredibly. 

If you've ever checked out my Instagram pics, you can see that I live in a colorful and beautiful temperate rain forest on the Pacific Northwestern coast of Canada.

I always love to hear where you come from and what your life is like as we share this healthy journey together. But there's been one special reader in particular who often shares some crazy tales of her daily life on the ranch and she has piqued the interest of more than one of you. 

My girl Jah. 

She was kind enough to send over some absolutely stunning photos of her stomping grounds and I am delighted to share them with you.

That's her beloved. I mean it's one thing to hear about riding around the desert and quite another to see it in living color. Look at that landscape, that beautiful animal - it's like still shot from a western film. It truly is another world. I could get lost looking off into that horizon and happily forget all about the Method for awhile.

And how gorgeous are they? Who hasn't wanted a horse or a pony at least once in their life? 

No wonder our girl Jah has no problem tackling Tracy's workout every day. She can handle the likes of that guy! I certainly wouldn't want to be on the horned end of him. In fact judging from the expression on his face, he doesn't care too much for having his photo taken. Yikes.

And there she is. She might look like a blond-haired, blue-eyed, delicate flower but we all know better. Jah, you're an absolute beauty! And that hat! Love it!

She really does ride around roping longhorns in the middle of the wide open plain, a real live cowgirl. I think I might hafta write a western and we can film it on location at your place girlie!

Thanks so much for generously sharing these pics of your place and your life. It was a delicious peek behind the curtain and I enjoyed it very much.

Big hugs.
Shan