21-Day Purification: Week Two (Weak, Too)

Well, folks, this purification journey has marched and continues to march on! We're on day 12 now, and while the sailing is continually smoother, I'd be lying if I said it's been a total breeze to uphold our willpower in the midst of temptation.

We've been plugging along, doing our best to spice up our salads and quinoa, and the weather is finally feeling a little more autumnal, so we've enjoyed some soup as well.

Quinoa & Sweet Potato Chili
Before and after: sweet potatoes, parsnips, and golden beets

Day 11 is when you're supposed to change over our supplements from the SP Cleanse to the SP Green Food, and moreover, introduce meat back into our diet. Let me tell you, all I wanted was a piece of succulent roasted chicken. Graham was sick of "rabbit food". And so, on day 7, it was unanymously decided that we needed meat. Not a heap, but enough to satisfy us. As I mentioned in the previous post, we aren't perfect. But at least we didn't go out for a Big Mac! We did, however, enjoy some deer steaks from the buck Graham got last year. Holy moly, what a heavenly meal.

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Since then, life has been better. I certainly don't eat meat at every meal, but we do highlight our days every now and then with yummy things like quinoa chicken burrito bowls (heavy on the lettuce), a nice big salad with some roasted chicken with a dash of hot sauce, and I made some chicken and wild rice soup in the crock pot that's pretty darn tasty!

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Still, over the past couple of days we've had to take our purification bubbles out into the real world. The family functions, the shindigs with friends, all filled with yummy things that are beyond the bubble. It's not easy. Somehow we've sailed from the first couple of rough days, to feeling so much better, to being far enough into this whole process that we can teeter between feeling good and feeling good enough to burst the bubble.

Tip #3: If you're going out and about, say, to a party with all sorts of cheesy, fried, gooey, or chocolate-y kinds of goodies, do NOT go hungry. Eat beforehand, and eat a lot. Because let's face it, I don't care what you put on your salad, it doesn't stand up very sturdily as you watch people smoosh their teeth into a nice slice of pepperoni pizza, or crunching into a chip overflowing with creamy buffalo chicken dip. But the salad prior to it helps.

It's time for confessions. The weekend has been a struggle for Graham, as he had a two-part high school reunion. The first part was an evening at a sports bar, and while Graham isn't much of a sports fan, he is a tequila fan. Alcohol has been Graham's temptation. I would like to stress the fact that he's never been a guy who has to have a drink, it's nothing unhealthy like that. But he does like to be social, and often times when 20-somethings get together, we usually have a drink. Who knew? He indulged in one shot, and a sip of beer. I managed to find a loop hole and had a virgin bloody mary, which was still delicious.

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A couple days later, at a family birthday party, we were surrounded by fried chicken, BBQ cocktail weiners and mini meatballs in marinara. I caved and had a few meatballs, justifying that it was probably better than something fried or covered in sugar. And guess what? I felt awful after I ate them. My guts hated me, my body asked why in the world I would do that after such a nice stretch of good fuel.

Lessons learned. The purification continues.

Until next time, happy eating!

G + G