3 Day Hump

I was re-watching "Super Size Me" this weekend, a documentry about one healthy guy eating only McDonald's for 30 days and the effects it had on his health. His name is Morgan Spurlock and I personally think he is a genius film maker and also pretty hilarious. He made an off hand comment during the film about the "3 day hump". He said he experienced it with quitting smoking and then on this McDonald's experience where it's tough for the first 3 days but if you can get over that hump you're good to go. His comment, plus the re-iteration of the terrible effects of fast food inspired me to try a 3 (maybe 4) Day Detox.

My thinking here is that I am currently addicted to fast food and other junk food. And, no I am not using the word "addicted" loosely. On a Vegan exploring episode of Oprah's the Veganist said that people get legitimately addicted to fast food and when it is "threatened" to be taken away from them, they can experience anger, strong emotions and other similar behavior to drug addicts.  Fascinating and scary!

My detox method will be self made. I've done a little bit of research and I'm still in the drafting stages, but here's some of my plan.  I want to start on Friday and go to at least Sunday night but hopefully even Monday night (as then I'd offically be over the 3 day hump). During this time I have some events on my agenda but so far they keep me safely out of danger places such as coffee shops and food courts. I have to go shopping with Vanessa on Sunday but am leaving a fairly safe "Subway" open as an option for eating if necessary. I will make a list of all my good choices and hopefully come up with 3 full meals and snack ideas for each day ahead of time.  Oh, I should also mention that I will not be restricting portion size at all in the cleanse. My focus is simply on making quality choices and I'll worry about quantity later. I don't intend on doing any radical new recipes as I don't want to waste any food or take any chances, giving myself a chance to slip into old behavior. Tomorrow I am going to do the majority of my grocery shopping and preparing as much as possible, having all healthful snacks ready and visible. I hope to pre-cook my brown rice and anything else time consuming so that I am completely set-up for success. At this point I am not planning on taking any additional "cleansing" beverages or pills but I may decide to take some vitamins &/or some sort of herbal cleansing tea if I can find something like that, that doesn't seem disgusting. 

In addition, if its not too overwhelming, I would like to get in a bit of exercise each day and perhaps some meditating.

The end goal for me is to have this small but hopefully achievable success under my belt and get through those crazy cravings. I hope to feel cleansed, energetic and mentally lighter but stronger by the end of this sprint. In the past, I have really struggled with the whole "life style change" concept as it feels like you will be deprived FOREVER. Perhaps by applying this 3 day hump principle it will be more managable. In no way is this a "diet" and while it would be a bonus to lose weight, it is not my goal of this detox plan.  I simply want to feel full and satisfied with real, healthful food and hopefully lose the hold that junk/fast food has on me.  I'm not sure if I'll have time to blog after each individual day or if it'll have to wait for the end but I am really, honestly looking forward to it. Wish me luck!

Avoid foods:

-any fast food with the exception of sandwich type places.

-any kind of candy, chocolate, chips, etc & just plain sugar.

-beverages other than water & herbal tea.

-overly processed or packaged food.

-extras like mayo, butter, etc. I might not completely eliminate them but hope to at least keep them minimal.

-caffeine & alcohol.

YES foods:

-any fruit, fresh & frozen.

-any veggies, either raw or hopefully steamed. Trying to avoid frying.

-some lean protein choices such as fish, sirloin steak, chicken breast, unsalted nuts, and I'll try some beans.

-whole wheat choices such as brown rice and whole wheat toast.

-yogurt (full fat probiotic type. I personally don't believe in sugar substitutes).

-maybe some rice milk as I might try to makes some smoothies for breakfast.

-rice cakes and plain popcorn.

-chicken broth.

-non salt spices such as garlic, cinnamon, paprika, Mrs. Dash, etc.