Well I’m officially on my last week of the hardcore portion of the cleanse!  Week three is about slowly re-introducing healthy carbs back into my diet.  Even though my carbs will be super limited, I’ll be so happy to get a taste of any kind of carb that week three will be like heaven!

I have been pretty low energy today, but that may be from an overall lack of calories.  I tell my client between 1200-1500calories for women and 1800-2500calories for men per day, 1200/1800 calories being the bare minimum.  I know the dangers of eating too few calories, low energy, slowed metabolism, muscle loss, etc…I am a lot more active that most in my day-to-day life, plus I’m also younger meaning my metabolism naturally is faster (don’t worry not much faster).  I’ve been making my min 1200 also, but I’m going to try to get up to 1400 or 1500 these next few days and see if my energy picks up. 200-300 calories may not seem like much, but over a week that’s 1400-2100calories.  I’m loosing a whole days worth of calories (which is energy), protein, and nutrients.  I’ve also been craving fat (nuts mainly) which can also be a sign of too few calories.

I’m actually glad I started this! (I’ll be more glad when I finish it) The foods I’ve cut out sound good still, but I’m not craving any sugar packed, highly processed foods.  I am actually really into all my veggies.  I’ve been trying to cook them different ways, and add different spices to keep myself from getting board.  Seasoned Rice Vinegar, Lemon, Olive oil, sea sale and garlic have been my favorites.  I’ve all been marinating my veggies in fresh garlic and just a little soy sauce and that’s been pretty tasty!  The trick is not to put too much liquid in with the veggies- that makes them soggy.

For the first week I was using my George Foreman for just about everything.  By day three or four the smell that the grill makes was making me a little nauseous.  I’ve since then started grilling my food on the stove.  It takes about 7-10min longer, but tastes MUCH better.  I can’t believe the difference.   I’ve been trying to remember the name of a special pan a fellow fitness buff told me about for the longest time.  Last night it came to me out of no where!  The WOK, I’m going to buy one soon and test it out!

FOOD LOG:

MEAL             FOOD

Breakfast: Protein Shake- 6oz Almond Milk, 1 scoop Designer Whey, 1 tsp peppermint extract

Lunch: Shrimp and Chicken Stir Fry- 1 Cup Trader Joe’s Stir Fry, 10pods Sweet/Snap Pods, 1 cup Mushrooms, 10 large Shrimp, 4 oz Chicken Breast

Dinner: Turkey Burger wrapped in lettuce- 7oz Lean Ground Turkey, Romaine Lettuce 1 leaf, 3 slice Red Ripe Tomatoes, 1 tbsp chopped Onion, 1tbsp Chaka’s BBQ Sauce, 1 Tbsp mustard

Snack: Turkey Stir Fry- 5.5 oz lean Ground turkey, 20 pods Sweet/Snap Pods, 1 cup Mushrooms, 2 tbsp Soy Sauce,

Snack 2: 1 Tbsp Sunflower Seeds, 3 celery stalks, 1 tbsp Almond Butter,

Snack 3: 1 tbsp Almond Butter, 4celery stalks, 3 tsp cinnamon
Daily Totals :  1294/ 55g fat/ 100 ounces of H2O

If you’re doing the cleanse and are not feeling so great yet, remember when you started, and how many cheats you’ve had.  If you started after I did, you may have a few more days of low energy.  Also, if you have cheated, that will extend the amount of time you have your cravings.  Either way stay strong!  You’re almost there.  It’s worth it, I promise!

~maddog

Filed under: The Cleanse: 21 Day Journey